Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - Some Yo-Yo ran over my Magicshine cord

Hi all,
As it says in the title, some yo-yo (who shall remain nameless:innocent:) ran over my Magicshine cord/wire. I didn't completely ruin it, but I didn't do it any good either. I need to replace the plug on the wire, the damage is right at the base of the plug so I can't just splice it back together.
I was wondering if anyone here knows is the center positive or negative?
here is a pic:http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=124640&stc=1&d=1257864783
SANY0056.jpg

Maybe Geoman will chime in, but from the large Magicshine thread here -- http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=576697&page=22 -- you'll find this in the last post:

"Now remember when wiring up the external battery pack up to the DC power Jack, that the MS lamp center pin has to have the red, positive voltage or hot side wired to it . . ." Good luck.

Maybe Geoman will chime in, but from the large Magicshine thread here -- http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=576697&page=22 -- you'll find this in the last post:

"Now remember when wiring up the external battery pack up to the DC power Jack, that the MS lamp center pin has to have the red, positive voltage or hot side wired to it . . ." Good luck.

Nwmtnbkr, thank you.

Update, all better now. Only after I had cut the wire a couple of inches back from the base and pulled off the outer insulation, I discovered, upon a closer examination, that the wires coming out of the jack/plug weren't actually broken. The insulation was torn up, but, the wires were ok.

I plasticoated the wires right on the end of the jack. The idea was to replace the insulation and to physically strengthen the wires by immobilizing them.

Then I spliced the cut ends to see if it would carry current. I wrapped a small piece of electrician's tape on the splice, one on each wire, Plasticoated the whole repair area. Done, works.
I am happy life is good.:thumb:

The center pin is almost always positive. You can use a multimeter to tell; if the voltage is positive, the red lead is touching positive; if it reads -V, your black probe is touching positive.

Be sure to grasp the plug and not the cord to unplug it henceforth. The loss of insulation will cause much more stress on the wires, especially from the cable twisting/rotating. If you have to affect further repairs, consider trying to cover the damaged section with layer or two of heat shrink.

PVC heat shrink tends to stiffen significantly which can add support, then add a coat of Plasti-Dip or whatever. It wont guard against pulling, but can dampen twisting action.

Thank you Plutonix for the info.
I was hoping if I described my repair some one would let me know if I overlooked anything. I like the shrinkwrap idea.
Again, many thanks.

I did the same damage to mine trying to unplug it one night. Wrapped it with electrical tape, covered that with gorilla tape, and I'm calling it good.

Every light cord I've had where the cable came loose from the plug eventually had to be spliced. PVC, tape, glue, splints and the like help for a while but the wires tend to twist and rotate to pull them from the terminals.

I havent drunk from the MS Kool Aid pitcher of joy, but they look to be a standard connector. They are cheap enough that it might pay to have one on hand.

Contact magicshine they may replace it if they think it performed below their expectations. You only need a new housing not the expensive parts.

Otherwise if the shrink wrap splints do not work: if you can find an old power adapter with the same plug you can cut both cables and splice them.

[QUOTE=geo8rge;10026438]Contact magicshine they may replace it if they think it performed below their expectations. You only need a new housing not the expensive parts.

Otherwise if the shrink wrap splints do not work: if you can find an old power adapter with the same plug you can cut both cables and splice them.[/QUOTE

That was the original plan, then I realized that the existing parts were salvageable.

If I had felt that it had performed below expectations, I would have contacted Magicshine immediately. Under the circumstances, I did not feel that it was a warranty issue. I don't think running over the cord is/or would be covered under the warranty.

I think radio shack still has most plugs in stock.