tasty blog snack

I see the face of a monster in that melted plastic :eeks:

That’s not nearly as bad as my Powerbook’s brick… I actually had sparks!

There’s a picture of it at http://www.commanddotcom.com/2007/02/05/smoked-power-brick/

I smelled that wonderful “electronics cooking” smell, noticed I was running on battery power, felt the brick was super hot and then poof sparks. Something must have short circuited somewhere. Replacement cost me $50 ’cause I’m well out of my Apple Care on the laptop and I didn’t go directly to Apple to get the new brick.

-A

WOW! That just looks scary. Good thing you caught it in time or you would have been without a macbook and possibly a place to sleep. It is good to see that mac gave you a new one. It is also funny that you still defend Steve after your near death experience. That is true love.

i JUST had the same problem not two weeks ago.

scared the hell outta me.

it’s times like this that make me appreciate apple’s customer service policies and willingness to ensure customer satisfaction.

Yikes, be careful

I had the same thing happen to me about 2 months ago. The Genius I worked with said it almost always happens when the cord gets bent at a right angle close to either end (at the brick or at the magsafe connector) and snaps some sort of ground wire. He said it can happen and you won’t know it for weeks.

The good news is they replaced mine with no questions asked and it sounds like you got the same treatment. Question is, did did they give you the new, smaller 85W brick or the older, bigger one?

Ah, exact same thing happened to me! Apple replaced it.

This is pretty scary. I’ve seen some MagSafe connectors get a little charred, but not melt the plastic like that. I should inspect both my adapters for any problems.

I’ve had to replace 3 power bricks in the last 4 years, all fried at the same weak-point. (Sadly on my own dime, since they all decided to do it outside of the AppleCare expiry)

This is an enormously common issue, and an awfully shoddy product from Apple. My latest replacement was a 3rd-party brick, which appears to have thicker and more sturdy plastics and rubber than the woefully flawed Apple brick. It was also 1/3 the price of Apple’s brick.

I had the same thing happen to me !
I wish that Apple replace it for a new one unfortunately,They didn’t !
I had to go old school maintenance
Cheek it here !
http://www.yazeed-g.com/My/IMG_8487.jpg

At least the light still working
http://www.yazeed-g.com/My/IMG_8489.jpg

Uhh. That looks scary… I can see the fire..

That’s the thing I’ve always feared with the twisting of the power cord around the hooks on the brick. It just seems like you have to put too many hard corners on the power cord that could result in wires breaking.

Glad to hear that Apple took care of it, though it’s still a problem that I think they need to address.

See, proof positive. You’re getting too hot.

I personally think Steve is trying to kill you so he can go off into the sunset with his new girlfriend.

But that’s just a guess.

Guess the Apple services rendered in the US is waaaaaaaaaay better than the ones we get in Singapore. Almost non existent. We pretty much have to pay for a chunk of things…

Though a melted power cord really sucks, I am glad you weren’t a victim of the exploding battery

Wow, I was just thinking about the monter face than I saw the comment… I agree, the eye and the mouth ({({({(AHHHHHHHH})})})}! Well at least apple is replacing it! Lets just hope it doesn’t happen again!

You just made me like & want an apple computer.
Thanks for being a comedic inspiration.
I think I’ve watched all your videos.
Because you are one kickass real internet person.
Keep it real, homegirl!

OMG! My adapter gets all wiggy sometimes the light goes dead no charge and then I have to fiddle with the chord to get a light w/ power. I’ve been noticing the brick will sometimes will get super super hot. I use my laptop alot in bed late at night and actually nearly burned my leg on it! Ouch!

So I know something is wrong! I wlll never leave it it plugged in overnight on my bed anymore. Thank you thank you thank you, Justine you might of just saved a life!

So how do I get this replaced my MPB is only 4 months old. Luckily, I’ve never had problems with any of my Apple products so I never bother with the applecare warranty! Do I need to “preemptively” met it myself and then “act” my way into a new one at the local apple store?

This is a disconcerting event, I pray Apple is attempting a more streamlined battery in time for the holidays (or at least mini-extinguishers in this case). =))

Ah yes…the burned out Macbook power cord. Read about the problem when \I had that happen a little while back - of course, not before I got a good year and a half out of my MacBook (at least I think that’s how long it was)! Then I kept using until the plug was fully dead…not wise on my part, heheh! Since then, I’ve replaced the adapter and still going strong… =)

That’s almost exactly what mine looked like. The macbook pro was making some weird clicking noises from the general vicinity of the hard drive all day. When I finally decided to unplug the power adapter i was like… “why is my battery almost dead, and… ummm… what’s that smell?”

