OMG my MBP power brick caught on fire

[skye12]

Be suspicious of any safety rumors

A lot of stock traders these days are trying anything to start
a rumor to bring aapl stock down.

Not saying this is the case here, but be aware it would only take
a match against the plastic or wires to create a convincing picture.

 

[Bilvox]

yipes

I know the pain... the same thing happened to my old power brick from my powerbook g4. The freakiest is the sparks and electrical flame/fire that shoots out of it... and the crapiest part is the expensive replacement.

good luck mon frere

~bv

 

[Roessnakhan]

I had that happen with one of my magsafe adapters. I took it to the Apple store and the guy thought it was torn (wtf?) he got a second opinion which got me a new power adapter for free. I really don't like my Apple Store, the Geniuses want to make it seem so much like its your fault.

I unfortunately didn't notice that my power adapter was melting until I reached down to unplug it and recoiled my hand in pain.

 

[nownot]

wow, seems like the quality of manufacturing has went done some apple.

 

[Roessnakhan]

Well, I don't think its that common of a problem.

 

[chrisbeebops]

The only time I've seen something like this happen is when the power brick gets thrown underneath something (used on a couch and the brick slides under a pillow, pile of papers thrown over it, etc). All power bricks that I've ever used get really hot while the battery is charging. If you keep the brick out in the open thats all that ever happens... it gets warm to the touch.

 

[Rube]

I went through one fire in my life which was one too many. Things like this make me very nervous. Look around your room and imagine everything lost. Even getting all your music back is a painful process.

 

[Roessnakhan]

The only time I've seen something like this happen is when the power brick gets thrown underneath something (used on a couch and the brick slides under a pillow, pile of papers thrown over it, etc). All power bricks that I've ever used get really hot while the battery is charging. If you keep the brick out in the open thats all that ever happens... it gets warm to the touch.

Mine was out in the open when it started melting.

 

[Cookiemonster]

A lot of stock traders these days are trying anything to start
a rumor to bring aapl stock down.

Not saying this is the case here, but be aware it would only take
a match against the plastic or wires to create a convincing picture.

thats truly inconsiderate of you- the individual here is discussing a real problem - not trying to "bring apple's stock down"...
Im sure a match against plastic wires would produce a different result as it is external and not internal damage...

Mine was out in the open when it started melting.

eeps- thanks for the warning, so keep it next to something that wont catch fire?.. .Goodness...

 

[nownot]

not to be rude or cynical but dont yall think that if you pay this much for something that you shouldnt have to watch for it to melt/burn or putting it next to or underneath something. this is just poorly engineered and should be addressed if it is a issue.

 

[flopticalcube]

Well, I don't think its that common of a problem.

If it wasn't a problem, Apple wouldn't have had to re-engineer it. They did, so it was. If you look at the Apple Discussions forums or here on MR, you will find plenty of examples of it being a problem.

A lot of stock traders these days are trying anything to start
a rumor to bring aapl stock down.

Not saying this is the case here, but be aware it would only take
a match against the plastic or wires to create a convincing picture.

This has been a problem for some time. Every time it shows up, someone feels compelled to say that the OP abused it or some how faked it. I just don't understand why people can't accept it? Apple usually replaces the PS for free, so even they acknowledge it.

Ooh, heaven forbid you have to wash it



Apples site says to wash it weekly to keep it clean. I don't look at it as a negative that it has to be kept clean. Mine has been working flawlessly because I clean it on a regular basis, while lots of people say it locks up and can't get it to work again. Lots of things need to be kept clean, it's not a negative quality.

Never had to wash a mouse before. Maybe the old scroll-ball ones, but never an optical or laser mouse. Its a beautiful mouse but there needs to be an easier way to clean the ball. Sometimes even cleaning doesn't work.

 

[nownot]

If it wasn't a problem, Apple wouldn't have had to re-engineer it. They did, so it was. If you look at the Apple Discussions forums or here on MR, you will find plenty of examples of it being a problem.

i didnt say it wasnt a problem. i was saying that if this is a problem it should be dealt with, people shouldnt have to watch out for these types of things because they shouldnt happen. if it was fixed then great, that made my point.

 

[Rube]

If it wasn't a problem, Apple wouldn't have had to re-engineer it. They did, so it was. If you look at the Apple Discussions forums or here on MR, you will find plenty of examples of it being a problem.

The threads I saw showed the magsafe end being an issue not the actual brick. This is news to me. I also read a new one was being sent out recently. Any idea how to spot if you have an old one or new one? TIA

 

[flopticalcube]

i didnt say it wasnt a problem. i was saying that if this is a problem it should be dealt with, people shouldnt have to watch out for these types of things because they shouldnt happen. if it was fixed then great, that made my point.

