Dangerous USB phone chargers 13 (BAD vs. GOOD) 

Me too!

@@alancordwell9759 It's been a part of my life LOL. I'd say his best vids are him fixing more complex power supplies.

Same 👍

@@moeinsp2027 He should do more, like try to fix complex gaming PC power supplies. It's often to the point where I can't find the problem anymore, and it would be very interesting to see how DGW handles this.

Isn't this the Turkish chef who made huge meals in a huge pan sporting a huge smile?

I do it to my old premium ones if they break and to dollar store ones. Heavier the adapter th better it is I've found. My last Samsung one looked like my 1000w platinum evga pc supply hahah

I open all my USB power supplies before use. Then I reglue them. Looks like crap but what should I do when the manufacturers seemingly have forgotten that screws are a thing, LMAO.

If a charger comes from a shop or supplied with a decent phone it's probably fine. If it came from eBay its probably super dodgy.

I have a model similar to the first one, but even more dodgier ! I'll never use it. Only possible outcome is a dustbin.

After having a cheap one nearly burn my house down (with mum asleep in it), there are a few things to look for. One is generally weight, or how it feels in the hand. I can’t explain it in text, but it will feel funny if it has just a piece of scrap iron weighing it down. Second is a manufacturer name. Even if it’s some Chinese manufacturer you’ve never heard of, the fact that the name is there is a good thing. If it has a UL list number, you’ll be able to Google that as well. Plastic welding is a good added expense that is often skipped in cheap things. Also, I buy my chargers either brand name on the internet (anker, for example), or in a brick and mortar store. If it’s a reputable store, then they have a reputation to keep. Nobody is gonna risk their business for the sake of a few fractions of a cent on each product. Especially if it’s Apple or Samsung selling you the product. None of this is hard and fast, and there at exceptions to every rule, but in the 15 years since that cheap heap of shit blew up, I’ve never had it happen again, despite some very dodgy practices (charging stuff in bed, etc). It’s both a bit excessive and somewhat dangerous to tear open every single charger you buy, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing and you end up blowing up your heart because that cheap charger decided it wanted to try being a defibrillator today. Mains rated capacitors can, do, and will hold a lethal charge, and not everyone puts discharge resistors on them. There’s no way I’d recommend you do the same. It’s a “do as I say, not as I do” sort of thing, to be quite honest. Once you know what you’re doing and you understand what the risks are, go for it. But don’t go hacking up every last thing you buy as mentioned above. Even I don’t do this, and I’ve had the closest thing to a house fire that you can walk away from. If you’re really worried, just go to an Apple Store and buy one of their chargers. It will work with everything you have. There’s no proprietary trickiness. If buying online, go with a good brand like Anker and make sure you’re not buying it on eBay. Buy it from, again, a reputable online store. Preferably directly from the website (not eBay, and be careful with Amazon. Unless the website takes you straight to those stores, avoid it.)

I totally agree with you. In fact I went and purchased the same test equipment that is used so I can test the USB chargers we use mainly for my peace of mind. *Thank You* for helping to keep us safe. 👍

If you have a charger with German GS and even TÜV signs on it you can be quite sure that they are safe products which also meet their indicated specs. In fact the donated charger is one of the best chargers I have ever seen from inside.

Hmm still not easy to choose what to buy.

Yes. I'd love to see an Apple charger autopsied, but they're so expensive these days. Big Clive did a high quality one from Ikea, if you want to take a look.

1:13 Manufacturer: Shenzhen Keyu

@@ataasgari Translated "Nice Power".😏

Yes they are bent inwards and flexible so that they can give adequate contact both with 4.0 and 4.8 mm holes.

@@okaro6595 I thought that they ought to be straight, but what you have said makes sence.👍😏

Here in Europe every small plug I have (for phone chargers, etc...) have bent pins, exactly the same way... so I figured out that it might be for a good reason, and that it was not a defect 😉 as Okaro said, pins are slightly flexible too!

@@fanfan54old that's because the plug you are mentioning is also know as the euro plug, it's meant to fit in most of Europe's different plugs.

Slotting a medium sized chisel in the seam and hitting it with a hammer also work wonders...

Get a "spudger" like Big Clive !!!!!! 😏😏

@@brucepickess8097 Aha, unlike his spudger, my tool can open up any sealed ac adaptor or basically anything that’s ultrasonically welded.

Apple chargers are built to a very high standard. So are most of Samsung's chargers. Any of the OEM chargers will be built well, but Apple and Samsung seem to go the extra mile with regards to safety. In particular, they usually have all sorts of redundant insulation.

@@puckcat22679 i have tested a few Xiaomi chargers and they are perfect under any aspect as well. This is true for almost any well-known IT product manufacturer, as they usually rely on trustworthy OEMs for their Power supplies

For real, metal weights can be found in some cheap dodgy electronics (smartphones, tablets, maybe chargers too), I saw this many times in teardown videos... (on other RU-vid channels for sure, + maybe on diodegonewild but I'm not sure)

I've already seen a piece of metal stuck to the plastic box on the inside. It's in one of my videos.

