Somehow I found replacement cables on ebay forced open the AC chanrger and resoldered the charger. One thing is that inside the connector with the original cable there is some electronics, which function I do not know (does anyone know?). Buying replacement cables perhaps should be an informed choice. Anyway it works nice. I somehow prefer it that way than applying the glue.
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Magsafe cable frayed - any suggested fixes?
- Thread starter kwijbo
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Thanks. My diode works, computer gets power, and the power supply is the original one. Then it seems that replacing the magsafe cable with the ebay replacements is pretty safe.
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The replacement cables you found on eBay didn't come with the MagSafe connector already attached?
The ones I found did so all of the "important" electronics were already there in the connector.
The ones I found did so all of the "important" electronics were already there in the connector.
Yes, they did and that is exactly my point. The replacement cable consists of a piece of wire and a magsafe connector. Inside the magsafe connector there is the one-wire protocol that runs and tells computer what is the wattage of the charger and corresponding voltage that is inferred by the machine. One thing that should be taken care of is that when the charger promises 16.5 V it should not provide 18.5 V. There is matching of magsafe connector to the power brick - this should be obeyed.
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[doublepost=1492507592][/doublepost]Can try to fix it at www.relinksingapore.com those guys help to replace the cord for $40 SGD and the reviews seems pretty good.My 2 year old Magsafe adapter recently frayed open like below:
are there any suggested fixes you guys have to stop it from getting worse? I found this after a quick search:
The Fray Fix
and while it seems like a good preventative solution, I'm hesitant to try it on mine since its already broken and the procedure for getting it on the adapter seems like it would make it worse.
I think the following steps should be taken:
- check if the cable frays because of a random cut (in that case you can secure it something, but do not use a tape with glue - in my experience some glues can effectively dissolve the rubber which protects the cable).
- if the fault seems "chemical" (for example improper thermal treatment at the factory), the best course of action would be to buy $10-15 replacement cable, force the white box open and solder in a new cable. Any electronics student can do it for you if you don't happen to have soldering equipment. Another important thing would be to match wattage of the replacement cable or choose a smart universal cable.
- check if the cable frays because of a random cut (in that case you can secure it something, but do not use a tape with glue - in my experience some glues can effectively dissolve the rubber which protects the cable).
- if the fault seems "chemical" (for example improper thermal treatment at the factory), the best course of action would be to buy $10-15 replacement cable, force the white box open and solder in a new cable. Any electronics student can do it for you if you don't happen to have soldering equipment. Another important thing would be to match wattage of the replacement cable or choose a smart universal cable.
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My 3.5 year old Magsafe2 is frayed on the brick end, right on the stress relief.
Not taking any chances, ordered another from a 3rd party. Hopefully it's a real
OEM as stated. Like everyone, I hate the idea of spending the big bucks at Apple.
I use it on 2 power strips every day, so the cable is pointing up and then flexing down.
Considering how much I tug on it each week, it's been durable for such a small wire.
Not taking any chances, ordered another from a 3rd party. Hopefully it's a real
OEM as stated. Like everyone, I hate the idea of spending the big bucks at Apple.
I use it on 2 power strips every day, so the cable is pointing up and then flexing down.
Considering how much I tug on it each week, it's been durable for such a small wire.
Yes exactly. I have multiple chargers at home (my, my wifes,... ) so in order no to get bankrupt I have learned how to fix them. Definitely I do not want to fix them (which in this case means buying new ones) through official channels. These Chinese cables are perhaps not the real thing, but even if they last half of the time of the original they cost a very tiny fraction of the original charger. And typically they have "free" shipping
One thing is that they sometimes circumvent safety features and one should take care.But one should take case: the original charger, after you put it to the socket takes a second to light the diode. The replacements sometimes take zero seconds and this is dangerous - electric arch can fry your Mac. There are cables for $4 and there are cables for $20. I am not sure one can say playing more gives any warranty that what we buy is a real thing.
