Sparks and burn marks on new 16" 140W charger

[blurryvision]

I had my M1 Pro MacBook for around a week now and initially I wasn't worried about small sparks when I plugged in my laptop to the wall, as that happened often with previous MacBooks as well. But today I noticed a burn mark on the charger head, that doesn't seem to scrape off. Looks like it burnt straight into the head.

Should I be concerned about this or carry on?

 

[JamieLannister]

I had my M1 Pro MacBook for around a week now and initially I wasn't worried about small sparks when I plugged in my laptop to the wall, as that happened often with previous MacBooks as well. But today I noticed a burn mark on the charger head, that doesn't seem to scrape off. Looks like it burnt straight into the head.

Should I be concerned about this or carry on?


View attachment 1905885

Totally normal. You haven't felt a spark until you hookup a big 3500+ watt inverter to some batteries.

 

[MacLappy]

Totally normal. You haven't felt a spark until you hookup a big 3500+ watt inverter to some batteries.

Wait, this is normal?

 

[JamieLannister]

Wait, this is normal?

Sometimes the caps don’t get charged and when you plug it into a power source you risk an arc causing some damages to the metal prongs. It’s because there is too great of a differential normally this ain’t a big deal with smaller power components. It’s much more damaging if you’re dealing with huge amounts of amps at once.

Unless those prongs are broken off there’s nothing to worry about

 

[fa8362]

You should be concerned about thinking there is something to be concerned about.

 

[chabig]

Yes. Totally normal.

 

[white7561]

Yeh it's normal. All charger prongs are made to sustain some amount of arcing .

 

[Fishrrman]

Is that charger built like earlier ones, in which the 2-prong plug assembly can be removed (just slides off), and a longer cord with a 3-prong grounding plug be attached in its place?

If so, that's what I'd do.

 

[BigMcGuire]

I was going to say, I don't see any burn marks - maybe some impact marks on the prongs? I've gone to South America where every plug-in resulted in a shower of sparks in a certain place I was staying at due to the way the electricity was set up - and it was that place's fault but after staying there for a month I came away with prongs that were noticeably melted.

Agreed with @Fishrrman - use a grounding plug if you can.

If you can plug it in without anything on the other end (so there's no draw) that can help too - then plug it into the laptop.

To the OP? I wouldn't worry bout that at all.

 

[wilberforce]

If you find the prongs are getting hot, it means they not making good electrical contact with the wall receptacle contacts. Replace the wall receptacle.

 

[blurryvision]

Thanks for the responses everyone - I did plug it into a wall outlet I don't normally use so I don't think I'll run into this problem frequently. I did contact support and the Apple Store had the duckhead replaced. I'm sure it would have been fine but wanted to take some precaution

 

[Allyance]

Maybe an inherent problem with switching power supplies, if that is the design they use. Many years ago I was a JBL Professional sound contractor, JBL came out with a power amplifier with a digital switching power supply, which made the amplifier a lot lighter, quite revolutionary at the time. I bought one for a nightclub installation in Charleston. The amp had a 10 amp power fuse, but would trip a 20 amp breaker when first turned on, and the fuse never blew. Had to replace it with a BGW power amp which were ultra reliable.