HEX CAN Interface: Is it normal to be hot?

Hello,

After about 20 minutes of operation, my new interface from Rainer's shop is "warm to the touch" around the LED at the top. When I unplugged it, I noticed it was quite warm, although the heat wasn't painful.
I estimate the surface temperature to be roughly 20K above the ambient temperature.

If I imagine the temperatures that must be present behind the insulating plastic layer inside the plug in order to transport so much energy outwards, I find it somewhat concerning .

Do all interfaces do this, and is it harmless?
So far, mine seems to be working normally.

My HEX USB interface also gets quite warm, and a temperature 20K above the ambient temperature is not uncommon. Even my EDC 15 flasher gets noticeably warmer than the surroundings, even though it's only in operation for a short time.

When I imagine the temperatures that must exist behind the insulating plastic layer inside the plug, in order to transport so much energy outwards, it seems a bit concerning to me .

Think about how warm a laptop power adapter gets, and your worries will quickly disappear .

In the case of HEX interfaces, this is absolutely safe. With many (e.g., Ross-Tech and their distributors), interfaces are often connected to test benches or similar setups almost around the clock, and no problems arise. Of course, some heat generation is normal, as this involves electronics.

Some might say that there are interfaces that cannot handle this and will become significantly hotter, but those are not from Ross-Tech and do not have names like HEX/KEY/µCAN.

My Hex+CAN also gets quite hot, especially in this weather. It can easily reach 25K above ambient temperature. After longer measurement runs, it becomes quite unpleasant to touch, with a surface temperature of around 50°C.

How much power does it actually draw from the on-board electrical system?

Regards,
Malte.

Don't worry. I'm getting the same and similar temperatures. But it won't get much warmer; I once drove it almost 500km with it connected to a laptop.

Sebastian@OpenOBD wrote:

Since this naturally involves electronics, a certain amount of heat generation is normal.

Nebelwerfer TDI wrote:

Think about how warm a laptop power adapter gets, and your worries will quickly disappear

.
Sure, but since the interface essentially only manages "lossless" signals (rather than transmitting useful energy), the perceived power loss initially seemed a bit too high to me.

But now it's clear, thank you for the answers .