Which Wire is Which?

unforeseen

PoGee said:

Pic is of damaged plug, which is sealed and wires. I took off the black plastic to expose copper wiring so can connect to new plug but got stumped as no brown or  blue plastic under black. The white dashed line is there, which is just about visible.

DO NOT WIRE A STANDARD PLUG TO THOSE WIRES!

You need a proper charger. 

Phantom151

That plug contains a transformer and looking at where the cable has been damaged, you need a new one as you won't be able to repair it safely. If the top of the transformer unclips or unscrews then it is possible to solder the connection back on but it looks like it is molded so no can do.

Edit: under no circumstance connect a normal 3 pin plug to those wires!

Belenus

I dislike those chargers where the cable comes out at the top when plugged into a normal socket.

That means that it is far more subject to bending and stress and often fails quickly, as it appears to have done in this case. It bends under its own weight and repeatedly stresses that section of cable.

I now wrap several turns of black insulation tape around the cable at the exit point in order to increase the curve radius when it bends and help it to last a lot longer.

Is there a reason why top exit cables are so common?

Phantom151

Belenus said:

Is there a reason why top exit cables are so common?

I think they are meant to go under a table whatever they are charging on top of the table. It's the only thing that makes sense to me as if the wire exited below then the strain would be the other way.

grumbler

There has to be the output voltage printed on the power supply (the 'plug).

You can replace it with a universal one like this

This will possibly require soldering the cables directly or buying a 'female' socket for one of supplied tips.

Or just google for a power supply for you particular phone.

PoGee

Thank you for replies everyone. I'm glad I didn't just wire it to a standard plug and hope for the best but wrote here instead. So glad I got this advice. Could have killed someone.

Belenus

Phantom151 said:

Belenus said:

Is there a reason why top exit cables are so common?

I think they are meant to go under a table whatever they are charging on top of the table. It's the only thing that makes sense to me as if the wire exited below then the strain would be the other way.

Unless the cable is very short, a bottom exiting cable still makes sense to me as there is less strain around the exit with a cable gently looping upwards.

A top exiting cable bends sharply under the weight of the cable, a bottom exiting one far less so.

I have had a few top exiting cables fail but never a bottom exiting one.

prowla

Oh boy - connecting that to a mains plug would've been dangerous and likely resulted in a bang plus a significant whiff of burning plastic!

The best thing is to just buy another wall-wart.

You should be able to see the rating of the old one printed on it, typically 5V, 9V, or 12V DC, plus some number of A or mA (eg. 500 mA, 1 A, 2 A), along with the Centre +ve or -ve designation.

casper_gutman

You need a replacement mains adapter that outputs the same voltage as the one you have, and that's capable of supplying at least the same current.

If the old one's rated at e.g. 9 volts and 1 amp you would be fine with one rated at 9 volts and 2 amps but a 9 V 0.5 A one won't be suitable.

You also need to be careful to get the polarity right, i.e. don't swap the positive and negative terminals over. You can either find an adapter with the right plug on it, by a universal one with different swappable plugs, or buy one with any old connector, cut the plug off and connect it to the cable you have already.

Bendy_House

PoGee said:

Thank you for replies everyone. I'm glad I didn't just wire it to a standard plug and hope for the best but wrote here instead. So glad I got this advice. Could have killed someone.

I think the resulting bang would have been quite awesome. That was a close call.

Search eBay and t'net in general for a replacement 'power adaptor' for that make and model of phone - good chance you can pick one up for around a £iver.

That black plug thingy will have printed on it the output DC voltage and current, and whether the end plug tip is +ve or -ve (see the diagrams in a previous post). It can be a 'mare to find a suitable adaptor unless it's stated as being for that actual phone - there are numerous DC plug sizes, some of which look similar but have slightly different central hole sizes. A 'mare.

Having wired some devices recently to a similar type of adaptor, and having to first cut off the DC plug, I am pretty certain in my recollection is that the white dashed cable is the +ve.