AC adaptors.... please guide me :-)

salvador2

I have a Seagate Expansion 2TB external drive (BTW I don't recommend them.... lots of people complaining about this 2TB model)

One issue this drive has is that it keeps going off and on, something wrong with its power management. So, on this occasion I completely forgot to disconnect the drive from the mains after use and the last time I came to use it the drive appeared completely dead.

A quick search revealed this power management issue so I checked the output of the AC adaptor and it Zero - no output. Seagate warranty policy is rubbish.... they will give me a new drive but I lose all my data.

Someone said in a forum that he made it work with the AC adaptor of his router..... so off I went looking for a 12v AC adaptor. Found one, plugged it in and I saw the green light come on (fantastic I thought) plugged the USB cable into my PC and nothing. Noticed the AC adaptor got a little hot but normal I'd say. Measured output and it was dead, no output.
So as soon as the drive needed to do some work it killed the adaptor - like it's drawing too much current.

Now, the thing that is bothering me...... the guy who suggested the router adaptor said 12v and 2.5 A

The drive original AC adaptor says 12v and 1.5 A

The router's adaptor (killed by the drive) says 12v and 2000mA

Did I use an under rated adaptor?

Or is possible that the problem lies with external drive unit?

Any ideas would be welcome.....


Just purchased a new adaptor FOR this external drive - plenty of them on ebay (goes to show that it's a well know problem with this particular drive) - I don't really want to kill another adaptor and blow £10 in the process :-)

markdavey

If the original adapter quotes 12v 1.5a then you are using a higher rated transformer (12v 2000mA which is 2a). I would suggest the drive itself is faulty and is drawing more current than it should. Its likely to fry another PSU if thats the case.

sillygoose

If your meter has a suitable range such as a 10amp DC current range you could separate the cores in a section of the DC cable on the new supply. Cut the one core and insert the meter in line (wrap around the probes and tape over). Power it up briefly and see how much is being drawn and progress from there. Short spells of power-on shouldn't kill the power supply mediately.

I agree it may well be the hard drive is struggling to spin up and they can draw a lot of current.

salvador2

thanks for all the replies.

I'm inclined to agree with you both.

Thanks again.

Mankysteve

Dismantle the drive it will be normal hardrive inside and try plugging that directly into a pc.

flashg67

Mankysteve wrote: »

Dismantle the drive it will be normal hardrive inside and try plugging that directly into a pc.

As above, or buy a new caddy to suit the drive - can be had for under £10 including adapter

ListysDad

Sorry Mark but before you go leaping in like that first off check the new adapter you've tried is AC or DC?

Normally, drives take either 12v DC or a combination 12vDC and 5vDC.

The other thing is you can only use a properly regulated supply not a cheap !!!!! non regulated one. An unregulated 12v wall wart can have an op as high as 16vDC on a low load. Typically they only drop to the rated 12v on hi load. This means you MIGHT have damaged the drive further. The only way to determine whether you have a decent supply is to measure it one a low load or physically pull it apart. Its its just a transformer, 4 diodes and a capacitor then it's the cheepie. It needs some form of regulator to be a decent supply.
David