Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > How safe is Magsafe?

How safe is Magsafe?
Thread Tools
ChillyWilly5280
Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Status: Offline
Apr 1, 2006, 03:29 AM
 
We all know that Magsafe is a great idea, in concept that is. Some of us choose to believe that it is an all around great idea. The thought that if someone or school happens to trip over your power cord, rest assured, Magsafe will save your Macbook Pro, from taking the dreaded plunge to the floor. I on the other hand am so easily convinced. The other day, after calling apple, and complaining about a malfunctioning power supply. I was using my computer, and the charger was plugged into my Macbook Pro. I was working along, all fine and well, then I noticed something funny smelling, kinda like burning plastic. As I took notice, I looked around my room, and at my computer, everything seemed to be okay. I went back to listening to music in iTunes, and surfing the web. A few seconds later, a few sparks emitting from my Magsafe, and just narrowly catches my eye. Then before I can react, there is a copious amount of sparks, and the plastic sheath and cable surrounding it, is melting away quite quickly. I proceed to remove the Magsafe from my Macbook Pro (Being my first concern), then I remove the power supply from the wall (for fear of having my property ruined from fire).

Here is some images, for your viewing.

http://www.nitropaintball.com/mag_1.jpg
http://www.nitropaintball.com/mag_2.jpg
http://www.nitropaintball.com/mag_3.jpg
http://www.nitropaintball.com/mag_4.jpg
http://www.nitropaintball.com/mag_5.jpg

You tell me.
What is more important, the fact that you run your cord in a way, that nobody will trip over it? Or have your power supply randomly malfunction, causing damage to the plug, notebook and personal property? I mean, after all, my bed could have caught fire, and my house could have burned down if I had not been around to disconnect the plug from its electrical source, and the computer.

Thanks,
Justin Carman
     
zombie67
Senior User
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Dublin, CA
Status: Offline
Apr 1, 2006, 05:05 AM
 
THIS IS BAD! Have you call apple? I want to see how apple react on this. ****, you just make me to unplug the power adapter before I go to bad
     
mad cow disease
Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: Jan 2005
Status: Offline
Apr 1, 2006, 08:38 AM
 
Apple had a power adapter problem before, although I believe it was the adapters themselves "smoking" on the floor/wall/etc.

It's possible this was an isolated incident.
     
Zeeb
Mac Elite
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Manhattan, NY
Status: Offline
Apr 1, 2006, 11:19 AM
 
I saw your pictures and you should definately have apple look at your machine. However, the cord looks frayed in the picture. Was the cord frayed before you saw the sparking and melting or was it frayed as a result of the incident?
     
b1NARY73
Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Kennewick, WA
Status: Offline
Apr 1, 2006, 12:13 PM
 
Was their not an incident like this a few weeks ago? Speculation was that the cats pissed on it..... and I agreed, but now this?!?!?!?!?!!
 Macbook Pro 17" / 2.5GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo / 4GB Ram / 350GB
 Macbook Pro 17" / 2.16GHZ Intel Core Duo / 2GB Ram / 120GB
 Macbook Black / 2.4GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo / 4GB Ram / 350GB
     
Enigmaaron
Forum Regular
Join Date: Feb 2006
Status: Offline
Apr 1, 2006, 12:30 PM
 
Do you have any pets or a rodent problem? They love chewing on wires and could have easily caused a small fray that went unoticed until it finally sparked. Either that or you had a damaged one from the beginning and you are the only one. No one else has had a problem (other than the guy whos cats pissed on it) so I would say it is very safe.
     
mattsgotredhair
Forum Regular
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Florissant, MO
Status: Offline
Apr 1, 2006, 02:17 PM
 
I had pretty much the same thing happen, but that was on my Al Powerbook, plus it was after about a year of using it. Perhaps you just run a little rough on your stuff, or youre just a little unlucky and got a bunk powersupply. I don't think everyone should be flipping out though.
maybe you've been brainwashed too.
     
ohenry
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Mar 2006
Status: Offline
Apr 1, 2006, 03:33 PM
 
If something is simply going to short out and melt because of a defect, it's not going to physically pull the wiring out of the cable, nor is it going to pull the cable apart and cut through the wiring and then peel some of the wiring back.

I'm not trying to imply the OP is a liar, I just believe that a third party caused this - some kind of rodent or pet (or both!) or something else happened to cause the physical damage (the physical damage could then lead to the shorting out, no doubt about that).
     
