Dodgy Laptop Charger

pale blue dot cotton

I recently bought a laptop charger in a small store on Moore Street. The assistant didn't provide a receipt at the time of purchase so I requested one & she hand wrote it for me.

The charger worked fine for the first few weeks and then started making some very strange noises, and getting very warm, after about twenty minutes usage. It still charges the laptop but the noises are very high pitched screeching noises which are not only very irritating on my eardrums, but kind of worrying to hear coming from an electrical item.

I was about to go back in to return it but on checking the receipt I noticed she had wrote that I only had a one week warranty. Is this legal? Where do I stand? I bought it about a month ago.

Thanks.

Kimbot

pale blue dot cotton wrote: »

I recently bought a laptop charger in a small store on Moore Street. The assistant didn't provide a receipt at the time of purchase so I requested one & she hand wrote it for me.

The charger worked fine for the first few weeks and then started making some very strange noises, and getting very warm, after about twenty minutes usage. It still charges the laptop but the noises are very high pitched screeching noises which are not only very irritating on my eardrums, but kind of worrying to hear coming from an electrical item.

I was about to go back in to return it but on checking the receipt I noticed she had wrote that I only had a one week warranty. Is this legal? Where do I stand? I bought it about a month ago.

Thanks.

Was it a second hand charger or brand new?

jimmycrackcorm

as it is a shop that you purchased from then your statutory rights still apply.

pale blue dot cotton

Brand new. I thought I have some sort of electrical warranty, but am just not sure about the receipt that states '1 week warranty' on it.

whippet

if it is faulty .. the retailer can either repair, replace or refund. Judging by the nature of this shop based on your post I reckon a refund would be out of the question.

Now to the more important thing ... do not use this adaptor, do not accept a replacement and use that one either. Buy a genuine replamcent for the brand of laptop that you have and at least you can be safe in the knowledge that risk of your house burning down due to a dodgy spurious charger is less.

slimjimmc

You have statutory rights which are independent of any warranty. There is a sticky here at the top of the forum which explains things.

Is the charger correctly rated for the load you're drawing from it; it might still charge the battery or keep the laptop running while putting undue strain on the charger.

nuckeythompson

whippet wrote: »

if it is faulty .. the retailer can either repair, replace or refund. Judging by the nature of this shop based on your post I reckon a refund would be out of the question.

Now to the more important thing ... do not use this adaptor, do not accept a replacement and use that one either. Buy a genuine replamcent for the brand of laptop that you have and at least you can be safe in the knowledge that risk of your house burning down due to a dodgy spurious charger is less.

Exactly as this poster says. If it is from where I think it is its likely a counterfiet charger or at least does not meet EU safety specs. DO NOT use this any more. What some people don't realise this can give you a nastly shock also but more likely to overheat and potentially cause a fire

foggy_lad

OP you should have a look on Adverts.ie for a charger for your laptop, Filter out the shop sellers and anyone selling loads of chargers and you wont get dodgy cheap Chinese crap. most people when a laptop breaks or reaches its end of life will sell on some of the parts and the chargers are generally in good condition and safe.


As stated do not use the charger and return it to the store for a refund as they are obviously not competent to provide repair or replacement.

salamanca22

Your charger is actually fine.

Without getting too technical the reason for the screech is caused by using cheap components in the circuit specifically capacitors and transformers. It causes the frequency to be in the 100mHz->20kHz range which is audible to the human ear instead of the usual 20kHz-30kHz range.

It's just a sign of a cheap circuit and while it probably won't last as long as one from the laptop manufacturer there is nothing wrong with it and you get what you pay for basically.

The reason for the higher pitched noise when it is plugged in is because the circuit is is being "switched" faster with a higher power input->output rate.

No grounds for a refund or replacement.

nuckeythompson

salamanca22 wrote: »

Your charger is actually fine.

Without getting too technical the reason for the screech is caused by using cheap components in the circuit specifically capacitors and transformers. It causes the frequency to be in the 100mHz->20kHz range which is audible to the human ear instead of the usual 20kHz-30kHz range.

It's just a sign of a cheap circuit and while it probably won't last as long as one from the laptop manufacturer there is nothing wrong with it and you get what you pay for basically.

The reason for the higher pitched noise when it is plugged in is because the circuit is is being "switched" faster with a higher power input->output rate.

No grounds for a refund or replacement.

Yeah its fine alright till the cheap components cause a fire - not worth the savings getting cheap electronics

foggy_lad

salamanca22 wrote: »

Your charger is actually fine.

Without getting too technical the reason for the screech is caused by using cheap components in the circuit specifically capacitors and transformers. It causes the frequency to be in the 100mHz->20kHz range which is audible to the human ear instead of the usual 20kHz-30kHz range.

It's just a sign of a cheap circuit and while it probably won't last as long as one from the laptop manufacturer there is nothing wrong with it and you get what you pay for basically.

The reason for the higher pitched noise when it is plugged in is because the circuit is is being "switched" faster with a higher power input->output rate.

No grounds for a refund or replacement.

Not strictly true! the charger does not do what it is supposed to do or rather it behaves in a way it is NOT supposed to! Imagine if your television or DVD player made the same noise, it is still doing what it is supposed to do but still not fit for purpose!

salamanca22

foggy_lad wrote: »

Not strictly true! the charger does not do what it is supposed to do or rather it behaves in a way it is NOT supposed to! Imagine if your television or DVD player made the same noise, it is still doing what it is supposed to do but still not fit for purpose!

I assume it was not advertised as containing top quality capacitors and other components so there really is no grounds for any kind of replacement or refund as the item does what it is supposed to do. Charge the laptop.

There is no danger from the noise and unless there is some other underlying problem which the sound does not mean there is then like I said the charger is fit for purpose.

By the way the technology used that is causing the noise (High frequency transformers) is amazingly interesting (15KHz plus instead of 50Hz at the mains . Also only a certain % of people can actually hear the noise at all (I am one of those people)

Also since you claim to know it should not do this, I assume you have studied this phenomena? Not a dig or anything. Just curious as I have studied it in detail.

pale blue dot cotton

Thanks for the tips. I'm guessing this is why they stated a one week warranty, as it took a few weeks for this noise to sound. The problem now is that it's not just annoying, it's ear piercing and uncomfortable to be around.

delahuntv

nuckeythompson wrote: »

If it is from where I think it is its likely a counterfiet charger or at least does not meet EU safety specs. DO NOT use this any more. What some people don't realise this can give you a nastly shock also but more likely to overheat and potentially cause a fire

do you normally make false and unfounded allegations?

hint - this can get you into serious trouble. always have reliable FACTS that you can PROVE before asking stupid allegations.

btw - what can be "counterfeit" about an unbranded charger? They cost a few pence to make. It obviously wasn't branded and wasn't being passed off as a brand, so where does "counterfeit" come into it.

Does it conform to EU manufacturing regs for electrical product - almost certainly as to make such a simple item not to conform would probably be more expensive.

Basically, its faulty. The OP should return and either get a replacement or a refund.

coylemj

delahuntv wrote: »

hint - this can get you into serious trouble. always have reliable FACTS that you can PROVE before asking stupid allegations.

hint - you can't ASK an ALLEGATION.

How can the poster get into 'serious trouble'? Do you mean that the store in Moore St. has such a pristine reputation to protect that they're going to sue him for defamation?

Stop talking NONSENSE.

dudara

@delahuntv & coylemj - Please leave the moderating to the moderators.

dudara