FAULTY USB Double Socket thing | Can I FIX It?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- This double plug socket thing with 4 USB ports is not working properly. The sockets are fine, but none of the USB's are outputting anything!
Let's see if we can work out why, and fix it!
Hope you enjoy!
Steve
PS. I'm not an expert in repairs at all. I do this for fun, and it may not be the best or safest way to go about repairing broken stuff. I'm pretty good at melting plastic though. Please don't copy me - I'm an idiot.
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Some of the magic things I use to break stuff;
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Links are affiliated where possible to help support the channel. Nice.
I would love to see a soldering course from you. How to solder, de-solder components and what tools are required.
With all of the good and bad experiences of the tools you use.
You’re better than ASMR Steve. Best channel on TH-cam. Has everything - humour, humility, education and a Dave.
New subscriber here.
Off work with a back injury, stuck on the sofa, just going through your past episodes and loving it.
Repairs, humour, good music and great editing! What's not to love? 🙏
Also my wife thinks you're hilarious.
The blue disc thing is indeed for surge protection. It's a metal-oxide varistor (MOV) which normally doesn't conduct. But when the voltage across it gets high enough (usually 470V in the UK and Europe) it starts conducting and shunts live to neutral. That makes the surge go through it and back out on neutral, instead of going through the things that are plugged in to the sockets.
Thanks acid! That makes perfect sense, appreciate the explanation! 👍
I recently had a line voltage smart thermostat blow up in a storm. Inside I found a metal oxide varistor with catastrophic damage. I don't know if it was there for surge suppression, but it sure looked like it took the brunt of a surge.
@@kevingoodsell9269 Most likely it was there for surge protection, as that's a MOV's only purpose. But they have their limits and can only absorb so much without critical failure. Those specifications are usually stated in the datasheet, where you will find how long the surge can last, how high the voltage can be and up to which point it can still absorb the surge without any damage (because they also filter out short surges/spikes that can be caused by other equipment or the surge from a lightning strike that wasn't close enough to do a lot of damage, but did sent a peakvoltage down the mains)
Even if they do suffer critical damage, I read a lot of stories here in The Netherlands that even though the PCB has blackened around the MOV and the MOV has vapourised almost completely, the circuit behind it has remained intact.
In Germany we say 'Überspannungsschutz‘. 🤓😀
So, after reading your excellent explanation, my comprehension is that it's a little blue magic disc.
If one cap has gone short, the other two inevitably will as well. Try and find the smaller caps and replace them all. The chirping was the switch mode power supply at the bottom starting and stopping because of the short on its output. Good fix Ste.
Hi Steve been watching your videos for a while now... I love the way you don't believe in yourself or take yourself to seriously but your actually a lot better than you give yourself credit for.... I've learned a lot from you and I knew nothing so keep up the good work.. 👍
Just taking a moment to appreciate the insane editing that must have taken place for the various “plugs” and noises!
as an avid watcher of clive for over 6 years now. you have captivated me steve. great jorb!
Excellent vid! Fixes suspect looking Amazon special PSU then tests it using a very expensive looking phone. Gold! 😂
I think it said Costco on the label
Hi Steve, keep up the brilliant video's I really enjoy them. Any chance of linking your bench power supply in the description going forward. Thanks 👍
I honestly don't understand how you have so much patience 😂. My anxiety levels went haywire just watching this video 😂
Steve, I think the high pitched intermittent sound was the PSU, possibly a switch mode supply, shutting down when sensing the short on the capacitor. Then restarting and locked in a loop making the high pitched sound each time it shut down.
Exactly what I was going to type. I work on classic era arcade games and in every switch mode power supply (SMPS) the circuit will “chirp” audibly when it’s trying to feed a dead short. As Steve did correctly, disconnecting the power supply from the rest of the circuit, the SMPS can now feed power to the meter.
I have yet to find a shorted electrolytic that didn’t have some external damage. Tantalum capacitors are notorious for shorting and sometimes blowing up and spreading conductive powder all over the boards. Steve obviously finds many surface mount capacitors that are shorted too.
I also think Steve should replace the other 2 capacitors and get 3 of the correct physical size but I’d also suggest the bigger voltage tolerance like 25v instead of only 10v for a 5v circuit. Get a good brand like Nichicon. I learned to trust them over other brands since there are too many cheap caps that don’t survive very well in arcade game cabinets running long hours every day.
I want a Monkey Island count as well! You have excellent taste on 90's game it seems :) love the vid happy new year!🎉🎉🎉
Just stumbled across your channel, loving the videos, my new guilty pleasure
I do a lot of soldering, and I caught myself holding my breath as you went to turn on your extractor fan! LOL!
I lit a cigarette as soon as the fan was running.
I have just found your channel. I love the combination of device repair and hip hop !
Enjoyed the video, excellent fix. I thought capacitor initially, great deduction in finding fault. Thanks Steve. Have a great new year
G'day Steve, just found your channel and I love the content. Cheers Bill from Sydney.
Stick around this channel is a fun watch.
G'day from Auckland, NZ!
Great troubleshooting. I started saying "continuity" like you do ... Happy New year
Everyone who repairs old kit as a hobby has had one of these moments Glen. Are we being irresponsible by risking increasingly rare machines? Should we leave it to the professionals? Well, it’s not like there’s an army of those any more. Like it or not, we are that army. Learning this stuff is hard, but realistically, it’s us or landfill. You did good. Not pretty and you’d do it differently next time, but you did good.
I say “not pretty”, but that trace repair work under the microscope was superb. I’d love to see more of that. Kintsugi is still beautiful even if you were the one who broke the pot.
Congrats on finishing the Fixmas series. You'll never be free of the glitter...
Great video as usual. That plug adapter usb thing is exactly what I'm after . Cuddles you reply with the model nam and number please . Keep the videos coming 👍
Very cool!! Man I really want to get into this kind of thing. Fixing random electronic stuff. How fun!!
Keep up the good work!
"lets bring it close to the microphone" *unleashes the unbridled sound of space.*
even though you dont have an i-fixit deal nice of you to give them a (pause for deep voice change) plug😉
Excellent fix, very interesting. Coincidently, I used to love agricultural vehicles but not any more. I'm an ex-tractor fan. Sorry.
Thank You for making 2024 a little better! Happy New Year from Kaj in Stockholm!
hey steve! when are you coming back? I miss your videos
That's an extremely accurate 5 volts. Not often I see a straight exact 5.00 on a multimeter!
Yeah, it was nice to see such a steady voltage. It looked like it was well built... It means my multimeter is in good order too!
@@StezStixFixa actually good pure usb powersupply would output 5.20V (5.25V is usb standard MAX), which counteracts voltage drops in the cables and connectors! But yeah, in terms of clean 5V, this is perfect.
@TheCustomFHD There are USB power supplies that output a steady 5 Volt when no load is attached, but slightly raise this when current is being drawn, it just depends on the design.
Correction: the plug counter final result was 22. You said it once during the rap but didn't count it.
Happy new year and thanks for the great content, Steve.
Rap is added in after the video so makes sense
Nice one, very enjoyable. Thank you 🙂
these outros are just getting better and better!
Hey buddy. Just starting out and would really appreciate a setup video. What soldering iron and heat gun do you use, what multimeter, microscope, cameras, what storage you use, testing equipment.
Many thanks and awesome videos. Gary
That thing looks good and bad. I like the way the surge protection is genuine, and on a separate board. And they have a BS style fuse for the USB, Your repair is 100% approved (I'm an electronics engineer) Strange the 3 electrolytics in parallel like that though and like you said, going short circuit is odd. By the way, couldn't see it clearly but I think the Black/White mains is Live/Neutral in the style that the USA does it. White for Neutral and black is one of their colours (they also have red) for Hot/Live.
