[Doundounba]

Staff note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means Pentax Forums may earn a small commission if a visitor clicks through and makes a purchase. If you would like to support the forum directly, you may also make a donation here.

---

So it appears that I've busted the power connector on the cable linking my Godox AD180 flash to my PB960 battery pack. The adapter at the flash end of the cord broke off and stayed inside the flash. This is what it now looks like - notice the bare metal leads on the unplugged cable:



As you may or may not know, this flash has no internal battery, to you have to use it with the battery pack. I've been looking for a replacement cable, only to find that apparently Godox have changed the shape of the connector in their flashes! (Why would they do that?!) So, what I have is apparently the "Version 1" plug, and the cable with that connector appears to have become rarer than hen's teeth. I emailed a couple of Ebay sellers who made references to the V1 plug in their listings, but didn't show any in stock (example). We'll see how/if they answer. A store in Australia claims to have one old style cable in stock, but won't ship internationally...

As you can imagine, I'm not too keen to have bare metal electrical leads connected to a high power battery pack just dangling in my packpack. So for now, I'm inclined to use electrical tape to semi-permanently fix the cable to the flash and carry on that way while I can (the other end of the cable is fine as of now). But I'd like a more permanent solution. Am I out of luck? This was a fairly expensive flash! It would be rather annoying to have it rendered useless because of a missing cable, while the flash itself is still fully functional!

Soooo... Any thoughts/advice on what to do?

[BigMackCam]

Can you remove that broken-off piece using tweezers, or a couple of flat-bladed screwdrivers either side to lever it out? If so, you could use two-part epoxy resin glue to re-attached the broken piece to the connector. I've recently used Gorilla Epoxy to repair some plastic mounting parts for the hinge mechanism in my laptop, and it's incredibly strong.

[Doundounba]

Thanks for you reponse. I perhaps could try to remove the piece that broke off from inside the flash. However, I'm worried about damaging it. And don't "they" say that the super powerful capacitors in flashes can retain a charge even when there's no power? I wouldn't want to inadvertently discharge such a capacitor into myself... But they say a lot of things, so is that fear unfounded?

[BigMackCam]

Thanks for you reponse. I perhaps could try to remove the piece that broke off from inside the flash. However, I'm worried about damaging it. And don't "they" say that the super powerful capacitors in flashes can retain a charge even when there's no power? I wouldn't want to inadvertently discharge such a capacitor into myself... But they say a lot of things, so is that fear unfounded?

I'm just thinking that if you use two slim, flat-bladed screwdrivers down the outer edges of the broken piece, you could lever it out without touching any contacts. In any case, those three contacts are - presumably - just power points; not part of the capacitor's discharge path? If you think about a battery-powered flash - you wouldn't worry about touching the battery contacts. The only difference here is that the contacts connect to an external battery or power-supply using a cable. So those contacts should be safe. But if you lever the broken connector out from the outer edges, you wouldn't be touching them anyway.

I'm sure you'll get further replies that are more knowledgable than mine, but this is the approach I'd probably go with myself

[Not a Number]

It looks like the flash body has been opened before.

It may not be pretty but you might be able to replace the socket and plug with a Molex or AMP connector, the kind used on computer fans, floppy/cd/dvd drives. I'm not sure what the power ratings on the plugs are though.

https://www.digikey.com/en/product-highlight/m/molex/power-connectors

Edit: They go up to 150A

[garywakeling]

Or I could purchase the cord in Australia and post it on to you, seems like the pentaxian way , let me know if you have no luck locally
Cheers Gary

[Doundounba]

Well, the Ebay sellers both replied that they can't get that cable anymore...

It looks like the flash body has been opened before.

It has not - that's just wear on the QC label from repeatedly going in and out of a bottle holder on my backpack.

Or I could purchase the cord in Australia and post it on to you, seems like the pentaxian way , let me know if you have no luck locally

PM incoming!

[Not a Number]

It has not - that's just wear on the QC label from repeatedly going in and out of a bottle holder on my backpack.

It's not just that. In the photo it looks as if the seam on the main body towards the flash head shows pry marks similar to those I see on devices that I've opened using a guitar pick.

[Wasp]

You might be able to get a courier company to pick up the cable in Australia on your behalf and ship it to you. Won't exactly be cheap, though.

[garywakeling]

part ordered, will see how to post to Canada once it arrives at my place in oz

[Lord Lucan]

It may not be pretty but you might be able to replace the socket and plug with a Molex or AMP connector, the kind used on computer fans,

In fact there is a vast variety of different types of connector available, most of them much prettier than that type of Molex if you Google for electronic suppiers. I have a catalogue of one or two, but in the UK. It would not need to take a very high current.

Sounds like the OP has the problem sorted now though.

[BigMackCam]

part ordered, will see how to post to Canada once it arrives at my place in oz

Kudos to you, Gary. This is exactly the kind of community-spirited action that adds a "certain something" to these forums!

[garywakeling]

Good news , the cord has arrived with the new owner

[Doundounba]

Good news , the cord has arrived with the new owner

Yes, a somewhat belated public thanks to Gary, who sent me probably one of the last V1 cables available anywhere! I've decided for now to leave the old semi-busted cable permanently plugged into the flash, even when I take it off the camera and store it in my backpack. (I just unplug the other end.) If/when that cable gives up the ghost completely, I'll pop out the busted connector from the plug in the flash and move to using the cable that Gary sent me. I feel so much better now that I have a spare cable - the flash and battery pack were not exactly cheap, so this way I know I can keep using them for a good while.

Thanks again, Gary!

[morenjavi]

Hello,

I had exactly the same problem with my old Godox cable. I solved it using a special glue for 'difficult plastics', I tried to plug/unplug it several times after been glued and, by the moment, it seem the connector is fixed. But I'm a bit worried about what I will do next years.


Regards.