Why DIDN'T my Playstation fry to death?!

[thom_m]

Guys, I'm baffled and confused. Yesterday, while trying to check ou the contents of some PS2 memory cards, I accidentaly plugged in my recently acquired Playstation (the big, bricky one). The cords are very similar, so I thought I was pluggin the ps2. My Playstation is 110v, and I plugged it to a 220v outlet!

While I was wondering why the ps2 wouldn't turn on, a heavy burning smell and LOTS of white smoke began coming out of the PS. I rushed to plug it out, and thought: "Crap, I fried it!". Then I proceeded to open it and check out what I though would be a black, burned mess...and and everything was OK. Then I plugged it in through a voltage transformer and, to my surprise, it worked just fine!

Uh....what the hell happened?! Why isn't it dead? What could I possibly have damaged by plugging it on the wrong voltage, and can expect to fail on me soon? Thanks in advance!

[RP2A03]

It sounds like you cooked the capacitors in the power supply causing them to vent electrolyte vapor. It would be a good idea to replace all of the caps on the power supply as they probably shouldn't be trusted to deliver clean power.

[thom_m]

Thanks! I'll do so!

[wiggyx]

Is the PS not fused? I woulda thought it'd blow the fuse before frying the power board :/

[RP2A03]

Is the PS not fused? I woulda thought it'd blow the fuse before frying the power board :/


It does have a fuse, 125V 2A. He just didn't draw two amps across it so it didn't blow. Furthermore, even if the fuse did blow, the current would probably just arc across it since it is rated for only 125 volts.


Also, thom_m, I failed to mention this earlier, but you need to make sure your replacement caps are low ESR. If you can't purchase them for a reasonable price, you may be able to scrap them from some junk that has a switched-mode power supply.