I, too, am a victim of the faulty power supply. I have a version 1.0 Xbox that originally had a Foxlink power supply unit.
However, last year, I noticed a burnt plastic smell and traced it to my Xbox. I quickly removed the power cable and disassembled it. One of the solder joints had completely exploded, leaving only a hole with charred edges around it. It took me a while to notice this at first, though, since it was on the underside of the PSU. So I plugged it back in and turned it on, unaware of the problem. Most people say that the Xbox will only spark, but mine had a visible flame inside of the Xbox.
However, since I hadn't heard many reports of this, I figured it was a rare and unique problem. And since my warranty was void from opening the console, I simply bought another PSU from eBay. (Coincidentally, this PSU blew in less than an hour. I'm not sure if this was an effect of the first faulty PSU.) So after that, I borrowed a friend's Xbox until I had enough money to buy a new PSU. And now that I have that, it works fine.
I may have thrown my old PSU out, so I don't think I can take pictures. But if I do manage to find it, I will try to upload.
Full Version: The Power Cord Conspiracy
i just pulled my PSU 2 look at the joints on it, and theres no black or brown discoloration around the points, tho there looks 2 be some scratchy ness when u look at it to catch a glare, and if u look close enough straight on(no glare) there is a hint of white to the green area around it. it's a Delta in a 1.2/1.3 and MS has sent me 3 cords when i only have 2 machines? 1 is that bulky ass 1
tho they told me that just my 1 machine needed it, and i requested 1 for the other machine, so i dunno what the fuck is goin on here, trying to figure out if this psu needs repair or not like every1 else
has any1 here had a machine burn up that had a chip installed? and if so did u contact MS, and how did u/they deal with that fuckup?
tho they told me that just my 1 machine needed it, and i requested 1 for the other machine, so i dunno what the fuck is goin on here, trying to figure out if this psu needs repair or not like every1 else
has any1 here had a machine burn up that had a chip installed? and if so did u contact MS, and how did u/they deal with that fuckup?
hi all i have a ver 1.1 xbox which has a delta power supply, i took the supply out today and had a look, and all is fine, no cracks in the joints and no signs of charing or burning 
so fingers crossed it stays like that and my house dont burn down 
love xbox scene and the forum, keep up the good work
cheers
pickie
so fingers crossed it stays like that and my house dont burn down love xbox scene and the forum, keep up the good work
cheers
pickie
So wait a second, if when I put my power cord into my xbox a few sparks fly thats not right is it?
Because this has always happened to me when I insert it and I always thought it was a one off, there not big sparks just little white ones that hurt a little upon touching the skin... This means I have the faulty foxlink PSU I take it?
Because this has always happened to me when I insert it and I always thought it was a one off, there not big sparks just little white ones that hurt a little upon touching the skin... This means I have the faulty foxlink PSU I take it?
People using a backup-UPS on the xbox with the new GFI type cord might have problems.
I've had the power go out, but my TV and Xbox are on a UPS so no worries for a few minutes while the UPS batt holds out....
Not so with the new GFI cord.
The dumb thing popped off after like 30 seconds running on the UPS backup.
Sort of defeats the purpose of using a UPS on the xbox now...
I've had the power go out, but my TV and Xbox are on a UPS so no worries for a few minutes while the UPS batt holds out....
Not so with the new GFI cord.
The dumb thing popped off after like 30 seconds running on the UPS backup.
Sort of defeats the purpose of using a UPS on the xbox now...
I might get alot of flames, but I think this is not MS problem. A 1.0 and 1.2 xbox puts it at what over 3 years old? Mine is a day one 1.0 and never had any problems, looked and joints are fine. In my spare time I have had many xbox owners bring me there xbox to fix and found everything from trashed HD to busted av port on back and found %98 of to be the owners fault. The one kid said he got pissed at a game and threw is xbox and now it only works some times. The HD was bad and the power cord connection was half ripped out from throwing it wile it was plugged in!
Im not saying all cases are like this, but any hardware that has a plug like that and is abused(unpluged and repluged many times a month) is going to go bad. Im an electrician and before that I was an electronics tech in the army, I Don't see this as MS fault. I feel they did more than they had to by sending out a proper safety cord. The GFI cord will prevent any problems that may occur and disconnect the power in Milliseconds! yes Milliseconds, thats how fast a GFI works!
That is my .02
Im not saying all cases are like this, but any hardware that has a plug like that and is abused(unpluged and repluged many times a month) is going to go bad. Im an electrician and before that I was an electronics tech in the army, I Don't see this as MS fault. I feel they did more than they had to by sending out a proper safety cord. The GFI cord will prevent any problems that may occur and disconnect the power in Milliseconds! yes Milliseconds, thats how fast a GFI works!
That is my .02
QUOTE(jimk72 @ Mar 20 2005, 08:22 AM)
I might get alot of flames, but I think this is not MS problem. A 1.0 and 1.2 xbox puts it at what over 3 years old? Mine is a day one 1.0 and never had any problems, looked and joints are fine. In my spare time I have had many xbox owners bring me there xbox to fix and found everything from trashed HD to busted av port on back and found %98 of to be the owners fault. The one kid said he got pissed at a game and threw is xbox and now it only works some times. The HD was bad and the power cord connection was half ripped out from throwing it wile it was plugged in!
Im not saying all cases are like this, but any hardware that has a plug like that and is abused(unpluged and repluged many times a month) is going to go bad. Im an electrician and before that I was an electronics tech in the army, I Don't see this as MS fault. I feel they did more than they had to by sending out a proper safety cord. The GFI cord will prevent any problems that may occur and disconnect the power in Milliseconds! yes Milliseconds, thats how fast a GFI works!
