A spark came from the cord of a laptop charger. Upon inspection there was an area of exposed wire on the cord. My husband wrapped the area with black electric tape and plugged it right back into the wall. He insists all is well with the cord. I am inclined to throw it away. Should I?
paul
Favorite Answer
The spark went from where to where. If only one wire is bared electrical tape should keep it from shorting out again. If two wires were bared then each should be taped separately then both together. Before taping the wires should be inspected. Individual strands of the wire could have melted lowering the capacity of the wire to carry current. The lower capacity wire will heat up when used normally and melt the insulation and will spark again. It is also possible that the spark came at a location where the wire was repeatedly bent increasing its resistance, heating up to the point of melting the insulation causing a spark.
If your husband has done all this inspection before tapping and has tapped it properly it should be okay. If not the new cord would be much cheaper than the cost of replacing the house when it burns down.
Manila Mark
No, if a spark came out that means that 2 bare charged wires were touching. What you should have him do is unplug the cord, cut out the damaged areas, strip back the outer insulation back 11/2" on each cut side then strip all 4 wires 3/4'. Then tightly twist the bare ends together being sure to match up the insulation colors. Then separately tape each of the 2 twists together and finally, tape over the whole thing 2" up and down the cord on either side of the repair.
Anonymous
I assume the sparking came from the high voltage side of the transformer/charger ?
Hopefully he separated the wire, and if it is the HP style wire, it is actually a flat 3 wire cord. If it sparked, likely the copper wire inside is damaged, and most likely the cord should be replaced. On my HP transformer/charger cord, it unplugs from the transformer box, but I do not know if you can buy just the cord.
ashli
if he needs electrical tape to secure the video card you have issues. either the card is messed up, the slot is messed up, or your bf is messed up. take your pick. if installed correctly you shouldnt need the tape as far as fire hazards, electrical tape is a natural insulator, but electric shock from when it melts or unsticks is a major consideration. even frying your mobo/video card is a major concern right now
Harry Dockers
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