Very Hot Magsafe power Adaptor

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shinerwright

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 14, 2008
10
0
Just had a surprise.

I was charging up the battery on MBPr. The battery was half charged and I noticed that the pilot light on the connector to the laptop was glowing orange instead of green. I disconnected it and picked up the Magsafe Power Adaptor and it was almost too hot to handle.

Is this normal for it to get so hot? Should the light stay green until the battery is fully charged?

Any suggestions gratefully received

Shiner
 
GGJstudios

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,419
759
shinerwright said:
Is this normal for it to get so hot? Should the light stay green until the battery is fully charged?
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Yes, it's normal for the adapter to get hot while charging. The light is amber while it's charging and turns green when it's fully charged.

This should answer most, if not all, of your battery/charging questions:
 
J

JSMencer

macrumors regular
Oct 30, 2007
150
0
my adapter got so hot it actually burnt my daughter, and left a mark. I emailed apple, and I am waiting for a response.
 
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BlazednSleepy

macrumors 6502a
Apr 15, 2012
692
181
JSMencer said:
my adapter got so hot it actually burnt my daughter, and left a mark. I emailed apple, and I am waiting for a response.
Click to expand...

No offense but you daughter shouldn't have been around a power adapter let alone something that can easily hurt her, like electricity.
 
F

flipnap

macrumors 6502
May 1, 2012
339
0
JSMencer said:
my adapter got so hot it actually burnt my daughter, and left a mark. I emailed apple, and I am waiting for a response.
Click to expand...
wow. thats actually pretty serious. howd she get burned? was a red mark or a blister? did she sit on it, touch it, how long was the contact? was the plastic melted or disclored? was it plugged into an extension or against the wall? did she lean against it if so? how old is the wiring in your house? have you had any other adapters burn or get hot? did she require medical care? can you replicate the problem? buy a laser sighted thermal gun at home depot for 60 bucks and measure the temps. get a certification from the fire department and a notorized witness and you can sue apple for millions. document everything.

any answers would help.
 
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wethackrey

macrumors 6502
Feb 27, 2007
259
17
Redondo Beach, California
shinerwright said:
Just had a surprise.

I was charging up the battery on MBPr. The battery was half charged and I noticed that the pilot light on the connector to the laptop was glowing orange instead of green. I disconnected it and picked up the Magsafe Power Adaptor and it was almost too hot to handle.

Is this normal for it to get so hot? Should the light stay green until the battery is fully charged?

Any suggestions gratefully received

Shiner
Click to expand...
Hmmmm... first, I think you're confused about the meanings of the colors of the power LEDs on the adapter. Green indicates full charge. Orange indicates charging. From your description, it looks like your adapter is behaving correctly.

As for heat, yes they do get hot. You're pulling up to 85 watts from the thing. Under full load it will definitely be too hot to handle comfortably. Try handling an illuminated 85 watt light bulb. This is a far cry from being dangerous or a fire hazard though.

Frankly, it doesn't sound like you have anything to be concerned about.

By the way... you can try this experiment. Cover the power adapter with something for a few minutes while it's under load. The internal thermal protection should shut it down fairly quickly. For heaven's sake don't cover it with anything flammable and don't cover it for long. And remember that, if the thermal protection isn't working and you're not paying close attention, it could get so hot that the magic smoke will escape. And, whatever you do, keep JSMencer's daughter away from the damned thing.
 
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T5BRICK

T5BRICK

macrumors G3
Aug 3, 2006
8,095
2,057
Oregon
wethackrey said:
As for heat, yes they do get hot. You're pulling up to 85 watts from the thing. Under full load it will definitely be too hot to handle comfortably. Try handling an illuminated 85 watt light bulb. This is a far cry from being dangerous or a fire hazard though.
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I must have crazy callouses on my hands because I've never had a time that I couldn't pick up the A/C adapter on any of the MacBook Pros I've owned.

If your adapter is anywhere near the temperature of an illuminated light bulb, take it into a service center. It should be at most 125F, whereas a 60W bulb is usually around 260F.
 
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wethackrey

macrumors 6502
Feb 27, 2007
259
17
Redondo Beach, California
T5BRICK said:
I must have crazy callouses on my hands because I've never had a time that I couldn't pick up the A/C adapter on any of the MacBook Pros I've owned.

If your adapter is anywhere near the temperature of an illuminated light bulb, take it into a service center. It should be at most 125F, whereas a 60W bulb is usually around 260F.
Click to expand...
I didn't intend to imply that the 85W power adapter should get as hot as an 85W light bulb... just that both convert some of that 85W to heat, and that, if this were a light bulb, you wouldn't be surprised at the temperature.

Right now, with the MBPr fully charged and nothing connected to it, my power adapter is hot to the touch but not uncomfortable. Earlier, when it was both charging and powering an external Thunderbolt drive, it was so hot that it was uncomfortable to hold. Of course I haven't worked construction for a few decades so my hands are likely not as calloused as some. :)

My assumption is that JSMencer's daughter doesn't work construction either, but I suppose that's probably a sexist attitude.
 
R

Rocky244

macrumors regular
Jun 14, 2012
162
1
Depending on how old the adapter is, and its condition it may be malfunctioning.

My 4 year old adapter started having heat issues, and eventually got so hot that the wire burnt through the casing, and when I went to disconnect it I got quite a shock. I was pretty pissed. Not to mention the burn on my fingers.

And no, I am not that man/woman's daughter.

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But considering that the OP didn't know chargers glow orange during use probably indicates heat temperatures are normally hot for his case.
 
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