Repairing a Macbook Pro Charger

This Instructable is about repairing the older macbook pro charger cable at the plug end that connects to the laptop. Unfortunately I don't have any photos but hopefully the video is clear enough to follow!

Tools:

pliers

small flathead screwdriver or pocket knife

soldering iron

solder

something to hold the PCB while you solder

wire cutters

Before staring anything make sure your charger is unplugged from the wall

Probably one of the hardest parts to this fix is prying the magnet off of the plug. As you can see in the video I was having quite a bit of trouble getting it off. Its hard to get a good grip on it with the pliers and there isn't much to hold on to. A good tip is to put some tape over the teeth of the pliers to stop it from damaging the plug. I still made a few scratches but if you're careful enough I'm sure you can do it without scratching

Using a small flat head screwdriver or a pocketknife (knife is probably better), carefully pry out the tiny PCB and pull it out of the casing to expose the solder joints.

Take note of which wire was soldered to which side before removing them. Use the soldering iron on the solder joints to remove the broken wires from the PCB. Its handy to have some sort of clamp of clip you can use to hold the PCB while you solder it to stop it from moving around. Then clean up the cable: cut the cord; strip back the shielding to expose more wire; twist the ground wire together. Once the wires are cleaned up, solder them back onto the PCB. Its a good idea to use some small heat shrink to stop any shorting as the wires are very close together. Make sure you solder them back on to the same side. You can use heat shrink or electrical tape over the joints to prevent any shorting with the metal casing. But don't use too much because it will be hard to get it back into the casing as it is quite a tight fit.

Carefully feed the cord back out of the plug and slowly fit the PCB back in the casing. Be careful not to bend the wires too much as it might break off at the solder joints. Once it is back in place put the magnet back making sure all the pins go through the holes in the middle and use the pliers to squeeze it back into the casing. If all goes well your cable should be good to go again!

Hope the video and steps were easy to follow. Unfortunately I forgot to press record when I was taking out the PCB from the casing but it is pretty straight forward.

Thanks!