Repairing a PSU earth pin

[Mark]

Hi All,

My son has a lego electric railway with an external "brick" shaped PSU

- one where the transformer is integrated into the plug. The unused earth pin, which is plastic(!), has broken off. I have tried glue to mend, but there is not enough material left to attach it.

Can anyone else suggest a cheap way of repair? I don't intend to spend £40 on a new one from lego. (The replacement item is here:

(I can't take it back to the shop because that has closed down.)

TIA, Mark

[Richard Conway]

Could you not get a short extension lead and stick a screwdriver in the earth bit while you insert the adaptor and then tape the whole thing together so it can't be unplugged. Then you simply have to plug the extension lead in?

[Wingedcat]

File/Sand remainder of earth pin flat Drill ~4mm hole about 10mm deep through centre of snapped off pin Source metal rod of suitable diameter (ideally _slightly_ wider) and cut to required length (30mm?) Wedge/glue into place

It only needs to open up the gate in the socket.

[manatbandq]

The =A340 includes the whole controller.

The PSU is only a bog standard 9V "wall wart". Not sure without looking if it's AC or DC but choose something suitable from Rapid

for about =A310.

MBQ

[Mark]

Thanks for the response. I did not give all the detail but the earth pin is snapped off at its base - where it joins the case. The pin is hollow and there is now a hole in the case where it used to attach. Hence I don't think your solution will work :-( Thanks anyway!

True.

It does seem of very flimsy design. All other similar PSU's I have are fitted with a metal earth pin.

Unfortunately the PSU does not have any obvious way of opening it up otherwise I might be able to fit an earth pin from a ordinary 13A plug.

Mark

[Mark]

An interesting idea. If a full repair cannot be done I will probably do this ;-)

Mark

[Weatherlawyer]

equivalent -which, being made by Chinese prison slaves, will be damned cheap for Leggo to buy.

transformer from Maplins for 10 or 15 quid and have a decent bit of kit for your hard earned. If there is regular car boot market near you there will always be a stall with a box of old low power transformers in the bottom of it.

The Speed Regulator is covered by a 1 year limited warranty but that doesn't say anything about the plug.

Do your bit for Britain and throw the lot away before Power Gen cripple you.

[Mark]

Agreed. However I don't think they sell the PSU on its own.

The trouble is there are a large number of variables and I don't want to risk buying the wrong sort of PSU. Maybe someone could help me identify a suitable replacement please? The old PSU has the following on it:

PRI 240V~50HZ SEC 10V~7VA PL6-8106 IP40 T30(degree)C and some symbols. One is one square inside another (I know what that means). The other symbols I don't: A large capital "T" inside a circle. The T has a line like a snake wrapped around the stem of the letter). The other symbol is a rectangle with two small circles underneath and a single small diamond on the top. It has a female barrel type connector which I have not measured yet.

I assume the secondary is 10V AC (because of the second ~). 7VA is 7W and hence 700mA at 10V. I guess a 9V secondary would be OK, but I'm not sure.

Phew!

Mark.

[dennis]

Buy a two/three way adapter, Open the earth with a screw driver, insert the PSU and glue the adapter to the PSU with araldite.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

[John Weston]

I'd get a new 9v transformer/mains adapter and join it onto the speed controller. I don't think you'll make a safe repair, especially for a child's use. Alternatively, you -could- permanently fasten it, e.g. with tie-wraps, to a single-socket extension lead, first opening the shutters with a suitable implement, out of sight of the child...

See

and as examples of replacements. You'll need to pick one that has a greater output current rating that the one it's replacing.

[meow2222]

There are 2 types of socket shuter mech in use. The older type is opened by inserting an earth pin, or other object. After that came a 2 pin only shutter designed to prevent insertion of the old round pin French plugs. Just plug it into a socket with a 2 pin shutter, it will work perfectly.

NT

[manatbandq]

Things will run a little slower at 9V.

A larger VA supply will work but may risk damage if there's no overload protection in the main box.

AC means you don't have to worry about polarity on the output.

I'd be happy with anything between 8 - 12V, 7 - 15VA, e.g. Rapid

85-2921 9V AC 1 Amp at =A34.88 + postage + VAT .

A DC supply would also probably work but you would need something like

13V to get the same performance.

MBQ

[Bob Eager]

How about getting an empty PSU case and transplanting the innards? Your link is failing, so I can't see the size.

part number ENPS5MEP/B, or EN56011, EN56014, or EN56017. All different sizes.

[Weatherlawyer]

Something like the power supply fro a telephone will be about half that but the same voltage so you could try yours if you have one with no worries.

Then there is the stuff you get with battery drills. I'd just stick a piece of wood in the earth point of a socket on a power line and keep that for the toy.

[manatbandq]

Which opens the L & N shutters and allows child to insert metal objects. Very sensible advice, NOT!

MBQ

[Mark]

Cheapest and easiest way is to use a two way adapter With an L shaped tool push the earth socket shutter which will allow the psu to enter the adapter. You could glue/tape these together if they are going to be frequently unplugged.

-

[Rob Morley]

a washer under the head if there's room).

[google]

The power supply, controller, and track contacts are separate parts. Which are you looking for?

The individual components to set 4548 can be found on BrickLink:

'm guessing all can be sourced in the UK for much less than cost of a new set.

-Rob.

[Mark]

Thanks to all who replied. I think I'll use the two way adapter in the short term and eventually source a new PSU.

Cheers, Mark