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MagSafe has burned.

F

Fearless Leader

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Mar 21, 2006
2,360
0
Hoosiertown
Well I posted a while ago about my MBP shocking me. Well I contacted Apple and they Said they'd send me a box and then 10 days latter I'd get my MBP back. Well the box came and my MBP stopped shocking me.

Well over the past week my Magsafe has been hot, real hot. A small split formed and I really thought nothing of it. Well a few moments ago, I smelt burning plastic. My MBP (plugged in) started going in and out of charging, and unplugged, without me touching it. I noticed a larger hole, and melted and burnt plastic around it. Then wires came out, and a bunch of sparks. I'll post photos soon.

edit: Photos sorry for the crapiness, isight shot.

Photo 1.jpg

Photo 2.jpg
 
Ewww, that bites!

Question; Is that one of the first generation of Magsafe power supplies? If it is they have issued a new one that has a stronger cable strain connector on it.

Was your laptop affected in any way?

Hope this is remedied for you shortly <= Pun not intended. :D

Sopranino
 
anti-microsoft said:
That Happend to me too!!!

Loads of people complain about the magsafe adaptor on the apple online store. (two star rating both the 85w and the 60w)
Click to expand...

Which model of MB/MBP have these problems occurred on? As I've mentioned before Apple did release a revised version of the power adaptor so I'm curious as to whether or not the problems are occurring with the new one as well.

Sopranino
 
Wow, another one of these. :eek: I think the MagSafe connector really is a piss poor design. The first thing I noticed when I plugged mine in was how flimsy the cable felt and how it was bending round a lot as the magsafe connector itself is very short compared to the old iBook/PowerBook power cable connectors. I'm assuming this is one of the earlier models but would be interesting if you could clarify. Hope your MacBook Pro is ok. Was there any other damage?
 
I'm also interested to know what model this was...

My brick stays reasonably cool, as does the connector, so I'm quite confident I've got a good charger. This is worrying, though, because it makes me think twice about charging my notebook while I'm asleep or out the house.

This is the second one of these I've seen on here very recently :S

Oh, also, how do you normally pull out the magsafe connector? Do you grab it by the cord and pull, or pull it out from the (very small!) actual plastic connector part.

As they all seem to go in the same place I think the connection is probably being damaged when the magsafe is pulled out by the cable.
 
miniConvert said:
I'm also interested to know what model this was...

My brick stays reasonably cool, as does the connector, so I'm quite confident I've got a good charger. This is worrying, though, because it makes me think twice about charging my notebook while I'm asleep or out the house.

This is the second one of these I've seen on here very recently :S

Oh, also, how do you normally pull out the magsafe connector? Do you grab it by the cord and pull, or pull it out from the (very small!) actual plastic connector part.

As they all seem to go in the same place I think the connection is probably being damaged when the magsafe is pulled out by the cable.
Click to expand...

I agree with you, as a recent MBP buyer this does concern me!

I guess the idea is that you're supposed to pull the connector not the cable but it's such a crap design that it's easier to pull it by the cable part. The old iBook/PowerBook cylindrical shaped connectors were much easier to grab hold of.
 
dcv said:
I guess the idea is that you're supposed to pull the connector not the cable but it's such a crap design that it's easier to pull it by the cable part. The old iBook/PowerBook cylindrical shaped connectors were much easier to grab hold of.
Click to expand...
Totally. I remove mine by, what's the right word, 'bending' it downwards, a bit like removing something from the Pop-Port on a Nokia mobile phone, as just pulling it 'straight out' via the plastic is almost impossible.

I love that magsafe is nice and small, and supposedly safe from damage if someone trips on my cable. However, if the magnetism is so strong that pulling out the connector damages the cable then it hasn't come close to achieving what it was designed for!
 
miniConvert said:
Totally. I remove mine by, what's the right word, 'bending' it downwards, a bit like removing something from the Pop-Port on a Nokia mobile phone, as just pulling it 'straight out' via the plastic is almost impossible.
Click to expand...
I didn't even think to try 'bending' it like that! :eek: oops, is that how it's supposed to work?

miniConvert said:
I love that magsafe is nice and small, and supposedly safe from damage if someone trips on my cable. However, if the magnetism is so strong that pulling out the connector damages the cable then it hasn't come close to achieving what it was designed for!
Click to expand...

