Sony Ericsson recalls exploding phone charger

Sony Ericsson has recalled around 350,000 phone chargers in the UK because of a fault that could cause the units to explode, resulting in flying pieces of plastic and exposed live wiring.

The CST-13 phone charger, which is manufactured in Thailand by a company called Delta, has an identification number - BML 162 099/3 R1A - printed on the socket and is supplied with Sony Ericsson Phone Models T68i, T300, T310, T610, as well as several Bluetooth hands-free accessories. The charger has also been sold separately.

According to Sony Ericsson, a pressure build-up in the charger can caused the top plastic part of the charger to break off, with the danger of hitting someone. When this happens, electronics within the charger could be exposed, creating the risk of electric shock or fire.

Richard Dorman, PR manager at Sony Ericsson, told silicon.com's sister site ZDNet UK that the company is still not sure what causes the problem, but they suspect it is something to do with gas. "The units are ultrasonically sealed so when there is a build-up in pressure, there is nowhere for the gas to escape - we are still looking at what causes the build-up of pressure."

Dorman said that there have only been 10 reported cases of the fault and nobody has been injured.

Sony Ericsson advises customers with a suspect model to stop using it immediately and contact their customer care centre on 0800 587 6072. The company will dispatch a replacement immediately and send a pre-paid envelope so the user can return the faulty unit.

Munir Kotadia writes for ZDNet UK