Model 3 Jeda USB Hub burned capacitor, melted plastic casing!

[zwjt3]

I noticed my dashcam stopped working and determined the USB port on my Jeda USB hub wasn't working anymore. I searched online and I saw someone posted their Jeda USB hub had burned out, and others asked if there had been other cases. After investigating further I found that one of the capacitors burned out and burned the circuitboard on mine as well. It got hot enough that it melted and deformed the plastic both from the inside and the outside of the case!

So now there is more than one that failed in this spectacular fashion. I wonder if these USB hubs might be dangerous? Anyway I thought I would post my experience in case anyone else might have concerns!

By the way the USB port on the Tesla that had the hub plugged into it also stopped working. However, after resetting the car (both thumb buttons in), and waiting a while the USB port on the car was working fine again. So at least the USB hub didn't take out the USB port on the tesla as well.

 

[skygraff]

Ooh, that's not good. Glad it didn't do any damage to your car.

Which hub do you have (or, which Model 3 do you have)?

 

[zwjt3]

Ooh, that's not good. Glad it didn't do any damage to your car.

Which hub do you have (or, which Model 3 do you have)?

I'm pretty sure my hub is the first generation. I have a 2020 Model3 Performance, the one with 2 USB ports in the tray if that helps!

Hopefully they used the appropriate fire retardant housing to enclose the USB hub/circuit board. If that's true then probably the capacitor burning out isn't a big deal (other than the obvious broken USB port now).

 

[NpOverspeed]

Have you contacted Jeda about the issue?

 

[zwjt3]

Have you contacted Jeda about the issue?

I have, and they already replied asking for details and will be replacing it -- quite quickly. I'll update more if any other information comes up.

 

[skygraff]

I'm pretty sure my hub is the first generation. I have a 2020 Model3 Performance, the one with 2 USB ports in the tray if that helps!

Hopefully they used the appropriate fire retardant housing to enclose the USB hub/circuit board. If that's true then probably the capacitor burning out isn't a big deal (other than the obvious broken USB port now).

Okay, so you have the pre-refresh 2020 with two USB A ports in your car? As for your hub, is it the one with 2 USB A and 2 USB C ports on the front (1st gen) or the one with 3 USB A and 2 USB C ports on the front (current gen)?

I have a 2018 Model 3 so definitely have the two USB A ports and my hub is the original version with just 2 and 2 on the front. As far as I know, it never got hot and never failed (despite alerts from the car which started with last year's firmware update). Thanks to some discount assistance from Jeda which got me to reconsider going with a competitor (knock-off) just yet, I'm waiting for the new hub (and wireless pad). That's why I'm so interested in the versions: if it was old + old, I've survived that; if it was old + new, I'll be paying close attention; if it was new + new, I'll still watch it but...

Thanks and glad to hear that Jeda not only responded quickly but is working with you.

 

[zwjt3]

Okay, so you have the pre-refresh 2020 with two USB A ports in your car? As for your hub, is it the one with 2 USB A and 2 USB C ports on the front (1st gen) or the one with 3 USB A and 2 USB C ports on the front (current gen)?

I have a 2018 Model 3 so definitely have the two USB A ports and my hub is the original version with just 2 and 2 on the front. As far as I know, it never got hot and never failed (despite alerts from the car which started with last year's firmware update). Thanks to some discount assistance from Jeda which got me to reconsider going with a competitor (knock-off) just yet, I'm waiting for the new hub (and wireless pad). That's why I'm so interested in the versions: if it was old + old, I've survived that; if it was old + new, I'll be paying close attention; if it was new + new, I'll still watch it but...

Thanks and glad to hear that Jeda not only responded quickly but is working with you.

Yes, you are correct with regards to which car and hub I have (2/2 ports). Jeda got back to me and also said I have the V1 version of the hub, and since mine failed in such a way they are sending me a V2 version of the hub after I send back the V1 (they also provided me a shipping label to return it which is nice). So overall I would say very good and responsive service from Jeda about this issue.

By the way for anyone else interested (or if any EE engineers are out there) -- I did more research on the particular part that failed. It's the part labeled J107, which is a Tantalum Capacitor, rated at 100uF at 6.3 Volts. This is filtering the 5V USB power supply. From my understanding, Tantalum capacitors are supposed to be de-rated because if they fail they tend to fail like this (burning up). For example Digikey has this article that shows the general rule of 50% derating for Tantalum caps: Derating of Tantalum Capacitor. However we don't know precisely which cap manufacturer Jeda used, so we don't know what the de-rating recommendation really is for the specific one in use.