ChillyWilly5280  (op)
Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Status: Offline
Apr 1, 2006, 04:19 PM
 
Update:
Well everyone, I just got off the phone with apple, after I called and they heard the words "Power supply" and "fire" in the same sentence, they immmediately sent me to a Saftey department. In short I was asked a long series of questions, if I had photo, and if/where they can see them. They will then send the report to the HQ and Engineering. I should hear something back monday. Keep in mind people that A) I never stated the power supply was in 100% working condition to begin with, there was no external visible damage. APPLE SAID "If your powersupply seems to be functioning, and it has no visible physical damage, or strange behavior, it is fine to use it until we send u a replacement, but send back the old one within 10 days or your credit card will be charged." There was no visible physical damage, before hand. The entire thing was INTACT, the only reason there are the ends of wires in various locations was from attempting to angle the end of the connector to get the best shot, which still dont work too well. We can leave the final decision up to apple. It shall be interesting. I cant wait to hear what they have to say Monday.
     
Feefer
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Mar 2006
Status: Offline
Apr 1, 2006, 04:40 PM
 
Hi,

While it's good to contact Apple, you mIght also send a report in to the Consumer Product Safety Commission: they accumulate data on safety issues like these pertaining to consumer products, and are able to determine if a problem like this is an isolated (rare) event, or represents a trend due to a design error. If necessary, they can 'encourage' a manufacturer to issue a recall.

Chris
     
f1000
Professional Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Status: Offline
Apr 1, 2006, 04:58 PM
 
Looks like the cord may need some sort of strain relief molding where it enters into the plug. I wouldn't call this a power supply issue since it didn't involve the power brick itself, but I'd certainly call it suspect cabling.
     
ChillyWilly5280  (op)
Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Status: Offline
Apr 1, 2006, 05:02 PM
 
Feefer,

Thanks alot for your idea to contact teh CPSC, thats a really good idea, that never even came to mind. I think ill file a report with them Monday morning.

Thanks,

Justin Carman
     
aristotles
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Canada
Status: Offline
Apr 1, 2006, 06:09 PM
 
That cord looks frayed as Zeeb said. I'm not saying that it's not possible there may be a design flaw but do you have a cat by any chance? Do you have a rodent problem?
--
Aristotle
15" rMBP 2.7 Ghz ,16GB, 768GB SSD, 64GB iPhone 5 S⃣ 128GB iPad Air LTE
     
aristotles
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Canada
Status: Offline
Apr 1, 2006, 06:14 PM
 
Originally Posted by dinga
THIS IS BAD! Have you call apple? I want to see how apple react on this. ****, you just make me to unplug the power adapter before I go to bad
OMG!!!! You are totally right. There have been two isolated incidents!!!!!! This one looks like it might be a cable fraying problem with a defect near the magsafe end of the cable. It might be that it does not hold up too well to being bent a lot over time and they might have to reenforce it somehow. The other incident involved cats. The guy even admitted a cat was involved somehow but insisted that the cat was only trying to pull out the cord "after" it caught fire.

Chicken little, calm down.
--
Aristotle
15" rMBP 2.7 Ghz ,16GB, 768GB SSD, 64GB iPhone 5 S⃣ 128GB iPad Air LTE
     
ohenry
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Mar 2006
Status: Offline
Apr 1, 2006, 06:56 PM
 
Originally Posted by nitropaintball
Update:
Keep in mind people that A) I never stated the power supply was in 100% working condition to begin with.
Care to expand on that statement?

Can you explain why, instead of just melting or scorching the plug, and causing lots of black/charred plastic, it looks like the plug was either chewed by rodents or pets, or was caught, say between the legs of a table and a chair, and jerked real hard.

I think some people are not paying attention to today's, or the poster's registration date....
     
ChillyWilly5280  (op)
Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Status: Offline
Apr 1, 2006, 09:03 PM
 
By stating its not a 100% functional, it was because it was working kinda 'querkly' as stated previously, hence I called apple and they said it was probably just a connection issue, they would gladly send me out a new one (being its apple care covered). I was sitting infront of the plug, and it was fully intact. My friends, and apple can even vouch that there was nothign wrong with it. This was not a cause of any sudden movement. I was sitting at a centralized location, no movement, no nothing. So it was not pulled out of place, and also, look a little closer, you can more then cearly see where the plastic has melted, and btw. I dont know if youve ever noticed, but plastic shrinks when it is put under great amounts of heat. Could this explain why it looks like the cord and plug has been pulled out? Another thing, remember the plastic melted too, as in a sheer absence of its existance. Another thing, I have more then 1/2 as many posts as you do, I dont personally believe you have the right to make some correlatioin between the registration date, posts, or validity of the statement, given that you have only 6 posts and your account was only created in March! A mundane statement to make at best. The fact is, even if you would totally like to disregard my issue, there are still 2-3 previously stated problems that APPLE was quick to either: ask for repeal of images or to go more then out of their way to make the situation right (whether it really be for this or for keeping things hush hush [id think this one, considering they are asking people to remove images]). The plug was pulled out near immediately, it didnt just sit there burn an melt over an hour, like you might suspect in the other cases. Also, I dont have cats, so that theory is completely out of the possiblity. I use this notebook at school and my house, it hasnt even been in a builiding where cats live.

