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Apple should provide a cap and brush for magsafe adapter

L

Ladybugplus

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 23, 2010
3
0
I had a problem with green light in my power adapter going out twice actually. I think it is called a magsafe adapter. A month ago this happened I had to go to our closet Apple store and they gave me a new magsafe adapter. I have a Macbook Pro newest one 10.6.6 which I just bought in Nov, 2010. The magsafe part of the plug that connects into the laptop has tiny prongs in it and I remember the guy gave me a cap to put on it when not in use with the replaced power adapter. I am guessing he gave me the cap to keep dust or particles out of the prongs on the magsafe.
Well a month later, tonight in fact the green indicator light went off again and with it plugged in and I was losing power again. I did not want to have to go again to Cleveland tomorrow as its bad weather here in Ohio and its it 1-1/2 hours away I decided to try a toothbrush to clean out the prongs . Yeah I was amazed to see the green light go back on. Its now from 52% to 64% so my laptop is again charging. Yeah! :D But honestly I think they should give us a cap and a tiny brush with instructions when we buy these systems. The guy told me they stopped including the caps a few months ago. These systems are not cheap!!!:mad:
 
I

iThinkergoiMac

macrumors 68030
Jan 20, 2010
2,664
4
Terra
Interesting. I've not heard of that. I've had my MacBook for over 6 months and that's not happened. I had a professor who couldn't seem to take very good care of his MBP (seriously, he cracked the bezel around the screen because he would always shut it so hard!) and for the 3 or 4 years he had it, he never had this problem. In fact, every person I know with MagSafe power adaptors has not had this problem.

So I wonder if you may be inadvertently leaving it somewhere where it can get dirty quite quickly. Or maybe there's lots of dust in the air where you live? Or maybe you just got unlucky twice.
 
makinao

makinao

macrumors 6502
Dec 27, 2009
296
116
I doubt your problems have anything to do with dirty contacts. I've never used a cap, and never cleaned the contacts of any of our 3 mac portables for the past 3 years. If your connection is intermittent, its probably a wire, or something inside the adaptor. All you can do is have the adaptor replaced ASAP.
 
walterwhite

walterwhite

macrumors 6502
Jan 22, 2011
273
5
South Central PA
Those adapters/pins can get pushed in and it can be from either just being defective OR the end has gotten something spilled on it... usually something with sugar in it that makes it sticky. If the computer is still in warranty OR the adapter is less than a year old... it could be replaced for free.
 
GoCubsGo

GoCubsGo

macrumors Nehalem
Feb 19, 2005
35,741
153
Didn't the PB adapters have a cap? I did like that but I also never used it unless I was travelling.
 
DewGuy1999

DewGuy1999

macrumors 68040
Jan 25, 2009
3,194
6
:apple: Apple Portables: Troubleshooting MagSafe adapters

#7 From the above doc:
Check for stuck pins or dirty connectors on MagSafe Connectors.

Sometimes you may discover that the MagSafe adapter for your computer is not working properly because the pins inside the MagSafe connector are stuck.

For example, the pins on the connector of the MagSafe adapter shown below are stuck down.

If you think that a pin is stuck down, try unplugging and re-plugging the MagSafe adapter into the power port. The pins should move and reset themselves to a neutral position. If you find that a pin isn't resetting itself, gently press the pin sideways using a fingertip or other soft, non-scratching surface to see if the pin will reset itself. If the pin will not reset, please refer to the Additional Information section of this article.

Be sure to inspect and clean both the MagSafe adapter connector and the power port on your Apple portable computer for dirt or signs of damage.

If your MagSafe connectors requires cleaning:

To clean the DC plug on either the computer or the power adapter, disconnect the adapter from the wall outlet and/or remove the battery from the computer. Remove debris gently with a cotton swab or a soft bristle toothbrush, which provide the strength, flexibility, and precision for this task. Be careful not to get any cotton fibers stuck in the pin receptacle. You may use isopropyl alcohol to aid in cleaning the connectors as well. Be sure the connectors are dry before using the computer or adapter after cleaning.

Note: The power adapter port contains a magnet that can erase data on a credit card or other magnetic device if it gets too close. In order to preserve and protect your data, Apple recommends that you keep magnetic media away from the power adapter port.​
 
JRoDDz

JRoDDz

macrumors 68000
Jul 2, 2009
1,927
183
NYC
The power adapter port can become dirty with metal particles.

Brushing it out periodically sounds like a good preventive maintenance practice.
 
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