The Office of Technology Services was notified Saturday that Dell has voluntarily recalled certain AC adapters used with its notebook PCs. The recalled adapters can overheat, possibly causing fire or electrical shocks.
Details from a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission press release follow. The information will help you to determine if you own one of the recalled adapters and what steps to follow if you do.
“Name of product: AC adapters used with notebook personal computer
Units: About 990,000
Manufacturer: Delta Electronics Inc., of Taipei, Taiwan
Importer/Distributor: Dell Inc., of Round Rock, Texas
Hazard: The adapters can overheat, posing a risk of fire and electrical shock hazards to consumers.
Incidents/Injuries: Dell has received seven reports of incidents of adapters overheating, though no injuries have been reported.
Description: The recalled AC adapters were used with Dell LatitudeTM, PrecisionTM, and InspironTM notebook-style personal computers. The notebook computers have the following model number, which can be found either screened onto the surface of the computer or printed on a label on the bottom of the computer:
– Latitude: CP, CPi, CPiA, CPtC, CPiR, CPxH, CPtV, CS, CSx, CPxJ, CPtS, C500, C510, C600, C610, C800, C810, V700, C-Dock, C-Port
– Inspiron: 2500, 2600, 3700, 3800, 4000, 4100, 4150, 5000, 5000e, 7500, 7550, 8000, 8100, Advanced Port Replicator, Docking Station
– Precision: M40
The recalled adapters have the words ?DELL? and ?P/N 9364U,? P/N 7832D? or ?P/N 4983D? printed on the back of the unit. To access color photos of the following recalled products, see CPSC?s Web site at {http://www.cpsc.gov}.
Sold through: Dell?s Web site and customer service center sold the computers with adapters from September 1998 through February 2002 for about $1,500 to about $3,200. The adapters also were sold separately for between $30 and $70. The advanced port replicators and docking stations sold for between $300 and $600.
Manufactured in: China.
Remedy: Consumers with these adapters should immediately contact Dell to determine if they are included in this recall. Not all adapters listed above are being recalled. Do not use any recalled adapters. Dell will send consumers with recalled adapters a free replacement adapter.
Consumer Contact: Consumers should call Dell at (800) 418-8590 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. CT Monday through Friday or log on to Dell?s Web site at {http://www.delladapterprogram.com}. During the process, you will be asked for a customer number. Towson University’s customer number (for laptops purchased through the university) is: 4804617.“
