What? Can you clarify? You are plugging in a laptop charger and the temperature is getting so high that it is melting parts of the device. Your plan is to cut apart a certain wire and replace it? That seems like a really bad plan dude! Further, I don't think wires just heat up from having electricity passed through them. Doesn't heat come from electrical resistance?

RaGe

Belgium9947 Posts

December 29 2009 16:57 GMT

On December 30 2009 01:49 Chill wrote:
What? Can you clarify? You are plugging in a laptop charger and the temperature is getting so high that it is melting parts of the device. Your plan is to cut apart a certain wire and replace it? That seems like a really bad plan dude! Further, I don't think wires just heat up from having electricity passed through them. Doesn't heat come from electrical resistance?

Probably a factory failure in the wire or part of the wire that got broken/disconnected, causing it to have more electrical resistance/surface area than usual.
Every wire has electrical resistance, but for well conducting wires it should be pretty low.

edit: it's however pretty much impossible that the entire length of the wire is hot. It's probably at a certain fixed point.

Xeofreestyler

Belgium6768 Posts

December 29 2009 17:09 GMT

The better it conducts, the less heat it will produce.

789

United States959 Posts

December 29 2009 17:48 GMT

Copper is standard. If the cable you are using is in working order and rated for the current you are putting through it there should be no problem. The fact that things are getting so hot suggests there is either a fault or too much current is going through the wire.

Anyway, the type of conductor shouldn't matter much. Just make sure the wire is of a proper gauge size and is made properly.

Edit: Also make sure what you are using actually matches what the laptop needs. The adaptor output should match in voltage and be able to supply at least as much current the laptop draws. Also make sure the adaptor input matches what you are plugging it into. Voltage and frequency vary around the world.

Bill Murray

United States9292 Posts

December 29 2009 17:48 GMT

is there an amount you can charge it at a time where it will still be beneficial and not overheat? like charge it halfway, take it off for an hour, and charge it the rest of the way kind of thing

ZerglingShepherd

Canada99 Posts

December 29 2009 17:49 GMT

Copper or aluminum would always be a good start. Like Xeofreestyler said, good electrical conductors are generally also good thermal conductors (look up Wiedemann-Franz law if you're interested), which is what you would want to dissipate any generated heat as quickly as possible. So if your faulty wire has a high resistance at only one point, that would be enough to heat up the entire wire like hell, thanks to the good thermal conductivity.

lIlIlIlIlIlI

Korea (South)3851 Posts

December 29 2009 17:58 GMT

--- Nuked ---

789

United States959 Posts

December 29 2009 18:03 GMT

Oh the connector is broken? Well, you're going to need something smooth of the same size and thickness. I think your main problem is surface area, if you're not making a good smooth contact there will be heat transfer issues. And you need to make sure you're going to have enough material to act like a heat sink.

Edit: If it were me personally, I would purchase a new connector and solder the cable to it. Then get some heat shrinking rubber around where you soldered the wires on. Or just buy a new adaptor.

lIlIlIlIlIlI

Korea (South)3851 Posts

December 29 2009 18:13 GMT

#10

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alpskomleko

Slovenia950 Posts

December 29 2009 18:18 GMT

#11

What you need is a wire made of unobtainium. If you can't get that due to EFTA regulations in your part of the world, alternatively look for handwavium.

789

United States959 Posts

December 29 2009 18:18 GMT

#12

I can't see the diagram. My work has most picture uploading websites blocked. I think I understand the situation though. The barrel connector on the end of your adaptor that plugs into the laptop got broken. The metal cylinder is missing. If you want to use the same adaptor, I would buy a new barrel connector and solder the adaptor to it. They aren't very expensive, and it isn't very hard if you have the equipment.

789

United States959 Posts

December 29 2009 18:21 GMT

#13

Either copper or aluminium should work fine. Also make sure you have the polarities right. If you reverse them that would cause problems as well.

Myrmidon

United States9452 Posts

December 29 2009 18:29 GMT

#14

From what I can tell from the description and diagram (may be off)...The inside is stranded copper wire probably, and it got frayed at least partially from repeated physical stress. Some of the strands ended up getting loose and wrapping around the connector.

I would imagine that the loose strands you can see or other strands are going where they're not supposed to be. So you're getting short circuits. Short circuits would explain the overheating easily. Any type of ordinary wire rated for the proper current should work--the problem is that the wire is broken or breaking.

Just buy a new adapter, or actually just get a new cord because that's all you need. If you don't know that much about electricity and wiring, you shouldn't probably be trying to rig up a fix on your own. (safety concerns and all)

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