Laptop AC power adapter smoked, Help?

Following this thread here:
http://slickdeals.net/forums/show...?t=2924045
Dell Latitude D610

In Vietnam,
I plugged the laptop AC power adapter to the laptop. Turn on the laptop. It works. After 5 minutes, I heard the small "pop" sound from the laptop AC power adapter and I saw the white smoke came out from the laptop AC power adapter .
I unplugged it. The laptop on battery is working like nothing has happened. Can someone tell me what happened to the laptop AC power adapter? Did it break? I'm scared to plug it again. I contacted Dell, they said that the laptop AC power adapter should work in Vietnam.
The replacement Laptop AC Power Adapter in Vietnam is around $45 .

Ya if the adapter says its 120-20V then it works since Vietnam has 220 according to this page http://treehouse.ofb.net/go/en/voltage/Vietnam

Does the adatper have an LED on it? I would plug it in to the wall and not connect it to the computer. See what happens. Be ready to pull the end out of the wall if you smell or see anything. If the adapter failed for some reason or another (This can just happen regardless of voltage) you can buy them off ebay for less.

I killed a razor adapter over seas, all that happened was it swelled up and stopped working. No drama really.

since you are stuck buy one there but don't use that outlet it might be miswired. Did you use an adapter or was it supposed to be a 110 outlet?

Quote from LiquidRetro : Does the adatper have an LED on it? I would plug it in to the wall and not connect it to the computer. See what happens

Why? Pretty clear from the OP's description that it blew a capacitor. Even if it won't start a fire or something, it should be trashed and replaced.

Unfortunately, that was a common issue with Dell power bricks from that era. It could have just as well happened in the US, and for no particular reason at all. Except for the fact it's well-known that Dell uses electrolytic cap's that are exactly to spec, and have NO extra capacity or quality.

It's best to just throw it away, and buy a new one. Do NOT try to keep using it! D610's will work with any standard Dell laptop power supply, from that year until today. You can use the low current laptop only version brick, or get the higher power (more costly) version that has enough current to also run a docking base. Either of them can be plugged directly into the laptop itself.

P.S.: Be careful, there are 3rd party power bricks that will power up the laptop, but will NOT also charge the battery! Kind of useless if you ask me, but they are out there.

Quote from xxxHolic : Following this thread here: http://slickdeals.net/forums/show...?t=2924045 Dell Latitude D610 In Vietnam, I plugged the laptop AC power adapter to the laptop. Turn on the laptop. It works. After 5 minutes, I heard the small "pop" sound from the laptop AC power adapter and I saw the white smoke came out from the laptop AC power adapter . I unplugged it. The laptop on battery is working like nothing has happened. Can someone tell me what happened to the laptop AC power adapter? Did it break? I'm scared to plug it again. I contacted Dell, they said that the laptop AC power adapter should work in Vietnam. The replacement Laptop AC Power Adapter in Vietnam is around $45 .

Sounds like a faulty power brick like the others have said.

1) Why not plug it back in and see if it works?

or 2) Buy a replacement and keep the original to complain to Dell about and try to get a replacement from Dell?

I brought various electronics on my trip to Vietnam and they all worked fine. I did get a travel power adaptor that I used to plug into the walls and plug my things into it just to be on the safe side.

If you need to buy the replacement, be sure to haggle! Don't let them know you're from abroad or they'll jack up the prices. If you can, ask a relative to go buy it for you. From my experience, the bigger department store like electronic stores have the best "customer service" and sell their products as priced, but you can definitely haggle. The smaller stores have no prices on them and they'll just take a look at your clothes and set a price there.

About the AC adapter type:
http://support.dell.com/support/e.../specs.htm
In Vietnam they have 65 W AC adapter for $27 and 90 W AC adapter for $32
Which one should I buy? Why there are 2 types of AC adapter for the laptop?

Quote from xxxHolic : About the AC adapter type: http://support.dell.com/support/e.../specs.htm In Vietnam they have 65 W AC adapter for $27 and 90 W AC adapter for $32 Which one should I buy? Why there are 2 types of AC adapter for the laptop?

I would pick the one that is closest to the original charger that you were using?

I did a quick google search comparing 65W vs. 90W chargers and it looks like this link was helpful:

Linky [tomshardware.com]

Hope it helps~

Quote from xxxHolic : About the AC adapter type: http://support.dell.com/support/e.../specs.htm In Vietnam they have 65 W AC adapter for $27 and 90 W AC adapter for $32 Which one should I buy? Why there are 2 types of AC adapter for the laptop?

65W is standard charger and ships with every D610.

90W is 'optional' and like MikeBear said above, used to power a docking station (keyboard, video, mouse, USB), while charging the docked laptop's battery.

Either one will work without issue. Get the 90W if you have a dock.