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mgehman · Jun 13, 2003, 07:55 PM

Ok I've had it with Apple power adapters. The original one I got with my Ti 1GHz would turn itself off and the powerbook would drain. I called AppleCare and to their credit they sent me a new one immediately. The replacement adapter had the same problem. I bought a 65W IGo Juice which works great. I sold the Ti powerbook and bought a 17" powerbook. Originally the 17" adapter worked great. Recently though it has started to exhibit the same behavior. It will just stop charging. No rhyme or reason, same outlet, it just stops charging. Apple has said that this is a known problem and the work around is to unplug the adapter then plug it in again, for a $3000 computer this is unacceptable. It seems to be a design flaw in the adapter that should have been dealt with prior to putting it into production on a 2nd series of powerbooks.
Before you ask, yes I stll have the IGo Juice adapter, but I like to have a 2nd upstairs. So I guess the alternative is to order a 2nd Juice. It's a shame that Apple just doesn't use IGo's power design and save us all some problems.
Sorry to vent, but I needed that.

ibook_steve · Jun 13, 2003, 08:59 PM

Did you ever consider that there could be something wrong with the outlet you are using? You do say it's the same outlet for both adaptors. Do you have this problem on all outlets in your house? Perhaps there are surges in your power and you are not using a surge protector. This in turn could damage the adaptor which is the only thing protecting your Powerbook from being damaged. Try another outlet or get a surge protector. You need to do a little experimentation here before completely blaming the hardware.

Steve

mgehman · Jun 13, 2003, 09:39 PM

Originally posted by ibook_steve:
Did you ever consider that there could be something wrong with the outlet you are using? You do say it's the same outlet for both adaptors. Do you have this problem on all outlets in your house? Perhaps there are surges in your power and you are not using a surge protector. This in turn could damage the adaptor which is the only thing protecting your Powerbook from being damaged. Try another outlet or get a surge protector. You need to do a little experimentation here before completely blaming the hardware.

Steve

It worked perfectly for 2 months,in the same outlet, before it started turning off. Also see the following AppleCare doc http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=32155
I hope that Apple will fix this problem and offer replacements as they have done with several other of their adapters in the past.

b3b0p · Jun 14, 2003, 04:23 PM

My Power Adapter for my 17 inch stops working too. But I am pretty sure it is from my Dad's Ham Radio Equipment. As it only happens when he is using it on certain bands/frequencies. It has never turned off otherwise. This also happened to my Ti SuperDrive book before I sold it.

Chris

mgehman · Jun 14, 2003, 05:34 PM

Originally posted by b3b0p:
My Power Adapter for my 17 inch stops working too. But I am pretty sure it is from my Dad's Ham Radio Equipment. As it only happens when he is using it on certain bands/frequencies. It has never turned off otherwise. This also happened to my Ti SuperDrive book before I sold it.

Chris

Could be. It may also be that the set is on the same circuit as the adapter and is causing a surge or drop in the voltage across the line. I think this is probably the problem on my adapter, but I still don't know why Apple has made an adapter that is so sensitive to changes in voltage and why mine worked for 2 months without problem. It would also seem that this would be something easy to fix. Why it has taken so long...I have no idea.

badnewsblair · Jun 15, 2003, 12:25 AM

Originally posted by mgehman:
Ok I've had it with Apple power adapters. The original one I got with my Ti 1GHz would turn itself off and the powerbook would drain. I called AppleCare and to their credit they sent me a new one immediately. The replacement adapter had the same problem. I bought a 65W IGo Juice which works great. I sold the Ti powerbook and bought a 17" powerbook. Originally the 17" adapter worked great. Recently though it has started to exhibit the same behavior. It will just stop charging. No rhyme or reason, same outlet, it just stops charging. Apple has said that this is a known problem and the work around is to unplug the adapter then plug it in again, for a $3000 computer this is unacceptable. It seems to be a design flaw in the adapter that should have been dealt with prior to putting it into production on a 2nd series of powerbooks.
Before you ask, yes I stll have the IGo Juice adapter, but I like to have a 2nd upstairs. So I guess the alternative is to order a 2nd Juice. It's a shame that Apple just doesn't use IGo's power design and save us all some problems.
Sorry to vent, but I needed that.

I have the exact same problem with my 17 inch powerbook. I have just been unplugging and replugging it in. I didn't know it was a documented problem. So when they fix it, can i get a fexed one? Also, I notived when i plugged it straight into the wall, not a surge protector, it seemed to work much better. I only yested the for about 4 days because I'm a little paranoid about not having a surge protector on it, especially with all of these damn summer storms! Geez, it won't stop raining!

AlbertWu · Jun 15, 2003, 04:08 AM

This symptom occurs because the AC adapter's over voltage protection feature senses ground noise and turns off the adapter. It may not happen if the power adapter is plugged into an uninterruptible power supply (UPS).

from the aforementioned support site.

stick a line filter inbetween the adapter and the wall and you'll be fine.

jsiburt · Jul 9, 2003, 12:47 PM

I am currently on the phone with Apple and they claim the cause is the power strip or a shared outlet. My problem began when I plugged into a new power strip. I am on hold while they check with a senior technician. I did ask if surge protection was built into the adapter and of course it is not. So who is responsible for a power surge that damages my $3K computer? (still holding)

He came back and informed me that the support articles were pretty clear and that it was due to ground noise in my power strip.

Well what can you do I really can't afford an UPS or is that I now can't afford to be without one?

SEkker · Jul 9, 2003, 06:38 PM

You can get some decent UPS devices from good sales at CompUSA or Best Buy for ~$50-100 (depends on your current needs, which should be modest with a PB).

I have to say, I've had 3 different of these powersupplies, and they are MUCH better than the previous Apple supplies. No problems with any of them after over a year of use.

romeosc · Jul 9, 2003, 08:02 PM

Originally posted by jsiburt:
I am currently on the phone with Apple and they claim the cause is the power strip or a shared outlet. My problem began when I plugged into a new power strip. I am on hold while they check with a senior technician. I did ask if surge protection was built into the adapter and of course it is not. So who is responsible for a power surge that damages my $3K computer? (still holding)

He came back and informed me that the support articles were pretty clear and that it was due to ground noise in my power strip.

Well what can you do I really can't afford an UPS or is that I now can't afford to be without one?

Safeware.com would replace all damages to power surges, lightning, flood, cats kids, theft etc.

jsiburt · Jul 10, 2003, 02:45 PM

Well since removing the Pb from the powerstrip I have yet to have it stop charging. That is a good thing. I am using a single plug Belkin surge cube which seems to working fine.

The only problem I am noticing now, that only began over the past few days when it stopped charging is that it no longer trickles down to 95% and then charges back up to 100%. When I first purchased I asked on this forum why it did that and I was informed it was normal and helped to extend battery life.

Now that it is not doing that is there cause for concern?