Lenov-OUCH! 500,000 laptop cables recalled in burning mains cock-up

Lenovo is recalling about 500,000 AC power cords for its B, G, and V-series laptops and IdeaPads – after 15 cases were reported of the cables overheating, sparking, melting and burning. "Only the AC Power Line Cord is being recalled," Lenovo said on its global recall website. "The Adapter that connects to the computer is not …

[Anonymous Coward]

Quality replacement plan!

I hope your battery lasts 7-10 days.

[David 14]

Seriously, though... for individuals, I would think that purchasing a new cable at a local discount shop would be less expensive than the postage to send for a replacement.... and far less disruptive.

[Anonymous Coward]

That was probably the plan - this way far less people will ask for replacement and they incur lower recall costs while still being able to maintain that they are protecting their customers.

[zebm]

I got an e-mail from Lenovo a few days ago trying to sell me a Yoga 3. Not a peep about the cable for the laptop that is the reason they have my e-mail address. Just mailed John Lewis see what happens now.

[Shannon Jacobs]

This is why the real world (Ma Nature's world) isn't so profitable

The real world isn't insanely fixated on maximum efficiency and profits. So this company won a bunch of contracts by being a tiny bit cheaper than the other companies. Well, now we see why. The big customers wind up taking a much bigger hit for trying to save a few pennies.

So the companies will focus on minimizing their liability just in case any of the victims are become collateral damage. In other words, the cheapness might cause a fatal fire, and we can't hurt the big companies just because someone dies for their cheapness. Just ask the politicians they bribed!

[Yag]

Earlier-than-planned obsolescence?

[Michael H.F. Wilkinson]

Strange: how much power must a Lenovo laptop draw (I have one) to overheat a mains cable. Even a mere 0.75mm^2 cable (uncoiled in the open) is rated to 6 amps. At 230V that is 1.380 kW. They may have used 0.5mm^2 rated at only 3 amps (only 690 W), but even that kind of draw seems a bit high (toasted genitals high, even). At 110-120 V the issue is different, of course.

Icon, well, obvious, innit?

[RobHib]

@Michael H.F.W. -- Yeah.

A normal power cable is so overrated for laptop use that there no way it would blow up on a laptop load.

So what's wrong with its construction? (It's not discussed in the article.)

Power cables are so prosaic and simple that this should just not happen. It raises all sorts of QA issues that, frankly, once would have been unthinkable to contemplate.

What on earth's happening that this could happen?

From the description of the faults the I2R losses must such that the CSA of the cable must be truly minuscule (which doesn't make sense--or there's essentially no insulation).

[lampbus]

I have a Samsung laptop - about 2 years old.

About 6 months ago I noticed intermittant charging / output from the PSU block...so I investigated expecting it had failed.

I found the power lead (UK plug to cloverleaf socket) was very hot and plastic melted at the cloverleaf end. Not from the PSU block, or bad contact in the pins, and it was intermittant when I flexed the lead/strain relief.

I dissected it - bad assembly of the conductor to pin - all nicely molded up in solid plastic.

It would have probably have lasted as it spends most of its time static on the floor ... until I took it on a couple of trips and the wrapping and bunging in the bag precipitated the failure.

[swschrad]

investment opportunity!

sell your Radio Shack stock and buy LS-15.