That is my .02
Im not saying all cases are like this, but any hardware that has a plug like that and is abused(unpluged and repluged many times a month) is going to go bad. Im an electrician and before that I was an electronics tech in the army, I Don't see this as MS fault. I feel they did more than they had to by sending out a proper safety cord. The GFI cord will prevent any problems that may occur and disconnect the power in Milliseconds! yes Milliseconds, thats how fast a GFI works!
That is my .02
Thats fine and dandy, but thats not what is going on here. I personally have fixed countless Foxlink PS's because of this. Although I will say this. It seems, well in my cases anyways, that it is more apt to happen to customers who move their XBOX, unplugging and replugging it back in alot.
MS needs to address this issue qith another solution besides replacing cords.
On a side note 400
Saw HD's news post thought I'd reply
I've got 2 consoles that are affected, both 1.0, both with Foxlink, and both with cracked solder jobs, my first launch xbox, had both prongs broken (just like everyone else's) causing it to be incredibly wobbly when plugged in and spark occassionally, the 2nd I received from a friend recently because it was broken, crack it open to find it's got the same problem, just on one prong though, fixed both, and figured I'd take a look at my other boxes - "just in case" type of thing. Well 2 other of my consoles have Foxlinks, but their power prongs/encasing is different, not only is it attached via the solder joints and prongs, but the plastic boot was extended on both sides of the connection and riveted down to the power supply. In my opinion then, Foxlink themselves knew it was a bad design right after 1.0 and 1.1's and changed it, but I sure didn't get a letter then
I've got 2 consoles that are affected, both 1.0, both with Foxlink, and both with cracked solder jobs, my first launch xbox, had both prongs broken (just like everyone else's) causing it to be incredibly wobbly when plugged in and spark occassionally, the 2nd I received from a friend recently because it was broken, crack it open to find it's got the same problem, just on one prong though, fixed both, and figured I'd take a look at my other boxes - "just in case" type of thing. Well 2 other of my consoles have Foxlinks, but their power prongs/encasing is different, not only is it attached via the solder joints and prongs, but the plastic boot was extended on both sides of the connection and riveted down to the power supply. In my opinion then, Foxlink themselves knew it was a bad design right after 1.0 and 1.1's and changed it, but I sure didn't get a letter then
This is the weird thing, your ALL having the problem with the foxlink psu right? well i had the same fuckin problem with my delta! maybe they just had really bad development in that time period =/ that psu ended up dieing, i guess i didnt fix it fast enough, i just kept fuckin around with the cord to make it work , lol.
Yes I had that PSU problem like a couple of weeks ago with my v1.0 (i think it was one week before the recall 
)
My xbox suddenly turned off and smelled like burnt plastic.
I immediately disconnected it and opened it up.
looked around and the solder points of the power cord connector where busted and that where it arked between the solder and the metal connector.
Easy fix but a hell of a scare.
And yes I think that if you unplug and replug your xbox a lot( kind of what I do moving it around a lot) then your definetly more succeptible to this failure.
the problem isn't the solder points, it's the fact that the connecter is not fixed to the psu by any other means. the only thing holding it in place are the solder points. anyone knows that solder isn't the best glue around and if your consistently applying force to the connector it will eventually break the solder connection causing a fire hazard.
)My xbox suddenly turned off and smelled like burnt plastic.
I immediately disconnected it and opened it up.
looked around and the solder points of the power cord connector where busted and that where it arked between the solder and the metal connector.
Easy fix but a hell of a scare.
And yes I think that if you unplug and replug your xbox a lot( kind of what I do moving it around a lot) then your definetly more succeptible to this failure.
the problem isn't the solder points, it's the fact that the connecter is not fixed to the psu by any other means. the only thing holding it in place are the solder points. anyone knows that solder isn't the best glue around and if your consistently applying force to the connector it will eventually break the solder connection causing a fire hazard.
QUOTE
might get alot of flames, but I think this is not MS problem. A 1.0 and 1.2 xbox puts it at what over 3 years old? Mine is a day one 1.0 and never had any problems, looked and joints are fine.
Thats fine and I am glad yours is ok but even if it were only a few boxes this is a potential safety and fire hazard and I think Ms is under obligation to correct this correctly by making the Xbox safe not just chucking an RCD protection device at everyone. The wording they have used in the press is very convenient when they describe at is a Power cord problem , which its clearly not. I have checked all 3 of my V1 and they are ok but if they were not the pics would be up here to build the case in point.
sent MS a email and then replied to send a email to the xbox team lol of course they haven't replied yet . sent both the following email and no replies . it was sent out last month .
I see that MS is now sending out replacement cords for the xbox power supply problem . Which it is not the cord and it is the Foxlink power supply solder joints where the connector is soldered onto the board is weak . Meaning when the solder breaks which it will , it could cause sparks , fire , and no power to the PSU . Sending out a cord with a built in surge protector is not going to solve this problem , and why did MS wait so long to fix a defect with there product . It took MS what 2 to 3 years to fix this problem when they stopped installing foxlink and moved to a delta power supply . After the changed was made the problem was fixed 2 to 3 years later . But now your offering a replacement cord for the people who still own the older systems , which won't solve the problem . What happens to the people who bought the xbox before october 2003 that had the power supply problem , there was no recall until now but for something that only prevents fire and sparks but doesn't totaly fix the problem . I bought a xbox when it first came out and about a year later it had the same problem , no recall was issued . MS quoted on the phone that I would have to pay for shipping , parts and labor which was more than the xbox is worth now . I thought that there would be a recall on it so I hung onto it , but of course there wasn't one . So i got rid of it last summer . I know own 2 xboxs , which i'm still down one xbox . I have 3 gaming rooms in my house and of course one is not being used . This problem needs to be resolved soon !
