Irreproducible Error

[alicorn24]

My computer's power cord mysteriously stopped working yesterday.  Any outlet I tried it in, the little light wouldn't turn on and the computer wouldn't acknowledge that it was charging.  Took it to the Apple store, and there, it worked.  Took it home and it worked again.  Then that evening it failed again, so I shut it down and went to bed.  This

Comments

[_ogmios]

Either a loose/damaged/stressed connection/wire, or a cold solder join.

[alicorn24]

The power cord (and the computer) are brand new, and when I took it in, the guy at the Genius Bar looked at it and it looked okay to him. Or are those things that could be wrong with the apartment wiring? I don't know anything about the workings of electrical devices.

[_ogmios]

Generally, those are things wrong with the wiring. Your laptop chord should draw the exact same amount of power as the lamp, and then use the box part to modify the voltage to appropriate levels. Cold solder joins usually lead to intermittent things, where two of the parts inside were "glued" together incorrectly, leading to an intermittent level of connectivity.

[alicorn24]

So if this recurs, should I go back to the Apple store and ask them to replace the cord?

You have the Power

[anonymous]

The most common cause of this is an outlet which is connected to a wall switch. Often only one of the two receptacles is switched. This doesn't apply if the lamp was plugged into the *exact* same place (and the switch didn't get flipped).

Since this messed me up in a hotel room about an hour ago, it's fresh in my mind.
--Paternal Anonymity

Re: You have the Power

[alicorn24]

The outlet is switched, but it was on, and yes, the lamp worked in the exact same outlet without the switch being flipped.