Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Powerbook G4 Charger?
- Thread starter Orizence
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I've bought both genuine and third part ones on Ebay.
I, of course, prefer the genuine ones although many of them have been used hard. You'll find your fair share with bent plugs and/or housings. They will generally work fine even with these issues, but may be loose in the socket and the LEDs may be hit or miss.
I've generally had good luck with the "blocky" plastic ones that look like a generic PC laptop charger. My biggest complaint with them is that the cords are short-both the wall cord and the cord from the brick to the computer. The wall cord is the same as on most PC laptops, so you can use those to get extra distance. I keep one of these in my backpack to avoid wear and tear on my genuine ones.
There are some generic chargers that look like the genuine Apple ones, but without the Apple molded into the side. I've had one of these-it was in a lot of stuff that a member here sent me, and was brand new and unused. It was also DOA(I didn't complain, as it wasn't part of the original deal and the stuff was sent to me for the(substantial) cost of shipping). One experience isn't enough to draw a conclusion, however, so don't necessarily avoid these based on my one bad experience.
I've yet to see an aftermarket charger with the ring LED. This may or may not sway you toward buying a genuine one.
I've been able to pick up chargers-both aftermarket and genuine-for $10-20.
One last caution-if you are buying a charger for a Titanium Powerbook, be aware that some genuine 65W chargers will not work. Because the charging port is located right under the hinge, some 65W chargers have a "barrel" that is too large to fit. I've had some genuine 65W chargers that worked fine, and others that didn't. All the generic ones I've bought fit TiBooks fine. If you're buying for a TiBook, you're probably safest to stick to 45W chargers.
I, of course, prefer the genuine ones although many of them have been used hard. You'll find your fair share with bent plugs and/or housings. They will generally work fine even with these issues, but may be loose in the socket and the LEDs may be hit or miss.
I've generally had good luck with the "blocky" plastic ones that look like a generic PC laptop charger. My biggest complaint with them is that the cords are short-both the wall cord and the cord from the brick to the computer. The wall cord is the same as on most PC laptops, so you can use those to get extra distance. I keep one of these in my backpack to avoid wear and tear on my genuine ones.
There are some generic chargers that look like the genuine Apple ones, but without the Apple molded into the side. I've had one of these-it was in a lot of stuff that a member here sent me, and was brand new and unused. It was also DOA(I didn't complain, as it wasn't part of the original deal and the stuff was sent to me for the(substantial) cost of shipping). One experience isn't enough to draw a conclusion, however, so don't necessarily avoid these based on my one bad experience.
I've yet to see an aftermarket charger with the ring LED. This may or may not sway you toward buying a genuine one.
I've been able to pick up chargers-both aftermarket and genuine-for $10-20.
One last caution-if you are buying a charger for a Titanium Powerbook, be aware that some genuine 65W chargers will not work. Because the charging port is located right under the hinge, some 65W chargers have a "barrel" that is too large to fit. I've had some genuine 65W chargers that worked fine, and others that didn't. All the generic ones I've bought fit TiBooks fine. If you're buying for a TiBook, you're probably safest to stick to 45W chargers.
I have had such a good experience with an outfit called mac-pro.com that I am loyal to them and return there each time I need a new charger.
Their chargers are a bit expensive ($40 plus tax) but I have had them last over three years or more. I highly recommend them.
http://www.mac-pro.com/product-p/acc-apl1110g4.htm
Their chargers are a bit expensive ($40 plus tax) but I have had them last over three years or more. I highly recommend them.
http://www.mac-pro.com/product-p/acc-apl1110g4.htm
Ill consider the one from the link that was just posted. Here is a little back story, I already own a third-party charger but it causes so much interference that when I plug it into any outlet in my room, my power-line internet adapter stops working... That makes it pretty hard to charge my laptop and use the internet at the same time 
I have bought any I needed from eBay, eBid or Cex. All were genuine and cheap, i.e. < £10/$15. No need to even look at 3rd party items if you have concerns. Remember that the 2001 yoyo design will also fit, although only 45W and you forgo the LED ring.
I have been using one of these chargers, no issues at all . Not sure of the brand though, got it off ebay.
Attachments
Generally those replacements chargers have worked fine for me, however there were couple bought from Buyincoins.com which had 65W printed in them but they couldn't power on 15" PowerBook alone, they needed battery which could hold charge. When I tried genuine charger things were different. Also when I checked system info it said those replacements ones were 45W.
