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    Sony SZ power fault?

    Discussion in 'VAIO / Sony' started by RvV, Jan 19, 2009.

  1. RvV

    RvV Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hello everybody,

    Last week I bough a Vaio SZ71N/C an today I noticed a weird sensation when I touch the palm rest. On a light touch it feels like there is a little bit of electrical current on the palm rest.

    When I unplug the machine this effect stops, so it does seemto be related to the power connection. Maybe there is a fault in a power connection somewhere in the machine.... :confused:

    Has anyone experienced anything similar and do you think his could be a fault in the internal wiring?

    Thanks for your advice!
     
  2. SSDVaio

    SSDVaio Notebook Guru

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    I have an SZ and this was an issue for me about a year ago. If your AC adapter is the 3 prong sort....what i mean is the bit that goes into the actual brick(charger) not the plug that goes into the wall!....theres 2 types, the 3 prong and 2 prong, basically one is earthed and the other isn't. Mine was a US AC adapter with 2 prong and i got terrible static type shocks of the palmrest area.

    I called sony and got a new AC adapter in 2 days....same thing again!! I finally purchased a UK 3 prong version that was grounded/earthed... and the problem for me was solved 100% :)

    Both are universal 110v - 240v and 19.5v (4.7A)

    [​IMG]

    left:UK/Euro 3 prong Right: US version 2 prong

    Sony Vaio VGN-SZ670N
     
  3. RvV

    RvV Notebook Enthusiast

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    SSDVaio,

    Many thanks for your swift reply. My adaptor (European mainland) has a cord that is fixed to the adaptor, so I can't really check the number of prongs, but I guess it is not grounded as the connection is fairly small.

    My adaptor model looks like this:
    [​IMG]

    All in all it is not a big inconvenience for me, no shocks just a weird sensation. But I'm a bit conerned about what happens with thehardware if the laptop is not properly grounded... ?
     
  4. b|lly

    b|lly Notebook Deity

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    Check the other side of the adapter. not the side where a cable goes into a laptop, check the side where cable goes into the wall.
     
  5. RvV

    RvV Notebook Enthusiast

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    b|lly, many thanks for the reply.

    The wall-side cord has three prongs, but I had it connected to a wall connection without ground, and apparently that was the problem (changing to a grounded connection also solves the issue).

    OK, so now my question is: can it cause problems with my hardware if I use an ungrounded connection?

    Thanks for all the help!
     
  6. SSDVaio

    SSDVaio Notebook Guru

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    I used my SZ ungrounded for a few months with no problems before changing the adapter. I think sony would of recalled the 2 prong adapters if they were causing hardware issues...well you would hope so :)
     
  7. b|lly

    b|lly Notebook Deity

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    My SZ is plugged via docking station into with adapter that have no ground and I have no issues with it. But maybe its docking station that is "protecting" it.

    Anyhow, there is a thread somewhere in this forum where a personal is showing how to solve this issues, just a bit of isolated tape is needed around the touchpad - sorry, but I cannot find this thread now, perhaps you can search for it.
     
  8. RvV

    RvV Notebook Enthusiast

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    Dear SSDVaio and b|lly,

    Thanks for your advice and information! I guess we can conclude that the issue is caused by using an unground power outlet, and that this is probably not a problem for hardware, because sony has used adapters without ground before.

    I tried to search for that isolated tape post in the forums, without success. But as I am not really bothered with a little static electricity on the palmrest, I think I will keep things as they are.

    Thanks again!