Power adapter burned out again

[arogge]

My PowerBook's power adapter burned out today. That is the third one that has broken since I got the PowerBook. The power adapter has again been getting very hot and seems to have been failing to charge the battery, indicating a full-charge when the battery was actually drained.

I used it earlier today and then plugged it in again later and I got a popping sound from the power brick, no indicator light on the plug and no power to the computer. The last one broke in the same way. It is out of warranty, but should I try to get Apple to replace it anyway? This power adapter could be a safety hazard. I'm glad that I don't leave it plugged in unattended.

 

[arogge]

I got an alternative replacement for the Apple power adapter from MacWizards. The new power adapter is much cooler when operating, and it also fixed another problem that I've been having with the PowerBook's battery.

The PowerBook's battery has been draining very quickly and suddenly, sometimes only providing 10 minutes of power. The OS X battery indicator was not reporting the correct amount of charge that was remaining in the battery. The indicator would drop from 50% or even 90% to 6%, and the battery would often drop from a full-charge as indicated to less than 90% in only one day of being unused.

Attempting to recharge what seemed to be a fully-discharged battery would sometimes cause intermittent charging, the indicator switching between battery and the adapter several times, before sometimes indicating a full-charge after only a few minutes, after which the adapter was unusually-hot.

What seems to have been happening is that the power adapter was not fully-charging the battery, and providing only intermittent power while the PowerBook was operating. The PowerBook is showing a full-charge for days at a time now.