I see that MS is now sending out replacement cords for the xbox power supply problem . Which it is not the cord and it is the Foxlink power supply solder joints where the connector is soldered onto the board is weak . Meaning when the solder breaks which it will , it could cause sparks , fire , and no power to the PSU . Sending out a cord with a built in surge protector is not going to solve this problem , and why did MS wait so long to fix a defect with there product . It took MS what 2 to 3 years to fix this problem when they stopped installing foxlink and moved to a delta power supply . After the changed was made the problem was fixed 2 to 3 years later . But now your offering a replacement cord for the people who still own the older systems , which won't solve the problem . What happens to the people who bought the xbox before october 2003 that had the power supply problem , there was no recall until now but for something that only prevents fire and sparks but doesn't totaly fix the problem . I bought a xbox when it first came out and about a year later it had the same problem , no recall was issued . MS quoted on the phone that I would have to pay for shipping , parts and labor which was more than the xbox is worth now . I thought that there would be a recall on it so I hung onto it , but of course there wasn't one . So i got rid of it last summer . I know own 2 xboxs , which i'm still down one xbox . I have 3 gaming rooms in my house and of course one is not being used . This problem needs to be resolved soon !
who will bring this subject in court.
xbox-scene vs m$!! it will be more interesting to follow then the wacko jacko case.
xbox-scene vs m$!! it will be more interesting to follow then the wacko jacko case.
QUOTE(Wolfblade13 @ Feb 24 2005, 02:38 PM)
The european (or at least the dutch) cables are different and smaller 
what we recieve
the cable
the difference
what we recieve
the cable
the difference
everywhere in europe is the same except for UK
My PSU had this problem a very long time ago and until now I thought it was normal malfunction. The strange thing is, just like COTA-GodlyOne, My burnt psu is a delta and my xbox was later than 1.2. Im pretty sure it's the same problem because it matches word for word with everyone's description of the symptoms. Also I did unplug and plug in my xbox frequently when traveling between houses.
At the time I posted my problem a while ago, everyone was clueless but now that I have read that it can be soldered and used again, I sure am glad I saved it.
At the time I posted my problem a while ago, everyone was clueless but now that I have read that it can be soldered and used again, I sure am glad I saved it.
THe new cabels without The Ground Fault detectors have a different shaped head preventing people from forcing the plug to far in no matter how much solder u place over the conectiopns the contact area on the board will be the same if you wish to protect your xbox plug the cord in slowly and stop when it hits the back and do not push your xbox back against things wich might force the cord in further and i fyou want ultimate pertection remove the power conecter from its current postition on the board and use high gauge wires an place the conecter else where that way if you push to hard there will be no probs
ignore any spelling problems and ignorance blame it on my ADD
ignore any spelling problems and ignorance blame it on my ADD
dbzfanhater, that makes a lot of sense. Now I understand why some people are getting "the same" cord. MS still should be replacing PSUs though because of the people whos PSUs have already fried and dont have the know-how to fix it themselves.
What is weird though is that 1.0-1.2 gets a GFI thing on their cord while the later models only get a new cord. So by giving us a new reshaped cord they are indicating that they know the problem can occur in later xboxes (such as mine and COTA's) yet we don't get a GFI thing on our cord. Why????????
What is weird though is that 1.0-1.2 gets a GFI thing on their cord while the later models only get a new cord. So by giving us a new reshaped cord they are indicating that they know the problem can occur in later xboxes (such as mine and COTA's) yet we don't get a GFI thing on our cord. Why????????
QUOTE(Jackco @ Mar 20 2005, 05:09 PM)
everywhere in europe is the same except for UK
one word: bullshit
read this topic again. a bulky one for the 1.0/1.1 and regular cables for the rest.
dude, already 4 posts. but now its time to stfu!
QUOTE(manu_xl @ Mar 1 2005, 12:44 PM)
i too received the ugly power cord. ive checked my psu. its a delta one with nice clear solder joints. i still use my old cable. i think i will sell my new one on ebay
maybe about a year ago, i had brought my chipped 1.0 down to the local coffeeshop to play some soulcalibur2. i plugged the cord into the back of the xbox, and as soon as i put the plug end into the wall, a decent electric-sounding POP came from my xbox, along with some bad-smelling, but not quite black smoke. she was fried. i brought it over to a friend's with a soldering iron, we opened her up, looked her over, and we found where the explosion happened, on the power supply. now, i'm not a hardware person myself, but with nothing to lose at this point, was fine with trying whatever. the solution looked pretty obvious. we saw a nickel-sized spot of solder, a nickel-sized smoldering hole, and another nickel-sized spot of solder, all in a row. so, we filled up the smoldering hole with solder to match the others, booted her up, and she's been running fine ever since.
who knows if this applies or is common, it's just what happened to me. sorry no pix, too long ago.
Anyone want to put out a REAL estimate of how often this occurs? It sure as hell isnt 1 in 10,000.
If I had to guess at this point, it seems like maybe 1 in 500.
If I had to guess at this point, it seems like maybe 1 in 500.
