45W AC Charger shown with 50 watts

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Level 1

41 points

45W AC Charger shown with 50 watts

I am using the standard Apple-original 45W AC adapter (Model A1036) with my PowerBook6,8 (12-inch, January 2005). Isn't it strange that the system profiler shows 50 Watts?

Does this value refer to the watts the PowerBook is drawing or to the watts the adapter is drawing?

For testing, I used a second 45W AC adapter - same result. I swapped batteries - same result. I even changed the hard drive - same result.

The output specs of the adapter are 24 V, 1.875 A. That should be 45W DC output power. So why "50" watts?

PowerBook G4 (12-inch 1.5 GHz), Mac OS X (10.4.11), M9690D/A, PowerBook6,8

Posted on Jun 4, 2018 1:11 PM

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Answer 1

Allan Jones

Level 9

78,866 points

Jun 6, 2018 9:55 AM in response to Alexome

That is a mystery area. My 2003 PBG4-17 reported two different Apple chargers, both clearly marked "65W," as 45. I took the newer of the two--bought directly from Apple so it had a "perfect pedigree"--to an Apple store. Thinking it was the computer, the tech plugged in an older 65W charger, and the computer recognized it as 65, but the one I brought it still reported 45W. He was stumped, and additional information I've seen since then suggest this was an ongoing issue with some PowerBooks and their chargers.

Don't know what to tell you. I let it go. Today Apple won't replace anything that old so, other than buying a lot of used chargers, there's not much you can do.

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45W AC Charger shown with 50 watts

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