I have seen some stone in a table lamp.

@@mernok2001 Me too! In a lamp, that's "normal", the lamp base has to stay on the table, it has to be heavy enough to stay... But, in a phone charger, or in any electronic... no... 🙄

@@fanfan54old Imagine putting a smaller capacitor in a larger capacitor case. Some chinese manufacturers actually do it. And some powerbanks have a single lithium ion battery and the other cylinders are filled with sand.

Big thanks for your support! ;)

I still haven't figured out why some videos get auto generated subtitles and some don't...

I recall Clive does have a proper HV compliance tester; while DGW will have to build a makeshift device for that, I guess. Although, sounds like a theme for several videos if he likes the idea and decides to do such a project.

@@jkobain He has , if I remember rightly some microwave cooker transformers which would be ideal for that job, couple of kv or so. However some current reduction and limiting may be required. 😏😏

@@brucepickess8097 well, if you want some explosions for entertainment, ElectroBOOM will provide you with some already; and if you want a test equipment which will perform an execution of a device in a more or less predictable (measurable, predefined, controlled) way, then… it's a whole lot of a playlist of videos of designing, building and calibrating it then, lol.

Electronics from stores can be wayyyyy better than electronics bought online, because they should be compliant with safety rules... 😅😅😅 Many sellers online don't give a sh** about safety rules... that should be illegal... maybe it is...

I have one, it's red and still working years later. It was 4.99 in France too.

It's on the other side marked SS24B.

I can never test every charger type in the world, but I like to make more episodes of this series ;).

I have no knowledge of the charger to really pass any comment, but it could be a cracked solder joint. I had that recently (although not on a battery charger) where the pressure of the multimeter probe whilst measuring caused the connection to be made; however, when probing in an electrically identical (but physically different) location, no bueno. It's certainly another thing worth having a look for. Otherwise, it'll be reverse engineering time, assuming you can crack the case open... BigClive is a master of reverse engineering, set an hour aside and just watch a random selection of his videos and you'll get a feel for it. Also, when you say "not working" do you mean you can't measure an output voltage, or a battery won't charge (or both of course)? Again, things like this get way easier with a schematic to hand; if ya can't find one, draw out your own... Then draw it again neatly 😁 and then if you do track the issue down, make a note of the issue and the fix, and stick it in a forum somewhere :)

I could be that the charger only starts outputting voltage if it detects a certain voltage/resistance/signal on the center pin, so maybe that part at least is working fine. No idea though.

@@adzib1823 Well, I actually began my journey into the rabbit hole of electronics by watching BigClive vids. Still do... ;) I checked for solder joints but they all seem OK. There is no output voltage at all and the indicator led doesn't light up. I've got another one working fine and the indicator led lights up as soon as I insert the battery for charging. As for reverse engineering, I'm afraid it's a little too complicated a circuit for me to do. When I wrote "basic", I do mean "basic". - - The mystery deepens... I just retested it and the led blinked when inserting the batterey. I removed it to check the voltage: nothing. I reinserted the battery: the led stayed lit for 2 seconds, then went out. I'm thinking a joint might be faulty and my prodding inside may have briefly made it come back to life. More investigation is needed. I may just resolder some joints and see what happens. Thanks, ;)

@@19Edurne Any progress is good progress :) if you have the time, willpower, and confidence then just reflow whatever you can get at. Can't do any harm, just pay a little attention to the amount of heat you put into semiconductor components (transistors, ICs, etc.) cos they're quite easy to cook. Keep us posted on the outcome though and any other symptoms. If your issue does persist, try and find a method to consistently replicate what you're seeing as well :)

It depends on the control chip used and exact circuitry. Some chips may sense their "power" rail/auxiliary winding voltage, detect abnormal feedback, or some power supplies (probably not small cheap chargers, typically saw it in "industrial" supplies) sometimes have circuitry on the secondary that will fail short in such case.

But of course I wouldn't expect it in some really cheap, low quality, already unsafe charger...

Some control chips have open loop protection to prevent this, some not.

Thanks :). I have already reverse-engineered several similar ones in the previous episodes. This one was mostly about the safety and quality. I was also trying to make it shorter. Long videos deter a lot of people...

@@DiodeGoneWild True. What I have learned about PSU came from you over the last years. Schematics are always good but time consuming.

I'm using Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX15

This country has lost face to the rest of the world. Their reputation is ruined for a long time.

This country has lost face to the rest of the world. Their reputation is ruined for a long time.

Hello, i'm not sure what all that was about, however it would appear that you have lost your way and have strayed onto this channel by mistake. Your comment has nothing to do with the topic of this channel.

5V is about 80% of the 6.3V rating, but the rectified mains (325V) is also about 80% of the 400V rating for the primary capacitor.

These types of power supply cannot have slots or openings in the enclosure for safety considerations.

Thank you for your support ;)