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my power cord bit the dust - Page 2

post #21 of 43
6/30/03 at 3:32pm
Thread Starter 

rubber cement

Quote:
Originally posted by JeffL
I wonder if you could use some rubber cement or something to reinforce it?
rubber cement probably would not help, unfortunately. if you could imagine a metal bucket inside a plastic bucket. now if you rubber cement the metal bucket to the plastic bucket, it really wouldn't be that much harder to separate the two. however, I wonder if superglue would help? hmmm. now with superglue I could really screw up my new adapter!

I just checked with UPS and it doesn't arrive until tomorrow. ugh.
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post #22 of 43
6/30/03 at 4:43pm
What about excessive heat to melt / fuze the plastic to the metal?

-myrkat
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post #23 of 43
6/30/03 at 4:53pm
Thread Starter 

weld plastic to metal

Quote:
Originally posted by myrkat
What about excessive heat to melt / fuze the plastic to the metal? -myrkat
well, if excessive heat would fuse them, they should have already fused because the power cord is right near the exhaust vent for the 5660 (aka "the heatmonster"). I don't think you are being serious, but just in case you are, I am pretty sure any adherence you would get from trying to "weld" the plastic to the metal piece would probably not be much better than rubber cement.

maybe I could punch little holes in the plug's metal cylinder part and then stich it to the plastic? or maybe they could just have a better friggin plug design!

so far no amens? am I the only one dissatisfied with the 5660/5670 plug design?

I have only had mine 7 months by the way.
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post #24 of 43
6/30/03 at 5:45pm
Thread Starter 

my power cord bit the dust

This post merged into the relocated thread. -myrkat

I don't know how to link to other threads. Please see my post by the same subject title in the general forum. I guess I should have posted it here. I just noticed and scanned this forum and it doesn't look like anyone has yet posted about a similar problem with the plug falling apart. prolly can't get a new one under warranty because of the nongentle treatment of it by my wife, and because she also lost part of it, but I do feel it is fundamentally a design issue.
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post #25 of 43
6/30/03 at 6:28pm
lol! If you use enough heat to melt the metal, the plastic would have spontaneously combusted I would suggest using epoxy to reinforce whatever connection. I don't really understand what broke, and where since I don't have a physical model to see, but all I know is that epoxy makes the best reinforcing material. It dries hard as metal, and strong too, you just have to be patient with it: let it dry overnight before using it.
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post #26 of 43
6/30/03 at 6:49pm
Thread Starter 

if only I had a good digital camera

I would post a picture of the power cord for those not having a 5660 to see what I mean. Basically, if you look at it head on, it looks like a metal circle with 4 metal prongs coming at you arranged just like the four dots on a side of a dice. From the side, cutaway, it looks like my lovely diagram above. A description would be like a metal soup can with wires attached to the four prongs at the bottom of the can. so the prongs are on the inside of the can, protruding through the bottom, and the wires are attached to the outside. now imagine the rubber covers around the wires like a cylinder (normal wire insullation) and the metal can is mostly covered by a rubber can with a hole in the bottom (for the wires to pass through). so the rubber housing is just like a "hood" so to speak and doesn't really hold the metal can in place at all. The only thing holding the metal can in place is the wires. so if you squeeze the exterior rubber can, that sort of "grabs" the metal can inside, but as you pull, it is really the wires that pull on the metal can to disloge it from the side of the machine. you could glue or epoxy the rubber can to the metal can but if there is any flexibilty at all, which of course there would be, then it would really still be the wires pulling on the metal can. anyway, I don't plan to mess around with glue or epoxy and void my warranty on something I am virtually sure will break again. I'm just going to be extra careful and hope for the best.
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post #27 of 43
6/30/03 at 6:57pm
Hm... If you manage to epoxy the rubber hood to the metal can, or reinforce the wire to metal can connection with epoxy, you should be set. Epoxy dries hard as hell, and there is NO flexibility. It's sorta like glass, but stronger: it will crack before it bends.
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post #28 of 43
6/30/03 at 8:05pm
It sounds like the wires need to be more secured to the "metal can" (your description above)...

I am also under the impression that there are two different power supplies in use for Sagers (the slightly vented and the very vented) - maybe there are different power connectors on them as well?

Hope you find a solution. Are there any other 5670 owners who have or can see this problem happenning?

-myrkat
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post #29 of 43
7/1/03 at 3:16pm
Thread Starter 

echo echo

I guess no others have yet experienced this. Under normal use (as compared to wife abusing the dang thing) I would expect it to last a year or two. my wife accelerated what looks to me to have been an inevitable outcome. It will be interesting to see if this problem pops up on other peoples' machines, and for that matter how long my new adapter lasts assuming tender loving care.
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post #30 of 43
7/1/03 at 3:23pm
Thread Starter 

aww crap!!

