Recall of CableMods' 12VHPWR Adapters Estimates Failure Rate of 1.07%
by Anton Shilov on February 9, 2024 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- GPUs
- GeForce RTX 40 Series
- CableMod
A recall on 12VHPWR angled adapters from CableMod has reached its next stage this week, with the publication of a warning document from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Referencing the original recall for CableMods' V1.0 and V1.1 adapters, which kicked off back in December, the CPSC notice marks the first involvement of government regulators. And with that has come to light a bit more detail on just how big the recall is overall, along with an estimated failure rate for the adapters of a hair over 1%.
According to the CPSC notice, CableMod is recalling 25,300 adapters, which were sold between February, 2023, and December, 2023. Of those, at least 272 adapters failed, as per reports and repair claims made to CableMod. That puts the failure rate for the angled adapters at 1.07% – if not a bit higher due to the underreporting that can happen with self-reported statistics. All told, the manufacturer has received at least $74,500 in property damage claims in the United States, accounting for the failed adapters themselves, as well as the video card and anything else damaged in the process.
As part of the recall, CableMod has asked owners of its angled 12VHPWR adapters V1.0 and V1.1 to stop using them immediately, and to destroy them to prevent future use. Buyers can opt for a full refund of $40, or a $60 store credit.
It is noteworthy that, despite the teething issues with the initial design of the 12VHPWR connector – culminating with the PCI-SIG replacing it with the upgraded 12V-2x6 standard – the issue with the CableMod adapters is seemingly distinct from those larger design flaws. Specifically, CableMod's recall cites issues with the male portion of their adapters, which was not altered in the 12V-2x6 update. Compared to 12VHPWR, 12V-2x6 only alters female plugs (such as those found on video cards themselves), calling for shorter sensing pins and longer conductor terminals. Male plugs, on the other hand, remain unchanged, which is why existing PSU cables made for the 12VHPWR remain compatible (and normally safe) with 12V-2x6 video cards. Though as cable mating is a two-way dance, it's unlikely having to plug into inadequate 12VHPWR female connectors did CableMod any favors here.
Sources: Consumer Product Safety Commission, HotHardware, CableMod
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Taco-Man - Friday, February 9, 2024 - link
The article mentions “12V-6x6” 4 times which confused me for a minute. The correct name of the newer standard that will replace 12VHPWR is 12V-2x6. ReplyRyan Smith - Friday, February 9, 2024 - link
D'oh! Thank you; that's a silly error. ReplyThreska - Friday, February 9, 2024 - link
Miss the days when male/female external connectors fastened down. Replymeacupla - Friday, February 9, 2024 - link
are you talking about VGA, DVI, and COM?Because back in those days, the internal 4-pin molex (AMP) connectors were trash.
going back even further, the P8 and P9 connectors on AT PSUs were even worse. Reply
The Von Matrices - Friday, February 9, 2024 - link
These power connectors do have a retaining clip to ensure the plug is fully inserted, so I'm not sure how much better those type of fasteners would be at preventing damage.I am glad that screw-in connectors are dead. I don't miss blindly reaching around the back of a PC or monitor with no clearance and scratching the skin off my knuckles when they hit something each time I had to turn my wrist to screw in the connectors. And then there were the evil designs that put the receptacle way too close to a perpendicular surface such that you couldn't get your fingers around the thumbscrew to turn it. Reply
Threska - Friday, February 9, 2024 - link
SCSI was two metal clips that locked it in securely. No screws required.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCSI_connector Reply
thomasjkenney - Friday, February 9, 2024 - link
Centronics connector, part of the micro ribbon connector family: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro_ribbon_connect... ReplyFatFlatulentGit - Saturday, February 10, 2024 - link
The 50 pin centronics connectors used clips, but the 25 pin connectors used screws. ReplyPneumothorax - Saturday, February 10, 2024 - link
That's the biggest problem with this stupid connector, even if it "clicks" it can still be partially out of the socket due to play/tolerance which means some of these tiny pins that are being asked to carry significant wattage aren't fully connected. Which causes heat/melting/fire. ReplyPapusan - Friday, February 9, 2024 - link
Nice. And Cablemod reps claimed 0.2-0.25% failure rate the whole time while they continued sell their melting angled adapters. Not sure I would trust a failure rate at 1.07% either. Could be even higher for what we know. Reply