News, info, and opinion by Mac users, for Mac users.

March 17, 2008

troubleshooting

Fixing old sparky

Posted Mar. 17, ’08, 6:47 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Troubleshooting

Power Adapter Party When it comes to anything electrical that has to do with power, most often the right solution is to have a professional take a look and fix the problem. In fact, even in this case, I’d still say the right solution is to buy a new power adapter (as loathe as I am to pay for Apple’s poor power supply design issues, ie. original Airport Base Station). That said, a tale of fixing one’s own power adapter is inspiring.

When his 45W Powerbook G4 power adapter started sparking and getting all melty, he did a little reading and took the problem into his own hands. A slim chisel or a flathead screwdriver, a pair of pliers (to be used like a hammer) or a hammer, a pair of needle-nose pliers, a pair of scissors or an X-acto knife (which ever you prefer) for cutting the wires and stripping off the insulation, a soldering iron and solder, and electrical tape later, his power adapter was restored to working condition.

The durability of Apple’s power adapters has been improving steadily, but if you were one of the unlucky ones with one of those original yo-yo power adapters, you most likely know the pain of cables wearing out, causing shorts and broken circuits. While I enjoy accounts like these, I’m hoping they become more infrequent and the reliability approaches that of the machines themselves.

(And for those wondering about the picture, it has nothing to do with the blog post other than it features a Powerbook power adapter.)


1 Comments

Glen said:

Um, in my experience, if you call Apple and tell them that your power adapter is emitting sparks, they will just send you a new one. Simple as that.
-G

March 17, 2008 9:48 AM

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