• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

[WARNING] Car chargers

sammyz

sammyz

LG Whiz Kid
So today I was on my way to church. Phone was at 50%
So I plug in my phone, it's charging....then all of a sudden my screen turns completely blue.
I pull the battery out and now it won't turn on at all.

This is just a heads up, don't use your car chargers at all if possiible!!! If the charger cord is shorting out (which I now know was happening with mine) it will kill your phone!

Other threads with people getting the same problem:
http://androidforums.com/lg-motion-4g/716859-car-chargers-beware-same-sammyz.html
http://androidforums.com/lg-motion-4g/686027-dead-phone-after-trying-car-charger.html
 
That stinks!

Edit: the cigarette lighter in my car doesn't work (I drive a '96 Saturn 2 door), so I typically have my work laptop and just plug in my USB cord for my wall charger, into the always powered USB port. :)
 
alfick3 said:
That stinks!

Edit: the cigarette lighter in my car doesn't work (I drive a '96 Saturn 2 door), so I typically have my work laptop and just plug in my USB cord for my wall charger, into the always powered USB port. :)
Click to expand...

Yea, my laptop stays on only for 5 minutes before it dies.
Edit: I'm going to sticky this as soon as I figure out which one to remove....hmmm
 
sammyz said:
So today I was on my way to church. Phone was at 50%
So I plug in my phone, it's charging....then all of a sudden my screen turns completely blue.
I pull the battery out and now it won't turn on at all.

This is just a heads up, don't use your car chargers at all if possiible!!! If the charger cord is shorting out (which I now know was happening with mine) it will kill your phone!
Click to expand...

Same goes for a home charger, and many other warnings for both if they output the wrong voltage.

Sorry that happened to you, but the "car" part was not the cause.

Time for a new phone then or do you have a protection plan?
 
I wouldn't use your experience as a basis to warn people not to use their chargers.
For one thing, our phones wouldn't be of much use if we couldn't charge them. ;)
But anyway, this can happen with any charger, car or otherwise. My suggestions to avoid charger-related failures are as follows-
- Don't buy crappy ones, i.e. the $2 ones from Ebay. Use only name-brand chargers with the proper output rating for your device and well-made cords and connectors.
- Set up the charger in the car so the cord has some strain relief when it's plugged into the phone (no tension/pulling/stress on the connector that can damage it, the cord or the phone socket) and isn't kinked or caught anywhere.
- If the charger isn't working properly, or the charger body, cord or connector has any visible damage, toss it immediately and get a new one.

I adhere to the above and I haven't had any charger failures.
 
Fox Mulder said:
I wouldn't use your experience as a basis to warn people not to use their chargers.
For one thing, our phones wouldn't be of much use if we couldn't charge them. ;)
But anyway, this can happen with any charger, car or otherwise. My suggestions to avoid charger-related failures are as follows-
- Don't buy crappy ones, i.e. the $2 ones from Ebay. Use only name-brand chargers with the proper output rating for your device and well-made cords and connectors.
- Set up the charger in the car so the cord has some strain relief when it's plugged into the phone (no tension/pulling/stress on the connector that can damage it, the cord or the phone socket) and isn't kinked or caught anywhere.
- If the charger isn't working properly, or the charger body, cord or connector has any visible damage, toss it immediately and get a new one.

I adhere to the above and I haven't had any charger failures.
Click to expand...
Others have reported the same issue. I need to find those posts, but I'm not the only one who has had this issue and the charger was sold with the phone. But yes, a lot of useful information there :)

Edit: here's the thread with the other people's phones getting killed.
http://androidforums.com/lg-motion-4g/686027-dead-phone-after-trying-car-charger.html
 
I am curious if the suspect car chargers are ALL aftermarket or has someone had a standard issue LG charger fry a phone?

(I guess you know the Spirit and Motion use the same exact charger.)

Bruce in Ocala, Fl
 
No mention in that thread of problems from an LG charger. I think the ones Metro sells are aftermarket and not OEM (other than the LG wall charger in the box with the phone), although they certainly charge enough money for them. Still, if you bought one of those and it fried your phone you might have some recourse with Metro.
Since just about all phones now use the same micro USB plug the stores/vendors/carriers will usually carry generic aftermarket chargers rather than specific OEM's.
 