But lmao, the other guy insisted his cat was attempting to pull his power plug out? Wow. lol...thats...*cringes* credible?!?

- Justin Carman
     
dissapointed
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Feb 2005
Status: Offline
Apr 1, 2006, 10:49 PM
 
Originally Posted by ohenry
If something is simply going to short out and melt because of a defect, it's not going to physically pull the wiring out of the cable, nor is it going to pull the cable apart and cut through the wiring and then peel some of the wiring back.

I'm not trying to imply the OP is a liar, I just believe that a third party caused this - some kind of rodent or pet (or both!) or something else happened to cause the physical damage (the physical damage could then lead to the shorting out, no doubt about that).
Are you a private investigator paid by apple to surf the web looking for potential i hate apple crimes? Or do you just like to accuse people of random stuff? What do you know about the circumstances, other than what has been stated in the post and various followups, about how the **** went down? You're mighty quick to judge without any evidence whatsoever. But i shouldnt be harsh, who knows, perhaps you're overly irritable at the moment for some reason? Do you by any chance have a flee infestation in your house and are looking for something to occupy your fingers to avoid scratching? Or is your cat keeping you up all night playing with your chord?
     
ohenry
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Mar 2006
Status: Offline
Apr 2, 2006, 01:39 AM
 
Originally Posted by nitropaintball
I dont personally believe you have the right to make some correlatioin between the registration date
We have this thing in America called "April Fools Day".

Originally Posted by dissapointed
You're mighty quick to judge without any evidence whatsoever. ?
I could have sworn that pictures were posted at the very beginning of this thread. I must have confused it with a different thread, sorry guys.
     
automated_workflows
Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2006
Status: Offline
Apr 2, 2006, 01:13 PM
 
well.. not sure if its the magsafe problem, but my macbook pro is experiencing electric leak when its being charged. now the whole case is like a charged capacitor that i will get a electric discharge when i touch it!!
     
ChillyWilly5280  (op)
Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Status: Offline
Apr 2, 2006, 06:13 PM
 
I would call apple, that dosent sound kosher. I used to have the same problem when i had my mbox plugged into my powerbook especially if i had my hand on my guitar (say while i was attempting to control grageband at the same time with my other) was quite an annoyance, but nothign big.
     
version
Mac Elite
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Bless you
Status: Offline
Apr 2, 2006, 06:24 PM
 
Someone over on ArsTechnica is having a magsafe issue, scary stuff.

http://episteme.arstechnica.com/grou...m/340007548731
A Jew with a view.
     
Eriamjh
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: BFE
Status: Offline
Apr 2, 2006, 06:38 PM
 
I just noticed that the magsafe has five connections. Older power supplies used only two (power and ground). Does anyone have any pinout info on the magsafe?

The issue posted above looks like a frayed cabling problem. Possibly a manufacturing defect. There are obviously five wires inside that cable and they may have shorted out right at the magsafe connector, the most likely location.

I'm a bird. I am the 1% (of pets).
     
Enigmaaron
Forum Regular
Join Date: Feb 2006
Status: Offline
Apr 3, 2006, 07:10 AM
 
Originally Posted by feynman82
well.. not sure if its the magsafe problem, but my macbook pro is experiencing electric leak when its being charged. now the whole case is like a charged capacitor that i will get a electric discharge when i touch it!!
Easy tiger, that's called static electricity. My MacBook Pro gets an "electric leak" every time I get up from a particular sofa in my house. Try touching a lamp or wall switch first, I know I do every time before touching my computers, and most of the time I get a static shock.
     
