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I got some sand in my MagSafe 2 port and as a result the pins got messed up - they look “burnt,” I guess because the electrical flow got messed up. As a result it is hard to get a proper connection, I have to jiggle it around a lot, and even when it does work it gets extremely hot now.

The burn is on both sides of the connection (the cable and the computer) so I can’t fix this by just getting a new cable.

I have tried cleaning it with 70% rubbing alcohol on Q-tips as I saw recommended on another site, but it didn’t do anything at all.

Can you recommend anything else I can try? I need this computer for work so I don’t want to send it to the repair depot to fix. Also I don’t want to do anything that would make it worse, especially since I’m still under warranty.

This is a mid-2015 MacBook Pro and MagSafe 2 port. Pics:

MagSafe2 Burn Marks on Adapter MagSafe2 Burn Marks on DC In Board

Allan
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Stephen
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1 Answers1

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Yes, those are definitely burnt and this is because the sand allowed a gap just large enough that the electrical current arced from the adapter to DC-In port.

You can't clean this with alcohol - that's actually the last step. What you need is something that's mildly abrasive. You may have more luck cleaning the MagSafe adapter because those are pins where as the DC-In board are four conductive "dimples" surrounded by the most fragile plastic you'll ever run across.

What you can try:

  • Solder Wick. Take a small piece and using a blunt tool (pen, pencil, etc.) and work it back and forth like a Brillo pad.
  • A very tiny piece of 800 grit sand paper (tiny enough to fit inside the DC-In port indentation) and work the same was as described with the solder wick.
  • Make a slightly moist paste of Bar Keepers Friend and water and "scrub" with a cotton swab (when I say slightly I mean just shy of being dry).

Once you've "scrubbed" the contacts, you can then use the alcohol to clean the contacts properly. Basically, it's like cleaning "burnt on" anything in the kitchen - you've got to scrub it off first, before you polish it. Until you get it clean, it's not going to make proper contact.

If all else fails, the DC-In board is actually very cheap and very easy to replace.

Allan
  • 101,432