El Reg reports
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.[1]
"The Adapter that connects to the computer is not being recalled. Do not discard the adapter. Lenovo apologizes for the inconvenience caused by this issue. Shipment of quality products always has been and continues to be the foremost concern."
The power cords were sold between February 2011 and June 2012, and are easy to identify. They are black and have LS-15 printed on the head. Lenovo's website also has a serial number checker for identification.
So far there have been no reports of the power cables burning up in the US, but 15 cases have been logged in Asia, with no injuries. The cause of the problem is dodgy insulation in the power cord itself which degrades over time and allows the cables to overheat.
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Monday December 15 2014, @07:32PM
I had a IBM(!) thinkpad that caught fire in my lap.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday December 15 2014, @11:05PM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Bot on Monday December 15 2014, @07:43PM
So, if I got the FAQ right, they expect 7 to 10 days before having the replacement cord.
Laptop down because they couldn't employ the standard power cords that worked flawlessly for decades...
Fuq.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 4, Informative) by frojack on Monday December 15 2014, @07:57PM
And of course this cord is JUST nonstandard enough that you can't subsitiute any of the other 6 spares you have in your box of recycled computer parts.
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NzAwWDcwMA==/z/I4IAAOxy4YdTUSzj/$_57.JPG [ebayimg.com]
You can get the charger and the cord for less than $10 if you shop around.
So far, all the failures are in 240 volt countries.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by Tork on Monday December 15 2014, @08:17PM
And of course this cord is JUST nonstandard enough that you can't subsitiute any of the other 6 spares you have in your box of recycled computer parts.
This is something Apple got right. My 2012 Macbook Pro is using a power cable from 2008.
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday December 15 2014, @08:29PM
And yet my wife's ibook from back in the day went through 3 power cords because the design kept breaking.
How weird and wrong is it that the infinitely more complex computer itself breaks less than the dumb cord that powers it?
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by Tork on Monday December 15 2014, @08:32PM
How weird and wrong is it that the infinitely more complex computer itself breaks less than the dumb cord that powers it?
The moving part breaks more often than the solid part. It's not really that surprising.
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 2) by gman003 on Monday December 15 2014, @08:38PM
MOST companies get this right. My current power brick uses the ubiquitous C14 cable - I have a half-dozen *spares* at home, and my office has a double-wide drawer full of them, in various lengths and colors. And it's fucking Asus! They're horrible, and yet they were still smart enough to use a plain old cable.
(Score: 2) by Tork on Monday December 15 2014, @08:45PM
MOST companies get this right.
Really? I've had Compaqs, Toshibas, Gateways, Dells, and even a couple of Sony laptops and have never seen interchangable adapters. Heh... what I have seen are Alienware laptops with powerbricks as big as XBOX 360 bricks. I'd be very happy to learn that in the last five years laptop manufacturers have figured out that they can simplify their product line by standardizing on their power cords, at least internally.
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 3, Insightful) by bob_super on Monday December 15 2014, @08:52PM
It took the EU parliament to force the smartphone manufacturers to standardise, and they mostly have similar power requirements.
I can't imagine the amount of money Apple would spent to lobby against a 200W-capable plug being the mandatory standard for the Air line...
(Score: 2) by frojack on Tuesday December 16 2014, @04:29AM
Actually, the only non-interchangable part on all 4 laptops in his house is the size of the jack on the laptop itself.
The rest of the charger is dead on identical, for voltage and polarity among two different dells a Toshiba and
and an old sony.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 3, Informative) by tonyPick on Tuesday December 16 2014, @02:55PM
Also to add to this there's the nasty "safety" feature on Dell laptops, where if you use a non-standard supply brick (i.e. swap out the custom Dell brick for something with standard plug and a universal connector) the BIOS spots it and downclocks the cores to the lowest rating....
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dell_Inspiron#Power_supply_issues)
(Score: 2) by VLM on Monday December 15 2014, @08:30PM
JUST nonstandard enough
Sure thats not a boring IEC C5 connector? Those are about as standard as C13 connectors although not as popular.
I wouldn't put it past them to do something really stupid like make it 75% size or use slightly wrong diameters just to lock in higher single source profits, but...
(Score: 4, Insightful) by gman003 on Monday December 15 2014, @08:15PM
There are dozens of standard cables for just this purpose, for varying power loads. IEC 60320, for example - my own laptop adapter uses C13, just like both of my desktops, but previous laptops have used C5 or C7.
I can't see how the pennies they may have saved by making a worse one was worth the cost of designing and producing their own, and maintaining a separate supply line (since I assume some of their laptops *were* using standard cables, since the recall specifies certain models).
(Score: 2) by Konomi on Monday December 15 2014, @11:43PM
I really really really have to wonder how you can mess up an AC cord, must be a lot of cost cutting out there it's probably one of the most basic parts of a power brick. Just shows how far companies are willing to go to save a buck, even a few that are held a little higher than others like Lenovo.
(Score: 2) by sudo rm -rf on Tuesday December 16 2014, @02:39PM
Thanks for the hint, I just finished filling out the little quiz on their website and won a new power cord!