What event can make the adapter 'blow up'?

Hello all,

Last weekend I plugged in the (original RioCar) adapter into my Empeg... nothing.
When I measured the voltage: nothing. Then I removed the adapter from the mains and (removed from the mains) I touched the pins resulting into a big electrical shock (capacitor?).

With my eyes closed I connected the empeg onto another power supply and it booted... thank god!

My question:
What can make such simple adapter blow? It was connected into my power-block which includes surge-protection (my PC is also on it). Its still on guarantee, but for the adapter only I'm not gonna make use of it.

Cheers,
EiSl

lets just say that the power supplys supplied with the empeg aren't quite up to the same standard as the rest of the empeg.

I think i am on my third power supply for my empeg.

I don't which power supplies you're talking about, but we sourced some very high quality (and expensive) power supplies. The SunPower bricks were the best - but the SunPower plug tops are basically the same circuit in a different enclosure. The tiny US plug tops also appear to be very good. I don't know about the large US adapters than the eStore came up with, having never seen one.

Since you're in the UK I would assume you're talking about the SunPower units. There is always a higher than average failure rate associated with power supplies due to factors such as mechanically large components (mechanical stress on solder joints etc) and surges and spikes on the mains. Nonetheless you've been unlucky have have three failures - I've never had an adapter fail on me in over three years.

Rob

Yea, I'm also on my third IEC supply. The last two seemed to just stop working on plugging it into mains power.

I got my Riocar from carplayers.com so it came with a US two pin adapter, no good for the UK obviously. I found a 12V 2.5A supply in the junk cupboard made by "BesTec" - it's very cheap, I have had belts of both ends (the jack during operation and the plug end just after unplugging it). I soon found another one that was used with a Sceptre flat panel display and it is slightly better. The shocks weren't bad but it makes your wrist ache after a couple in a row!

Gareth

Same here, all of my adaptors (including the plug brick) are OK, after years of abuse in Belgium, the Netherlands and the yUK.