Magsafe power adapter woes

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Magsafe power adapter woes

I was very surprised and scared at the same time when I see my magsafe power cable frayed badly at one of the connections to the magsafe unit.

I was very lucky to notice before sleeping, or else I would have ended up in a fire at my home. I was planning keep MBP for charging and go to sleep when I noticed this. But luckily I smelled burning and noticed that the frayed had part started blackening due to burning. I immediately disconnected it. See the pic below.

I use the charger as it is expected. Remove it from the solid plug and not cable. Actually I use all apple products with care and respect and I love them. But this incident broke my heart. I have so many presentations to give this week, how I am going to survive without my laptop is a big question. I just saw many people have had such problems, and I am hoping Apple customer care helps me out tomorrow morning. Only 14 minutes left on charging before my MBP dies. Apple help.

Strange thing is my power charger was just replaced 6 months ago for a different problem(it just stopped charging without any reason or visible damage, no fall nothing). And now after 6 months the new charger gave up with a frayed cable. I work as a Teaching Assistant and have so many presentations every week, this is a unnecessary trouble for me.

What should I do now? Will apple replace my adapter asap?

Mac book Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.4)

Posted on Feb 8, 2012 11:06 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

shldr2thewheel

Level 7

26,003 points

Feb 8, 2012 11:15 PM in response to harshay_b

They have a replacement program in the United States: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4127. If you live outside the United States, make an appointment with the genius bar at your local Apple retail store or AASP and see if they can help you.

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Answer 2

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,305 points

Feb 9, 2012 5:18 AM in response to harshay_b

I think the replacement program is for problems at the end that attaches to the MBP, not where your break has occurred. This should not deter you from trying. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Bottom line is that you need to replace it.

I had an identical situation happen to my old power adapter and I was able to fix it (being the cheapskate that I am). I had to cut the case in half along the line you can see around the edges. Not an easy task but I used a utility knife with a new thick blade. I threw the little insulator away and had two wires leading from the body of the charger long enough to crimp on two spade connectors (one male and the other female). I then crimped on two spade connectors on the wire (again one male and one female) so that when connected the wire colors matched. It is very important that polarity is observed! Then the halves were put together and sealed with electrical tape.

The adapter does not win any beauty contests, but it works and I use it as my principal charger at my desk. I purchased a new one for when I travel.

Just for your consideration.

Ciao.

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Answer 3

harshay_b Author

Level 1

0 points

Feb 9, 2012 11:45 AM in response to OGELTHORPE

Thanks a lot for your tip though I willing be not able to fix that way. Because I don't have any such tools or knowledge to do that.

Just to let you know though, the replacement program is for both ends of the dc wire(the thinner wire). So technically my case qualifies for it. I am just concerned about a statement which says they will evaluate it and upon successful evaluation they will give replacement. I don't have a doubt this was a manufacturing shortcoming, not my usage. I will be visiting the authorized center and post an update about what happens.

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Answer 4

harshay_b Author

Level 1

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Feb 9, 2012 11:47 AM in response to shldr2thewheel

Thanks that was helpful. I am going to head to the dealer ASAP and hope they replace it for me.

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Answer 5

eww

Level 9

53,028 points

Feb 9, 2012 12:40 PM in response to harshay_b

Be sure to take your computer as well as your adapter with you when you go. The store or service provider will need to confirm the Mac's serial number visually, so just writing it down and taking the note with you won't suffice.

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Answer 6

harshay_b Author

Level 1

0 points

Feb 26, 2012 5:03 PM in response to harshay_b

This is a bit late reply, I had forgotten about this thread in these few busy weeks.

For the record, I went to a Authorized Apple Service Provider and they gave me a new one.

Apple is awesome.

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