Oh it's very clever but it's a shame they had to make it the shape and size that it is. If they'd kept the cylindrical shape of the old one but with this new magnetic connection it'd be a lot smarter!
 
miniConvert said:
Totally. I remove mine by, what's the right word, 'bending' it downwards, a bit like removing something from the Pop-Port on a Nokia mobile phone, as just pulling it 'straight out' via the plastic is almost impossible.

I love that magsafe is nice and small, and supposedly safe from damage if someone trips on my cable. However, if the magnetism is so strong that pulling out the connector damages the cable then it hasn't come close to achieving what it was designed for!
Click to expand...

I totally agree. A I've said before, they need to weaken the magnet just a bit so that it's not as strong. Right now that strength defeats the intended purpose of the connector.

POushing down on the connector is a good idea! I had always removed mine by "tilting" the connector sideways, but that was obviously quite a chore. I guess tilting downards WOULD be less awkward. :)
 
miniConvert said:
Totally. I remove mine by, what's the right word, 'bending' it downwards, a bit like removing something from the Pop-Port on a Nokia mobile phone, as just pulling it 'straight out' via the plastic is almost impossible.

I love that magsafe is nice and small, and supposedly safe from damage if someone trips on my cable. However, if the magnetism is so strong that pulling out the connector damages the cable then it hasn't come close to achieving what it was designed for!
Click to expand...

Same here - the magnetism is quite strong, so just leveraging it up or down works best.

Of course, it doesn't help that Apple makes all the plugs (MagSafe, Mighty Mouse USB cable etc.) from glossy plastic with no undulations to give your fingers purchase - so little wonder if people are pulling them out by the cable. But hey, glossy plastic is more pretty.. :rolleyes:

Incidentally, another MagSafe failure I've seen on an MBP - a friend's MagSafe became a "Safe" - it lost its magnetism! :p I didn't think that could happen.
 
As Apple started phasing in the new magsafes six months ago, I'm assuming this is one of the first-gen ones. Is that right?

Macintouch's survey of 3,000 (roughly) laptops last year had six people reporting this type of problem, which surprised them a little considering the publicity it gained.
 
Sopranino said:
Which model of MB/MBP have these problems occurred on? As I've mentioned before Apple did release a revised version of the power adaptor so I'm curious as to whether or not the problems are occurring with the new one as well.
Click to expand...


Can you post pictures of the revised version?

If it's the version I think you're talking about (and the one that's connected to my Mac right now) I have my doubts it will do anything. The "strain relief" consists of about a centimeter of an extra layer of thick plastic tubing that's uniformly stiff and doesn't give way much on its own. If anything, all it will likely do is extend the cable's break point by about 1cm.
 
Lol, I'm glad that works for you both. I don't know why I do it like that (this is my first Mac laptop) - I think it's possibly due to years of Nokia mobile phones! ;)

I'm assuming it's absolutely fine to remove the connector this way - I can't think of any way it could be damaging, and it's certainly (relatively) easy.
 
And from what I've read, Apple was quietly exchanging 'new for old' magsafes if people asked even if there was no damage done (yet).

I think the official line from Apple is that it's not covered in the warranty but in reality people have managed to get it replaced, no questions asked.
 
miniConvert said:
I remove mine by, what's the right word, 'bending' it downwards
Click to expand...

I've also found that this is the best way to remove the magsafe. It's really not difficult at all and will become a habit quickly. Grab it between your fingers and lever the plug either upward or downward. You don't even have to touch the cable and it releases easily this way.
 
They are going to replace it, on wed I should have it. It was a first gen magsafe, hopefully my laptop still charges. And the laptop itself is a core duo made in july.
 
Me too, I think it is pretty hard to grab the head of the connector to disengage it from my MBP.

In my opinion, they should make the connector head a little bit longer, so that people like me who's got short ad stubby fingers can remove it easily.
 
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