[Lastpath]

I'm having a problem with my power adapter, it seems to go dead after a day or some, and only unplugging the adapter from the wall and plugging it back in gets it working.

It's strange because for the first month this problem did not exist, it just started happening all of a sudden. Now I have looked thru the forum here and looked thru the Apple Knowledge Base. The question I have is for the people that have had this problem is did plugging it into a surge protector solve the problem? And it there any other things I should try to fix this problem? Thanks in advance for any help

[cambro]

Be careful...

I had a PB power adapter suddenly go bad. I only noticed because it was plugged into the book and the light was not on (green/orange). I then noticed a smell and picked up the power adapter itself and it was SCORCHING hot and making a faint clicking sound.

Luckily I was there...otherwise really bad things could have happened!

Anyway, obviously this doesn't help your specific issue, but if you are on warranty I'd try to get a new one. In fact, even if you aren't, I'd seriously think about getting a new one.

[Halfloaf]

Mine does it all the time... At least twice a week. But it doesn't get hot, but it does make a clicking sound through the TiBook's speakers.

This is a replacement PS from Apple, as my first one did it as well...I've plugged it into a Surge protector but what you really need is a EMI/RFI filter. What you basically have is a power supply that hiccups when there is a slight surge (smaller than a surge protector will pick up). Mine is most noticible when the fridge goes off! Apparently the PSU have very sensitive voltage/current sensors...

Try plugging into another power ring main...I only have one power ring main, so everything is affected by a sligh surge.

These is a knowledge base article on this.

A UPS will help...But why have a notebook then?!?

-HL

[tooki]

The AC adapter is not failing. Indeed, its built-in protection is activating, and unplugging it resets it. At my old apartment, I had to use a high-grade surge strip to get it to stop doing that.

<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=32155> describes this. The last paragraph is the key one:

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).

So basically, if the AC power is "dirty", it shuts off. A power conditioner or UPS should take care of it, as would getting an electrician to fix the problem.

tooki

[Lastpath]

I'm gonna probably go and buy a good surge strip(any recommendations) and see if this helps me out. Thanks for all the info it's greatly appreciated.

[zzarg]

Good surge protection makes a difference...
where I live is prone to power fluctuations for a while load of reasons so we have one UPS/Filter setup for the computers (a PowerBook and an old Celeron) and another for the TV/DVD/HiFi ... everything is soooo much happier now

[mintcake]

Can someone tell me if my problem is the same one, or related? Given the scarcity of wall sockets in my house I use extension leads all over the place, and daisy chain my powerbook's PSU to them.

It's always worked fine, but in the last few days strange things have happened. When I put the power jack into my computer it glows green for a second then goes out. It won't draw power from the extension lead any more (regardless of where I plug that extension lead in). If I plug it directly into the wall socket, no problem. Other devices still work fine with the extension leads in question, and the powerbook works fine with other extension leads. Even stranger, this has suddenly happened with three separate leads within the space of a week.

I suspect crappy quality leads but I was a bit foxed as they were working with other equipment. But I guess Tooki's post explains that - I think...