QUOTE(mksoftware @ Mar 20 2005, 01:10 PM)
I checked my european Xbox 1.0 today. The PSU looks completely fine, it is a Delta PSU, no need to fix anything! Some sources say the very first Xbox 1.0 consoles don't suffer from this problem, but the newer 1.0/1.1 Xbox consoles seem to have trouble. My Xbox is from February 22 2002 which is a really early European release. I would like to know manufacturer dates of the consoles suffering from the problem. I don't have to worry about my Xbox, but I am using the Power Cord because it is longer
For me, the only thing to worry about is to replace my GPU fan, because it is old and making lots of noise
For me, the only thing to worry about is to replace my GPU fan, because it is old and making lots of noise
I have a first release 1.0 XBox here in the US. It too has a Delta power supply, but they did send me one of those crazy looking replacement cords with the AFI on it.
I have a 1.0 box and I had to re-solder it after the unit stopped working (sparking, smoke). This was about 2 weeks before MS announced the cord replacement. It works fine now, didn't bother getting the replacement cord.
Havent read this thread, but just going to leave my input because a couple of weeks ago, my xbox sparked, smelled like burnt plastic and stopped powering on.. basically i had soldered the underside pads and they held fine, it was the metal on the top of the board sparking with the first orange circular fuse caused a small fire, unsoldered the bottoms and blew the fuse, i fixed it using the tut on the main page for adding an inline fuse, after this i recieved my replacement cord, so i can't say weither or not that would have helped. anyway i took a couple of pics, none after i fixed it..sorry for the shitty photography.
.sith.
.sith.
`Have a v1.1 console and a v1.4 console, so I got my hands on both the regular issue bulky ass fault interrupt cord (In a box that was shipped from some Omnipack company here in Canada) and their excuse for a special cord (shipped from the states in a paper envelope).
The 1.4 isn't mine though so I can't really break it open for pictures. My v1.1 though makes alot of light crackling, new power cord or not. This console doesn't even go through alot of heavy use (I've unplugged the power cord in the rear maybe two or three times in its lifespan).
Might not be serious but in certain situations it could cause a serious fire, or if you were using a fumigation bomb or something it could cause an explosion (Unlikely, but eh, whatever).
The 1.4 isn't mine though so I can't really break it open for pictures. My v1.1 though makes alot of light crackling, new power cord or not. This console doesn't even go through alot of heavy use (I've unplugged the power cord in the rear maybe two or three times in its lifespan).
Might not be serious but in certain situations it could cause a serious fire, or if you were using a fumigation bomb or something it could cause an explosion (Unlikely, but eh, whatever).
Wow this is more serious than i thought thank god for XS I opened my xbox 1.0v up and found my solder points to be cracked brown and burnt. not to mention the spot welding like marks in the shortout protection plastic.... i have yet to check any other xboxs but im sure it has happend on manny more than 1 in 10,000..
i didnt know it was this big issue, as of a year and a half ago i was fixing this power supply issue. what i did was stick metal robs from one point to another... simply solder even the heavy stuff wont fix it... you have to use thick lead to make it hold. i have done about 20 power supply fix's but i always thought it was because the people liked to disconnect and reconnect the power supply.
~Smokey
~Smokey
I have foxlink power supplys in 1.2/1.3 and two 1.4 are they at risk?
I was sent normal small cable not big bulky one also it sounds like lot of people here arnt using common sence why are they plugging the lead at back of xb in when the powers running through it you should plug that end in first before you plug the wall socket end in.
I was sent normal small cable not big bulky one also it sounds like lot of people here arnt using common sence why are they plugging the lead at back of xb in when the powers running through it you should plug that end in first before you plug the wall socket end in.
in reply to the news topic on main page..
I have had 3 power supplies fail due to faulty soldering from factory all foxlink and not all MINE just 3 that have passed by me to fix..
I am not sure it is right to say faulty soldering as it looks like the pushing of the power plug INTO the power supply seems to move the "poles" leading to the solder joints... they just seem to move way too much...causing a hollow solder joint to be created.
Refilling the joint will fix it... however I am just not sure HOW LONG it will last.. So far it has lasted for months.. but is it because of better soldering job.. or because the user stops unplugging and plugging in their xbox as much?
Either way.. they have lasted longer than the user had it before it burnt up.
I have had 3 power supplies fail due to faulty soldering from factory all foxlink and not all MINE just 3 that have passed by me to fix..
I am not sure it is right to say faulty soldering as it looks like the pushing of the power plug INTO the power supply seems to move the "poles" leading to the solder joints... they just seem to move way too much...causing a hollow solder joint to be created.
Refilling the joint will fix it... however I am just not sure HOW LONG it will last.. So far it has lasted for months.. but is it because of better soldering job.. or because the user stops unplugging and plugging in their xbox as much?
Either way.. they have lasted longer than the user had it before it burnt up.
QUOTE(Charbless @ Mar 20 2005, 09:00 PM)
...also it sounds like lot of people here arnt using common sence why are they plugging the lead at back of xb in when the powers running through it you should plug that end in first before you plug the wall socket end in.
Yeah - exactly..
I can get a crackling/sparking noise from both my v1.0 box AND my v1.6 box, when plugging a "live" power-cord into the back of the boxes.
I'm not saying that M$ didn't make a huge mistake here (after all, they should have secured this weakness before releasing it), I'm just saying: perhaps ppl should be a little more carefull, given the fact that M$ apparently did a lousy job on the PSUs.
edit: how do you spell typo
Don't know if this is of interest to anyone, but I got a universal replacement powersupply (third-party) from ebay, to go into my Jap v1.0.
