Samsung Travel Adapter EP-TA10UWE Disassembly and repair.

Found this faulty Samsung travel adapter EP-TA10UWE (2A) and decided to take it a part to see what’s inside the hood. This adapter is a common charger that you might get when you purchase a Samsung mobile phone. The date code on the PCB indicated that it is from 2013.

To gain access to the PCB, I found out that you have to pry a part the “wrap” that is covering the back cover. There are no screws that you will need to remove.

Next, I used a pair of snips to try to cut away the back cover not knowing that it is actually clipped on.

Not wanting to further nip the back cover to pieces, I decided to try prying open the back cover with a flat head screw driver and it worked.

Finally, with the help of a long nose plier, the PCB is out of the case.

Here’s a detail look at the PCB.

After probing around the PCB with a multimeter, I noticed that the fuse(AC live input) is very loose and there’san open circuit on the connection on the PCB. With a little bit of solder magic on the connection there connectivity again. I placed the PCB back into the case and plugged the adapter into an AC power point. The adapter came back to life, it is fixed.  

Once again, another gadget have been saved from the trash incinerator. It is quite unfortunate that the adapter is sealed in a manner that discourages any form of repairs. What surprised me the most is that the fuse is not properly soldered to the PCB.

Anyway, hopefully, someone out there will be able to find these info helpful.