I experienced random load failures during bootup. Nothing made any sense during troubleshooting.
I looked at the AC power connector plugged into the power supply. The two AC pins are parallel and symmetrical. If the dimensions are perfect, there may be poor contact.
I went to the PSU and twisted the two vertical pins slightly. One pin was twisted CCW, the other CW.
I plugged in the power cable. There was definite resistance, where there was none before.
I have not had any load failures since.
You need one of these, obviously.
You will have failures with other equipment. The problem with twisting the power plug connections is that it spreads the mating contacts inside the receptacle. You'll get a good connection between the twisted power plug and the expanded receptable. However, if you insert a normal power plug into the expanded receptacle, it will be loose and intermittent. Similarly, if you force the twisted power plug to other normal receptacles, they too will spread the receptacle contacts, eventually making every wall receptacle a potential intermittent.
I know because I've run into such situations at various customer sites. I suggest you untwist the power plug, and replace the defective AC wall receptacle.
No, no, no. That is one of the inferior low priced variety. What he needs is something far better and astronomically expensive such as: It's even patented:
-- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
good reviews!
Not as good as the reviews for the 55 gallon drum of KY Jelly.
I'm not talking about wall receptacles. I'm talking about the European style 3-pin AC socket on the computer power supply. It doesn't need much of a twist - it's barely noticeable. The plug is not damaged. It's the other end that plugs into the wall.
Before the mod, the plug was loose in the socket. It would fall out on its own from time to time. After adding the twist, the plug is held firmly in the socket and no longer falls out. And there are no more random crashes or boot failures.
Since every power supply needs an AC cord, there is no reason to switch the cord to another one.
Just to avoid further confusion, here is the connector I'm talking about
Further info at
...
If you needed to twist the pins to get a good contact or to stop the plug from falling out one of your connectors was defective to start with.
John
If it is loose, the culprit is the power cord side (female). The male pins are solid. Jettison the power cord and get a new one.
-- -TV
How did you twist the power supply connector without breaking the plastic? The pins are rather thick. (I just tried to twist them on an old dead power supply. It's not easy and requires considerable force).
I fix computahs to support my decadent and lavish lifestyle. I see many such power cords and matching power supplies. At this time, I think I have a total of maybe 300 used and new power cords. That's about a 2 year collection of extra power cords. During the last 2 years, I would guess(tm) that I've rejected and recycled about 10 defective power cords due to connector mating problems as you describe. Most are easy to recognize because the insertion and removal force required is quite low. Others have too much plastic around the entryway, causing the receptacle leafs to spread. Many years ago, I received a batch of 10 AT type power supplies, where the included power cords were all defective. In other words, what you've experienced is not common but is typical of low quality power cords.
The proper solution is to NOT mutilate the receptacle, recycle the defective power cord, find a working replacement cord, and live happily ever after.
-- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
Steve Wilson wrote on 9/2/2017 6:41 AM:
Too bad. Random is hard to do on a computer. You could have cashed in!
-- Rick C Viewed the eclipse at Wintercrest Farms, on the centerline of totality since 1998
I vacillate between thinking that such people should be shut down for gross misrepresentation, and thinking that anyone with that kind of money to spend on such an item deserves to be separated from it.
Sylvia.
I tried a number of cords. All were loose.
To twist the pins, don't grab the entire pin and try to twist it. Just grab the end and twist it slightly. It doesn't take much. Now all the cords fit snugly and there are no more random crashes.
Say while I've got you on the line, any idea why the WiFi dongle on this Dell laptop I have is flakey? Got the PC used with a defective internal WiFi adapter but it usually works fine with just a USB port dongle...except when it repeatedly disconnects and re-connects. It usually does it when trying to connect to a say Verizon-supplied home wireless router and doesn't happen at all on a commercial WiFi access point, like Starbucks. I've tried several dongles, it happens to some more often than others but same problem.
I'm never more than 15 feet away from the box. Maybe my local spectrum at home is just overcrowded, but it does it at my girlfriend's place too (also has Verizon) and there's only one or two other access points that comes up on her list.
Nope. Not enough info. Laptop model number, service code if possible, operating system, revision level, etc. Also, what are you connecting to? When dealing with "flaky" and other vague and non-specific symptoms, I like to dive into the online complaints about the specific model to see if there's a history of problems. Without numbers, I can't do anything useful.
Sounds more like an interference problem than a defective laptop or dongle. If you've tried other dongles and are getting similar results, it's not the dongle. It might be the wireless drive on your laptop. I've seen plenty of that, especially with OEM supplied drivers. Go fishing on the web site of the wireless chip vendor that's inside the dongle. If you have the latest greatest driver, try going back on version.
If it's not interference or drivers, then there might be something goofy with your Verizon supplied wireless router. I don't see those on the left coast, but I get to do battle with plenty of Comcast "gateways". Some flavors have miserable wi-fi performance, where perpetual connect/disconnect cycles are the main symptom. I just plug in a common wireless router, configure it as an access point (i.e. don't use the WAN port and turn off DHCP server), and use it instead of the internal wi-fi. However, since Comcast now has a few model gateways that actually work, I try to get an exchange. Maybe bugging Verizon for a new wireless router would be useful?
There are plenty of non-wifi devices that will not appear on the SSID shopping list. The one's that's giving me some difficulties are the BlueTooth mesh networks and the Zigbee radio that's inside most smartmeters intended for HAN (home area network). You'll need a Zigbee specific sniffer or a spectrum analyzer in order to see those.
However, before you go chasing interference and metaphysical culprits, drag the Verizon supplied wireless router into an are where interference is unlikely, such as the middle nowhere, basement, screen room, or dungeon. No need for internet for this test. Just connect to the Verizon supplied wireless router, ping continuously, and see if you can maintain a connection.
Extra credit for using the latest iPerf3. If there are any problems attributable to either the Verizon supplied wireless router or your unspecified model Dell laptop, a speed test should show it. You'll get something like this if it's good: or this nightmare if you're losing packets (in this case via a wi-fi repeater):
Incidentally, I have the original Wi-Spy, which still works nicely on modern hardware: However, you won't like the current prices.
Good luck...
-- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
I don't believe that. Something else is awry. Check your test receptable with a micrometer or calipers. The pin widths should be
2.0mm +/-0.05mm. If you have some extra receptacles, break off a pin and try inserting it into each of the 3 plug sockets for fit. Try to determine if 1, 2, or all 3 sockets are the problem.Sorry, but I'm not convinced that mangling the recptacle conector is the solution to what seems to be a dimensional tolerance problem (for the reasons I mentioned in a previous post).
-- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
I have a cheap Chinese powersupply here on my bench (YiHUA YH-305D, if anybody cares, it's a near useless piece of shit) that has this problem. All of my C-13 cables are loose on it and fall out and/or make it powercycle at the worst possible times.
I wouldn't want to try twisting those pins though and damage my cables. When I am forced to use it I push it back far enough that the back of my bench serves to hold the cord in place.
It did this the day I bought it, so I don't think wear is the issue. The proper thing to do would be to replace the receptacle, if not throw the whole thing in the trash.
ElectronDepot website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.