It's just so much easier to find those than genuine chargers.
It's just so much easier to find those than genuine chargers.
I have tried and used several different types of chargers off of eBay. One particular brand advertised as 65W but as Zotaccian also experienced, I discovered they only gave me 45W. The replacement I asked for was also 45W.
I had one charger that had cost me less than $10 catch fire on me inside a Starbucks. Not an experience I care to repeat.
Hence my continued return to the charger I linked above.
The Newertech chargers are of the same type as the one I linked to so I'd recommend those as well.
The only downside here is that these chargers are two prong chargers. I.e, there is no third prong as a ground. That's never been an issue for me, but some people prefer that third prong.
I had one charger that had cost me less than $10 catch fire on me inside a Starbucks. Not an experience I care to repeat.
Hence my continued return to the charger I linked above.
The Newertech chargers are of the same type as the one I linked to so I'd recommend those as well.
The only downside here is that these chargers are two prong chargers. I.e, there is no third prong as a ground. That's never been an issue for me, but some people prefer that third prong.
hahahaha I wonder what people were thinking when they saw your charger catch fire lol
----------
The genuine Apple chargers aren't grounded either.
No idea. I was trying to put it out, not drop the G4 and not spill my drink all at the same time so I wasn't looking anywhere else.
----------
I have a 65W iBook G4 charger at home with a three prong cord.
See the table down at the far end?Care to share that story?
Me facing the window, 17" PB on the table, my daughter to my right playing with something and my son with his then iBook G3 sitting across from me.
My cup is on my right side (ceramic mug, usually a Quad Venti Cap) and I am pulling out my other 17" PB from my bag to put on my lap to do something else.
With my right hand I'm starting to take a drink and I am removing the plug from the 17" on the table and plugging it into the 17" on my lap.
There's a spark somewhere out of the corner of my eye. I look down and there's a small little fire that just started on the cord about halfway between the power brick and the plug!
So, I quickly put down the coffee, pull the plug out of the Mac and with it still in my lap I pull the plug of the adapter out of the wall socket. Fire goes out.
Not much else to tell. It left a scorch mark and I promptly dropped the thing in Starbucks' trash can and pulled out my other adapter. My kids didn't even really notice. It was maybe a little larger then the flame you get when you light a match, but because I cut off power to the adapter as quickly as I did, it went out.
Scared the hell out of me though!
Attachments
Huh, between the Mac and the brick? That's low voltage line... it was probably a short circuit. Probably a **** cord but not necessarily the brick itself was bad. Too bad you threw it away, there was probably good stuff in that power supply, but I can understand how it freaked you out and make you throw it away.
Some things aren't worth fixing, and cheap, crappy Chinese power bricks fall into that category.
I had one of the ones with a Molex plug on the end cook itself a couple of months back. I smelled burning plastic and pulled the plug, but it probably would have caught on fire if I hadn't caught it. I cracked it open for a post-mortem, but then tossed it and spent $5 on a replacement. One of the triacs had fried-for what reason I don't know-but it was gone.
Unfortunately, it also killed the drive to which it was connected-a 7200 RPM laptop IDE drive. Fortunately, all it did was blow a fuse on the drive's logic board, which I was able to repair. The drive is currently living a happy life in a TiBook(the DLSD Powerbook from which I removed it got an SSD).
I had one of the ones with a Molex plug on the end cook itself a couple of months back. I smelled burning plastic and pulled the plug, but it probably would have caught on fire if I hadn't caught it. I cracked it open for a post-mortem, but then tossed it and spent $5 on a replacement. One of the triacs had fried-for what reason I don't know-but it was gone.
Unfortunately, it also killed the drive to which it was connected-a 7200 RPM laptop IDE drive. Fortunately, all it did was blow a fuse on the drive's logic board, which I was able to repair. The drive is currently living a happy life in a TiBook(the DLSD Powerbook from which I removed it got an SSD).
Well, one is not expecting to start a small fire in a coffee shop. So yeah, for me it was.
Well it depends... but many times when you buy cheap crap it will have problems that need fixing before it would be good to use. But if the device cannot be repaired (which is unlikely unless the whole thing burned up) I would salvage the parts. There's good parts in a power supply. Transformer, capacitors, maybe some voltage regulators, and some misc stuff. And the rectangular enclosure too!
Cheap crap are a fun challenge.