# Power cord disintegrating?????



## comanche (Feb 11, 2010)

I took my power cord out last night to charge my Kindle and it came apart in my hands. The outer shield shredded like it was made of flour. Anybody had this?


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## kansaskyle (Sep 14, 2010)

I've read about this happening to a lot of folks on the Amazon Kindle Community board.  Just call Kindle Customer Support 1-866-321-8851, and they will replace it.


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## ff2 (Oct 20, 2010)

It probably complies with Calif toxic substances standards and is made of Corn Starch.


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

Mine is doing the same thing. I didn't think about calling CS. I'll do that and see if they will send me a new one. Glad I found this.


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## ErinS (Mar 7, 2009)

That happened to mine a few weeks ago.  I called Kindle CS, and the sent me a new one at no charge.


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## comanche (Feb 11, 2010)

They tried to make buy one, but I said no. They are now sending me a replacement at no charge.  Just noticed my Wife's cord is starting to develop some cracks.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

comanche said:


> I took my power cord out last night to charge my Kindle and it came apart in my hands. The outer shield shredded like it was made of flour. Anybody had this?


Yep. Mine's long gone. I found a place that would sell me 4 for $8 and have been using them.

Mike


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## naypalm (Jul 1, 2010)

Anyone here ever replace their AC adapter for their K3? Mine makes an annoying high-pitched noise and gets really hot. If so, how is amazons return policy, or do they just send a new one out to you?


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

Wow! I'm still using the cord that came with my K2 in here on my computer, and it looks like new. The other power cords that I have for my Kindle3 look like new, too. How weird.


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## musclehead (Dec 29, 2010)

You could use any old USB cord you have laying around the house.  They're all the same, and that would save the trouble of messing with Amazon, only to end up with a redundant cord.


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## caracara (May 23, 2010)

I have one cord that is shredding. One of these days I will call for replacement.
I have two others from Amazon that still look brand new. Luck of the draw.


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## Seamonkey (Dec 2, 2008)

I had this happen with at least one cord.. took more than one call and then I got a sort of grudging email saying ok, order it and we'll pay.. and I never got around to it.

For one thing, first they tried to say it was out of warranty on a different Kindle..  

It is pretty strange when it happens.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

naypalm said:


> Anyone here ever replace their AC adapter for their K3? Mine makes an annoying high-pitched noise and gets really hot. If so, how is amazons return policy, or do they just send a new one out to you?


If your power adapter is getting hot and making noise, you need to get with Kindle Customer Service ASAP and get a replacement. I don't think they require return, they should just ship you a new one.

Don't wait. And don't use it anymore.

Mike


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## Guest (Feb 24, 2011)

Anyone have a photo of this?


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## busy_91 (Feb 22, 2011)

you are not alone. I pulled mine out and the white coating practically fell off exposing the wires underneath. I don't understand why this happened. I since bought a new one, but still...It should not do that, it isn't that old.  It still worked, but I didn't want to take the chance.


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## Cuechick (Oct 28, 2008)

This happen to mine too. I just replaced the actual cord, the plug part is fine as far as I know... this was for my K2. I thought about calling but mine is well over a year old. It cost less than $3 to replace and shipping was free. Now I see it is only 1¢ but they are probally charging for shipping. I am sure you can also pick it up at a store like best buy...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002J46IYW/ref=ox_ya_os_product


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

Kindle CS is replacing mine. It is now shredding from both ends. It is only happening to one of my cords. It is the one I got with the first K3 I bought. The K2 cords are still like new.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

McGee said:


> Anyone have a photo of this?












Note that all the deterioration that you can see (i.e., not covered up by the electrical tape) happened _after_ it was put in a plastic bag for future reference.

Mike


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## Guest (Feb 24, 2011)

Thanks for the photo  

I've never seen anything like that before and I'm not exactly careful with my stuff. 

Any animals in the house? Extreme weather? Heated floors? I never use the Amazon cable because I'm using a Nokia wall charger and the Micro USB cable the Nokia also came with. 

But it looks like Amazon could have gotten taken by their chinese suppliers


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## ff2 (Oct 20, 2010)

That is quite an image.  It would be laughable   if it did not involve electricity   and potential shock (little) but fire danger


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

McGee said:


> Any animals in the house? Extreme weather? Heated floors?


I have a cat, but she has never chewed on anything (that was my first thought, though). Temp stays between 65-80F, depending on season, no heated floors. As I said, all the flaking that you see there has happened since it was put into the baggie. I wanted to see if the deterioration would continue, and it has.

I have other, similar cables that were sitting with this one, and they are still in perfect condition.

Mike


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I have one with the plug and 2 extra usb from the replacements I had needed in September. They feel sticky for lack of better word. I looked at them after seeing that pic   . No problems yet I think. But that worries me, they feel really flimsy and powdery or sticky. Not sure how to describe it but if feels like I have something on my hands when I don't. 

I'll be not touching it much and leave it in the same spot. I won't be folding it up either.

