A damaged power cord should be repaired quickly to prevent damage to your home.
A damaged power cord is a safety hazard; damaged cords can start a fire or short out your home's power. In some cases, you can patch up your damaged cord with electrical tape. In other instances, you'll have to replace the damaged end of the cord with a replacement from your hardware store or an old appliance. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Disconnect your appliance from its power source.
2. Inspect the cord for damage. If the cord is only slightly damaged and no wire is showing through the insulation, wrap electrical tape over the damaged portion of the cord. If the plug itself is damaged or the internal wires are exposed, you should replace the damaged portion of the cord with a new cord to avoid the risk of electrical fire.
3. Cut the damaged end off the original power cord, leaving behind whatever portion of the cord is undamaged on the appliance end. Strip the insulation off the first 2 inches of the undamaged section of the cord. Remove the insulation only from the cord, not from the individual wires inside the cord.
4. Strip 1/2 inch of insulation from the end of each of the exposed wires on the undamaged section of the cord connected to your appliance.
5. Slide a piece of heat shrink that is just wider than the cord and 3 inches long over the entire replacement cord. Slide a piece of heat shrink that is just wider than each of the individual wires and about 1 inch long over each wire.
6. Twist the exposed section on the black wire into the exposed section of the the black wire on the replacement cable. Solder the wires together with your soldering iron. Repeat this step for each wire, matching each wire on the appliance with the corresponding wire on the replacement cord.
7. Slide each of the small pieces of heat shrink over the freshly soldered wire junctions. Hold the tubing just over the flame of a lighter to shrink the tubing until it has conformed neatly to the wire beneath. Turn off the lighter if the tubing starts to burn. Slide the large piece of tubing over the entire juncture and use a lighter to shrink the tubing.
Tags: cord with, each wire, heat shrink, portion cord, power cord
