I purchased a Sony DAB radio online at the beginning of 2013. A few weeks ago, the wires of the mains lead became flayed therefore there was no power. The lead consists of a moulded plug and, at the other end, a small connector of two 'female' holes that plug into an enclosed slot at the back of the radio.

I looked online for a suitable replacement but with no luck and l visited shops without success. I contacted both Sony Customer Services and Technical Centre. They could not help me and pointed me to their service centre shops. I went to my local SC and again no luck but the assistant promised me he will contact Sony and explain the situation. He did and gave me a number to call and Sony will exchange the radio. When l spoke to someone at Sony, he said that he had no idea of what l was talking about!

At present, l have a perfectly working Sony radio but with no mains lead. I do not understand why Sony cannot supply a replacement lead as the radio is only a few years old! The model l have has since been deleted and replaced by a newer product, ironically with a regular mains lead!

Please could anyone advise me of what to do next? Should Sony exchange my radio as they cannot supply me with a simple item as a replacement mains lead.

Cheers in advance.

Does it have a plug like this?

http://www.kenable.co.uk/images/fig_8_plug.jpg

That is known as a figure of eight plug (look at it end on and it is obvious why ). They are a standard type of plug so you should be able to find one pretty much anywhere.

If it's not like that then what is the exact model number of the radio as there may be a manual available on the Sony website that shows what it is.

Unfortunately it is not.

The connector is similar to one on a Pure ChargePak LP37. I already had a look at the manual for my model which is a Sony XDR-DS16iP but nothing there. The only replaceable item you can obtain is the remote control!

I went to a couple of Maplins stores but nobody there has seen a mains lead like the Sony one before!

There's no service manual (or parts list) for that model, presumably it's an IWX model (In Warranty Exchange) - so probably no spares available, as it's a non-repairable product (as many low cost items are).

I suspect it isn't actually a mains lead but a AC-DC power supply, similar to a mobile phone charger.

If so then it should have a label on it giving the DC out put voltage and current.

I thought that but the OP mentioned 2 female holes on the end of the "mains lead".


This model is apparently an iPod dock as well. Getting info on it is proving difficult!

Best thing is to take pictures of everything.

Here's a free image hosting site I use a lot, no registration needed.

http://imgur.com/

Sadly it's out of warranty but the assistant at the service centre told me to mention IWX to Sony but that did not cut any ice with the Sony representive on the phone. The assistant was meant to speak to Sony again but he told me he is having difficulty contacting the company!

The mains lead is just a ribbon cable (no wonder it has become flayed). There is nothing on the plug indicating the DC output voltage and current.

Here it is:

http://i.imgur.com/PXVwLZP.jpg

It's a custom Sony design, I thought that sort of dodgy stuff went out a decade ago. Surely the EU are against this kind of thing?

I found the image on an old Ebay listing, this was the title "Sony XDR-DS16iP genuine charger 5V 1A". It was a used item. It was sold so is no longer available.

Yes, this is the 'mains' lead I have. Cheers for this.

Do you think l have a case for exchange as my XDR-DS16iP is only a couple of years old.

The date that this product went on sale was September 2012.

You could always try and see what what they say, but as I said it's fairly normal for low cost products to have no spares available. If it was an item that was normally repairable, but the part was no longer available, it's Sony policy to offer you a new item for the last known price of the part that's needed.

As others have said, it's NOT a 'lead' it's an external PSU (often called a 'wall wart').

From unboxing videos it appears to be something that comes "hardwired" into the unit.

Maybe there is an unscrewable flap in front of the board "socket" on the unit that covers and secures the plug-head in place?

It's very bad practice to do it this way, shame on Sony. No saving in manufacturing, it's built-in obsolescence.

Well, l have another DAB radio from PURE which is older and cheaper than the Sony, l recently purchased a replacement PSU for the former. This means if l require another portable unit, l would have second thoughts about purchasing another Sony product because l might not be able to replace simple items like PSU!

The service centre did say they would have a go at repairing the Sony PSU but they could not guarantee success and they said the cost would be £20 minimum!

Funnily when l went to the shops with the faulty item, they did not refer it as a PSU!

I had to unscrew a small clip-on flap to pull the connector out from the male pins that were on the back of the Sony. The updated model has the regular PSU with a single jack.

My suggestion is to contact one of those newspaper consumer advice columns.


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The proprietary connection on the power supply unit (PSU) means that only Sony will be able to "repair" this device. In fact they will simply replace the PSU by unplugging it from the device and connecting the new one.

I'm not sure that's even allowed any more. Surely the EU would have outlawed this practice?


It seems it's just a 5V/1amp unit, direct-wiring it in and making the cable very flimsy guarantees it will break. With no way to get a cheap replacement.

If it were a standard connector you could get one for about £5

If it was me I'd open up the radio and fit a normal coaxial power socket or perhaps a mini jack socket, then get a 5v power supply.

If there is still enough length of good cable from the connector, you could simply cut the cable, and use a standard 5v psu, cutting of existing connector and connect old connector using a simple terminal block (or even just twist wires together and use good electrical tape). Need to be sure you connect the right way round (+ to +).

If cable is frayed too close to connector - this wont work.

Or indeed one could simply cut out the broken part, solder the leads back together and go over the whole thing with heat-shrink material -- done that a couple of times with damaged cables. It's 5v so there's no danger of electric shock or anything. Probably no need to throw away the PSU itself.

I doubt the OP is qualified to do remedial work.

Also it's unreasonable of Sony to create a device with a wired in 5V adapter, it's like something out of the 80s!

Sony should replace the whole thing for an updated model.

They're still doing it -- my Sony DAB alarm clock, bought earlier this year (and by no means a cheap item for what it is) has a hard-wired power supply with wall-wart.

Just to let you know that a Sony service centre has repaired the PSU by taking it apart and cutting off part of the cable which was damaged so the power can be restored, all for a paltry £10!

The same service centre even mended my intempo dab docking unit for a reasonable £25.

Both repairs took under a week to do. That what l called service!

Well done to Servtronics in Enfield!