Older “obsolete” battery tool charger sparking when plugged into socket.

[Rip Van Winkle]

Older “obsolete” battery tool charger sparking when plugged into socket.

Would a tool battery charger sparking when plugged into a wall socket likely be caused by a bad capacitor on the charger board?

The type of charger is older and no longer manufactured. It’s one of the Ultra Rapid 10 minute types, which don’t turn up as much nowadays. The charger doesn’t work though so I’m wondering if it’s repairable or not. One capacitor does seem to have brown solidified liquid near its base.

I’m wondering if anybody has dealt with this before?

 

[lwoirhaye]

Sounds like bad news.  You can set up ebay to notify you if the charger becomes available there.

 

[Gregor]

The 'older' electronics are more likely to be build in a discreet manner and can often be fixed by replacing components. Possibly you have a (hobby or retired) electronics engineer nearby (wireless operators often build their own stuff) that could agree to fix it in exchange for a small donation?

 

[pixelated]

Assuming the capacitor you saw is the cause of the problem, replacing it is likely fairly easy. The process would be to de-solder the old one, locate a new one with the same specs (which should be written on the side of the old one), and solder the new one in it's place.
I've done this with an LCD monitor power supply. In my case, the failed capacitors were a common problem, and I was able to order a kit specific to the power supply with new capacitors.

 

[kevinculle]

A leaky or shorted capacitor would be a common failure in older electronics so that could be the root cause.  If you decide to replace it you will want to find a replacement of the same capacitance (a number typically marked XXX uF or X.X mfd on side) and the same or higher working voltage (marked YYY V on side).  Don't be surprised if the replacement is physically smaller than the original but if it is mounted in a printed circuit board you will need to find a part with the same lead spacing to fit the holes in the PCB.