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MBP 87w charger keeps breaking

Z

zakinak

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 12, 2018
3
0
Hi all,

Not quite sure how to phrase the question as I don’t fully understand current, ac/dc blah blah..

My charger broke a while ago while in Bulgaria, it was a few years old so I thought just old age. Bought a new one a few weeks ago in the UK (after just using my desktop and no need for laptop for a while) and now I am back in Bulgaria and it seems to be breaking again. Intermittent charging/no charging. It started off charging with no problem. Only been a couple of days this time. The cable is fine.

My questions is, is there some requirement or recommendation for power or adapter voltage or something? I am using a plug converter as it’s a UK plug. should it be converting power, or rated up to x volts/amps or somrtgingI can’t see any reason it would just break like this aside from something in that area. It’s the model with the dodgy keyboards and I just had the keyboard and battery replaced a few weeks ago. I was using the charger as normal in the UK with no problems. I’m sure it’s not a battery problem.

the converter I’m using does seem a little loose at times, like it doesn’t fit snugly into the socket, could this be part of the problem? Like it’s not feeding power through consistently enough or something? I’ve tested on different sockets in the house, holding it securely in the plug etc. and it still doesn’t bring consistent charge.

If the previous pattern is anything to go by, the charger is now damaged and even when I get back to the UK it won’t be working properly.

apologies for the long winded question and terrible phrasing. I really don’t understand any of this. Hard to word my problem in a concise manner..

I don’t want to buy a new charger for this to happen again. I could buy a new converter and charger to test but if it happens again it would of course be a waste..

thanks in advance. Pls ask for any more info if needed.

edit: Correction. Posting from mobile.
 
Is it an authentic apple charger? Is it still under warranty? Have you tried another USB charging cable? The cables do go bad from time to time. It would help to know which year your MacBook Pro is. My wife’s MacBook Pro started having a charging problem, turns out it was the logic board, hers is a 2016 13 inch.
 
Hi, thanks for the reply.

Macbook pro 15 inch 2017 is the model, with touchbar.

Yes it's authentic apple charger and under warranty I assume as it's only a few weeks old and I've done nothing but plug/unplug it.

I have 3 usb cables for various devices, tested all, same gig. I don't want to keep it plugged in anymore in case further damage is done, if the problem is what I assume.

I understand looking for other options that might be causing this issue as mine might sound a bit farfetched, but honestly I doubt it's anything else than in the area I'm talking about. This charger was charging flawlessly at home in the UK for about 3-4 weeks prior to coming here, now within 2 days the same problem is arising. Doesn't sound particularly plausible for the logic board or something else to have been an issue roughly 3-4 months ago, then be fine for 3-4 weeks after I bought a new charger, then suddenly start acting up again as soon as I'm abroad.

Could it be something to do with the power here? Sounds ridiculous but really I'm not sure. Majority of plugs here do not have an amp in them. Could that make any difference?
 
zakinak said:
Hi, thanks for the reply.

Macbook pro 15 inch 2017 is the model, with touchbar.

Yes it's authentic apple charger and under warranty I assume as it's only a few weeks old and I've done nothing but plug/unplug it.
Click to expand...
Apple chargers carry a 1 year warranty of their own. If it's only a few weeks old, return it for replacement.
You might also reset the SMC of your computer in case it's the computer itself: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295
 
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Yeah, the problem with intermittent problems is that they’re intermittent, meaning they don’t always happen and they don’t always happen predictably. With my wife’s machine, turns out it was some liquid damage, and sometimes it would work fine, and sometimes it wouldn’t charge, sometimes you’d get the chime when you plugged it in, sometimes not. If you’ve tried different cables, and you’ve tried different ports on the machine, it’s starting to sound like a bad charger. So return, try again. If you end up with the same problem, it could be a more serious problem, like a logic board. Does the computer chime when you plug in, even if it’s not charging? I also agree to reset the SMC, see if that helps.
 
When I had my own computer business years ago, I fix several laptops where the DC input jack needed re-soldering due to constant leverage applied during use. Pins that went through motherboard would lift trace off and eventually tear. I never worked on an Apple unit, so I can't advise how difficult they are to work on.
 
Allyance said:
When I had my own computer business years ago, I fix several laptops where the DC input jack needed re-soldering due to constant leverage applied during use. Pins that went through motherboard would lift trace off and eventually tear. I never worked on an Apple unit, so I can't advise how difficult they are to work on.
Click to expand...
The problem is with a MacBook Pro of that vintage, you have 4 separate usb ports, any one of which can charge the computer. The likelihood of all of them going out at once is fairly low.
 
Do you have a brick-n-mortar Apple Store anywhere near that is open for business?

If so, make an appt for the genius bar, take it in, and let them have a look at it.

I'm thinking something in the internal charging circuitry may be malfunctioning.
Or perhaps it's in the battery itself...
 
zakinak said:
Hi all,

Not quite sure how to phrase the question as I don’t fully understand current, ac/dc blah blah..

My charger broke a while ago while in Bulgaria, it was a few years old so I thought just old age. Bought a new one a few weeks ago in the UK (after just using my desktop and no need for laptop for a while) and now I am back in Bulgaria and it seems to be breaking again. Intermittent charging/no charging. It started off charging with no problem. Only been a couple of days this time. The cable is fine.

My questions is, is there some requirement or recommendation for power or adapter voltage or something? I am using a plug converter as it’s a UK plug. should it be converting power, or rated up to x volts/amps or somrtgingI can’t see any reason it would just break like this aside from something in that area. It’s the model with the dodgy keyboards and I just had the keyboard and battery replaced a few weeks ago. I was using the charger as normal in the UK with no problems. I’m sure it’s not a battery problem.

the converter I’m using does seem a little loose at times, like it doesn’t fit snugly into the socket, could this be part of the problem? Like it’s not feeding power through consistently enough or something? I’ve tested on different sockets in the house, holding it securely in the plug etc. and it still doesn’t bring consistent charge.

If the previous pattern is anything to go by, the charger is now damaged and even when I get back to the UK it won’t be working properly.

apologies for the long winded question and terrible phrasing. I really don’t understand any of this. Hard to word my problem in a concise manner..

I don’t want to buy a new charger for this to happen again. I could buy a new converter and charger to test but if it happens again it would of course be a waste..

thanks in advance. Pls ask for any more info if needed.

edit: Correction. Posting from mobile.
Click to expand...
Are you sure it's the brick and not a problem with the usb c cable? That was the trouble with mine and I kept getting intermittent charging issues that were resolved once I changed out the cable.
 
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