I plugged in the replacement cord with the GFI and powered it up, but after about one second, the GFI tripped and shut the console off. I disconnected the power connector to the hard drive and powered up fine. I plugged the hard drive back in, but the GFI tripped again. So I got the original cord without the GFI and it has been running fine now for a little over an hour.
I plugged in the replacement cord with the GFI and powered it up, but after about one second, the GFI tripped and shut the console off. I disconnected the power connector to the hard drive and powered up fine. I plugged the hard drive back in, but the GFI tripped again. So I got the original cord without the GFI and it has been running fine now for a little over an hour.
So, I was reading about all those poor people who have been having problems with their power supplies, thinking 'gee, I'm sure glad I am not one of those poor souls', THEN, I recieved my new power cords for both my v1.0 and v1.1 xbox's.
Mind you, these have not had ANY problems... So... I am playing Halo 2 in my house, and I'm on my 1.0 'box with a mad, mad game going. I figured, Hey, I'm using these new cords, although they fit a little tighter, they had an extra 2 inches length on the old cords, and the damn hair-dryer wallwort happened to fit perfectly in the entertainement centre's, so anyway...
Doing some mad gaming, and I'm on the 1.0... All of the sudden I'm hearing this clicking... and smelling this HORRIFIC PCB fired heat-sink compound burning sensation in my nose... That poor 1.0 xbox shut off... and that damn Xbox wallwort started clicking, and flashing red/green... Like I had a bad HD in my box 'christmas tree light' style flashing...
Needless to say, this box had been run hard from day one, never unplugged or moved, and now I am *NOT* happy... I have a VERY BAD xbox, the Power Supply connector to AC decided to desolder half of itself for no freekin' reason...!
MS... I am a certified MS tech, AS WELL am a Very PAYING Certified Gold Partner...
DO SOMETHING FOR US.
-FSM
a.k.a. C.J. Smith
Mind you, these have not had ANY problems... So... I am playing Halo 2 in my house, and I'm on my 1.0 'box with a mad, mad game going. I figured, Hey, I'm using these new cords, although they fit a little tighter, they had an extra 2 inches length on the old cords, and the damn hair-dryer wallwort happened to fit perfectly in the entertainement centre's, so anyway...
Doing some mad gaming, and I'm on the 1.0... All of the sudden I'm hearing this clicking... and smelling this HORRIFIC PCB fired heat-sink compound burning sensation in my nose... That poor 1.0 xbox shut off... and that damn Xbox wallwort started clicking, and flashing red/green... Like I had a bad HD in my box 'christmas tree light' style flashing...
Needless to say, this box had been run hard from day one, never unplugged or moved, and now I am *NOT* happy... I have a VERY BAD xbox, the Power Supply connector to AC decided to desolder half of itself for no freekin' reason...!
MS... I am a certified MS tech, AS WELL am a Very PAYING Certified Gold Partner...
DO SOMETHING FOR US.
-FSM
a.k.a. C.J. Smith
So, if we have a foxlink PSU, then we should solder together these two points??
[quote=snake3k1,Mar 20 2005, 11:36 PM]
So, if we have a foxlink PSU, then we should solder together these two points??[QUOTE]
Whatever you do, do not connect these two points as it will create a short circuit.
You just need to resolder those two points, but NOT connect them.
So, if we have a foxlink PSU, then we should solder together these two points??[QUOTE]
Whatever you do, do not connect these two points as it will create a short circuit.
You just need to resolder those two points, but NOT connect them.
i have a xbox now with the orignal cord i did hear sparking when i pluged it in to the xbox itself for a year now but i never had a problem with the system. now with the new powercord i dont hear any kind of arking when i plug it into the system. so i guess in my case it was the powercord at fault. however from the pics i have seen thers also some faulty powersupplys witch should be addressed as well. and being my xbox is such a rare system i would be pissed if it burned couse its a 1.0 with a 10gb stock drive and a sammy 605t dvd rom you knoe the one that reads cdr and last alot longer then the crap topsion drives.
its a shame m$ is trying to cover up a real problem with these older systems. thay say thers a 1 in 10,000 chance of a fire well with abought 5 to 6 million xboxs out there most of them are older systems thers going to be a real problem in a short amount of time. so juging buy trhe amount of cases reported by the number of xboxes out there in the wiled the number is mutch higher then 1 in 10,000 probly more along the lines of 1 in 1,000.
its a shame m$ is trying to cover up a real problem with these older systems. thay say thers a 1 in 10,000 chance of a fire well with abought 5 to 6 million xboxs out there most of them are older systems thers going to be a real problem in a short amount of time. so juging buy trhe amount of cases reported by the number of xboxes out there in the wiled the number is mutch higher then 1 in 10,000 probly more along the lines of 1 in 1,000.
1 in 1,000...I'd say its more like 1 in 10. Most PSU's have cracks but won't spark. Its a time bomb kinda situation. Eventually it'll probably die out.
Lol, if for some reason I'm around the MS building or campus I think I'll tape an original power cord to a bucket of water, and put a big sign "If bad fire, pour on Xbox, continue playing".
Lol, if for some reason I'm around the MS building or campus I think I'll tape an original power cord to a bucket of water, and put a big sign "If bad fire, pour on Xbox, continue playing".
i'm glad i waited for a response before i did anything
heh still looks like foxlink still sells those psu's, heh should e-mail and ask them for a replacement.
