[RobOnTheCape]

Hello all,

I have a 2011 MacAir, and while the charger cord was in need of replacing, I thought once I did replace it my problems with being able to plug the cord in and seeing the charge indicator up on the menu would be resolved, but it hasn't help much.

Instead of just plugging in and seeing the charge indicator appear, I have to apply pressure up or down on the charge part which connects to the charge receptor on the side of the Mac. Sometimes it works, and sometimes not, but the frustrating part is that it can lose the connection without my noticing the charge going down, and I'll just get a warning, and if it is below the warning and I fix it, and lose the charge again, then it will just shut down.

Any tips other than sending in to swap a part?

Ifixit made it so easy to replace parts before the MacAir.

Thanks

[Mike Wuerthele]

Hey Rob-

Take a DRY, CLEAN toothbrush to the computer side of the magsafe. You'd be surprised what kind of crap can get lodged in those little connectors...

[RobOnTheCape]

Thanks - I did when it first happened, and in fact I just got back from buying a toothbrush to try again - same problem.

[Mike Wuerthele]

This sounds like a funny question, but is the magsafe part on the computer perfectly parallel with the case? Has the back panel ever been off the machine?

[RobOnTheCape]

I believe it is parallel, and I've never taken the shell apart. The machine has been issue free since day one, except for this problem which has been getting worse as time goes on. I think it's the receptor on the side of the Mac as the charger is new(Apple charger),and when I jiggle it up and down I can get the charger to go amber.

Right now the only way it will stay amber is to have the cord plugged in a way that the cord extends past the port before it which allows me to connect to the Ethernet. That's an issue when I need to connect to our server.

Thanks

[Mike Wuerthele]

As much as I'm a DIY guy for things like this, I think that it's time to bring it into an Apple store for a look-see.

[RobOnTheCape]

agreed - thanks

[ibook_steve]

Q-tip with rubbing alcohol with the machine off?

Steve

[RobOnTheCape]

wow - no alcohol around(rubbing) so chanced it using a small amount of hydrogen peroxide with the laptop tilted upwards to prevent anything traveling inside.

Works perfectly once again.

Thanks so much for the tip!

what a relief.

[Waragainstsleep]

Inspect the socket on the MacBook, sometimes they can get metal debris stuck in there tight due to the magnet.
Then take a look at the charger 'head'. Specifically check the middle pin. The spring has a tendency to fail in the centre pin and they can get stuck in the plug and make intermittent contact in the socket. Not a vast amount you can do to fix it sadly.

[ibook_steve]

Originally Posted by RobOnTheCape 

wow - no alcohol around(rubbing) so chanced it using a small amount of hydrogen peroxide with the laptop tilted upwards to prevent anything traveling inside.

Works perfectly once again.

Thanks so much for the tip!

what a relief.

Fantastic!

[ghporter]

Congratulations!

It's probably a good idea to clean the "male" portion of that connection with your peroxide too. Peroxide is great on organic stuff like skin oils and stuff, and if that is what you cleaned out of the female port on the computer, there's probably similar stuff on the male part.

[RobOnTheCape]

Thanks. The "male" portion is a new charger, and thus clean. I think the problem is that my pack I use to bring my laptop to work everyday gets crap at the bottom, and I just never thought about the port getting filled with crap. My bag gets used for daily use besides carry the MacAir, and now that I know the problem I've vacuumed it out(lots of stuff), and will place the mac with the port facing up. Nice if there were a port cover of some sort.

[Mike Wuerthele]

There inadvertently is.

MagSafe to MagSafe 2 Converter - Apple Store (U.S.)