How to repair a frayed Apple AC Adapter Wire

Written By: Ryan Mostofi

Comments: 14

How to repair a frayed Apple AC Adapter Wire

Difficulty

Easy

Steps

Time Required

1 - 10 minutes

Introduction

Over time, the wire coating of an Apple MagSafe Power Adapter may deteriorate leaving the wires exposed and possibly subject to electrical shorts. By covering the exposed wires with heat shrink you can protect the power adapter and yourself while continuing to use it to charge your computer.

Tools

Parts

Step 1

Locate the damaged or exposed area on the adaptor wire.
Move the cable organizer clip away from the damaged or exposed area.

Step 2

Measure the approximate length of heat shrink needed to throughly cover all nearby damage with a single piece of heat shrink.
The length of the heat shrink should be longer than the actual length of the damaged or exposed wire.
Use 3/8"(10mm) diameter heat shrink. This size diameter is large enough to slide over the charging interface and small enough to secure itself on the wire when heated.
Cut the heat shrink to the appropriate length using scissors.

You may want to note that the heat shrink should be big enough to slide over the end of the charger. This might be harder with the newer Mac chargers, cause the adapter is bigger.

Jacob Reiter - 17/04/15

This would have been a far easier repair perhaps IF Apple would have made a cable we could unplug from the box at the other end so we could use a smaller heat shrink tubing. But then they would have to sell replacement cables for quite a bit less than their $80 box. Planned obsolescence?

darrellpayne - 06/02/20

Step 3

Slide the heat shrink over the wire until it covers all of the damaged or exposed area.

Step 4

Use a heat gun or a lighter to apply heat to the heat shrink.
Continue until the heat shrink has shrunk and is tightly attached to the wire.
When heating, always keep the heat gun moving around the heat shrink. Do not apply heat to one location for too long. Overheating the heat shrink may cause further damage to the wire or wire coating underneath and may melt the heat shrink itself.
Optional: Apply multiple layers of heat shrink if you think the wire will be used in more demanding situations and want to ensure its protection and longevity.

If they used this on a newer charger, the heat shrink might not shrink all the way, because it will have to be too big to fit over. You may want to create a note or warning at the beginning that for cables with larger adapters, like USB, the old ipod 30-pin connector, or the new magsafe mac chargers.

Jacob Reiter - 17/04/15

Step 5

The 3/8"(10mm) Heat Shrink Tube has a minimum diameter after shrinking (0.19"/5mm) that is larger than the Mac Charger Wire's Diameter. So, to create a proper hold, we need to increase its diameter. Wrap it in an electric tape or something like the red wire covering shown in the picture, to increase its diameter before shrinking it.
There is also 4:1 Shrink Ratio Tubing where you might not need to do this, but 2:1 Shrink Ratio Tubing is typically easier to get if you don’t want to order online.

Step 6

Once the heat shrink has shrunk and cooled down, flex the wire in different directions to ensure the heat shrink is properly attached to the wire.

Conclusion

Apple MagSafe Power Adapters typically range from $20-$79. By following this simple repair you can save money and continue using your power adaptor. People with similar wire coating issues and different power adaptors can hopefully find this repair guide helpful since the repair process is nearly identical.

Author

Ryan Mostofi

Member since: 09/04/15

1043 Reputation

11 comments

Thanks! Wish I had seen this repair technique a long time ago... would have saved a lot of money on buying new power supplies and an expensive laptop repair when a cracked cable shorted out. Much appreciated!

Catherine Todd - 19/11/16

This method fried my cable and it stopped working… Do not recommend anyone to try it. Now I have to buy a new one…

John Myr - 27/09/17

Minimum sensitivity required. I think you missed the part where it reads…

“When heating, always keep the heat gun moving around the heat shrink. Do not apply heat to one location for too long. Overheating the heat shrink may cause further damage to the wire or wire coating underneath, and may melt the heat shrink itself.”

Albert Einstein - 11/10/17

I know this is from 2017, but I had a big laugh when I read John Myr’s post. Who in their right mind would even attempt to make a repair if you don’t know how to use a heat gun or even a cig lighter? Further don’t try a repair if you don’t understand how to shrink shrink tube! LOL LOL I would have paid money to see this guy burn through his cord! OMG, thanks for the big laugh!

Maxwell Smart - 23/08/18

where do i get the red stuff??

Sammy Danger - 11/11/17

Search “spiral cord protector” on amazon or aliexpress :)

Jonathan Parsons - 07/12/17

I’m confused about step 5. Am I supposed to complete one layer of heat shrink, put the red stuff on top of the completed 1st layer, and then add a second layer of heat shrink on top of that? Or, should step 5 actually be step 3?

Connor Capetillo - 14/03/18

Probably 5 should be 3. Some shrink tubing is small enough to grip the cord well but won’t slide over the mag end easily if at all. That’s the tradeoff making you fatten the cord up a bit.

kctipton - 04/12/19

Is there a recommended heat shrink tubing size that will get over a magsafe 2 connector (bigger than the in-line one shown in this article), but shrink small enough to be tight around the wire??

Collin Ong - 22/12/19

For any one doing this kind of repair, you should know there exist heat shrink tubing that have a 3:1 shrink ratio (it shrinks to 1/3 the original diameter), which is extremely helpful in this kind of situation. Normal heat shrink tubing has a 2:1 shrink ratio (it shrinks to 1/2 the diameter).

Matt C -

For those unsure about the use of a heat gun. Use a hair dryer. Might take a little longer, but less risk of damaging the cable. Also I recommend using dual layer adhesive shrink tubing. Less chance of it sliding up and down the cable afterwards (I mean it shouldn't if you do it right, but the adhesive gives you that little bit of extra guarantee.).

Duervo - 08/12/24