[Jaska]

I decided recently to move my favorite CD-ripping drive, my Plextor PX-230A, out of my desktop PC and start using it with my laptop. I was hesitant to do it in the first place, but with so many CDs being added to my collection all the time, I had to come up with a more practical solution since the desktop PC is not in a convenient place for me to work on it.

I wanted to pick up a good USB enclosure for it locally, but couldn't find one. Instead, I ended up with some weird kit of cables and connectors designed to allow any P-ATA or S-ATA device to work over USB. So, setup was pretty simple. I even took the time to read the few sentences of instructions in the enclosed literature. Once I was all set to go, I plugged the cord into the mains, and within about 4 seconds I was concealed in an envelope of black and grey smoke. I literally dove onto the floor to unplug the device before a fire might have started, allowed the drive to cool off for a long time, and checked out what might have gone so wrong.

I'm sure some of you have guessed already what the problem was, but for those who haven't, the 4-pin Molex connector for the power supply was upside down at the back of the drive. I've plugged and unplugged drives probably 100 times in my life, and never had an issue with this. When I plugged the connector into the drive, I checked both orientations for which fit better, and believe it or not it seemed "right" in the upside down position. The wires were numbered 1-4 on the Molex connector, but to a non-electrical engineer, this doesn't mean much when matching the connector to a drive where the pins are labeled by voltage.

Bottom line: I would have checked the other installed drives in my open PC for the color coding of the power supply wires before making the connection, but due to the type of Molex connector provided in the kit, there are no colored wires to be seen. Maybe more importantly, there just shouldn't be connectors that can be plugged in the wrong way. I've already ordered another new PX-230A, and a very nice enclosure to use with it. This is definitely one of the most absent-minded and expensive mistakes I've made in a very long time

 

[Duggeh]

If the connector was actually able to fit in the wrong way round then there is a fundamental design flaw with either the drive or the kit you bought.

 

[Jaska]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duggeh /img/forum/go_quote.gif If the connector was actually able to fit in the wrong way round then there is a fundamental design flaw with either the drive or the kit you bought.

That thought had definitely crossed my mind. The Molex connector is not the typical clear/frosty white rigid kind you usually come across, but rather a customized type of thing made of soft-ish black plastic. The top and bottom sides of the connector look identical. Below is a picture of the connector in question (at the end of the power brick).

 

[elliot42]

That does sound like a pretty major design flaw. Molex connectors should have two beveled corners that fit with the notches in the Molex socket on the drive. With the notches there on regular connectors, it's pretty impossible to fit the connector upside-down without modifying it.

Sorry to hear about your loss, it must have been a shock to have the drive blow up in your face...

 

[userlander]

Sorry about your wallet.

It might be worth trying to complain to the USB kit manufacturer, if that's what you're getting at. who knows, maybe it's even defective in other ways that would have fried your drive anyway and they would reimburse you for the kit at least.

 

[krmathis]

Sorry to hear!
But as mentioned the Molex connector are designed to fit only one way, since two of the corners are cut off. So sounds like a design flaw that you could easily connector the wrong way around.

 

[Jaska]

Just catching up with this thread now, since I'd forgotten to subscribe to it...

I am still pretty sad about the loss of my drive. It's funny how much value I had placed on it over the past 3.5 years or so. Since my last post in this thread, I did manage to get a refund for the kit from the shop that sold it to me, so at least that wasn't an additional loss. I contacted the manufacturer of the kit by phone (in Finnish) and provided a detailed account of what had happened, and I was asked to follow up with an e-mail in English so that the matter could be forwarded to the right R&D people. I actually think they will respond, and I definitely hope that they change the kit in a couple of key ways to make it safer to use. Instead of stamping the numbers 1-4 on the Molex connector, I think it would make a lot more sense to use the voltage values (+5, G, G, +12) since those can be matched up with the right pins on the drive (at least my optical drives are labeled that way). The material of the Molex connector housing is also poor. It's a soft, pliable, rubbery plastic, and as such, makes it possible to plug it in upside down. If a typical hard plastic connector housing were used, I do think it would be practically impossible to plug it in the wrong way.

 

[daglesj]

Why on earth would a firm bother to fit a different plug to the industry standard MOLEX connector that must cost less than a penny?

Most bizarre. I reckon a ****-up on the production line.