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Macbook stops charging after 1 minute

Jessemedcalf

Jessemedcalf

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 20, 2016
4
0
#1
My MacBook Air has suddenly stopped charging properly. When I plug in the charger, the light goes on, green at first for about 2 seconds, then to orange as per normal. However, after about 1 minute, the light goes off and it stops charging.
If I unplug the charger at the wall and plug it back in, or disconnect the two halves of the power adapter and reconnect them, it starts charging again. It will once again stop after about 1 minute.
I can do this indefinitely and the same thing happens every time, this has been going on nearly 2 weeks.
I have tried multiple plugs and multiple chargers - same thing happens on all.
I've reset the SMC (multiple times) with no luck.

This is massively frustrating, please if anyone has any solutions let me know.
 
If you've tried different genuine chargers and the issue persists, the problem can only be with your Mac and likely hardware.

As a starting point, you can try to clean the MagSafe connector on your MacBook Air with isopropyl alcohol, as they do tend to get a little grimy. However from your description I don't think this will do the trick.

Going on the assumption that there has been no liquid or physical damage to the machine, and the battery is still in good condition with cycle count/no errors in the operating system, I suspect the DC-in board will need replacing. Luckily this is a seperate part and not soldered to the Logic Board, so the parts wouldn't cost an arm and a leg.

If you have an Apple Store local to you, they'll be able to diagnose the issue free-of-charge and let you know the financial damage before you go ahead with anything.
 
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Thanks for the suggestions! Do you think there's any hope in resetting the PRAM before I go into the apple store?
 
Have you tried a hardware diagnostic test? How to reboot into the low-level diagnostic system & run some tests:
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201257

Some tips on cleaning the Macbook power port from Apple:
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT203207

Other tips - have you tried a different power outlet? Maybe at a different house?:
http://osxdaily.com/2014/02/04/magsafe-wont-charge-mac-fix/

This one a bit oddly suggest pre-warming the power-transformer:
http://www.hightechdad.com/2013/12/17/macbook-air-not-charging-try-this-amazing-fix/
 
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