ChillyWilly5280  (op)
Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Status: Offline
Apr 3, 2006, 02:43 PM
 
I know what hes talking about, hes talkign about a steady discharge, not just one burst like youd expect with a static shock
     
ChillyWilly5280  (op)
Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Status: Offline
Apr 6, 2006, 10:17 PM
 
Well heres an update: I got my charger the other day, and the machine worked until I rebooted it, how it seems to be doa. It just sits there at a white screen befoer the apple loader comes up. Cant access any of the boot utilitys or anything else on the motherboard, **** i cant even eject the cd!

Ill keep everyone up to date with what apple plans to do.
Thusfar, all has been quiet.
     
mrplow
Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
Status: Offline
Apr 7, 2006, 01:24 AM
 
Originally Posted by Enigmaaron
Easy tiger, that's called static electricity. My MacBook Pro gets an "electric leak" every time I get up from a particular sofa in my house. Try touching a lamp or wall switch first, I know I do every time before touching my computers, and most of the time I get a static shock.
it's not really an issue regardless, because the entire machine is encased inside a conductor- any chage would rest solely on the outside away from the compenents (think of computer cards that ship in static bags)... ok so I just wanted to apply something i learned from physics
     
skyman
Mac Elite
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Utah, USA
Status: Offline
Apr 7, 2006, 08:35 AM
 
Originally Posted by mrplow
it's not really an issue regardless, because the entire machine is encased inside a conductor- any chage would rest solely on the outside away from the compenents (think of computer cards that ship in static bags)... ok so I just wanted to apply something i learned from physics
I have never had this problem with either my Ti PB or my MBP and I live in a very dry climate.

You should both have your systems checked out because you should not be getting and electrical discharge from your systems.
MacBookPro 1.83GHz - 1.5 GB RAM - OS 10.4.6
     
mrplow
Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
Status: Offline
Apr 7, 2006, 01:13 PM
 
regardless of the climate, the material of the couch/chair/etc you occupy will play the biggest role-- as will the carpet you walk across when approaching the machine.
     
onlykaria
Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Sep 2004
Status: Offline
Apr 7, 2006, 02:16 PM
 
i dont know this doesntly look to me like something that "just happened" it looks like abuse, but hey what do i know right? the images look really blurry and there could be something that i am just missing.
Computers:
Macbook Pro: 17in, 2.16Ghz, 120GB HD, 1.5 GB ram.
iBook G4: 1.07Ghz, 60GB HD, 756mb ram (on sale for parts)
     
grayc
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Jun 2005
Status: Offline
Apr 15, 2006, 02:16 AM
 
I had a similiar problem just this week, the magsafe connector started to seperate where the connector attaches to the cord. I went to the apple store and they told me they would give me a new one, however they wouldn't have any for a few days. The cord still worked at this point so i siad ok ill be back in a few days. Two days ago while sitting using the computer the wire started to glow and then smoke. I quickly yanked the cord out of the computer then the wall. When i went back to the store and showed them the blackened cord they took it from me so fast, as if they didn't want any of the other customers to see what could happen. They replaced it and sent me on my way. But not before i said to the clerk, these are going to be recalled you know...so we'll see how quickly they get recalled i predict before the end of the year. The strain relief on the cord is just no enough
     
brassplayersrock²
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: California
Status: Offline
Apr 15, 2006, 02:37 PM
 
to add to this, i went to the apple store in cambridge yesterday and saw NO magsafe powerblocks on the shelves. i called a friend in florida and told him this and he said that there arent any on the shelves at his apple store ether. sold out at both stores? coincidence or is apple not allowing stores to sell them at the moment?
     
MacHeadChef
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Oct 2006
Status: Offline
Jul 19, 2007, 01:10 AM
 
Have Apple fixed the problems with the Magsafe Power Adapter? Is this one of the reason why the Macbook Pro get so hot?
     
bballe336
Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: MA
Status: Offline
Jul 19, 2007, 12:13 PM
 
Originally Posted by MacHeadChef View Post
Have Apple fixed the problems with the Magsafe Power Adapter? Is this one of the reason why the Macbook Pro get so hot?
Feel your magsafe connector, is it hot? No, it's actually about room temperature. It doesn't have anything to do with the system running hot. Nor are there any real problems with the magsafe connector, just a few isolated incidents.
     
Peter
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: England | San Francisco
Status: Offline
Jul 19, 2007, 02:02 PM
 
Its safe.

Don't dig up zombie threads.
we don't have time to stop for gas
     
   
Thread Tools
 
Forum Links
Forum Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Top
Privacy Policy
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 08:13 PM.
All contents of these forums © 1995-2017 MacNN. All rights reserved.
Branding + Design: www.gesamtbild.com
vBulletin v.3.8.8 © 2000-2017, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.,