Does Acer have any protection on its chargers?

Question

I was just wondering if Acer or any other laptop charger had some sort of safety to shut off when extremely hot, because if not, then I would definitely consider bringing this charger to the repair store tomorrow for further testing.

Backstory: I was using my laptop a while ago with the charger plugged in. I noticed that the laptop switched to its batteries, so I glanced at my adapter (which had a switch) and noticed that it was still drawing power. I assumed that the transformer's removable end must have been pulled off, but when I checked it was intact. I tried to push it in further to get a good connection, but as I was doing so, I almost burnt my hands due to the extremely high temperatures.

Based on other hot objects I have unfortunately touched in the past, the temperature of the brick was as hot as a pot of newly-cooked soup. It has also made its surroundings uncomfortable to touch and I had panicked that something inside was burnt and needed replacement.

Before coming to such a conclusion, I backed up my files then gave the charger another go, knowing that there's a chance that the charger would surge and fry my motherboard. Thankfully that didn't happen, and my laptop is charging as of asking this question.

Answer 1

Casually accessible parts of consumer electronics should not get hot to the point of almost burning you (unless designed to do so, e.g. stove, microwave, etc.) If there is a working safety, it should kick in before this point.

The adapter will need to be replaced.

A repair shop is unlikely to do much more other than sell you a replacement charger, as repairing AC adapters is likely more costly than buying a new one. However, they may have a known working charger and can confirm there is no issue with the laptop itself - so you may still want to pay a shop a visit.

If your system is still under warranty you can probably get a free replacement through following any warranty procedures.