Hey, I was loading a game and then it just kind of shorted out or something. It tries to boot 2 or 3 times and then gives out and flashes red. I took it apart, checked my martix chip, other connections all seemed fine but when i plugged my power cord back in I noticed it clicks, or makes a 'pop' sound if you will. You know the power cord and how it has that big round thing near the end? Well that's where the sound is coming from, is like a fuse or capacitor in there? Maybe something in there is blown? I think I'm not getting enough power to the Xbox, what do you think?

Dude, it sounds like you have a short in there and if I were you I would start looking for a new cord before you fuse the rest of the wires together. Much luck.

I could use any 125V (or whatever the old cord says on it) power cord right?

I'm not sure on that one, the original cord may have a certain resistor on it... I wouldn't chance it... any other wizards out there to lend a word of wisdom on this problem?

i'm using my PS2(UK) power cord for my xbox. works fine.

Frostbit, let us know if it works.

Well, i have an extra PS2 power cord, it says the same thing as the Xbox cord, 7A-125V, but it will not fit, the PS2 cord has a round and straight end where the female connector is, it wont fit the port of the Xbox, it's kind of hard to explain but it just doesnt fit. my laptop charger/adaptor would fit though because the shapes in the back match up . i will try this later but i fear i may blow out my Xbox or ruin another power cord however i must give it a shot.

Power cords are nothing but a pair of heavy guage wires wrapped in insulation, there are no resistors or anything really special about them.

Any AC power cord, as long as the shape of the plugs match and it meets the minimum voltage requirements, will work.

Hey if you have a spare cord for your PS2 and you want to chance it... all you would have to do is to round off the square side so that it would fit (cut it down)... being that the xbox runs on house current... it's AC... you really don't have to worry about choosing a possitive side and a neg side (A/C alternating current) I've done it before on other appliences... just don't do this with D/C...

guys guys. you're going about this the completely wrong way. the pops and clicks are NORMAL. every time you guys plug your power cable in to your xbox it makes a pop or two. that's from the new juice going into the main capacitors. it's perfectly NORMAL. there's no need at all to fret over this. if it's flashing red and green then you have problems elsewhere. the power chord did that before this happened.

Ok that's news to me because my power cord doesn't pop at all... I have to do more research then... thanks d-man.

Devil is right,

Every xbox i have ever used pops when you plug the cord into the back.

Like he said, I think its time to look elsewhere for your problem

_SHinD

Hey D-man.... you said that there is a capacitor in the plug right??? If this is true then the cord should retain a charge after you disconnect it from the wall right? Are you sure it's a capacitor and not a resistor, or noise canceller? I know this has nothing to do with the post title, but you just brought up an interesting point. Out comes the OHMS meter :) The fun is about to begin.

The capacitors are in the the power supply, in the X-box. The power cord is just a pair of insulated wires. There is nothing special about the power cord

Originally posted by Devil-Man
the power chord did that before this happened.

intresting point d-man, but i can't hear any click using my original power cord for xbox:confused:

Ok, so if the popping is normal, then it's not my Xbox cord. I still think it has something to do with the power but I am probably wrong. I was toying with it and when i had my xbox apart, I had the case off and but everything plugged in and it booted up to Evox as if everything was normal, a few seconds later it shorted and the hard drive did the thing where it trys 3 times to boot, stops, and blinks red so what the heck, or maybe it's having difficulties reading the BIOS off my matrix chip because I know that even though the Matrix tells you that it's in the correct place, it could still be crooked and may not be touching the MB pads correctly. I'm really not sure though and I would have to troubleshoot more.

That's strange because I have never heard that the Xbox cord can make that popping sound but if you say it's ok then alrighty then.

i have a friend who is experienced with power cords and other electric crap. he says the cord has nothing special in it, that the big chunk is most likely just a weight. when i take my xbox places i use and old ps1 plug for it as i cant be bothered reaching behind the tv to unplug the original one. never had a prob!

yep, as stated there's nothing special about the cord at all. the capacitors i was talking about are on the psu itself. so when you unplug your box, and you touch one of those capacitors, believe me they'll jolt the HELL out of ya. hehe. i believe i'd rather be shocked for a steady 5 seconds than take a quick shock of what those suckers can punch. as to the problem tho.

if it booted evox while everything was apart and then it fragged on you, i'd say you have a definate chip problem. maybe the screw's coming loose, and it's unaligned, i dunno. but def. the chip.

Yup mine pops and clicks too, hell every once in awhile little 2 feet tall naked *****s come flying out of the back of my xbox on little red bikes made of grass and play-dow........

hey, yes, it turns out I needed to re-align my chip. At least I have learned that a popping sound in the power cord is normal, weird...

havent bothered to read it all , so bear with me, right, i`m in the uk, and cuz i keep pluggin/unpluggin my power lead in and out, it has started to make a popin/scratching noise, but, thats only when i actually plug my lead in, it shouldnt make any noise at all whilst its in, also the big black cylindrical block near where it plugs in, is only a simple RF choke, no thing more, however, from a quick read it does sound like you have a fault somewhere in there or round about, best thing to do, is either borrow another lead and make sure it works fine, if it does, go buy a new one, ok hope this helps, like i say though i havent read all this, so go easy on me!

Originally posted by TheCheekyMonkey
like i say though i havent read all this, so go easy on me!

you cheeky:D you could have read the last post! it was sorted by realing his Matrix chip, and nothing to do with power cord...

Ok guys... after research my basic electroinc books again... I must clearify that the cord has sortof a NOISE CANX on it (RF choke)... it's not a weight or anything like that just a simple magnet if you will... and I pooled a few guys together to ask them if they hear there xbox pop when they turn it on... ZILCH... so there you have it... no pop and no weight :) Just thought I'd share that with you all.

Isn't that popping sound when the electricity arks across just before the power cord is fully pushed in? It's a real pain in the *** trying to find those leads in the USA. I went there on holiday last year and the charger on my digital camera takes the same lead so instead of buying a uk-usa converter i thought i'd just get a new lead over there as you can buy them everywhere in the UK. It took me 3 days to track one down (didn't even have them in radio shack) and it was for a ps2, in sonys infinate wisdom they made the plug half round half square. So I was in a hotel room slicing bits off the square side with nail clippers so it would fit.

So look after your power cords if you live in Florida as it ain't easy getting another

sorry, i am cheeky, and blin, anyway, glad all sorted now!!!

As has been pointed out, the popping sound when connecting an electrical lead is entirely normal. My dreamcast makes the noise, the stereo we have in the kitchen makes the same noise, one of my video's does. The has to be power in the lead though. Just inserting a lead doesn't create the popping sound though.

As for the RF choke on the lead - I haven't opened up the 'bulge' on the lead to see whats in there and it's quite possible it does contain one - but if it does then it's the only electrical item I've seen with one on the power lead. My dreamcast has a couple inside though.

They aren't anything essential and there's debate as to whether they do serve a real purpose but the XBOX can use a power lead with or without the 'bulge'.