OcalaFlGuy said:
I am curious if the suspect car chargers are ALL aftermarket or has someone had a standard issue LG charger fry a phone?

(I guess you know the Spirit and Motion use the same exact charger.)

Bruce in Ocala, Fl
Click to expand...

AFAIK, spirit and motion don't come with an LG OEM car charger, they come with a third party car charger with a $10 fee (my retail store forced me to buy it, never again will I buy something by force).
 
EarlyMon said:
Same goes for a home charger, and many other warnings for both if they output the wrong voltage.

Sorry that happened to you, but the "car" part was not the cause.

Time for a new phone then or do you have a protection plan?
Click to expand...

I'm going to get metroPCs to replace it. I've been able to before. Time for my 3rd motion/ 2nd replacement.

And the charger came with the phone....stupid metro selling wrong parts.
 
sammyz said:
So today I was on my way to church. Phone was at 50%
So I plug in my phone, it's charging....then all of a sudden my screen turns completely blue.
I pull the battery out and now it won't turn on at all.

This is just a heads up, don't use your car chargers at all if possiible!!! If the charger cord is shorting out (which I now know was happening with mine) it will kill your phone!
Click to expand...

I hope that your phone is okay. By the way, were you able to get a warranty for what has happened to your phone?

Sorry for asking, but what do you mean by 'shorting out'?
 
ragingbull said:
I hope that your phone is okay. By the way, were you able to get a warranty for what has happened to your phone?

Sorry for asking, but what do you mean by 'shorting out'?
Click to expand...

No my phone is fried.

By shorting out I mean as in a short circuit.
 
I have almost always used a car charger for years.never a problem
As far as i can tell 5volts dc 900ma
Is 5 volts dc 900 ma. Either way

But i guess a short is a short either way too
 
rhino889a said:
I have almost always used a car charger for years.never a problem
As far as i can tell 5volts dc 900ma
Is 5 volts dc 900 ma. Either way

But i guess a short is a short either way too
Click to expand...

Yea....I guess most phones have a way of protecting themselves from shorting wires/chargers....this phone doesn't.
 
Well the usb charging has the electricity pin so very close to the data pin or wires
You may have sent electricity to the data part on your board. BIZZZAPPP
 
Well, That solves That IF it even Needed solving. :rolleyes:

I'll not be taking a chance, especially with no insurance, on Any car charger. (And one from Metro would be my only choice IF they only charged One kidney for it. )

I'll just take my home charger if I think I'll need a bump up. I've had No Problem At All making it past the 12 hours I'd likely have the phone away from somewhere the standard charger couldn't be used.

Plus, since the Motion and Spirit charger are the same, I'm still using my Motion charger while my Spirit charger is on deck, unopened if the Motion one goes TU.

Bruce in Ocala, FL
 
whoa whoa, the phone charger the metro salesmen included?? aka no LG which is anything like what they gave my with with her phones from metro is a uber cheap pofs, that I agree shouldnt be used.

A good car charger is fine tho. I use the one from moto I gotten for my DX for everything with no issues.
 
My prior Motieroller car chargers said Motieroller right on them.

IF I got a car charger now, It'd HAVE to say LG on it OR come from the Metro store so I have some (minor amount of) back up if it fries my phone.

But that's just me here who's carrying no phone 'showance.

Bruce in Ocala, FL
 
OcalaFlGuy said:
My prior Motieroller car chargers said Motieroller right on them.

IF I got a car charger now, It'd HAVE to say LG on it OR come from the Metro store so I have some (minor amount of) back up if it fries my phone.

But that's just me here who's carrying no phone 'showance.

Bruce in Ocala, FL
Click to expand...

I've never seen nothing but cheapass chargers and accessories at a metro store. ;)
 
PlayfulGod said:
I've never seen nothing but cheapass chargers and accessories at a metro store. ;)
Click to expand...

You miss my point.

Since I don't carry insurance, my thought was IF a Metro charger ended up frying my phone, I'd have a much better chance of getting it replaced than if I walked in and tried to get help 'cause an Ebay charger had fried it.

Bruce in Ocala, FL
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom