I grabbed an adapter with very small print that had the specs I needed (12v 1.5A) but I didn't notice it was an AC adapter not a DC adapter (I didn't know I even hasd an AC adapter). There was a pop sound and the lights turned off but no sparks or flames or smoke. I found the correct adapter and plugged it back in but no lights. I opened it up and it doesn't appear to have any damage ie no burnt trails on circuit board, no noticibly blown electronics, no round topped capacitors or anything like that, no black marks, no noticable damage at all. What could I have damaged? Is the router just shot or is it fixable? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Hi

Take a good photo of the area around the DC input Jack on both sides of the board.
Post the photos.

eT

 

Even with the lousy pic, I think I see a bulging capacitor near the ethernet jack.?

Read the markings on the chip next to the DC in.

Invest in a labeler (e.g. Brother p-touch).

example wire labeling:

5.5/2.1 (this is the size of the barrel connector 5.5mm outer, 2.1 mm inner)
5 VDC 1A C+ (C+ means Center positive)

and
ASUS xyz
Router

The device gets similar power labels.

 

Do I see some ferrites in there? If it uses switching regulators, there may be more damage than economically repairable.

 

Hi

Take a good photo of the area around the DC input Jack on both sides of the board.
Post the photos.

eT

Hi @eetech00 sorry about the delay but here they are:

 

Even with the lousy pic, I think I see a bulging capacitor near the ethernet jack.?

Read the markings on the chip next to the DC in.

Invest in a labeler (e.g. Brother p-touch).

example wire labeling:

5.5/2.1 (this is the size of the barrel connector 5.5mm outer, 2.1 mm inner)
5 VDC 1A C+ (C+ means Center positive)

and
ASUS xyz
Router

The device gets similar power labels.

Thanks for the reply @KeepItSimpleStupid but nope, no bulging capacitors. Jack is 12vdc 1.5A C+. The router is a Netgear Rangemax Duo Wireless-N Router WNDR3300. Closest thing I can see to the DC Port with any writing on it I have pointed out in attached pic and it says: HP14230N85791058HP5844. I also included a side angle pic so you can see none of the capacitors are bulging.

 

Do I see some ferrites in there? If it uses switching regulators, there may be more damage than economically repairable.

@Ylli I'm not incredibly well versed in electronics and the only Ferrites I'm familiar with are the Ferrite Rings that are occasionally on power cords and the only thing I see that's similar I have pointed to in attached pic and I'm not sure what is around those but it feels like plastic. If you were referring to something else please correct me.

 

Malfunctioning lights aside, does the router seem to work at all?

If yes, then you might have gotten lucky and just exceeded the reverse voltage spec on some LEDs and turned them into open circuits. But if not, my money would be on it not being economically repairable -- and even if you did repair it somehow you probably stressed a number of components that didn't quite fail that will probably fail soon.

 

Malfunctioning lights aside, does the router seem to work at all?

If yes, then you might have gotten lucky and just exceeded the reverse voltage spec on some LEDs and turned them into open circuits. But if not, my money would be on it not being economically repairable -- and even if you did repair it somehow you probably stressed a number of components that didn't quite fail that will probably fail soon.

Hello @WBahn I'm not sure if it does or not to be honest I was kind of afraid of plugging anything into it until I know more about the possible repercussions of doing so. Do you know if it's possible to damage other components plugged into it, if it is malfunctioning? Because that would be great, I don't need the lights and even though it was only plugged in for a millisecond, I rarely get that lucky lol. Also, as previously stated, I can find no signs of obvious damage whatsoever. It looks completely untouched. I've blown circuit boards before and it was always quite obvious what the damage was and where the damage occured. But if you know please clue me in, am I risking other components by plugging them into this router? Or will it just work or not?

 

Can you check F1. It's the symbol for a fuse.

 

Unless the router has a reverse-supply-voltage protection arrangement, almost any of the semiconductor devices on board could have fried .

 

F1 has markings TN and therefor 2A fuse. See: https://xdevs.com/pdf/SMT_fuse.pdf#page=7

 

Excellent observation there KISS.

 

If the package had no reverse polarity protection then probably quite a few of the IC devices have failed. They will not always burn or swell or even look overheated, they just don't work. So you may have learned an expensive lesson, which is that all wall-warts are not created equal. And sometimes they also have the polarity reversed because the company that makes them is evil. There is no excuse for that!

 

F1 has markings TN and therefor 2A fuse. See: https://xdevs.com/pdf/SMT_fuse.pdf#page=7

Right on @KeepItSimpleStupid

F1 has markings TN and therefor 2A fuse. See: https://xdevs.com/pdf/SMT_fuse.pdf#page=7

Right on @KeepItSimpleStupid That's exactly what it was! I bypassed the fuse/chip and everything is fine, so I just have to replace it now, You Sir Freaking Rock! Good eye.
Thank you very much! Thank you everyone else who responded also. I really appreciate you taking the time to help me with my issue.

 

Issue Solved. Thank you @KeepItSimpleStupid. As soon as I can figure out how to signify KeepItSimpleStupid as the user that had the solution and/or how to signify to the thread that my issue has been solved, I will do so.

 

Hello,

I would not bypass a fuse.
It is there for safety.
Try to obtain a fuse with the same properties.

Bertus

 

Issue Solved. Thank you @KeepItSimpleStupid. As soon as I can figure out how to signify KeepItSimpleStupid as the user that had the solution and/or how to signify to the thread that my issue has been solved, I will do so.

You already did -- as much as you can, anyway. This forum isn't like StackExchange or similar sites where you rate answers. Threads remain open and usually die a natural death as they fall off the first page of listings.

 

Thank you very much! Thank you everyone else who responded also. I really appreciate you taking the time to help me with my issue.

Best you can do is click the like button. The TS got lucky there was a fuse.

TS= Thread Starter
OP = Original Poster

 

I always try to design in a Schottky diode on the power in when using those coax power supply connectors. There are too many of them with opposing polarity, or AC vs. DC. Schottky gives me minimal voltage drop and I usually make it beefy enough to handle the current that the device will draw. My coworker called them idiot diodes.