One of my PIX 501 units has a power jack that is fairly sensitive to any movement of the chassis. If I so much as nudge the PIX, the power flow is interrupted and the PIX reboots. I remember reading that this is a common problem with the PIX 501, and was wondering if it was an easy thing to fix. I'm hoping to hear from someone who's handled a lot of 501s and can provide detailed advice about repairing the power jack on this specific model.
SnapOverflow
Yup, a bummer of a design flaw, drove me nuts.
I opened my PIX 501 and unsoldered the power connector from the board. I installed a rubber grommet in the hole where the jack was, cut the jack off the cord ran the wire through the grommet and stripped and soldered the wires directly to the board. I put a small zip tie around the cable as a strain relief. Works perfectly for the last couple years.
I've not got any specific experience of a PIX 501, but I've got plenty of experience with dodgy power jacks. If all else fails and you don't want to risk soldering' a liberal application of gaffer tape to stop anything moving should do the trick
Wiring directly to the board probably the best. I didn't see anything apparently wrong with the connection of the jack to the board. Might be an issue with the conductor shape or metal used.
How to open: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/security/pix/pix63/hw/installation/guide/501.html