So yeah it was my fault that it got crimped on my mattress one night and burned a little, it looked ok enough so, like Ken, I kept using it

The guys at the Apple Store replaced it without any questions. Great customer service. I also had to return an Airport Extreme with a blown WLAN port from a lightning strike. They had to do the standard checks to see if I was legit, but no problems with that return either =)

So I just got off a long conversation with tier 2 support and they REFUSED to replace my melted cord. Apparently, it’s designed to melt that way to protect from…

Anyway…someone have an idea of who to talk to to get it covered? Much appreciated.

Aaron

p.s. i cannot get to an apple store (requires plane ride)

Exactly the same thing happened to me (except that I have a MacBook). For two or three days beforehand, the power to my computer would cut out. This time when it did, I looked at the cord and watched it melt in my hands. I will be going to an Apple store tomorrow, in hopes that they will replace the cord. I really don’t want to pay the $80 for a new one!

The support person I talked to at AppleCare (identified himself as a Mac Genius) said that he had seen this problem thousands of times (not particularly comforting). Although my MacBook is about 6 months out of warranty, he is sending me a new one. They seemed fairly concerned about liability, asking questions such as, “Was anyone hurt? Was there any property damage?” His advice was to completely avoid crimping the wire of the new one (which I had been making a conscious effort to do already). At least I didn’t have to pay $80.

On my third cord, after the first two broke and burned, I have wrapped white electrician’s tape at the junction with the magnetic connector. It seems to be adequately protecting the cord from the “paper clip” bending effect that probably has a lot to do with the problem. Simple engineering that Apple should resolve. Someone is going to get hurt.

Yea, my power cord did the same thing but worse! I have a very black melted power cord…but my warranty is out. These sort of problems should be covered outside of the warranty. I just bought a macbook air and the power cord for it has been re-designed so that the cord flows off of the machine toward the front or back instead of directly out of the side. So they obviously know about the issue. I will be going to the apple store in the next couple days to see what happens…

Yes… I had that happen about 3 months ago and it’s starting to happen to this one. I use it at night in bed so I can play games and then fall asleep after I’m done. The powercord is crinked but it’s okay, the magsafe area where it’s magnetic is horrible, I can see the wire. I’ll be going to the Apple Store tomorrow to see if I can get it replaced. Being a Macintosh lover, I do not want to lose a computer.

I’m so pissed! My Mag-UNsafe sparked up and sizzled today. This is the second my cord is giving me problems. The first time, I just bought another for about 80 bucks! I figured I damaged it by wiggling it around so it would charge, trying every plug in the house. Now it’s obvious I didn’t mess it up, it looks brand new but it won’t charge. Fo the last month I’ve been wasting at least 20 minutes a day plugging it in and out so it finally get a red light. THIS IS RIDICULOUS! I spent so much on this laptop I can’t believe this is happening. I really hope they replace it since my Applecare hasn’t expired.

Yes, I just had to replace my power cord earlier this month {Jan,2009} Even though it is a common problem, the salesman where I bought it would not replace it since it was two weeks out of warranty. To make a long story short, I bought a new cord for the full price of $80 at another mac store in Portland. Needless to say, the Apple Store in downtown Portland will not have me for a return buyer!

I had the same thing happen just 13 months after purchasing my macbook. I came home and smelled something burning. When I realized it was coming from my computer I reached for the cord near the magnetic connection and it started to spark. My hand and the entire side of my mac was BLACK - scared me to death so I immediately called apple who told me to bring it right in. I waited in line for 50 minutes before I even got to give the mac to anyone. They asked me to come back in 3 hours. When I returned to the store I was told that my warranty had expired and they couldnt do anything for me and suggested I buy another cord ($80) and see if the computer would still work. I bought the new cord but it failed within 6 months. This is a serious safety issue and I am surprised apple wasnt more helpful. I will NOT be replacing it with another mac.

My power cord sparked…twice…then flames. My mac was completely on fire on top with a few other things. They have been taking they’re sweet time with even getting me shipping labels to send what used to be my three thousand dollar computer to them. They aren’t worried about anyone’s safety. THIS IS SUCH BS!!!!!!!!!!