just checked with UPS and the new adapter mistakenly routed to New York City. delayed for at least one day. uggghh!!
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post #31 of 43
7/2/03 at 2:20pm
Thread Starter 

ugh UPS letting me down

they shipped it to NYC by mistake but I was hopeful it would arrive only one day late today in Pittsburgh. no such luck. now it does not arrive until tomorrow at the earliest and I leave tomorrow before it arrives to go away for the 4th. I will have gone like 10 days straight no Sager. I'm in total withdrawal. the AGONY!
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post #32 of 43
7/2/03 at 6:40pm
I have yet to receive my 5670 so I can't answer directly to the plug issue; however, we have several electronics supply houses and PC electronic component parts houses in Dayton and a lot of "stuff" that a manufacturer purchases to "make" their products are available. Connector ends, wire, nuts, bolts, power supplies, etc. You wont' find Sager notebook cases but you might try supply houses in your area to find a connector just like they use and then you could make a new chord and splice it into the converter wire. Seems like you are about out of time, but you might try it to have a spare around the house.
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post #33 of 43
7/2/03 at 8:09pm
Thread Starter 

thanks

I would definitely try it to have a spare. thanks for the tip.
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post #34 of 43
7/3/03 at 12:07pm

You can try ...

Try explaining to your wife that there is no point in pulling the cord. You can continue on batteries for another hour.
If she needs your attention immediately she'd better kiss you gently on your neck from behind. Works wonders!

Regards,

Rado
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post #35 of 43
7/7/03 at 1:54pm
Thread Starter 

well

got the new power adapter, but now the battery wont take a charge. plus for some reason the wireless internet has been erratic. don't know if that is related ugh. everything was fine until my friggin wife attacked my comp. with no charge on the battery, pulling the plug in future will actually be quite effective. I did cycle the battery somewhat, and it is only 8 months old so I don't know what the heck with the no charge issue. uggghhh.
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post #36 of 43
7/7/03 at 2:24pm
#1: take the battery out make sure the notebook will boot with the battery out and with the new power supply.

#2: put the battery back in making sure it snaps in place (seated well).

#3: check the battery level and charging status with the o/s. Should have a battery indicator on the desktop.

#4: after all of this, if it still is not charging, call the free tech support line they should be able to help you debug it. (with the battery out and with power supply on and the notebook on, you should be able to measure voltage at the battery connection on the notebook side. This would tell you if the notebook charging circuit is working or not. If you have a voltmeter, they might want you check this, if so, they can tell you which wires to check.

#5: I believe these user forums are great but we tend to ignore using Sager Tech support. They should let you know at some point if they consider it a warranty issue.
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post #37 of 43
7/7/03 at 2:34pm
I think there are 2 possibilities.

1-When the power cord broke there was a momentary short-this could've affected both the laptop and the charger, just the laptop, or just the charger. By laptop, I mean that the charging logic or power supply could've been damaged.

2-While the laptop was out of service the battery discharged below a safe level and needs to be conditioned. Don't confuse this with memory effect; any battery that is discharged beyond its safe point for too long can take permanent damage. Not sure how the Sager behaves when off of AC power and with a dead battery, but if a small current is pulled the battery might have been discharged below a safe level.


In any case, between this thread and the thread about the PS shorting out by itself, I kinda wonder about the durability of these PS units. They are apparently pretty cheap.
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post #38 of 43
7/8/03 at 11:38am
Thread Starter 

how do you condition a battery that has discharged below a safe level?

Quote:
Originally posted by JeffL
the battery discharged below a safe level and needs to be conditioned.
uh oh, if this possibility occurred, how does one condition a battery? Hope it did not take permanent damage.

I will contact Sager tech support. that is a good suggestion. funny that my first instinct is to check here and not there testament to how good this forum is I guess.
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post #39 of 43
7/8/03 at 10:30pm
reconditioning the battery: normally not an issue with a good charging circuit.

www.vencon.com sells different versions of a professional battery analyzer starting around $300.00. It will analyze and recondition Li-Ion batteries as well as others.

I haven't received this one yet but I did order it. MH-C777Plus2 Universal Charger and Analyzer from www.mahaenergy.com $90.00 plus shipping. Their tech guys said 14.8V would work just fine because some manufactures rate the same battery at either 14.4v or 14.8v. The plus version has a LCD display showing charge rate, etc. I will have to fabricate my own "battery connector" to hook the charging wires to the battery but that is a minor issue. This charger is "external to the notebook" and can be used with different battery types as well as battery packs.

After I receive my 5670 and the MH-C777Plus2 charger I will post a review on how it works. I should have both by the end of this week. You could email sales@mahaenergy.com requesting information on reconditioning Li-Ion batteries with the charger, they might be able to shed some light on the issue for you.

It seems like you are out of luck with your notebook. Hope Sager tech support was able to help you. They advertise 72 hr. turnaround. Maybe it would be worth your time and expense to see if they would troubleshoot it for you. If they are willing to look at it, you will know for sure what the problem is and what it will take to fix it.
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post #40 of 43
7/8/03 at 11:09pm
Quote:
reconditioning the battery: normally not an issue with a good charging circuit.
But we don't know that the circuit is good.

Quote:
I haven't received this one yet but I did order it. MH-C777Plus2 Universal Charger and Analyzer from www.mahaenergy.com $90.00 plus shipping. Their tech guys said 14.8V would work just fine because some manufactures rate the same battery at either 14.4v or 14.8v.
You'd better check the voltage on that battery! Just because the carger is "Universal" does *not* mean it will work on all batteries!!!!

I can't stress it enough, if these things aren't exact you can damage the battery by overcharging it or overheating it, and too much load into the battery can cause it to explode.
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