Foxlink PSU
its the 3rd one down.
Foxlink PSU
its the 3rd one down.
ops that goes to there main page, here is the direct link to it, well not direct but as close as you can get.
Foxlink PSU
Foxlink PSU
I personally have seen the same problems of fualty joints on other X-Box PSU's other than the "FoxLink" brand. I have found them also in the "Delta Electronics Inc" types as well.
I recommend anyone that with the offending V1.0 and V1.1 PSU's that you use what they call in the trade, a clinch type joint, rather than just resoldering it.
Clinch types of joints have found to be more reliable than normal vertical type joints and are less likely to fail.
The main reason for failure of the active and neutral pins on these power supplies, or any other form of high current area electronics, is due to the solder being heated and cooled by normal operation. The pressure of the power cord against the the AC input socket also doesn't help.
When the X-Box is in standby mode, very little current is being used, therefore the temperature of the solder joints is relatively cool. But when the X-Box is turned on, higher currents are being drawn, therefore the temperature rises on those joints, and also on other high current joints, not only those two offending pins.
This heating and cooling of the joints over the years will cause the the joints to become crystalised and eventually crack. The pressure of the power cord on AC input socket is what helps the cracking proceedure to acceletrate. It will then eventually crack all the way around the pin, thus making it contact intermittently.
Many people will try jiggling the power cord and may get it to work for a while. But unbeknownst to them, they are actually making things worse. i.e. They are widening the crack/s as well as generating voltage spikes.
These cracks now introduce new problems for the X-Box PSU. Due to this intermittent contact, voltage spikes are being generated. Thus, the more a person jiggles the power cord, the worse the voltage spikes become.
Thankfully Micro$oft had the insight of introducing a varistor into the primary side of the PSU to allow for voltage spikes and surges, but this was not enough in most cases, and it often led to the destruction of the varistor (in many cases causing it to flame out), as well as taking the mains fuse with it. The varistor can only handle so much, thus will eventually fail if the faulty solder joint isn't rectified.
All this is definately a fault with the PSU's and NOT with the power cords, as Micro$oft tend to claim. The only advantage with the power cords with the surge protection included, is if the house mains cops a surge, it will trip, but it WON'T protect the power supply from the spikes generated due to intermittent contacts on the power socket pins. It may trip the surge protector, but eventually the person who owns the machine will have to have it fixed at his own expense, if he starts getting sick of having to reset the damn thing all the time.
I've included three pictures of how and what should be done to repair the pins on these sockets.
The first picture shows the pins devoid of any solder.
The second shows how to bend the tabs of the socket pins to create a clinch joint. It also recommends that the two AC input socket support pins should also be soldered. The reason for this is to add more support to the whole assembly. Thus taking some strain off the AC pins themselves.
The third picture shows the finished results.
Micro$oft should be resonsible for this problem and should be covering this under warranty, regardless of how old the machine is. This is a manufacturing stuff-up and no type of power cord is going to magically fix this problem.
I've been in the TV/Video repair business for more than 25 years and I've come across many a faulty joint due to pressure, weight, heat etc. But I've never come across a company that blatantly denies that the real problem is their's alone. The onus is definately on Micro$oft, and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if they end up with a class action suit against them in the future for this very reason.
I thought I'd put my two cents worth into this discussion.
I hope it helps.
Regards,
DarkMatter
Picture#1
Picture#2
Picture#3
I recommend anyone that with the offending V1.0 and V1.1 PSU's that you use what they call in the trade, a clinch type joint, rather than just resoldering it.
Clinch types of joints have found to be more reliable than normal vertical type joints and are less likely to fail.
The main reason for failure of the active and neutral pins on these power supplies, or any other form of high current area electronics, is due to the solder being heated and cooled by normal operation. The pressure of the power cord against the the AC input socket also doesn't help.
When the X-Box is in standby mode, very little current is being used, therefore the temperature of the solder joints is relatively cool. But when the X-Box is turned on, higher currents are being drawn, therefore the temperature rises on those joints, and also on other high current joints, not only those two offending pins.
This heating and cooling of the joints over the years will cause the the joints to become crystalised and eventually crack. The pressure of the power cord on AC input socket is what helps the cracking proceedure to acceletrate. It will then eventually crack all the way around the pin, thus making it contact intermittently.
Many people will try jiggling the power cord and may get it to work for a while. But unbeknownst to them, they are actually making things worse. i.e. They are widening the crack/s as well as generating voltage spikes.
These cracks now introduce new problems for the X-Box PSU. Due to this intermittent contact, voltage spikes are being generated. Thus, the more a person jiggles the power cord, the worse the voltage spikes become.
Thankfully Micro$oft had the insight of introducing a varistor into the primary side of the PSU to allow for voltage spikes and surges, but this was not enough in most cases, and it often led to the destruction of the varistor (in many cases causing it to flame out), as well as taking the mains fuse with it. The varistor can only handle so much, thus will eventually fail if the faulty solder joint isn't rectified.
All this is definately a fault with the PSU's and NOT with the power cords, as Micro$oft tend to claim. The only advantage with the power cords with the surge protection included, is if the house mains cops a surge, it will trip, but it WON'T protect the power supply from the spikes generated due to intermittent contacts on the power socket pins. It may trip the surge protector, but eventually the person who owns the machine will have to have it fixed at his own expense, if he starts getting sick of having to reset the damn thing all the time.
I've included three pictures of how and what should be done to repair the pins on these sockets.
The first picture shows the pins devoid of any solder.
