Magsafe 2 Teardown

[Andrei221]

I have a 2012 MBA with the new magsafe 2 type of connector which is made out of metal if i see correctly and the cable is broken.

I saw on the internet that other magsafe connectors could have been opened in order to solder the wires again, but i did not find any info on the magsafe 2. can somebody help me? i am traveling and can not charge my mba at the moment.

 

[bingeciren]

Very difficult to open the MagSafe connector. I dissected one and it is nearly impossible to put it back together. Your best bet is to buy a replacement cable from Amazon and replace the cable yourself. There are two ways to do this 1) without opening the adapter by splicing the original cable and adding the new cable to it 2) opening the adapter and replacing the cable by soldering it to the old one inside the adapter.

I prefer the second method even though it means to crack open the adapter. Search you tube to see how the adapter can be cracked open with pliers without damaging the plastic casing.

To make life easier, once you open the adapter, cut the old cable but leave short leads coming out of the circuit board and solder the new leads to the short old leads. It is much easier than taking the old cable completely out of the circuit board and soldering the new cable to the circuit board. Use heat shrink tubing to insulate the leads and close the adapter using crazy glue or hot glue gun.

I don't know if this will help you while you are traveling but it will save you from throwing the adapter into the garbage bin.

 

[Andrei221]

Thank you for the answer. I will keep an eye on amazon and order myself a new cable. I now soldered the wires somehow to the connector and it works for the moment

 

[cerberusss]

I have replaced the cable on more than 20 magsafes, both version 1 and 2. It's very easy, but you have to get the hang of it. I found the following video on YouTube, fast forward to around 3 minutes to see how it's done. Like the previous poster said, use pliers. I hold the brick between my knees and then put force on the pliers.

 

[butterburger cookybutter]

I have a 2012 MBA with the new magsafe 2 type of connector which is made out of metal if i see correctly and the cable is broken.

I saw on the internet that other magsafe connectors could have been opened in order to solder the wires again, but i did not find any info on the magsafe 2.

That's correct, the 'MagSafe 1' plugs (both shapes, straight and right angle cord exit) could be opened without much difficulty. It helps to be equipped with a vice (vise).

I find the 'MagSafe 2' plug almost impossible to open or disassemble. Maybe if its tip is submerged in a solvent, then its tenacious glue or epoxy can be defeated. Compared to the repairable MagSafe 1, the metal MagSafe 2 plug seems like it is manufactured to be permanent. I'd sooner attempt to grind away its shell, than experiment with chemical solutions, so it might as well be a piece of solid metal, when it comes to repair.

 

[brdeveloper]

That's correct, the 'MagSafe 1' plugs (both shapes, straight and right angle cord exit) could be opened without much difficulty. It helps to be equipped with a vice (vise).

I find the 'MagSafe 2' plug almost impossible to open or disassemble. Maybe if its tip is submerged in a solvent, then its tenacious glue or epoxy can be defeated. Compared to the repairable MagSafe 1, the metal MagSafe 2 plug seems like it is manufactured to be permanent. I'd sooner attempt to grind away its shell, than experiment with chemical solutions, so it might as well be a piece of solid metal, when it comes to repair.

I've just replaced a magsafe 2 cable (connector included). However, I think the replacement cable lacks the original circuit which negotiates some information with the Mac, so the adapter is only working with the Macbook Air, but not with my retina Macbook Pro (with the original connector it worked). Don't know if it's a safety issue, since the charger part is still original. What do you think?

 

[flaubert]

You might be interested in Ken Shirriff's teardown and anaylsis of Magsafe. I think Magsafe 2 is basically the same concept:

http://www.righto.com/2013/06/teardown-and-exploration-of-magsafe.html

Without the little circuit in the plug, the charger is likely putting full voltage out all the time, which diminishes safety a bit (the genuine, fully functional charger and cable don't put out full voltage until the computer and the cable have communicated).

 

[brdeveloper]

You might be interested in Ken Shirriff's teardown and anaylsis of Magsafe. I think Magsafe 2 is basically the same concept:

http://www.righto.com/2013/06/teardown-and-exploration-of-magsafe.html

Without the little circuit in the plug, the charger is likely putting full voltage out all the time, which diminishes safety a bit (the genuine, fully functional charger and cable don't put out full voltage until the computer and the cable have communicated).

Yes, this is probably the difference that was preventing my rMBP from charging with the 45W adapter. I've reconnected the old connector to the newer cable, applied solder and insulating tape. The next step will be making an ugly Sugru work that will turn the connector more durable an safer