ATTN: All Dell 9400/e1705/m1710/m90 owners!!! - Page 13

Since Wikipedia seem to be the only sorce of information that you believe in....... look what I found! "Coaxial cables At frequencies above 1 GHz, unshielded wires of practical dimensions lose too much energy to radiation, so coaxial cables are used instead. A coaxial cable has a conductive wire inside a conductive tube. The current flowing on the inner conductor is equal and opposite to the current flowing on the inner surface of the outer tube. This causes the electromagnetic field to be completely contained within the tube, and (ideally) no energy is radiated or coupled outside the tube. Coaxial cables have acceptably small losses for frequencies up to about 20 GHz. For microwave frequencies greater than 20 GHz, the dielectric losses (due mainly to the dissipation factor of the dielectric layer which separates the inner wire from the outer tube) become too large, making waveguides a more efficient medium for transmitting energy." May the force of believe be with you!

I don't begin to know much of what has been discussed, but I have two new 6400's, different specs) but am concenred about this, obviously.
Is the best course of action just to wait on Dell giving a reply? I have a electrician mate who has a multimeter, so I can get him to measure the screws.
Also I did have one or two BSOD, when I was reinstalling wXP but put it down to a driver thang, never really looked a tthe fault code, so am not sure if its a parity error. #I would have thought that would have just shown up dodgy ram or the like? so has anyone with that issue ran memcheck?

Will await developments with interest, but I just hope that Dell treat all countries the same as its no good having the same problem, dealt with differently because of where you live.

i agree

probably

I do apologize for not reading the entirety of the thread. Sifting through 15+ pages of thread can be a bit taxing especially when I still have to keep you dirtbags in-line (And I use dirtbag as a term of endearment.)

If the problem disappears when the Laptop runs on battery then it would most likely have to be a problem pertaining to the power brick rather than the Laptop itself. The Power supply shouldn't put anything but DC to the system, if it is letting AC escape to the Laptop side of the PSU then there's definitely a flaw in the brick's design. Hence why switching to a PSU with a grounded plug fixes the issue. It's not so much the Laptop itself that's the problem, it's their power adapters. And Dell's had trouble with them in the past. My Inspiron 5000e had a recall on it's power brick (After it had a recall on the battery). However, that problem related more to bursting into flames rather than potential electrocution. Probably the same reason Viriiguy had 3 show up with the same problem. If it's a widespread defect it'll occur in systems with near-consecutive serial numbers (like Opti GX270's and bad capacitors). Looks like another AC Adapter recall is in Dell's future. Thankfully, Dell tends to bend over backwards when a customer has a system that is smoking or biting them with AC electricity.

As I said though, I have two AC Adapters for my D820 (plus the DDock's integrated) one is three pronged, one is two pronged. I couldn't find any AC voltage on the 2 pronger with my old Simpson meter.

also something interesting that i found out...the lcd panel uses AC ....so there is a inverter attached to it to convert DC to AC....however the panel uses a grounding screw which is connected to the top case of the laptop. This case is then connected to the bottom part by the metal hinges which are secured with screws to the bottom...possible path for current flow from faulty inverters?

The AC signal found the the screws (well on mine anyway) is the same frequency as the AC mains volotage (50HZ) as can be seen on the waveform I posted.

Hello everyone,

I would first like to start by apologizing for the delay in response to this thread. Numerous departments including engineering, product development, product design, and other technical analysts here at Dell have weighed in on this discussion and it’s taken some time to accurately organize all of the information. Dell wants to be very clear about what the reported “tingle” effect has on the end user and the machine.

In reading the thread since my last post, the concern seems to be focused on:

-Is this a safety issue?
-Will this voltage damage the internal components?
-What’s causing the “tingle” effect?

Please bear in mind while reading through this that Dell does not endorse, condone, promote, nor advise any customer attempting to take any sort of electronic readings without the help or guidance of a trained professional. Great care must be taken when dealing with internal electronics as an untrained person can damage the computer, the device used to measure electricity, or, more importantly, hurt themselves.

We will have a more detailed explanation posted on our Dell blog next week, but here are some points I’d like to confirm:

-The voltage is not harmful to the user.
-It is not harmful to any of the system’s internal components.
-This issue is not specific to Dell.
-This issue is not specific to notebook computers at all. (It can be felt on many electronic devices that use a 2-prong AC power source under specific environmental conditions.)

Several regulatory and safety agencies are in place to create and maintain standards for electronic devices. Please keep in mind that Dell meets or surpasses all applicable standards with all of our notebook and desktop systems. The logos of the applicable regulatory and safety agencies for the Dell notebook power adapters can be found on the AC adapter power brick and include the FCC, UL, CCC S&E, CSA, CE, IDA, IRAM, GS, NOM and a few others. The most important one to note will be a picture of a square within a square which indicates double insulation. Double insulated refers to a safety method to protect users without an earth ground. This is done by using non conductive outer layer(s). Given the correct environmental conditions the “tingle” is inherent of double insulated equipment. Delivering safe electronics has been a priority since Dell’s inception and we are committed to meet—and exceed—all regulatory safety requirements with our products.

You can find more information about this topic at http://support.euro.dell.com/support...DD5&l=sv&s=gen

Thank you for your patience with this issue. Again, we will have a post with more details on the Dell corporate blog, www.direct2dell.com next week. I encourage you to continue the discussion there if you have any further questions.

Thank you,
Mike
Dell customer advocate.

-It is not harmful to any of the system’s internal components.

Sorry dude, but tell my why my ram broke, my vga memory broke after only 5months ???
Viri has also broken vga card !!
I'm sure it does affect internel components

Yep, and the "tingle" is NOT a side effect of Double Insulation. The tingle dissapeared as soon as I started using the 3 pronged adapter.

It is recommended to unplug the AC adapter from the parent device before attaching any cables or accessories, as this reduces the possibility of experiencing the tingling sensation.

Is this a joke or what ?

Its just a shame that dell says u need to disconnect laptop before u can insert usb things if u don't want to get electroshocks

Especially when I got mine resolved within 3 days...Dell KNEW about it and fixed it straight away...thats what confuses me...

dell gave me a new laptop, and it has the same voltage problem

The monetary difference between losing customers and organizing a recall/replacement is probably so insignificant compared to their total profit that they probably dont really even have to care, they are out to prove the stray voltage wont harm people, and as long as it cant possibly harm a person, i dont think they will do anything, and thats why i wont be dealing with Dell either.

Time will tell.