The second shows how to bend the tabs of the socket pins to create a clinch joint. It also recommends that the two AC input socket support pins should also be soldered. The reason for this is to add more support to the whole assembly. Thus taking some strain off the AC pins themselves.
The third picture shows the finished results.
Micro$oft should be resonsible for this problem and should be covering this under warranty, regardless of how old the machine is. This is a manufacturing stuff-up and no type of power cord is going to magically fix this problem.
I've been in the TV/Video repair business for more than 25 years and I've come across many a faulty joint due to pressure, weight, heat etc. But I've never come across a company that blatantly denies that the real problem is their's alone. The onus is definately on Micro$oft, and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if they end up with a class action suit against them in the future for this very reason.
I thought I'd put my two cents worth into this discussion.
I hope it helps.
Regards,
DarkMatter
Picture#1
Picture#2
Picture#3
Im just posting to add that recently another i've seen a second foxlink ps fry. My friend said simply, "the cord might have been loose, thats it."
Its good to see that this thread's still very much alive.
Anyways, the real reason why only the 1.0/1.1 consoles get the Afi:
Although the psu manufacturers (delta, foxlink) revised the PSU in the 1.2-1.5 versions (foxlink added the support rivets), they still would some times break loose (I didn't mention mineba, for the best of my knowledge they never made a 1.2-1.5 PSU, and has anybody had one of those spark?).
The fact in itself that Foxlink added the rivets in the later revisions of the board indicates that they knew that there was a design problem with their PSU, so M$ cant deny any defects with the boards.
the failure rate of the 1.2-1.5 psu's is far less than the 1.0-1.1, so it was good enough to just supply a cord that cannot be pushed in too far.
however, since the failure rate of the 1.0-1.1 psu's (yes, the delta ones sometimes break too, but the foxlink breaks most often because the connector has no support) is much more common, M$ supplies the AFI.
Although the number of consoles cathcing fire is rare (1 in 1000 maybe), I'd say that at least 60% of the 1.0-1.1 foxlink PSU's have broken solder joints, and pop, spark, smoke, cut off, etc. (and maybe like 2% of the deltas) Every single one of the fox's ive seen was broken, and many other ppl on here have said the same.
Just a refresher for ppl too lazy to read 30 pages
Anyways, the real reason why only the 1.0/1.1 consoles get the Afi:
Although the psu manufacturers (delta, foxlink) revised the PSU in the 1.2-1.5 versions (foxlink added the support rivets), they still would some times break loose (I didn't mention mineba, for the best of my knowledge they never made a 1.2-1.5 PSU, and has anybody had one of those spark?).
The fact in itself that Foxlink added the rivets in the later revisions of the board indicates that they knew that there was a design problem with their PSU, so M$ cant deny any defects with the boards.
the failure rate of the 1.2-1.5 psu's is far less than the 1.0-1.1, so it was good enough to just supply a cord that cannot be pushed in too far.
however, since the failure rate of the 1.0-1.1 psu's (yes, the delta ones sometimes break too, but the foxlink breaks most often because the connector has no support) is much more common, M$ supplies the AFI.
Although the number of consoles cathcing fire is rare (1 in 1000 maybe), I'd say that at least 60% of the 1.0-1.1 foxlink PSU's have broken solder joints, and pop, spark, smoke, cut off, etc. (and maybe like 2% of the deltas) Every single one of the fox's ive seen was broken, and many other ppl on here have said the same.
Just a refresher for ppl too lazy to read 30 pages
What's even more odd is that some ppl have claimed that the replacement AFI cord has made the problem worse! take that, M$, your little wallwort is only feeding the fire (pun intended)
The sweedish kid getting sparks in his face, other various xboxes that fried even with the new cord, and ppl simply getting mad for their xbox shutting off every 10 mins (mine will jsut randomly shut off, and the solder joints on my Mineba 1.0 psu are fine!) will make ppl not want to buy xbox 2 (I dont want a crap product, Ive had 3 xboxes fail on me, 1. dvd drive 2. hard drive 3. psu. I fixed them, but they still shouldn't have broken in the first place. Oddly, all 3 of these failed xboxes were 1.0. My 1.4 works great)
The sweedish kid getting sparks in his face, other various xboxes that fried even with the new cord, and ppl simply getting mad for their xbox shutting off every 10 mins (mine will jsut randomly shut off, and the solder joints on my Mineba 1.0 psu are fine!) will make ppl not want to buy xbox 2 (I dont want a crap product, Ive had 3 xboxes fail on me, 1. dvd drive 2. hard drive 3. psu. I fixed them, but they still shouldn't have broken in the first place. Oddly, all 3 of these failed xboxes were 1.0. My 1.4 works great)
Hmm, my petition is currently number 7 in the top ten most active petitions today. Keep up the good work guys. This board has over 200,000 members, if everyone signs it this will be bad news for MS
We really need to do more than just complain in this thread and sign petitions though, its time for some legal action
We really need to do more than just complain in this thread and sign petitions though, its time for some legal action
does it matter to the fact that most of everyone that has reported problems and want to join a class action suit or wut not have opened their xbox's? that doesnt void and type of warranty or replacement? i mean i understand the problem is hardware and m$ is trying to cover it up but the thompson dvd-rom's are garbage in the 1.0-1.1's also and the mcpx's fry in box's all the time.....same with playstations....their dvd-rom's are crap thats why they make new version consoles to fix their cheap hardware....well anyways im just wondering if we are going to get any where since we've all pretty much opened our xbox's
QUOTE(xman954 @ Feb 23 2005, 07:07 AM)
Good call M4xx
it is a ARC FAULT INTERUPTER and there not cheap..
