X-Box Power Cords Recalled

[Gary Mayer]

X-Box is recalling power cors for units manufactured before Oct 23, 2003.

(See article at Dangerous Xbox cords recalled )

The best way to order a new cord is to goto www.xbox.com and click on the Replacement Power Cord link (upper right).

Should you be worried?  NAH!  Because, according to Microsoft, "Fewer than one in 10,000 consoles have experienced these component failures. In almost all instances, any damage caused by these failures was contained within the console itself or limited to the tip of the power cord at the back of the console."
 :-P

[Bryan]

That doesn't make sense, it would cost them so much more to hold a recall than it would to just replace the machines that get damaged.

I smell hidden agenda

[raptor]

It doesn't make sense.  I do know of car companies doing that back in the 60's the good 'ol hay day of musclecars.  A company would send out a car(s) with hopped up parts and no one would know. They'd just see if they came back with problems.
Why should they do extensive testing if someone else can for them.  Here's were they got caught, a year or two later they'd come up and be all "hey we'll give you two or three times what you payed for that". Hmmm..... wonder why they want the car back?

-Scott

[Chris Swingler]

ModernDayDarwin wrote:
I smell hidden agenda

Yeah.  That hidden agenda would be called "avoiding bad publicity."  Since there's a fire risk, it's best to get all of these things fixed instead of ignoring the problem.

This exact situation is what sunk Texas Instruments' home computer division back in the 80s.  The TI-99/4A, the first 16-bit home computer, was enjoying a tiny bit of success, and TI was just starting to get into the black from the project.  The /44A was their second go-round at a home computer, after the /4.  Unfortunately, at about this time, the Canadian Saftey Commission found, that due to an engineering flaw, the power adaptors could catch fire.  Now, it's important to note that there is no record of a SINGLE ONE ever igniting.  The CSC came to this conclusion by simply taking the power adaptor apart.  The CSC forced a recall in Canada, the American tech press got wind of it, and TI was forced to do a voluntary recall in the US.  FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND units were recalled, and these were complicated two-voltage step-down AC converters, so they weren't cheap, nor light.  And so began the downfall of the TI-99/4A, the talking, cartridge-and-tape-loading 16-bit computer from the early 80s.  Even Bill Cosby's testimonials were no match for the veritable William Shatner who promoted the C-64.

And that brings me to another point--what country did Microsoft outsource these power cables to that could screw up a SIMPLE TWO-LINE AC CORD?  :roll:

[Tyler]

I agree with Chris.  They're trying to avoid bad PR by replacing all of them instead of just the defective ones.

I remember not long ago, Apple had some problems with some of the iPod batteries going out early.  They didn't recall/replace all of anything--you could send it in if there was a problem.  I think my iPod qualifies for that, but I didn't feel like paying the shipping.

[Gary Mayer]

Beanie wrote:
And that brings me to another point--what country did Microsoft outsource these power cables to that could screw up a SIMPLE TWO-LINE AC CORD?  :roll:

From what I read, the fire occurs at the connection point. It's been a while since I had EE but I imagine the problem is not the cords manufacturing but the probability that they may have used too small of a wire guage for the load.

Since XBox came out, all sorts of new things like Live and controllers that sing, dance, and make coffee have come out and draw power from the unit. Use everything at once and it looks like a pretty big power consumption. So, I suspect that the older units came with smaller guage wires that met the needs of what they anticipated to be the average load. This may cause the connection point to heat excessively and, in some instances, ignite. Again, all speculation but it seems odd that the fires are occurring right inside vice having melted/fraying cords if the cords were truly manufactured incorrectly.

My replacement cord is shipping. I'll let you know what, if anything, I can tell about how it differes from the original when it gets here.

[raptor]

This sounds like a very legitimate explanation, and makes very good sense.  But, it raises yet another question (well maybe a comment).  Manufacturers these days make something as cheap as possible i.e. if those cords were only gonna have to support a certain load, they would only make it heavy enough to handle that load.  Cars are the same way, (I'm sorta a computer nerd/ car guy).  I've worked on a lot of cars and new cars are made SO CHEAP compared to older ones it's ridiculous.  Thats why you don't see any new cars in demo's lol.

[Gary Mayer]

Well, I got the power cord a few days ago.  Just had a chance to open it today and compare the new and the old.

They both are the same guage and temp rating. Most other codes are the same - yes, pretty much the same wire.  What's different? The new wire has a GFCI permanently attached to it; complete with test and reset buttons.

So, it appears that the XBox is subject to sudden massive power draws on the odd occassion. And this... this was the cheapest fix.

Better to have gamus-interuptus than housus-aflamus, I guess.   :-D My original theory on what cuases this still stands. It's almost tempting to go buy 4 wireless controller/TV remote/popcorn makers and test it out. I just don't like that much popcorn. It might appeal to the spouse though.  ;-)