Fix a loose connection without cutting the cord?

December 2, 2008 10:24 AM

Is it possible to fix a power cord without replacing the plug?

I have a piece of equipment that appears to have an intermittent connection inside the plug. I can push on the cord (as if I were trying to force it further into the plug) and the piece will power up, but when I let go I lose power. The obvious answer is to replace the plug, but the piece is a collector's item and I'd rather keep it as intact as possible (read: it would probably lose several thousand dollars in value if I cut the original plug off). So is there a practical way to fix the plug without replacing it? It's polarized and ungrounded, and the plug shell is soft plastic.

posted by backseatpilot to technology (9 comments total)

No. Not if you can't take the plug apart to repair it. Replace it with a similar cord and plug from a cheap or broken appliance from a thrift store, used appliance store, or garage sale.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 10:37 AM on December 2, 2008

Is there absolutely no way to disassemble the plastic plug? Are there any screws or connecting devices? Is there a little guard or plastic/paper/resin "card" that fits inside of the plug's end, by the blades? If so, you could potentially remove that little block, check the connection, and replace it without damaging the plug too much.

If you're totally against just clipping the old plug off and fitting with a new one, you might try to acquire the whole tail assembly on a similar device, or find a broken one and take out the tail from that one.
posted by jimmyhutch at 10:38 AM on December 2, 2008

What I would do is remove the plug at the other end inside the appliance and set the original plug aside in a carefully labeled bag that says, "original plug from very expensive collector's item that when used presents a fire hazard".
posted by plinth at 10:39 AM on December 2, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

On some older cords the end of the plug, where the two prongs come out, is metal, either screwed into the plug or fitted into the molded plastic piece in a way that can be pried out with a small screwdriver. If that’s the case then it’s simply a matter of pulling out or unscrewing that end to access where the wires are attached to the prongs. From there you can re-solder.

If it’s soft plastic, like the feel of the classic green army man, you might be able to perform surgery on it with an X-Acto knife, cutting into the plastic until you can get to the metal part to re-solder, but that could be tricky and the iron will further melt the plastic. From there you could glue or melt the plastic back in place. Not ideal, but better than nothing.

I’m not sure what this is, is it something common where you could find an old, dead one and salvage the power cord from it?
posted by bondcliff at 10:48 AM on December 2, 2008

If it is really that valuable, you might want to contact a pro who restores that sort of thing. They may, for example, have a correct replacement cord.
posted by TedW at 10:55 AM on December 2, 2008

Are you sure it's the plug and not your outlet?
posted by ostranenie at 11:24 AM on December 2, 2008

If you could post a picture of the plug that would help to see if it's going to be (relatively) easily repairable. Unfortunately it can be very difficult to track down that sort of stuff these days, the period correct cords, plugs, sockets, etc, and can be compounded in the case of removable vintage cords with proprietary and obscure connections.

Were it my rare valuable whatever and I wanted to continue using it I would carefully replace the cord and put the original in a zip lock bag taped inside, replacing the original when going to sell. Note: nothing needs to be cut to do this.

If the value is so high that even touching the original solder joints for the replacement would significantly impact the value and the plug cannot otherwise be repaired I'd probably just sell the thing and let it be someone else's worry. Of course then the faulty plug probably lowers the value so...
posted by 6550 at 12:19 PM on December 2, 2008

If there´s no obvious way to access the innards of the plug, you might be able to get in there by drilling from the side that sits against the wall, or carefully cutting it in two (if there´s a line from the mold cut there) with a jewelry saw. If you are lucky you will be able to get to the area needing repair, but no guarantee on that. If you can find a similar plug, test first to see what´s in there.

Close inspection of the plug will show that repairs have been done, and I don´t know what effect this will have on the value of the device. It might be worth more as it is now.
posted by yohko at 1:46 PM on December 2, 2008

Fixed it! The cord had frayed inside the plug, so I carefully cut the plastic housing in half with an X-acto knife, removed the bad section of cord, soldered the cord back on to the plug tines, and superglued the whole thing back together. You can barely notice the seam.

To be honest, I think I grossly overestimated the value of it (it's a very old model train transformer), but it's got a lot of sentimental value and I didn't want an ugly replacement plug on the end of it. I did open it up, but the power cord is soldered right on to the transformer windings, so there was no way to just remove the entire thing. Thanks for all the ideas!
posted by backseatpilot at 5:47 AM on December 3, 2008