SheevaPlug power supply blown up

[mdsh]

Mine is flickering green and also ethernet port. No blue light. Do you think I have the same problem? Please let me know...

That is exactly how I found my SheevaPlug today - just the regular blinking green LED and regular blinking ethernet port LEDs.

There was no network 'ping' life out of the SheevaPlug.

I unplugged the SheevaPlug and plugged it in again on my work-bench, but no LEDs lit at all.

So, after quickly reconfiguring another Linux box as a NAT firewall (I have a USB ethernet port in this SheevaPlug) I took it apart (voiding the warranty). No volts out of the power supply and a light 'blown capacitor' smell. It looks exactly like the most recent picture in this thread - the capacitor closest to the output transistor is blown.

So, to answer your question, I think its highly likely that the power supply in your SheevaPlug has died. Has anyone said what DC voltage these things run on?

I'm going to attempt to replace the capacitors but I'm not all that keen about working on switch-mode PSUs. Working with rectified mains doesn't appeal :-(

Are replacement power supplies available so the SheevaPlug can continue to be a single box?

Thanks.
 

[c128]

Are replacement power supplies available so the SheevaPlug can continue to be a single box?

http://www.newit.co.uk/shop/proddetail.php?prod=SheevaPlugPSU

http://www.newit.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,489.0.html

[mdsh]

Ah! Ok, thanks. When the NewIT https web site is available again (currently not available at 23:13 BST on Friday 30th July) I'll order a new one.

I still might have a go at mending the old one - and also I'll try running the rest of the SheevaPlug off a 5volt bench supply.

Cheers :-)

[chrisii]

I am wondering if anyone has already received the replacement psu? Can it withstand 24x7 or will it eventually fail like the the original psu? This question might be silly if nobody has got the new psu. The reason I am asking is that the shipping to Switzerland is 25£ and I am trying to decide if I should spend the a little bit more to get a real replacement or opt for a rather bulky external 5v universal power supply.

[c128]

I am wondering if anyone has already received the replacement psu?

There's a thread below discussing a few actual experiences of the official, replacement, PSU:

http://plugcomputer.org/plugforum/index.php?topic=2100.0

I've had no problems since popping in mine received from NewIT, but it does look to differ from the PSU in the replacement installation instructions.  In addition, superpat has done some useful digging based on the photos (details in the thread).  In a nut-shell there's a suggestion that the replacements might be Guruplug PSUs and indications that the capacitors used might not have quite the robust tolerances we were looking for .  Don't know if the NewIT chaps are in a position to comment on this?

[NewIT_Marcus]

Don't know if the NewIT chaps are in a position to comment on this?

Not really; those sort of hardware issues aren't really our area of expertise, but we are aware of the discussions that you have highlighted.

[Percival P Plugsley]

Snap - after 10 months faithful service.

New PSU on order - hopefully will be able to rid myself of the incessant nocturnal whine of my quadcore once it arrives

[Percival P Plugsley]

Arrived 2 working days after order, fitted in 5 mins and I'm a happy bunny (especially as I fixed the card reader at the same time)

[Robert]

Hi, my Plug is dead... no LED etc.

So, the question is: Should I open it, to check if I have the same problem and will I still get a replacement by warranty?

[peter a]

You get all sort of faults due to the psu , my problem was just a single led constantly lit and not been able to connect via the coms port.
Sound like a psu problem , but I would send a e-mail about your problem just to cover yourself.

[NewIT_Marcus]

Hi, my Plug is dead... no LED etc.

So, the question is: Should I open it, to check if I have the same problem and will I still get a replacement by warranty?

Please e-mail jason@newit.co.uk

[marlar]

Oh well, today it was my turn. This problem seems to be very prevalent 

I am considering NewIT's replacement PSU, but first I want to test if the board itself is alive.

There are two black and two red wires from the PSU. Is this just 0 and 5 volt or are the two red voltages different?

Martin

[MatteoBP]

If I'm not mistaken, in case of broken PSU we can send the Plug back to NewIt for PSU replacement, or we can open the Plug, and send back only the broken PSU. NewIt will then ship a new PSU. The question is: does this procedure void the warranty?

The reason of this question is that I would like to use an external power supply (someone suggests delta power supply), but I would not void the warranty (for me prevention is better than cure). Is it possible?

Another problem are the ventilation slots. In another post (see http://www.newit.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,339.0/topicseen.html) Jason told me that I can clear the ventilation slots without voiding the warranty. But it is difficult to do without opening the plug, because I think I can damage the internal part. So I would clear the ventilation slots and use an external power supply. In this way I think that the plug temperature will be lower.

Thanks
Matteo

[marlar]

There are two black and two red wires from the PSU. Is this just 0 and 5 volt or are the two red voltages different?

Hmmm, if I had just looked more thouroughly at the PSU board I would have seen the two red wires are soldered together. So just a single 5V supply will do it.

In constrast to other blown PSUs in this thread, mine looks more really burnt than just sprayed with gray goo. So I don't think it will make sense to try to repair it.

Are there more experiences with the new replacement PSU with regards to endurance? Or is it just as bad as the original?

[NewIT_Jason]

The new PSU's are from a different supplier to those that were originally installed in earlier models.
The new PSU's are more robust, and to date we have not heard of any of these failing.