Being paralleled like that, couldn't he just have either: a. Left out the dead cap. (For slightly lower performance, I presume they're there for surging to current hungry devices on plug in). b. Simply used one larger cap of 1500 uf?
Thank you for the video. All the big channels took the rest of the year off. Thanks for something to watch
Thanks for the videos Steve.
Thank you for all the great content this year. Happy New Year to you, yours and everyone else. Looking forward to more of your awesome and entertaining fixes in 2025! 🎉
That was a very good fix there. Funny how that caps were not bulged up at the tops.
In da club on the end credits completely cracked me up! 😂
StezStix Hello. Where are you?
That chirp you were hearing was the sound of the 5V switching supply trying to start up, discovering it was shorted, and giving up immediately, so, whatever the aural equivalent of 'well spotted' is.
Do you really plug a plug into a plug or is it a socket, Steve?
Another great fix mate.
Nice fix squire, Happy New Year to you & yours!
Great job 👍 and a great video too 😁
A Cliff Quicktest is your friend when doing anything with mains voltage.
Strange thingy thing. Electrolytic caps normally don't short out, even when they dry out. Maybe a manufacturing issue from the start, where the foils were mechanically damaged and/or too close together.
Happy New Year!
Your fault finding was amazing. Great job. Very logical
I've got one of these bought from Costco. I've found it very difficult to get a plug into the 13 amp sockets. Almost as if the shutters are way too tight. Needs a good thump. Usb side is really good though.
As soon as I saw this one I said to myself that it was definitely going to be a capacitor, great video as always.
Good save Steve.
I have an old Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin, with the old iPod 30pin connector, that no longer powers up, it’s a bit faded, but yours if you want it, sound quality was awesome and I think I’ve seen people modify the original connector, I have tried Bluetooth adapters but didn’t work very well, like I said, yours if you want it.
very efficient fix, good intuition.
you should change all 3 if one has gone
great vid
I really appreciate how you've been able to "tone down" the beeping sound of the multi-meter. I love your videos, but the beeping sound has been just way too loud.
Good Repair!
I'm sure someone has already mentioned this, but you need a ball of blu-tac on your mat to stop the small components from pinging into the stratosphere when testing..
I had the same thing happen to a USB power strip last year. The radial capacitor bulged and its top opened up. I replaced it with a capacitor that has a slightly higher voltage but same capacitance and it works fine again.
9:50 It's always best to choose the voltage rating of an electrolytic capacitor as close to the voltage it is smoothing, rather than fitting the next voltage up.
Because the dielectric in electrolytics is produced by the voltage on the plates, it's best practice to fit the closest voltage ones you can.
Nothing bad will happen using the next voltage up like a 25V, but say, using a 63V capacitor on a 5V rail may cause problems in the future.
The last half a second at the end made me spit my drink out laughing. Thanks Steve
There is a heap of space behind the board so I would suggest the caps could've been installed on the backside, all new too as I wouldn't trust the existing ones.
Steve I just wanted to ask when you did the Nintendo switch lite in atomic what way did you set your camera up I noticed you had cables coming from it and I was just wondering how please and keep u the good work
Всем здоровья и удачи в новом году! Люблю этот канал . Извините что не знаю английский 😊
Hi you could have used any value above 560uF as they are only smoothing capacitors
Outro song killed me 😂
😁
Pure gold.
The ABSOLUTE HERESY of leaving Dave out 😂
Agree Dave is part of the team and quality control.
At 6:26 you can see the top of the left most capacitor has some dark stuff on it. That was the one that was bad.
Every day stez posts a new video is a good day
Maybe is the reflection but at 3:32 you can see that cap is discolored on the top.
Well done!
Capacitor! Who'd of thought that? 😊
this video has to be re made Steve sorry but Dave wasn't in so re do it hahaha. love the content as always love from South Africa. more videos please love when you take broken things and fix them sooooo satisfying.
