Question usb cable small nick/cut to black cable covering

[andrepartthree]

Hi guys me again with another dumb question, my apologies in advance and particularly if I've posted this in the wrong part of the forums (I wasn't sure where questions on usb 2.0 cables would go).

So I have an ancient usb 2.0 cable that came with my equally ancient (has to be at least 10 years old) laptop cooler with fans inside of it - one of those old school heavy blocks of metal with the fans built into it. I foolishly taped the usb 2.0 A to A cable that came with it to the laptop cooler so it wouldn't get lost then when I brought the laptop cooler out of retirement and was trying to pry the tape off with my fingernails I managed to put a small cut/nick in the black sheath/plastic tubing of the usb cable in two different spots. I can see a very small (about 1/16th of an inch ) patch of white underneath which in turn I am guessing is the second layer of wire tubing. The (I'm guessing as to the colors since I can't see them through the cut) white, black, green and black wires that do the actual transmitting of electricity are not visible and are not exposed/outside of the plastic tubing. I'm going by the links below as to what wires make up a usb cable I could be wrong on this

https://www.kabasi-connector.com/info/what-are-the-four-wires-of-the-usb-cable-62935814.html

https://www.electroschematics.com/usb-how-things-work/

I wrapped electrical tape around the two nicks on the cable which covers the nicks completely and appears to be secure I don't think the tape is going to come off anytime soon. I'm wondering if it's okay to just go ahead and use the usb 2.0 cable to power the fans on my laptop in the future.

I know that usb 2.0 cables are cheap as all heck and normally I'd just go ahead and replace the cable to be on the safe side but I'm wondering if it's risky to use a cable other than the one that originally came with the (again ancient, over 10 years old) laptop cooler in case the cable creates problems (delivers too much electrical power to the fans in the laptop cooler maybe). If it's safe to replace the cable though do you guys think something like this would work?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002KKXP3M/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&th=1

Hopefully that link works but if not the name of the product is "Monoprice 105442 3ft USB 2.0 A Male to A Male 28/24AWG Cable (Gold Plated) -Black for Data Transfer Hard Drive Enclosures, Printers, Modems, Cameras and More!" 3 foot option amazon asin number ‎B002KKXP3M

Thanks so much to anyone who reads this and replies

 

[Lutfij]

You might want to include a couple of images to show the extent of the damage. Judging from your text, it might be fine but I'd like to be sure you didn't cross wires after they were exposed. External laptop cooler fans operate off of 5V, so just two wires(one black and one red).

 

[Paperdoc]

Using tape to wrap the nicks on your old cable is just fine! The small cut that allows you to see white wire insulation inside is NOT a big issue. There appears to be NO electrical damage, and your repair is only to preserve physical protection of the internal wires.

In fact, I believe such a plan is better that replacement with the cable you linked to. Why? Well, the device you are powering is a cooler with fans, and NO data transfer function. Fans typically need MORE power than data devices. So the original cable you have was designed for that. The new cable you linked is designed for best DATA transfer with light-gauge wires that MAY be capable of the current needed by your fans, but maybe not quite. Since you do not NEED to replace, don't. Just tape them up.

 

[andrepartthree]

You might want to include a couple of images to show the extent of the damage. Judging from your text, it might be fine but I'd like to be sure you didn't cross wires after they were exposed. External laptop cooler fans operate off of 5V, so just two wires(one black and one red).

Thank you for your quick reply I appreciate it .. of course since I am an idiot I panicked and promptly wrapped the damaged parts up in electrical tape then afterwards thought to myself " You know it would have really helped to take a picture of it beforehand." So yes I would be the first one to call myself an idiot but this is hardly anything new 😛

My apologies if I didn't make it clear in my long wall of text post 😛 but I didn't see any individual wires (red, black, white or green) .. I only know those wires are in a usb cable because of the links I posted above with a diagram of what's inside a usb cable , honestly I've never seen the wires inside a usb cable ever in my entire life .. so apologies for the confusing post! What I was trying to say in my complicated overly wordy way is that I scratched off what I believe is the black coating on the usb cable and could see a tiny patch of white underneath .. hopefully that's not the white wire cable you mentioned but given it was nicked in two spots and I'm seeing white underneath in both spots I'm thinking (hoping?) there's a layer of white plastic underneath the layer of black plastic that I nicked - I'm hoping the fact white showed up in both spots is not just a coincidence and that it would point to a white second layer underneath... I hope, I really really hope (especially given Paperdoc's comment it's best not to replace the usb cable )

 

[andrepartthree]

Using tape to wrap the nicks on your old cable is just fine! The small cut that allows you to see white wire insulation inside is NOT a big issue. There appears to be NO electrical damage, and your repair is only to preserve physical protection of the internal wires.

In fact, I believe such a plan is better that replacement with the cable you linked to. Why? Well, the device you are powering is a cooler with fans, and NO data transfer function. Fans typically need MORE power than data devices. So the original cable you have was designed for that. The new cable you linked is designed for best DATA transfer with light-gauge wires that MAY be capable of the current needed by your fans, but maybe not quite. Since you do not NEED to replace, don't. Just tape them up.

Paperdoc thanks so much for your quick reply you and Lutfij are awesome ... like Lutfij said I really should have provided a picture of the damage in question instead of panicking and immediately wrapping electrical tape around the damaged area. I'm hoping that it really is just white wire insulation inside and all I did was nick the black plastic sheathe surrounding it ... you really educated on me on the difference between data transfer usb cables and cables that supply usb power thank you for that ..

.... though now it leaves me wondering where I can find usb cables that will transmit enough "juice" to replace a usb cable for a laptop cooler that eventually stops working.. I tried looking on amazon with the search terms "usb cable for laptop cooler" and there are amazon reviews where people CLAIM it worked okay for their laptop cooler (including the monoprice cable in the amazon link above).. but the problem is of course the "fake amazon review" syndrome that plagues amazon. It might be a real review or it might not