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Just an FYI - zippertubing.com makes a couple of "split" shrink wrap products. Here's one: https://www.amazon.com/Shrink-N-Repair-Thin-Wrap-Around-Shrink/dp/B01LY1DDBU/ref=sr_1_1 They even have a Youtube video showing them repairing an Apple laptop PS cable.
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This stuff is perfect for the job > https://sugru.com and I've used it a few times on frayed cables.
The problem is it costs twice more than the replacement cable. And typically shrinkable insulating tapes cost say $5 per 10 feet, not $20 per few inches. And most likely you can get it fixed for free if you happen to know someone who has bought a roll - he will most likely feel ok to give say 3 inches of it for free.
The same applies to the sugru solution - it gluing back the frayed end of the cable, with no warranty it will not fray again - this time at the place where the sugru ends. I am not sayng this is a bad solution, but buying the sugru / $20 wrap around shrink just to fix a cheap cable seem economically not sound.
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True, but a lot of people don't have the equipment or knowhow to open up the power brick and remove and solder on a new cable. I've worked with electronics from almost 40 years and would have no problem myself - but others don't have the experience to solder, but still know how to wrap tape or a glue wad around something.
A sachet of Sugru shouldn't cost more than a couple of $s (although you might need to buy more than you need, I found lots of other uses for the stuff and it lasts well past the recommended 'use by date'), can be pretty neat, and probably more resilient than the original cable. I've taken a picture of one of mine, which has been used for 2-3 years.
hi,
im just seeing this (Magsafe cable frayed) here too, my question is , are there anything it can be done to prevent this from happening again soon, any recommendations, do you unplug magsafe when computer is off, do you normally unplug it when battery is full? i almost always leave it pluged in , don´t know if got anything to do with it, i guess it´s more a overheating problem due to heavy video, graphics work done in this laptop...
thanks.
im just seeing this (Magsafe cable frayed) here too, my question is , are there anything it can be done to prevent this from happening again soon, any recommendations, do you unplug magsafe when computer is off, do you normally unplug it when battery is full? i almost always leave it pluged in , don´t know if got anything to do with it, i guess it´s more a overheating problem due to heavy video, graphics work done in this laptop...
thanks.
I fitted one of these, its a right faff splitting the unit and glueing it back together though, need good eyes and fine soldering iron.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172529208514?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172529208514?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
This is material and mechanical problem. In my experience what happens is that the rubber coating of the cable becomes loose from the metal code. Then, it wobbles and becomes more susceptible to mechanical damage (in my case you could fray it with a finger tip - and I do not mean nail).
The mechanical stress can be relieved by putting something flexible on the end of the cable, close to the magsafe connection (like a spring), but it is indeed fault of poor quality materials, then I would doubt very much that anything can be done.
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I have an 85-Watt magsafe with my 15" pre-retina MBP. I've re-taped the chord several times, not wanting to pay the exorbitant replacement cost. However, as the last incarnation of machine that uses this adaptor will be obsolete later this year, I fear that the adapter may be discontinued. Is there precedence for this? Should I buy a spare before obsolescence rears its ugly head?
You can also try hot glue (it is soft and IMHO much better than tape).
In terms of precedent, any precedent would date back to powerbook times. Much has happened at Apple since then (most notable Steve Jobs died). Anyway AFAIK Powerbook G4 chargers were available for some time, but I am unsure if that was the policy or simply stores managed to preserve a stockpile of charger.
You worry about availability of Magsafe 1 chargers, right?
I sugrued my cable around 1.5 inches around the fray. Now it's fraying at the start and end of the sugrued area, haha. I'm debating what to do about it. Maybe I made it too thick. I don't know gauge, but I'd say it's roughly twice as thick as the rest of the cable with the sugru. Maybe that made it too rigid.
Or it frayed again for the same reason it did to begin with--it's a piece of junk.
Bought a refurbished one on Amazon for $20 a few weeks ago. Should get me through the next year or two.
only real solution is a new power adapter. go on ebay, lots of lightly used/new ones for less than retail. i struggled with this issue. wires eventually broke and shorted. lucky my internals survived. a new adapter or a new laptop?