What did they cover those wires with, spray on paper mache? Flour water?


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## Elk (Oct 4, 2010)

This is a clear manufacturing defect.

Bother.


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

The one that did this for me has never been folded up or used anyplace but on my desk at home. I have no pets. I don't know why it did it. All the others I have are not having a problem. I had to order a new one and they credited the price back to my credit card. I didn't realize that I had used one day shipment and there was an $18.98 shipment charge on the $19.99 cord. They refunded the shipment charge as well. I felt bad about that. I really didn't need it overnight mail and didn't realize until to late to change it. As always Kindle CS is the best.


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## busy_91 (Feb 22, 2011)

Great pic of the deterioration. Mine looked like that for about a day and then the rest of the white coating fell off and there was nothing but silver wire showing.  No pets, no extreame heat, no plastic bags, not overly coiled, just neatly put to the side.  I hope the new one doesn't do this.


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## geniebeanie (Apr 23, 2009)

My kindle two is  two years old and going on three.  Do you think they will replace mine?


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

geniebeanie said:


> My kindle two is two years old and going on three. Do you think they will replace mine?


No way for us to tell. Call Kindle Customer Service.

Mike


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

geniebeanie said:


> My kindle two is two years old and going on three. Do you think they will replace mine?


I'm sure they will. They didn't even ask me what Kindle I was talking about. I have 5 on my account and some of them are 2 yrs or older. I just sent them an email about it and it was answered right away. The overnighted it to me.


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## caseyf6 (Mar 28, 2010)

YIKES


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## monkeyluis (Oct 17, 2010)

Monoprice.com for any cable need & really cheap. If you can't get a replacement from amazon. Buy the mini USB here.


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## ripal (Feb 23, 2009)

Mine looked just the one in the photo only worse! I have no pets at home, no heating, no heated floors. I've never seen this happening to anything in our home! But I have plenty of other mini USB cords at home(home is full of gadgets! lol), so didn't care or think of calling Amazon about it. 

Glad to see that I wasn't the only that had this happen. It just seemed odd to have the cord start flaking off!


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## Crystalmes (Jan 28, 2010)

they gave me a credit of $20 and had me order a new one while on the phone!


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## geniebeanie (Apr 23, 2009)

Thanks to this  board,Amazon replaced my power cord that was crumbling and I was afraid to plug it in.  I called the number and  they replaced my power cord for free.


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## jgirvine (Jun 17, 2009)

My husband had not used his Kindle in 3 weeks.  Was in the night stand by his bed.  He got it out today to charge and the cord was disintegrating.  Literally the white casing around the wires was in like 100 pieces.  Any one heard of this??


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## DD (Nov 9, 2008)

This happened to me last January.  I found the covering on the cord crumbling on day.  I called Kindle CS and they gave me a credit on my account in the amount of a replacement cord.  I think I read somewhere here that there was a bad batch that was sent out.


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## Elk (Oct 4, 2010)

Yes, some of the cords literally fall apart.

A quick call to Kindle customer service will get you a nice new one.


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## fuschiahedgehog (Feb 23, 2010)

or just use a plain old micro USB charger.  Most newer cellphones use microUSB chargers - you probably have a couple kicking around the house.


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## Jan Strnad (May 27, 2010)

And they taste terrible, too. There's a thread about it around here somewhere.


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## Toby (Nov 25, 2008)

Amazon CS is fantastic! Just give them a call or email them. I just got a replacement for a K2 cord free. They give you a promotional credit. Afterwards, you just go on to Amazon & order it. You will not be charged for it.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

My cord disintegrated as described.  I have so many micro USB cables around I didn't worry about it.


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## fancynancy (Aug 9, 2009)

Mine disintegrated too, but I think that was because a hotel maid vacuumed it.    Fortunately, there is nothing special about the Kindle cord, and micro USB cables are plentiful in our house!  Of course, you should get another one from Amazon because the white looks so nice.


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## Raffeer (Nov 19, 2008)

Got one on Ebay for $2.34 (including postage). Works fine.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

Yep, same thing happened to me.  For a moment I blamed my cat for chewing on it.  Then I read that it happens all the time.  I bought a new one, but my BlackBerry charger is identical to the Kindle one, so I often just use that - much sturdier - one.


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## sebat (Nov 16, 2008)

Amazon will replace it.  Just send Kindle CS an email and they will take care of it.


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## fuschiahedgehog (Feb 23, 2010)

I wish the charger/cable was optional - we have at least 10 microUSB chargers crammed in the kitchen junk drawer, and I also have a large bin of miniUSB chargers.  Seems like such a waste.


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## Hadou (Jun 1, 2011)

I've yet to have that happen, but I've heard it's quite a persistent problem.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0049IE70I/ref=ox_ya_os_product

At the suggestion of a friend, I bought five of the above chargers a few months ago and stashed them in my car, in all three of my favorite pieces of luggage I usually take with me when I travel. I already had a charger at work. I got mine from 11th Street Wireless for about $3.50 each, but there are a bunch of options now for similar price. If you choose to be safe and pay a bit more to get them direct from Amazon.com I wouldn't blame you. These are inexpensive enough it is worth paying to have spares around. They work well, and charge my phone and other devices at about 850 mA per hour (in other words, reasonably fast). They are made by Samsung, so are of reasonable quality, and they do include the wall plug as well as the cable.


