Electrical explosion with original iPad 2 charger

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Looks like something shorted out. I would not use that again. I would also take the iPad in to have the hardware checked. More than likely with the discoloration at the 30-pin cable area that something is probably melted on the iPad itself. Let Apple examine it.

cwm9 wrote:

The charger, yeah, but the thought of throwing away a working iPad (well, at least it turns on, I have no idea if it will charge any more), is... a little sickening.

Nowhere near as sickening as risking your child's safety.

That is because you probably tried to contact Apple support about the issue and they thought it was a service call. It is something different. Speak to a real person, or make an appointment at the Genius Bar of the nearest Apple Store. Phone support just looks at your serial number and warranty status.

They won't charge you once you make the report. You have to get to a real person to be able to talk to someone. If you are that concerned, I would go ahead with the charge and talk to them, and then ask about reversing the charge. I would imagine they would do that given the issue.

I'd be amazed if the ipad still works. Buy new connector and try. You could plug connector in first then power second. Don't touch anything. May want to connect to surge protector. Protector will drop before power line. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a fuse on the 5volt line.

The charger reduces the voltage down to what the iPad can accept. From this page, it looks like the iPad accepts 5volts. In my knowledge of electronics, 5 volts is safe.

http://www.wired.com/2013/12/charging-devices-faq/

Here is all about the use of the thirty pins. Light on how charging works. USB charging is at 5 volts. See comments.

http://irq5.io/2012/06/25/the-apple-30-pin-dock-connector/

google search of ipad 30 pin connector

connectors from a-z.

Take to a computer repair stop and see what they have to say.

Two articles on the effects of voltage on a person.

https://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~p616/safety/fatal_current.html

http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/injuries_poisoning/electrical_and_light ning_injuries/electrical_injuries.html

rccharles wrote:

The charger reduces the voltage down to what the iPad can accept. From this page, it looks like the iPad accepts 5volts. In my knowledge of electronics, 5 volts is safe.

Without having the equipment in my hands, I'm not going to attempt to explain why this happened but 120V was delivered to the iPad. 120V can kill. This iPad is apparently a toy for a five-year old. If I were the father, it would already be in the trash and I would have purchased a new one. There is no way that I would consider a repair. There's too much at stake.

I'd call apple in this case & complain. Try someother number in the contacts list below.

I doubt the device would poweron any way.

Never plug the ipad into a charger when the child is using the device.

I put gfci outlets around my house. Adds another level of protection. You can still get shocked I have heard.

https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/construction/electrical_incidents/gfci.html

http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/SectionDisplay.jsp?section=37683

Robert

Since the charger is only supposed to supply 5 volts at 12 watts which is about 2.2 amperes of current, that much damage from that amount of current is not possible unless the charger shorted internally. If an internal short happened then you would see significant damage on the sides of the charger. If you look closely at the wall plug portion you will notice that one of the prongs is etched indicating significant current, more than the charger would supply. My suspicion is that the pug for the iPad contacted the plugs for the wall causing the short. The smoke damage and the arcing occur in the same spot as if the end of the charging cable contacted the prongs.

That much damage on the iPad plug would severely damage the iPad possibly to the point of non-functioning. You should be able to see damage on the port on the iPad. Absence of any damage on the iPad there has to be another point of contact for the short, thus the contacting of the cable end against the plug pins.

If there is no damage in the port for the iPad a new charger from Apple and you will probably be as good as new.

I doubt the CPSC would be interested in damage that was inflicted by misuse of a device which is how it appears to me, especially with the damage on the power prongs.

rccharles wrote:

I'd call apple in this case & complain. Try someother number in the contacts list below.

I doubt the device would poweron any way.

Never plug the ipad into a charger when the child is using the device.

I put gfci outlets around my house. Adds another level of protection. You can still get shocked I have heard.

https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/construction/electrical_incidents/gfci.html

http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/SectionDisplay.jsp?section=37683

Robert

Don't add more confusion. GFCIs would have done ZILCH as the charger does not include a ground pin.

If it were my son, it would be in the trash.