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charger giving me problems working. doesn't work at all while computer is on

Ok so the context quickly: My Air is about 22 months old, and I haven't had any problems with it during that time. I don't have too much on here, and nothing strenuous in particular. My chargers have been a different story however. My first charger lasted for about 16 months before the wire frayed and it wouldn't work anymore. Ok, no big deal, I got another--the one I have now.


It's only been about 6 months, and now this charger is giving me serious problems for no discernible reason. The wiring appears fine, I unplug it from the outlet when it isn't in use, and I clean the connecting part on the charger on my mac pretty regularly. Still though, the charger only works on occasion. The problems started in mid-January, when for whatever reason one weekend it wouldn't charge. It started to work again, but only when I had the charger connected to the computer one way. Since then, the charge only takes if the wiring is extended away from the computer rather than running alongside it. (Sorry to belabor this but I don't know exactly how to describe it and I want to make sure this is understandable) Ok so there are only two ways to plug the charger into the computer, one with the little circular-end-head-thing pointed toward you and one with it pointed away--my computer will only charge if the head is pointed toward me since mid-January.


It's been fine though, until Friday, when the charger started acting up again. My computer appears to be fine so I'm almost 100% sure it is the charger even though it is only 6 months old. It takes me at least a few minutes to plug it in and finangle it to where it will actually charge; if I try the easier route of plugging it in and out until it takes, normally the first half dozen tries, at least, will fail. Other times, when it does connect, it takes up to a minute for the correct positioning to register and the light to turn on. None of these problems go anywhere beyond inconvenience, however what really is frustrating is the fact that since friday my computer won't charge while it's in use. Even if the charger goes in and the orange light comes on and signals it's charging (and this verified by energy saver preferences), if i'm using it the battery will simply run down as if the connection wasn't there. My battery isn't in pristine shape but it lasts for at least 90 minutes; still, this basically means I can't watch a movie or more than an episode or two of a tv show without having to turn my computer off and charge it. For writing papers and schoolwork, I'm now in a tight time crunch since doing a paper will presumably take twice as long alloting for the time needed to recharge my battery.


This isn't exactly urgent, but to know what the source of the problem is would be nice so I can try and fix it. To make matters worse though, I'm currently in Russia, so simply replacing the charger---or worse, getting my Air fixed if it is the problem--isn't going to be easy.


Here is my power info if it may be of help:


Battery Information:


Model Information:

Serial Number: C01205604U6DKRVAE

Manufacturer: DP

Device Name: bq20z451

Pack Lot Code: 0

PCB Lot Code: 0

Firmware Version: 406

Hardware Revision: 1

Cell Revision: 175

Charge Information:

Charge Remaining (mAh): 3146

Fully Charged: No

Charging: No

Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 4120

Health Information:

Cycle Count: 875

Condition: Normal

Battery Installed: Yes

Amperage (mA): -1012

Voltage (mV): 7846

MacBook Air, Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Mar 5, 2014 8:26 AM

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charger giving me problems working. doesn't work at all while computer is on

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