Please help, plugged EMac into 220V

I just purchased an EMac from the US... virtually brand new... My family and I live in Germany (serving in the US Army), and as I was setting it up I accidentally plugged the EMac into 220V. The computer popped and blew the fuse (of the house). After talking with several folks, I figured I had only blown the power supply. Now enter the myriad of challenges (remember I live in Germany):

--Apple support said I invalidated my warranty once I plugged into 220v, and gave me some local Mac vendors

--I pursued with a company stateside, said I needed a analog and CRT, originally quoting a price of $350... but came back to say it would be $675...the tech guy's recommendation was to try to sell back the bad Emac and buy a new one...

--I dropped the Emac off to a local authorized Mac repair shop; however, they do not think they can get the part b/c they only deal with 220V.

Here's my real question: is there a way to fix this computer without buying a new analog board and CRT? Sounds like there are some frequent problems with the Emac power supply... I made a bad mistake plugging it into 220V, but what happens when I get a power surge in the house?

I've been a Mac owner for only 2 weeks...I'm wondering if I made a mistake buying this 50 lbs paper weight. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Jim

First of all, concerning the warranty, I'm afraid you can forget it. If you plug a 110V device into 220V, it's your fault, not a technical defect. It's like if you had dropped it down the stairs and wanted the warranty to cover that. This is true for any electrical device, no matter which brand it is.

What surprises me is that you eMac doesn't have an autosensing power supply, means it recognises automatically if it's on 110V or 220V. My PowerMac has such a power supply, even the one for my iPod is autosensing. Older Macs had a little switch on the Power supply which hat to be set manually to either 110V or 220V. As we only have 220V here in Europe, I don't think this is specific to european models.

Check your manual, it should state in the technical specifications if the eMac can handle 100V-240V (that's how it's written at the back of my Mac). If this is the case, then it should be covered by the warranty, as obviously something was wrong.

But otherwise, I'm afraid you really have a pretty expensive paperweight...

From the Apple eMac tech note: "Line voltage: configured for 100-120V AC or 200-240V AC depending on country of use". Like Avalon I'm surprised that it isn't a universal voltage power supply. My guess is that the power unit blew before any other damage was done and that the CRT is functional but without testing it is impossible to be sure.

I have no expectation for Apple to pay for my mistake (it is a 110V computer, and I plugged it into 220V); I'm going to have to pay for the fix. However, how do I fix the power supply if half the techs I talk to can't even locate where it is on the Emac? Doesn't it seem odd that something like this would cost 3/4 the value of the whole system?

Hmm... I found a service manual for the eMac (ATI graphics), in which is stated the following:

Display/Analog Voltage Setting and LHR Module Instructions: The display/analog (service module) contains a non-switching power supply which is preset at a 220V configuration. The voltage selection is manually set by way of a voltage jumper. This means if you are replacing the display/analog assembly and you will be operating the computer in a 110V environment, you will have to install the voltage jumper on the module. The following instructions explain how to configure the voltage and LHR jumpers on the digital/analog assembly. Note: The LHR coil (a line conditioning module) is required in some international countries.

It is possible to use a 110V eMac on 220V, but only after opening it up and removing a jumper cable.

So I guess that, unfortunately, what the technician said about the analog module was right. I'm not sure though if the CRT itself is damaged or not.
To change these parts, you have to nearly completely dismantle the eMac.

I think that's what makes the repair expensive, the parts and the work to change them.
If the CRT is damaged, then the price isn't a surprise. CRTs are quite expensive and difficult to exchange. TV sets with damaged CRTs rarely get repaired, even if they aren't old.

you will have to dismantle the whole thing.
http://scripts.dsl.pipex.net/sitetracker/dlcount.php?id=aqza37&url=/eMac/emac_ati_graphics.pdf
should help

the_New_guy said:

you will have to dismantle the whole thing.
http://scripts.dsl.pipex.net/sitetracker/dlcount.php?id=aqza37&url=/eMac/emac_ati_graphics.pdf
should help

Click to expand...

thanks for the info