The question concerns a power adapter / car charger (the thing that plugs into the auto cigar(ette) lighter socket and supplies electrical power to the unit while in the vehicle) for a Magellan Model 1212 GPS unit. The power adapter recently came apart into several pieces. Basically, the end piece that holds the nipple (positive terminal) in place became unscrewed and the contents of the adapter spilled out. Unfortunately, we didn't realize it until the pieces became scattered. So far, we have found the nipple, the piece with the screw threads that holds the nipple in, a metal collar that fits over the plastic housing, and a fuse. However, the nipple still flops in and out of the housing, so it won’t make proper contact when placed in the socket. I assume this means we are still missing some parts, such as a spring.

I assume all these charger units are built similarly. Does anyone know what we’re missing and how it’s supposed to go together? Also, if we can’t find the missing part(s), do you know where we could rig up a substitute piece without buying a whole new power adapter?

Thanks in advance.

The flopping is most likely due to a missing spring. You can try a spring from a pen or one from here: Find Spring At SmallParts.com

A hardware store might help too. You can cut it.

If you need some idea on sizes, Google thread dimensions and use screw sizes to gage the size you need.

I don't know about that specific adapter.

Usually there are 2 side spring terminals. The center piece (yours flops). And a spring. Sometimes a fuse is contained in there as well. There is also a cap that screws on.

I fixed it! Your post provided two pieces of information that were important to me. The first was that these units typically contain a spring. Although the way that the nipple piece flopped made a spring seem like a logical addition, I didn't want to go stuffing one in without some reassurance that I was heading down the right path. The second piece of advice was, "You can cut it." I'm not a natural "fix it" person (hence the moniker), and my thinking often gets stuck in a rut.

I canabalized the spring out of a ball point pen. After checking to make sure it was conductive, I cut it in half and pieced it in. It works great! Thanks!