the best fix is to remove all the solder then wrap buss wire
around the posts and run it along the trace then solder it all...
it is a ARC FAULT INTERUPTER and there not cheap..
the best fix is to remove all the solder then wrap buss wire
around the posts and run it along the trace then solder it all...
as a person that works with electronics all the time i have to agree with xman on desoldering and wraping (winding wire as radio shack calls it) then resoldering it this will not only fix it but will add strenth to help prevent breakage later on
I have a delta PSU and a 1.0 Xbox. After reading all this and getting the new power cord i got abit jittery. So i started to dig and came across a perfectly health PSU. Taken back a little because of the amount of plugging and unplugging i do its pretty sturdy with no wiggle at all. I think its due to the appoxy thats around the female base.
Even the underside looks nice. I bought this unit brand new when they first released the Sega GT/JSFR bundle and its still going strong.
Even the underside looks nice. I bought this unit brand new when they first released the Sega GT/JSFR bundle and its still going strong.
Just to add, I've experienced this problem myself.
I, at one point, was purchasing broken xboxes off of ebay and would fix and sell them here on the boards. I had gotten a broken 1.0 one time and when i recieved it, to my suprise it booted and worked just fine.
This confused me as the auction said it wouldn't power on. Upon further inspection of the box, i found that wiggling the power cord was a very bad idea. The power supply would make a crackling noise and the xbox would power off and things of that nature.
I opened the case to find the power cable connector ready to fall off the power supply board. It was completely disconnected and when i removed the power supply the connector fell off the board completely.
I cleaned up the solder area and resoldered the connector down and then also applied a good amount of hot glue to help hold the connector in place for future use. This fixed the power supply and made the connector rock solid.
When i heard of this recall, the first thing I thought of was the power supply connector being the problem, and I thought the cord replacement was bunk after reading the recall. Sure enough people are still having problems. This whole thing is just a way for MS not to front the money to fix it all. They need to address the real problem of these power supplys failing and causing harm/injury/property damage.
I urge all people on here with an early xbox with soldering ability to open and check your xbox power supply for problems and fix it before you cause more problems that you want to deal with.
I, at one point, was purchasing broken xboxes off of ebay and would fix and sell them here on the boards. I had gotten a broken 1.0 one time and when i recieved it, to my suprise it booted and worked just fine.
This confused me as the auction said it wouldn't power on. Upon further inspection of the box, i found that wiggling the power cord was a very bad idea. The power supply would make a crackling noise and the xbox would power off and things of that nature.
I opened the case to find the power cable connector ready to fall off the power supply board. It was completely disconnected and when i removed the power supply the connector fell off the board completely.
I cleaned up the solder area and resoldered the connector down and then also applied a good amount of hot glue to help hold the connector in place for future use. This fixed the power supply and made the connector rock solid.
When i heard of this recall, the first thing I thought of was the power supply connector being the problem, and I thought the cord replacement was bunk after reading the recall. Sure enough people are still having problems. This whole thing is just a way for MS not to front the money to fix it all. They need to address the real problem of these power supplys failing and causing harm/injury/property damage.
I urge all people on here with an early xbox with soldering ability to open and check your xbox power supply for problems and fix it before you cause more problems that you want to deal with.
yeah, i got a 1.0 xbox with the delta psu, i thought i would be okay, cause before all the signs pointed to foxlink as the culpret. unfortunatly, when i went home to my xbox (same day my replacement cord came, ironically enough) i noticed my xbox crackling and the like. i then opened the replacement cord (i got one of the clunky ones) and it still sparked. then i noticed that i could move around the psu quite a lot just by moving the power cord. so i opened my box up, and took out the psu, and noticed that there were two little burning marks on the bottom. i soldered them, and, to my surprise, no more sparking. not satistfied enough, i put a screw through the psu to keep it from moving. i guess my problem was that since i go to my friends house a lot with my box, perhaps just unplugging and plugging it in more on the violent side caused the psu to come loose.
thats just my two cents on the issue.
thats just my two cents on the issue.
Just to add my experience.. same thing as everyone else connector on the power supplies wiggles, sparks and smokes on 3 different v1.0 xbox that i've fixed. I resoldered those joints 2 years ago. (of course when my xbox was out of warranty!)
As far as a class action suit.. nothing will happen.
This will be the result of a class action:
MS will be sentanced to give all users $10 off coupon for Xbox 360 (Next) or some other MS product.
You are still buying their product so they still win.
As far as a class action suit.. nothing will happen.
This will be the result of a class action:
MS will be sentanced to give all users $10 off coupon for Xbox 360 (Next) or some other MS product.
You are still buying their product so they still win.
Posting my data per request:
Of countless boxes repaired 10 have been revived only by re-soldering the PSU, with FoxLink supplies being the main offenders.
Also on jobs where I have the entire unit I've started checking PSUs without strain relief as a standard practice, most have looked questionable, all were re-flowed.
Should anyone not want to solder their PSU for some reason, I will do it for free (except shipping)
-nB
Of countless boxes repaired 10 have been revived only by re-soldering the PSU, with FoxLink supplies being the main offenders.
Also on jobs where I have the entire unit I've started checking PSUs without strain relief as a standard practice, most have looked questionable, all were re-flowed.
Should anyone not want to solder their PSU for some reason, I will do it for free (except shipping)
-nB
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