That means if you expect to run 5V continuously through the capacitor (such as USB powering the dashcam all the time), (in the digikey example) it should be at least 10V rated for best longevity. Since USB can be slightly higher than 5V (up to 5.25V by spec), and temperatures in the car can be pretty high -- probably the correct rating for this cap is the "C" rated capacitor which is 16V. However, the V1 hub seems to only use 6.3V rated capacitors. So if the temperature climbs very high in the car, or if there is even a slight manufacturing defect on the part -- this could make it a failure-prone component. There are also other capacitors that don't burn when they fail (like Tantalums do), so I wonder if Jeda switched out of using Tantalums entirely in V2, or at least hopefully increased the derating to make them more reliable. I'm curious if the same part is used on the V2 hub, or if they redesigned this part of the hub.

Any electrical engineers out there that know about these things? I'm only going by what I've recently learned -- maybe someone more knowledgeable could chime in.

 

[sduck]

By the way for anyone else interested (or if any EE engineers are out there) -- I did more research on the particular part that failed. It's the part labeled J107, which is a Tantalum Capacitor, rated at 100uF at 6.3 Volts. This is filtering the 5V USB power supply. From my understanding, Tantalum capacitors are supposed to be de-rated because if they fail they tend to fail like this (burning up). For example Digikey has this article that shows the general rule of 50% derating for Tantalum caps: Derating of Tantalum Capacitor. However we don't know precisely which cap manufacturer Jeda used, so we don't know what the de-rating recommendation really is for the specific one in use.

That means if you expect to run 5V continuously through the capacitor (such as USB powering the dashcam all the time), (in the digikey example) it should be at least 10V rated for best longevity. Since USB can be slightly higher than 5V (up to 5.25V by spec), and temperatures in the car can be pretty high -- probably the correct rating for this cap is the "C" rated capacitor which is 16V. However, the V1 hub seems to only use 6.3V rated capacitors. So if the temperature climbs very high in the car, or if there is even a slight manufacturing defect on the part -- this could make it a failure-prone component. There are also other capacitors that don't burn when they fail (like Tantalums do), so I wonder if Jeda switched out of using Tantalums entirely in V2, or at least hopefully increased the derating to make them more reliable. I'm curious if the same part is used on the V2 hub, or if they redesigned this part of the hub.

Any electrical engineers out there that know about these things? I'm only going by what I've recently learned -- maybe someone more knowledgeable could chime in.

I don't know how you came across that "tantalum Capacitor, rated at 100uF at 6.3 Volts". You can't get that much information from just the J107 designation - the 100uF part is correct, but that's all. It's highly unlikely that they used a tantalum for this application - no decent ee would do so. It kind of sort of looks like a tant, but is more likely to be something else (a diode in that location would make more sense, and look like that). And it would probably be rated for 10 or more volts if it's working as a bypass cap for 5v supply. And I'm unsure from your pic if that part is even the culprit, or just some collateral damage - it could be the port itself on the other side of the board that overheated enough to cause this meltdown.

 

[RayK]

Based upon a previous thread, I'd say that another "J107" capacitor blew up. If you look at the OP's photo, cap C15 is the one which blew up in the thread I referenced. A visible hole in the center of the part says to me that it was the one responsible for letting the "magic smoke" out. I've seen numerous examples of this type of failure when taking apart ThinkPad laptops. A MOSFET once turned into a light emitting diode in front of my eyes:

It's definitely a polarized capacitor (the "+" sign next to one end of the cap) so that means aluminum or tantalum electrolytic.

 

[skygraff]

Might give our TEMAI hub a try?

2020 Model 3/Y Pre-refresh Center Console Hub

Compatibility Only compatible with the 2020 Model 3/Y (USB-A and USB-C ports in the center console). Does not compatible with Model 3/Y manufactured in other years. Power Where and When It’s Needed The smart chip in the hub enables multiple fast charging protocols that the Model 3/Y does not...

www.temai.tech

Nothing against your hub (haven’t tried it), but it doesn’t really offer the same capabilities as the Jeda (with snug fit and “hidden” compartment) plus, and most importantly, it wouldn’t fit the OP’s car with two USB A ports.

As the manufacturer of a similar product, perhaps you could offer more technical expertise to the thread rather than an off-topic ad.

 

[TEMAI]

Nothing against your hub (haven’t tried it), but it doesn’t really offer the same capabilities as the Jeda (with snug fit and “hidden” compartment) plus, and most importantly, it wouldn’t fit the OP’s car with two USB A ports.

As the manufacturer of a similar product, perhaps you could offer more technical expertise to the thread rather than an off-topic ad.

Thanks for your feedback. Don't wanna be disrespectful for the thread. We delete it now.