Sorry, read your post too quickly. I agree.

 

[BlackMax]

A lot of stock traders these days are trying anything to start
a rumor to bring aapl stock down.

Not saying this is the case here, but be aware it would only take
a match against the plastic or wires to create a convincing picture.

????? This one just made me shake my head...

 

[mrweirdo]

You know I have always wondered about this sort of thing happening from the moment i got my macbook(one of the early core duos) the cable itself is just too darn slim in diameter making it extremely prone to fray besides the obvious weak strain reliefs on each end. It seems like apple wanted to make the cable look small and sleeker thus putting design over safety and durability. Even the new ones are any better in this regard.

I wonder if we will be seeing a recall sometime down the line after enough of these things catch fire.

 

[looking4anotebo]

This is ridiculous. I am now questioning whether or not I should leave this thing plugged in while I am out. I have the newer, smaller power adapter.
What happens when one of these starts burning up and starts a fire in a house or apartment?

I wouldn't be surprised to see another lawsuit.

 

[technicolor]

I received a new brick from Apple yesterday. It is much smaller.

A lot of stock traders these days are trying anything to start
a rumor to bring aapl stock down.

Not saying this is the case here, but be aware it would only take
a match against the plastic or wires to create a convincing picture.

Oh give me a darn break. I love Apple and dont have time to intentionally set my brick on fire to bring Apple down. I am a student and NEED my laptop for school. If I really wanted to bring something to Apple I am sure I could have made a lot more fuss about this. All I wanted was my brick replaced and thats what they did.

 

[e12a]

I received a new brick from Apple yesterday. It is much smaller.

yea they've replaced the old 85w brick picture with a small one resembling the macbook's on their store site. That was a few months ago though, and your SR still came with one of the larger ones. So i guess now they're about to roll out with these re designed ones.

The wire seems to be very fragile. Other users should take caution when winding up the wire for transport around the little ears on the brick. Leave some slack on the wire where it comes out of the brick (enough that it is still straight coming out of the brick), then hold the wire with your finger and then just wind it like you normally do. If you wind it tight right from the brick you will damage the wire. There's no question about it.

 

[WildCowboy]

Looks very much like what happened to the cord on my iBook Dual USB, but it was about six years old at the time. The sheathing near where it plugged into the laptop frayed and exposed the wires, which sparked and smoked as the cord wiggled.

 

[Lividity]

The wire seems to be very fragile. Other users should take caution when winding up the wire for transport around the little ears on the brick. Leave some slack on the wire where it comes out of the brick (enough that it is still straight coming out of the brick), then hold the wire with your finger and then just wind it like you normally do. If you wind it tight right from the brick you will damage the wire. There's no question about it.

The only semi-convincing explanation I've seen is that it is the wire inside (not the plastic/rubber sheath) which starts to fray and maybe starts to arc a little bit which eventually burns through the sheath from the inside out. The voltage in the wire is very low (16.5-18.5V) which means it would only be the tiniest spark gap, but that is quite believable to me for the inside of a sheathed cable.

So I guess what I'm saying is that it has nothing to do with the outside of the cable or (necessarily) its thickness. Furthermore it would affect any point along the cable, but the ends are the most prone for the reason you point out above. I wonder if Apple fixed this issue at the same time they made the power brick smaller.

So your advice is good, you can *probably* keep winding your cord around the "horns" on the power brick, just be real careful not to stress the cable too much, esp at the ends.

 

[razyorv]

Looks exactly like what happened to my father's iBook G4's power brick as he was lecturing in a conference. Good thing an Apple Store was close by!

 

[statikcat]

About the Mighty Mouse:

I have it. The fact that you can't right click if a finger is resting over the left side makes the mouse useles for some applications that require a lot of right clicking.

About the power supply:

Did you remove the thin plastic wrapper around the adapter? If you didn't then what do you expect

 

[Bilvox]

re: mighty mouse...

Has any one had continuing problems with the scroll ball? Any suggestion how to clean it myself... Im sure I could just off load it to my IT dept. BUt I would feel more satisfied on fixing it myself.

Looks like thar be rumors about a newly designed powerblock for the mac book pros... perhaps they will have a trade in deal like they had for the g3s back in the day.

cheers
~bilvox

 

[NillaWafer89]

Thats def. a scary thing. I live in a dorm at college and my mbp is always plugged in, when im there and when im not there. Of course when its charging the power brick gets crazy hot but I have never experienced anything like this. I will def. watch it from now on.