I have a leapster explorer that has a missing charger. It says it requires a 9 volt yahta yahta. I found a 12 volt charger that powers it but it is getting hot.....I do not want to fry it or anything. should I stop using? what will happen? I'm trying to download some applications for the boys to use on trips and at home. Thanks!
Thanks everyone. I just wanted to check. I tried to google it and did not get A. answer. guess I was not wording it right. Appreciate the input. we stopped trying to charge it.
In response to Victoria W., We have a charger that can be changed for different voltages. I bought it years ago, I think at Radio Shack.
I agree, do not use the 12 volt charger. When we speak of burning out the circuitry we mean the Leapster.
Hubby says not to take a chance... you can definitely fry it.... (btw... he is A. engineer, and grew up repairing appliances, so his knowledge of things electrical is pretty extensive....)
The item getting hot is the clue that you aren't supposed to do that.......
The reason why it gets hot is because you are over charging the thing. In that case, there is a chance the battery will explode or at least cause the battery to deteriorate faster.
Think of voltages like pressure. When you have a dead battery and you charge it up with a 9V charger, you are apply 9V of pressure so the electricity flows from the high volts (the charger) to the low volts (dead battery). Eventually the dead battery is "pressurized" until it's back up to 9V, at that point, both the charger and the battery are at 9V. When two people push on each other with the same amount of force, no one moves. In the same way, once the dead battery hits 9V they both have 9 volts so no more electricity flows and your battery is fully charged and no matter how long you keep it on the charger, it will not go above 9V. Safe.
If you use a 12V charger, you are applying more "pressure" than the dead battery can handle. So eventually the battery will go up to 9V but then it still has more pressure on it (the 12V) and the charger will continue to apply "pressure" but the 9V battery can't handle more pressure so just like pumping a balloon too much... it pops. And battery acid is nothing you want to handle.
In theory you can pull the charger off before it hits 12V. That is, a dead battery will charge as expected... 1V, 2V, 3V... the only problem is, you don't know when you hit 9V so you can pull it off the charger before it goes above 9V.
It really could burn up the circuitry. Some could take the extra voltage (possibly), but it's just not worth taking the chance.
I would just go to Radio Shack tomorrow and buy the right one. Bring the leapster with you to make sure you get the right one. I don't think it would cost you more than $20.
Better safe than sorry.
