I am talking about the power adapter for the newer iBooks and G4 PowerBooks. My last 2 have split enough to start sparking right where the wire goes into the adapter that plugs into the power port on the laptop. It still works fine, but can spark at times because of the exposed wire. Do you think it is safe to just get some electrical tape on there? They are $80 new and there aren't many OEM ones on eBay.
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About to go on 3rd power adapter.. have a question
- Thread starter Rick Friele
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I also went through a few power supplies. What I found to work well is I reinforced the rubber section with McNett Seam Grip (some type of urethane) and thread (the heavier kind). Coat the section of the cord, wrap with thread, then repeat coating. You can reinforce as much as you feel is necessary. The Seam Grip is available in outdoor stores for about $7 a tube.
btw: after mine sparked, they heated up and then I retired them.
Jim
btw: after mine sparked, they heated up and then I retired them.
Jim
Nice suggestion. Do you think electrical tape will work, though? I mean as long as you don't leave it unattended.
Simply taping the connection could still result in a short (that's what sparks mean) happening under the tape, which is 1) a serious fire hazard; 2) a good way to trip your circuit breaker a lot; and 3) potentially damaging to the computer. If you absolutely HAD to do this, you would need to make sure each wire was individually wrapped, so that they could not touch each other, then tape the whole thing up. BUT, if you can afford a new one, i STRONGLY suggest you go this route, even someone experienced with electronics would have a hard time accomplishing this repair safely.
Make sure you always remove the cord by grasping the hard plug on the end, not by pulling on the cable itself. This is how cords and cables get damaged- altho i will admit Apple doesn't use very durable cables. I've had a mouse and an iPod cable meet their doom the same way, and i'm pretty careful.
edit: after re-reading the thread, it sounds like jim's suggestion of applying extra coating would serve nicely, since this is a non-removable connection. Buy a new one and coat it. Be careful using adhesives tho, because some actually melt the plastic to form a bond-- and of course, if the plastic melted deeply enough in this situation, it could break down the coating on the individual wires, re-bonding the entire thing with those wires touching.
paul
Make sure you always remove the cord by grasping the hard plug on the end, not by pulling on the cable itself. This is how cords and cables get damaged- altho i will admit Apple doesn't use very durable cables. I've had a mouse and an iPod cable meet their doom the same way, and i'm pretty careful.
edit: after re-reading the thread, it sounds like jim's suggestion of applying extra coating would serve nicely, since this is a non-removable connection. Buy a new one and coat it. Be careful using adhesives tho, because some actually melt the plastic to form a bond-- and of course, if the plastic melted deeply enough in this situation, it could break down the coating on the individual wires, re-bonding the entire thing with those wires touching.
paul
jimb said:
How do they get split open to begin with? Not to question you or anything...I'm just wondering if I can prevent it on my power supply.
BTW, I absolutely love the cute little fold out arms on the iBook PS that let you roll up the cable. And also how the iPod one is a miniaturized version of the same thing. Now just needs one more smaller one to complete the goldilocks family.
But I wonder if wrapping the cable around those ties and winding it and unwinding it will eventually contribute to its wear much....