Targus recalls half a million laptop power adapters due to burn hazard
By Donald Melanson 
posted May 6th 2010 2:25PM
posted May 6th 2010 2:25PM
Have a Targus laptop power adapter? Then you'll likely want to take notice, as the company has just issued a recall of more than half a million of its adapters, which are actually made by Comarco Inc. The recall specifically affects the company's universal laptop power adapters with interchangeable tips, which can apparently overheat and pose a burn hazard to anyone that tries to unplug it -- there's been 518 reports of connector tips overheating so far, and eight incidents of consumers being burned. Anyone with one of the adapters is advised to stop using it immediately and get in touch with Comarco for a free replacement -- complete details are available at the source link below.
My charger exploded once. It was the scariest thing ever. It just sort of went: FzzzPOOOSH.
Anyway, this shows why you dont buy unofficial chargers. They always blow up
@SamTatr "Anyway, this shows why you dont buy unofficial chargers. They always blow up"
Lol. Never did and after that, never will.
@SamTatr
I've found that nowadays, all laptop chargers, of any brand/kind will crap out on you at some point (when you dont want them to)
@216 "when you dont want them to" Given that you never want them to, it means always :)
@SamTatr
I have a Targus laptop backpack...Is that going to spontaneously combust as well?
@SamTatr
Yeah, we had a bunch of them a few years ago. You would start hearing a buzzing noise at first which would gradually get louder. It would start to really get on your nerves and then it would stop but before you could say thank goodness there would be a loud *POP* that would launch you out of your seat.
@SamTatr OEM models are all they are cracked up to be either. My HP one buzzes almost constantly. According the HP Support FAQ this condition is normal as is being warm to the touch. Yeah, I'm still keeping an ear out incase one day buzzing turns from buzzing/crackiling to the gentle roar of a fire.
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00065262&tmp_task=solveCategory&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&product=3439705
I bought one of those a few years ago and it burned a hole in my carpet.
We took these off the shelf 3-4 weeks ago at staples
@reebokshoes
But it is funny that we still use them in the Easy Tech Center at our store.
What happened to quality control?
@Shadow08
They blew it.
@Shadow08 I wanted to say cheaper prices, then I checked the price of this thing.
@Shadow08
Anything made in Asia will have a 80% chance of recall.
@ApocNarok I was waiting for somebody to say it! I was looking through the comments making sure nobody said it so that I could say it first. Oh well, you deserve your up-rank! :D
*turns off computer* *hand reaches for the charger tip* FzzzPOOOWAAAZZCHHH
@chasing statues. That was me.
(Just learned force lightning, wanted to test it)
I wish HP would recall their crappy chargers that always seem to have the wire break at the box-end.
@SPENone
same happened to me....i cracked it open and cut a bit of wire then resoldered it and now it's like new :)
@cimoalpacino
HA!....i did the same! Now my charger looks like a plastic explosive though, with all this electrical tape i wrapped it in =/
@SPENone I was unlucky enough to have one of HP's chargers melt (leaving a rather horrific odour in the room, naturally) last year, after forgetting to unplug it, prior to leaving to go to London for 3 days.
I ended up obtaining a generic Chinese charger from a Web store for £40 afterwards, and haven't had any issues since then.
oh i forgot, *dials 911 with foot*
I actually have one of these chargers. I needed a laptop charger when mine was lost / stolen (not sure which because I rarely lose things like that). Not only is it outrageously expensive, but terribly hot and I have been burned multiple times by the unit. In fact, there are burn marks on the PCB board inside connecting the charger to the nub. At least they can see the damage now...
"If it needs a power adapter, they blew it". Oh, wait...
these adapters were actually pulled from Office Depot stores about a month ago
Thats an unfortunate font, it looks like bum hazard on my pc with GDI++ font smoothing on.
My mom had one of these, it made a horrible humming sound when plugged in. I replaced it for her, I never trusted it for a minute.
2010: Year of the Recall.
@iKurtz
Nah, 2010 is the year of the leak.
I have one. The connectors are absolute junk. After about 6 months of normal use, the connector on the cable which goes from the laptop to the power brick stopped working entirely. I ended up having to crack open the brick, remove the connector, and solder the wires inside the cable directly to the PCB.
"...pose[s] a burn hazard to anyone that tries to unplug it...
[they are] advised to stop using it immediately"
::scratches head::
This reminds me of the time my Macbook Pro overheated, burned a hole through my house and traveled to the Earth's core.
Haven't seen it since.
Interesting. I'm on my third HP OEM charger. The Targus one (same as this one) runs WAY cooler and is still working after months of use. Yay HP.
LOL, because of the font I read "bum hazard" in the headline. I was thinking to myself, "wtf is a bum doing with a laptop power adapter?"
It's not as if the 1st-party adaptors are perfect either
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=apple+charger+fault
Targus chargers are junk anyways. I use to work on laptops and have seen these "auto voltage select" adapters kill motherboards a lot. Its not worth saving a few bucks for one of these over an OEM replacement.
I came here because it said "due to bum hazard".
Apparently this was just MY monitor.
So I guess the bum accident was still just me