I want more your style music video end credits in a compilation brilliant keep up the great content and HAPPY 2025 mate from Australia 🇦🇺
I like your probes where did you get them from?
The Steve/50 crossover was fire
Only time I've ever seen an electrolytic cap that was internally shorted was back in my 10th grade electronics class, and they were intentionally shorted to help teach us diagnostics.
We of course decided to learn how to reproduce the fault, and made a game of 'who can shoot the can across the room the furthest'
The whole room smelled of burnt peanut butter for like a month. 😂
i would have bet it was the board with the transformer
those capacitors are there to filter?
Should have put the new one in place of old one. That one gets most surge from power supply and would benefit from higher V cap.
Bro! I love that shirt!
i did wonder how you would test for 5volts while it was plugged in 😁 i must admit i was expecting a loud crack and some burning of plastic,electrickery can be very finicky 🤣🤣
I wouldn't have put the not-broken caps back in. Chances are that they are close to shorting out as well. Also, it looks like they are all in parallel so I might have just put a single 1500 or 2000uF instead.
More good quality caps in parallel is better than a single cap. Paralleled caps have reduced impedance, reduced ESR and ESL, reduced ripple current per cap, etc.
been 2 weeks past, where is dave?
I must admit to being a bit anxious watching this one 😅
😁 all safety precautions adhered to stringently on this one 😬
The entire thing looks sus AF :D
Ste showed that 240V who’s boss
@@StezStixFix I know it's gotta be the depth of view aspect of the camera but every time you pointed at the open live parts of the board I did squirm a bit.
Because Dave wasn't there to supervise, right?
video you change ps vita to type c so great
wish u can do on mine :3
Great stuff mate you make this channel very funny class 👏
Happy new year Sir/ Looking foreword to more videos in 2025.
We got told to do this with PC repair at college. Process of elimination works every time 😁
The power supply is a flyback power supply. It has a control chip on the primary side , which gets slowly charged via a large resistor into a capacitor. Once it has enough juice to start working, it activated the main switching element. This induces a voltage on the secondary and auxiliary windings. The auxiliary winding charger the control chip so it can stay running.
In this case, the output was short circuited, the voltage on the secondary was now around 0V instead of 5V. Because of how a transformer works, the auxiliary winding also had a low voltage. As the chip started, it depleted the energy stored in the capacitor and shutdown, instead of continuing to run. This kind of behavior has a side effect of limiting the power it outputs in a dead short, reducing the fire risk
Is that a reverse plug ? Eg the black cable is live ?
How do you manage finding so many things that are broken! I swear nothing in my life ever seems to break.
You are the best man
Hi Stez, I can never remember the name of the channel! How about a second channel with an easier name that links to this one? Something like Musical Fix or something like it, with that a lot of dumb people like me will have a pointer. Thanks for the excellent videos!
Drinking game:
Take a shot every time Steve says ''SOLID''
Pro-tip: avoid HDMI replacement videos.
Good thing you weren’t drinking every time he said “plug” 😂
muito bom LOL, impossible not to say pure .
Awesome video
After much research, shorted electrolytics are usually caused by "electrical stress". As you would know by now the usual failure mode is the electrolyte drying up or leaking out over time resulting in lower capacitance and higher ESR. I guess the shorted ones must have had some electrical trauma that punches through the electrolyte gap and sort of welds the 2 electrode foils together.
The end... 😂😂😂
"Nm nm nmneeeea" 😂😂😂
Hey Steve loving the videos, I have a couple of things you could try and fix that I’m happy to send in but don’t have a way of messaging you direct 😢
Very nice. Would have replaced all 3 caps. In my experience it does not take too long till the others follow the fate of the broken cap.
You may have said "Plug" many times but, most of what you referenced there was a Socket! LOL
I'd have done some voltage injection and thermal camera to find hot shorted component.