Excerpts" .....arrived home this evening and connected up my
PowerBook to my trusty Apple power adapter and the battery was
charging... I started to check my email and I noticed the battery
had stopped charging for no apparent reason. I lifted up my head
and looked at the adapter - which was sitting on the table - and
visually checked to ensure it was plugged in on both ends -
yep!
Before I could even touch it and make sure everything was tight, it
started spewing flames and sparks! I unplugged it faster than
anything...! It even burned the paper that it was sitting on. I
realize I was very, very lucky, however... my adapter spends 98% of
the time plugged in un-supervised on the floor with carpet and
paper not far away, and it is plugged in while I am gone most of
the time! Had this happened any time but now, I would have had no
home because a faulty Apple product caused it to burn down. And
before you ask - NO, there was NO visible damage to the point that
spontaneously burst into flame. Yes, that means NO external stress,
cracks, etc anywhere near the point that the cable burned. All of
the cracking and damage you see in the picture happened AFTER the
adapter started burning.
Basically, it appears the plastic Apple uses is at least moderately
combustible, and the adapter lacks any short circuit overload
protection on the DC side. Following the incident, I plugged the
adapter in on a non-flammable surface and found it to generate
spark and flame without shutting down - albeit not so impressively
- for quite a while with no apparent stopping. You do not need to
even have a load on the adapter - simply plug in the AC power and
let the sparks begin! Were I not home, my entire house would be
gone by now, and were I sleeping, I might have even been trapped
and die in a burning building.
I haven't even finished fully checking out my PowerBook, I shudder
to think what the electrical problems might have done to it.
Are you listening Apple? This could be a HUGE problem. I am lucky
that little damage was done. The next person may not be! Hopefully
Apple will make this problem right, and we won't even go into the
defective aluminum in the screen of my PowerBook... I love your
products Apple, but I have to say you are making me really worry
and wonder.
Addendum: People have asked if I beat up that portion of the cord.
NO! Since seeing excessive wear there on an earlier version of the
adapter, I stopped even rolling up the cord around the two feet to
reduce the risk of straining the wire at that location. You guys
need to trying to kill the messenger - I am posting a candid
sequence of events and non-touched up photos. The adapter was
working perfectly with no visible damage to that portion of the
cable. Adapters get hauled around and accumulate a little dark
residue and such over time and I didn't try to remove that and make
my adapter look perfect before taking photos.
Update: Apple has agreed to replace the adapter. They took my
concerns seriously, which was pleasant, although they did not
address the larger problem of these adapters possibly starting
serious fires. Only time will tell if the PowerBook has been
damaged by the rather extreme shorting situation.
Update 2: After getting my adapter replaced by Apple and posting
this page, I have uncovered three very disturbing facts:
1) My PowerBook intermittently shuts itself. Every 2-3 days, it
just turns off without any real warning. This started only after
the short occurred. PMU, PRAM resetting has not helped. My RAM is
seated properly.
2) Apple has not re-designed their adapters. The brand new adapter
replacement Apple shipped me is 100% identical physically to the
one that came with my PowerBook and I am shipping back.
Furthermore, the new adapters STILL do not have any short
protection. Meaning, I can short the adapter on the DC side,
generate a spark, and repeat again and again without causing the
adapter to power off or any circuit breaker/fuse/GFCI outlet to cut
the power. Basically, this means there's no reason the adapter
won't attempt to incinerate my house again.
3) This is not isolated. Numerous people have contacted me and
informed me of their problems with shorting adapters in the same
location. Thankfully, no houses have burned down - yet. However,
one poor gentleman in Russia has a PowerBook that shuts off after
only a few minutes of being turned on. And I thought my machine was
bad!
I am continuing to converse with Apple about this and we are
hopefully going to reach some resolution. Meanwhile, I would
strongly suggest that people closely monitor their power adapter
and consider taking measures to reinforce the area around where the
DC power comes out of the adapter. I would suggest silicone as it
is relatively heat resistant and a solid amount that surrounds the
cable and extends about two inches out from the adapter should both
reinforce the wire (reducing the risk of the short happening) and
act to cut of oxygen to the wire so it cannot combust.
However, I am not an electrician, so any modifications you make are
at your own risk. I will not be making any modifications until I
finish my conversations with Apple. Hopefully, they will offer a
better solution..."
