Power cord for the Macbook

On Fri, Jun 5, 2009 at 2:13 AM, Linda benedict <lynna_bhotmail.com> wrote:
> I bought my MacBook about a year ago. The 1st time my cord acted up was after I had owned the MacBook for about 3 months, I went to my daughter in laws house and we played a game using our macs. All of a sudden my MacBook shut down and I realized that the light on the power cord was off. This happened again to me today. I usually plug the cord into the outlet, then to the MacBook but these 2 times I plugged it into my MacBook 1st. Is this normal to have the cord not work??? The cord both times started to work after about 45 minutes.

The MagSafe adapter is probably failing. One of our adapters does this
- I need to wiggle it sometimes for the light to come on.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1713
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1630

cheers... -Adam

Ms benedict:

To answer your implied question:

>I usually plug the cord into the outlet, then to the MacBook but these 2 times I plugged it into my MacBook 1st.<<

The order of plugging things in or out (Macbook first, wall plug first) should make no difference.

To answer your direct question:

>Is this normal to have the cord not work???

Under certain conditions, yes.

But first things first. You said that you bought the Macbook about a year ago. All new & refurb Apple products come with a 1-year warranty, even if you didn't purchase a AppleCare extended warranty.

If you contact Apple Technical Support U.S. iPod and Mac technical support: 1-800-APL-CARE (1-800-275-2273), they can advise you on locating the machine's serial number, and determining if you are in or out of warranty (Apple calls it complimentary support).

If you purchased the AppleCare extended warranty, you are entitled to call-in or walk-in support for 3 years after purchase.

The power adapters are sealed units, and cannot be trouble-shot without substituting a replacement unit. Purchasing a second power adapter may be your cheapest insurance.

Note that if your daughter-in-law (or you) are still in school, the Apple education discount (10%) applies to apple-branded accessories, and all purchases over $50 ship free from the online Apple store, so, you can get a slight discount on a second power adapter.

There are at least three circumstances where a power adapter will shut itself off:

1) The battery on the Macbook is failing or damaged.

2) Some AC Power Line noise conditions will "fool" the adapter into a false shutdown condition

3) Damage to the computer-end of the adapater's DC cord will prevent a good connection, and bad battery charge conditions.

The failing battery condition can be evaluated by removing the battery, and operating the Macbook on AC power only.

The AC Line noise situation is covered in Apple support

<http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1713>

Apple Portables: Troubleshooting MagSafe adapters

Identify line noise issues.

"Unplug the power adapter from the wall, let it sit for 60 seconds, then plug the adapter back in.

If the adapter works after this 60-second "rest", you most likely have a line noise issue with your power source. It will require that you to reset the adapter periodically by repeating this moment of rest. This issue occurs when the AC adapter's "over voltage protection" feature senses ground noise and then turns off the adapter.

Some possible sources of line noise include lights with ballasts, refrigerators, or mini-refrigerators that are on the same electrical circuit as your computer. This behavior may not occur if you plug the power adapter into an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) or plug it into a different circuit.

Unless the adapter continues to exhibit this behavior on a known good outlet, it does not need to be replaced. "

For damage to the Macbook's magsafe power adapter, refer to Apple's tech tip on removing the cord:

<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1453>

The MacBook end of the cord should not have signs of discoloration due to overheating (tan, brown or black plastic), nor should the cord show a "swollen" appearance near the magsafe connector. The "swollen cord" appearance usually means a user has been disconnecting the cord by snapping or yanking it off. Such damage is user-caused, and is NOT covered by warranty.

Finally, you may want to consider re-calibrating the battery pack with the following procedure:

<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1490>

Good luck

John Walsh Hudson, NH

On 5-Jun-2009, at 00:13, Linda benedict wrote:
> I bought my MacBook about a year ago. The 1st time my cord acted up
> was after I had owned the MacBook for about 3 months, I went to my
> daughter in laws house and we played a game using our macs. All of a
> sudden my MacBook shut down and I realized that the light on the
> power cord was off. This happened again to me today. I usually plug
> the cord into the outlet, then to the MacBook but these 2 times I
> plugged it into my MacBook 1st. Is this normal to have the cord not
> work??? The cord both times started to work after about 45 minutes.

I was in the Apple Store the other day and there was someone at the
Genius bar with this exact problem. I so wanted to go over and say,
"Did you jiggle it?" But it seemed too much like a Sienfeld scene, so
I didn't.

As others said, if the machine is under warranty have it checked out.
Otherwise, just jiggle the cord until the light turns orange
(charging). If the light is green and the battery is not at 100%, then
something else could be wrong, since that means it is providing power
and NOT chargin the battery.