Almost torched my garage with a bad battery charger fix

Last Tuesday I tried to revive a dead DeWalt 20V charger by swapping a capacitor, and it started smoking within 10 seconds of plugging it back in. Has anyone else had a battery charger catch fire after a DIY repair?

2 comments

2 Comments

carr.xena12h ago

Swapped a capacitor yourself? Man, that takes some guts. I would have just tossed the whole thing and bought a new one before even cracking it open. Glad you caught that smoke before it turned into a real fire though.

parker2248h ago

Swapping that cap totally changed my mind about fixing stuff myself. Used to think if something stopped working, it was just dead and done, no point in even looking inside. But seeing that smoke and knowing I stopped it from getting worse made me realize it's worth trying at least once. Now I feel like a lot of electronics we toss could probably be saved with a simple part or a youtube video. It's not that hard, just gotta be careful and not rush. Definitely gonna try fixing my old amp next instead of trashing it.