01-10-2009, 10:47 PM

Ive had my MBP for a few months now and ive recently have been experiencing a problem with the power adapter.

The magnet takes the plug just fine and, but some times i notice the icon on my menu shows i'm running off the battery. I give the plug a wiggle and it changes to the power icon.

I tried just dusting and cleaning the ends but that doesnt seem to help...

I have a Speck hard case and i thought it might of been due to that but i removed the case and it still does it.

Agh.. This and a "Bright" Pixel i have have been driving nuts..

Any help or opinions would be GREAT!
Thanks so much!

01-10-2009, 11:01 PM

The green light on the plug doesnt always stay on (while running off the power adapter)... is that normal.

01-10-2009, 11:45 PM

Howdy,

Assuming it is not the new version of the MBP (unibody), it sounds like one of 2 possibilities; either your adapter or the circuit board that has the power, usb, audio jacks on it is faulty.

If it is your computer, the light on the adapter would go off because the adapter is thinking there is nothing plugged in. If that is the case, you will need to get your computer repaired. It should be covered under your 1yr warranty or apple care if you have it.

If you have a friend with a Macbook and adapter, I would maybe try swapping adapters for a day and see if the problem persists with that adapter. If so, it is your computer that needs fixing for sure because the green light on the adapter will, at all times, be lit either be green or amber unless unplugged (or the above is happening).

It is definitely a hardware issue thought, the light should not go off.

01-11-2009, 08:21 AM

Thanks so much for the input, i really hope its not the system and its just the power adapter.

Ive notice when if its not charging and i wiggle the adapter plug it turns on. I have a feeling it's the plug. (i hope its that)

I'll stop by the Apple store this week.

01-11-2009, 04:15 PM

I also notice that the light on the plug wouldnt be on but it would still he charging.

Can i use a regular macbook power adapter on my MBP? I can use my friends macbook adapter and see how his works on mine.

01-11-2009, 05:31 PM

I had similar problem with my Macbook power adapter.

Had to wiggle the magnet many times just to get the light to turn on and to charge the notebook. Later realised there was kink in the cable just before the magnet connector.

01-11-2009, 06:14 PM

Originally Posted by waz

I had similar problem with my Macbook power adapter.

Had to wiggle the magnet many times just to get the light to turn on and to charge the notebook. Later realised there was kink in the cable just before the magnet connector.

Funny you say that. I also had a kink in mine.



I stopped by the local BestBuy to try my MBP on there 5w Magsafe Power adapter for there display. Sure enough theres worked like a charm. So i spend $85.00 to buy a new one. And its working like a charm.

I might stop by the Apple store this week and see if they will exchange my damage one for a new one (free), and if they do i'll take back the one i just got to bestbuy. What do you think?


On an other note i really want a 24" iMac

01-11-2009, 06:20 PM

If you could get a free replacement, why not.

My Macbook was bought overseas and has been with me for more than 2 years. The kink cable was my second power adapter. I could try to change it but can't be bother by the hassle. (Me in Oz).

So my third Magsafe adapter is not an Apple original. One of those that look like one you can get from eBay. It works fine in the last few months.

Me also want that big 24" iMac. But wife will "kill" me if I can't justify it. Now already got more computers in my home than the number of people. Argh

01-27-2010, 11:03 AM

I've had my MBP just short of 13 months, and barely used....same symptoms as OP and all when plugged in. I thought it could be the power cord too. I finally got it to charge by wiggling the cord. Unplugged the power cord and let it run on battery....the battery time/percentage indicator is fluctuating all over the place. It starts off saying 3:33 then pops up to 5:12 back to 2:43 etc. This can't be a power cord issue. I tried the SMC solution..that helped with the issue of my keyboard not lighting up but the charging is behaving the same way. If this is the circuit board I am not impressed since I am just days past my 1 yr warranty. Could it be an input/output issue? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.