Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MagSafe "turns itself off"

M

mutn10

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 19, 2015
23
0
Hello all

I have a weird issue with my MagSafe charger.
I'll break it up for you guys:
1. Using MBP with charger in it (and in outlet ofcourse) works and charges nicely.
2. When I put MBP off, I always unplug the MagSafe (so the charger is still IN the outlet)
3. When I want to put the MagSafe back "in" the MBP to charge it, it wont charge.

So it looks like the MagSafe is turning itself off when it's not in use. I thin this because when I take it out of the outlet and put it back in, it works perfectly.
Ofc I checked Apple troubleshooting and it looks like the "line noise issue" where 60 seconds rest make the charger work again. Problem is that I can only really test this at home right now, and maybe we have a "circuit problem" along the whole house. Next week I can test it at my dorm, but I already wanted to ask you guys what you think the issue is.

So any ideas?

Greetings

Mutn
 
The internal fuse is tripping for some reason. This resets if you unplug from the mains supply and plug it in again.

My thought would be dirty power or an earth fault or something like that.
 
Well tonight I'm going to another place where I'll be staying for the week. I'll take my laptop with me so I can check if the charges behaves as it should.

So you don't think it's the charger that is faulty? ;)
 
What would be the best way to test this? Keep the charger in the outlet overnight and then try to charge the MBP in the morning? If there would be any problem, the charger will have turned itself off again I guess?
 
See if it behaves in the same way on a different outlet (i.e., in a new place, not just a different outlet in your home, although you can try that too).

If it stops working after you disconnect it from the MBP but leave it plugged into the wall but then starts working again after you unplug it briefly that is strongly suggesting the internal fuse is tripping.

I doubt the charger itself is faulty, but I wouldn't rule it out - it could be that the safety fuse is too sensitive and is tripping when it's not meant to. The only way to definitively be sure is to actually measure it using electronics hardware (scope, meters etc) by someone who knows what they are looking for.

If you take it to an Apple store, assuming you have one nearby, they may replace it if they can replicate the issue. If it works just fine on their outlets, or on the outlet of whatever place you visit, then it's your house.

You might have a grounding fault or dirty AC that has a lot of noise in it - an electrician will be able to diagnose this. If the charger behaves the same way at any place you take it to then the fault is the charger.
 
mutn10 said:
Hello all

I have a weird issue with my MagSafe charger.
I'll break it up for you guys:
1. Using MBP with charger in it (and in outlet ofcourse) works and charges nicely.
2. When I put MBP off, I always unplug the MagSafe (so the charger is still IN the outlet)
3. When I want to put the MagSafe back "in" the MBP to charge it, it wont charge.

So it looks like the MagSafe is turning itself off when it's not in use. I thin this because when I take it out of the outlet and put it back in, it works perfectly.
Ofc I checked Apple troubleshooting and it looks like the "line noise issue" where 60 seconds rest make the charger work again. Problem is that I can only really test this at home right now, and maybe we have a "circuit problem" along the whole house. Next week I can test it at my dorm, but I already wanted to ask you guys what you think the issue is.

So any ideas?

Greetings

Mutn
Click to expand...

i've had 4 (yes, 4!) chargers start to do that then the ultimately never charged again, basically were declared broken shortly after. this always happened exacltly a year and a month after purchase, rendering any free exchanges impossible. thank god we have a 2 year warranty by law now, going to get the 5th one replaced for free this time (yes, it's showing signs of breaking already).
 
joe-h2o said:
See if it behaves in the same way on a different outlet (i.e., in a new place, not just a different outlet in your home, although you can try that too).

If it stops working after you disconnect it from the MBP but leave it plugged into the wall but then starts working again after you unplug it briefly that is strongly suggesting the internal fuse is tripping.

I doubt the charger itself is faulty, but I wouldn't rule it out - it could be that the safety fuse is too sensitive and is tripping when it's not meant to. The only way to definitively be sure is to actually measure it using electronics hardware (scope, meters etc) by someone who knows what they are looking for.

If you take it to an Apple store, assuming you have one nearby, they may replace it if they can replicate the issue. If it works just fine on their outlets, or on the outlet of whatever place you visit, then it's your house.

You might have a grounding fault or dirty AC that has a lot of noise in it - an electrician will be able to diagnose this. If the charger behaves the same way at any place you take it to then the fault is the charger.
Click to expand...

I'm at my dorm at the moment and it works like it should work. It's always plugged into the wall outlet and every time I connect it to my MBP, it charges immediately without having to replug it.

Next weekend, I'll try it again at home. If I do have the issue again, the problem may indeed be a too sensitive trigger or faults in our home electricity net.

I have another rMBP charger at home (my dad's) so if I have the issue again at home, I'll try to replicate it with his charger. If I see the problem again, the problem is within the house. If I don't, then it's (pretty) sure that it is the charger.

I got my rMBP (2015) like 2 weeks ago. I also noticed that I had to plug it in and out to work (at home), but I didn't really care. It's only since this weekend that I really noticed the issue. The charger is like only 2 weeks old, which makes it even more improbable that it is broken, right?

(Fun fact: I had to send my first rMBP 2015 back because I had a small issue with it, so I know how to use the warranty.)

In my country, we don't have Apple stores, but we do have Apple Premium Reseller who do all of the warranty for Apple so it should basically deliver the same service.

I'll see this weekend (or earlier, if the charger breaks down earlier).

Thanks for all the responds so far.
 
Please help me guys.

I really have no clue if the charger is normal or not.
To sum it up: the issue where I have to reconnect the charger only happened once over the past week and that was at my home. At my dorm or other places, I have no issues at all. So could be that my home circuitry is a bit faulty.

When I unplug/plug the MagSafe, I hear a very short buzzing sound, just like the current has to make it through the MagSafe connector to start charging the MBP. It's nothing major and I can only hear it when the environment is completely silent.

Do you guys think I should call Apple to replace it or am I worrying too much about the charger and is all of this "small issues" just plain normal?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back