On Fri, 04 Feb 2011 15:25:01 +0000, baron
wrote:


I' then opened the original chargers for both machines and both had
broken data wires at the plug end. I have 3 on their way at a fiver
each and if they work they will be cheap genuine chargers. ;-)

I presume you mean the chargers and not the plugs for them.

Sorry no, the output lead, strain relief bush and Dell 3 way tubular
plug.

I've yet to find a source for the 3 wire plug.

That's what I first looked for but took the lead assay as it probably
wouldn't have been much in it price wise. Ordered yesterday, arrived
today and I'm going in .... ;-)

I found this very interesting on Youtube (very well put together as
well):

http://preview.tinyurl.com/5r8rl79

I agree ! very interesting. It answers a couple of questions.

I guess if it's easy to implement (one wire and two legs at the
charger end) and cheap then I can see why they might.

We picked up a clone Dell charger that seems to advertise it's a 150W
device (it isn't, it's a 90W). Maybe someone found a batch of unwanted
chips or thought that responding with '150W' would make more kit
happy?

Sounds like someone has doctored the unit.

It's a clone so who knows. [1]


[1] My most recent challenge was a 13 month old Zanussi washing
machine I picked up on Freecycle. It had been written off by the
insurance Co with failed bearings as not being economical to repair
because the drum was in a /sealed/ plastic tub. I was also told by all
the whitegoods gurus that it was a lost cause but it's still running
very well some 18 months later. weg

Those washing machines with the plastic tubs are quite straight forward
to replace the bearings in. In fact I may still have a repair kit or
two kicking around.

Erm, plastic tubs yes, sealed (as in welded into one piece in the
factory) I believe less so. /IF/ you could get the drum out through
the mouth of the tub you would be ok but on these you can't.
Ironically the tub halves (front and back) were actually designed to
be bolted together with a gasket / seal but some bright spark
suggested they could save 10 screws, a seal and assembly time to they
were welded together after that. The typical 'repair' would be two new
tub halves, the screws, seal (the bearings you were going to replace
anyway) and I understand, different suspension mountings, hence the
write-off (at 13 months).

[2] The screen feels a bit floppy on the hinges so I'd like to check
that out and I'm going to fit a new power socket before she takes it
back up to Scotland (400 miles away).

The hinges are a weak point. Check the screws and make sure that they
are tight. If I recall there are three screws in each hinge bracket.

Noted.

Take Care. The wind is wicked at the moment.

It is indeed and that seems to have blown daughter and b/f some work
back up in Scotland as they are both tree surgeons. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[1] Enthused with the progress on these two machines I've picked up a
mates daughters Dell Studio 1535 that had a failed charger a while
back. We bought a replacement charger that I can now prove isn't fully
'Dell compatible' (no chip etc) but they bought a replacement battery
from eBay but that never worked. When you turn it on with the
replacement battery it says:

"Warning: The battery cannot be identified.
This system will be unable to charge this battery"

With the original battery in it says:

"This battery has experienced a permanent failure and needs to be
replaced".

I've since ordered an external charger that should be ok for most of
the Dell batteries so at least I can prove if it's the battery or the
laptop.