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## fuschiahedgehog (Feb 23, 2010)

This is my travel companion: http://www.amazon.com/4-USB-Port-Ac-Charger/dp/B0036VO7OK/ref=pd_sim_cps_28

4 usb ports off of 1 AC outlet. And, of course, the USB cables to charge everything - Nintendo, Kindle/phone, tablet, etc.


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## caracara (May 23, 2010)

Call CS. They are wonderful.  They credited my account.  I ended up not even using the credit for a new cord, but on a different purchase, so still worth the call even if you already have a different charger.


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## WayneBowyer (Feb 27, 2011)

I don't think for a moment that all these power cords are just disintegrating on their own. 


What we have here are a whole bunch of KKKC's!  (Kloset Kindle Kable Chewers)

I think folks have discovered just how tasty that power cable really is and they're chewing on them. And then when the cable falls apart they try to blame it on Amazon and poor QC.

Ya'll should be ashamed of yourselves.


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## sebat (Nov 16, 2008)

WayneBowyer said:


> I don't think for a moment that all these power cords are just disintegrating on their own.
> 
> What we have here are a whole bunch of KKKC's! (Kloset Kindle Kable Chewers)
> 
> ...


I was going to ask you if you had been spending too much time in the "My Charging Cable Tastes Terrible!" thread but I see you started it! Guess it takes a cord eater to know one!!!


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Wayne might be on to something.  I promise I've never put either of my Kindle cables in my mouth for any reason. . .and they're both fine.

Maybe actual chewing isn't needed, just saliva. . . . . .


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## JakeBlackthorn (Sep 7, 2011)

Hi
same problem; same cancerous picture; only more advanced.
Called Amazon on posted number and received free cable replacement.
No complaints about Amazon service on this one.

my great appreciation for this forum....

jake


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

***merged a couple of similar topics about power cord casing failing. . . .sorry for any confusion***

synopsis:  Yes, it has happened.  Amazon will credit you for a new one readily.  Any micro USB cord will work.  The cord tastes terrible.


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## NightGoat (Feb 2, 2011)

jmiked said:


> Note that all the deterioration that you can see (i.e., not covered up by the electrical tape) happened _after_ it was put in a plastic bag for future reference.
> 
> Mike


That looks like zombie cord.


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## jbcohen (Jul 29, 2011)

Someone correct me if i am wrong but I believe that the cords for Kindles are simple standard mini USB cables.  My employer has been so insistant about picking up the cost of my cell phone bill that I have discontinued the one that I had and I am using the one my employer gave me for 100% of my cell phone needs.  Its a Blackberry and it uses a cord that looks like its identical to the one that the Kindle uses.  If it wasn't for the fact that I seem to need to charge the berry every night I would use the berry cable for the kindle as well.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Current Kindles use a *micro* usb cord. Same as my Droid phone.


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## DD (Nov 9, 2008)

I owned 4 charging cords from both the K2 and the K3.  Well, this makes 4 out of 4 crumbled cords!  My 4th one disintegrated in my hands today.  Amazon always replaces them but I sure hope they are on top of this problem with the new Kindle cords.  I'm tired of calling/emailing Amazon about the same thing.


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## WayneBowyer (Feb 27, 2011)

Ya'll really need to stop chewing on your power cords. 


Go  get a Big Mac or somethin'!


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## Seamonkey (Dec 2, 2008)

I've had two disintegrate and even worse than shown in that picture.  

I've had K2, 2 K3's and DX plus when I got my K2 I bought an extra cord and adapter so I would have one upstairs and one downstairs.  So I've had 5 and two have fallen apart.  My second K3 is a replacement for the first and even though it was billed as shipping without a cord and adapter,  a cord was included.  The instructions were not to send a cord back with the returned K3, so I didn't, but I was tempted.  Anyway I've tossed them out, since they were so messy and useless.


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## MeganW (Dec 28, 2008)

My father-in-law had the same thing happen to his K2 cord -- he said it just started crumbling, and that was the first I'd heard of it happening.  I had no idea it was so common.


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## Elk (Oct 4, 2010)

MeganW said:


> I had no idea it was so common.


It is oddly common with Amazon cords. There is either a poor spec (design defect) or under performing supplier (manufacturing defect). Either way it is unfortunate that these cords fail for so many.

And there is the dreadful taste issue . . .


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

My K1 cord is still in good shape.  

Betsy


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

All of my cords are in good shape:  The USB and power cords for the K1;  the cord for the DX which my aunt now has; and both cords I have for my K3 . . .I have an extra because my aunt thought she'd lost the DX one so I ordered a spare just in case but then she found it.


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