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Compaq Recalling Armada AC Adapters

Defective part may cause electrical shock.

By Brian McWilliams, PCWorld   

%dquotThe adapter has a connector which, under very rare conditions can [cause] an electrical shock hazard if the power cord is plugged into the wall,%dquot said Ted Clark, VP of Marketing for Compaq%squots portable PC division. He says the recall potentially affects 75,000 AC adapters sold with Armada 4100 systems during the period September 23 through November 20, 1996. Only AC adapters with both part number 217984-001 on the bar code label and three hollow connector pins in the recessed male connector on the power adapter are affected.

Compaq has reported the problem to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, but that there are no known cases of injuries from the defective power supplies. %dquotWe found this [defect] internally, and have taken a proactive approach to get out there and get this back out of the hands of our customers before anything could happen,%dquot said Clark.

The Armada 4100 is one of Compaq%squots more popular notebooks and has been in short supply. Clark denied that the defective AC adapters are the result of a rush to get more Armadas through manufacturing.

Compaq advises users to stop using the affected AC adapters and contact Compaq for a replacement. That number is 800/322-9515.