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Repairing iBook Yo-Yo Adapter

Posted by: CC_333 on 2013-04-08 17:16:50 Hi, I have several of these, and one works, but has a bad cord and plug at the computer end. The other one has a good plug and cable, but it doesn't work. I was wondering if there's an easy way to open them up and swap the cables. Otherwise, I'll have to splice the plug onto the old cable, and I'd prefer not to do that if I can avoid it. Thanks, c

Posted by: wally on 2013-04-08 18:31:56 The one yoyo I have opened was not easy and somewhat risky to the clear plastic top. Controlled prying between the clear plastic top and the white plastic just below it is needed to break a solvent weld. Tool should be wide enough to spread the force somewhat. Some of the clear plastic may break off and remain welded to the white plastic. Do not pry between top and bottom clear parts, only between clear top and the top rim of the white plastic immediately below it.

Posted by: markyb86 on 2013-04-08 23:22:37 do you just solder on an RCA cable?

Posted by: CC_333 on 2013-04-09 01:00:38 do you just solder on an RCA cable? No, it is a special kind of plug; the power jack won't work with a normal RCA plug (I've tried). Anyway, I opened up the nonfunctional adapter and undid the cable. Next step is to try to open up the other adapter without damaging anything (since it was already dead, I wasn't as careful with the first one, so it is a little damaged). I will update this post when I finish the project. c

Posted by: Byrd on 2013-04-09 03:44:58 iBook yoyo adapters are one Apple part I consider hazardous, you can't trust them, they are deadly. I've had several over the years, without damage (eg. damaged connector) and nearly all have ended up arcing/blowing up/one nearly caught on fire. Don't bother pulling them apart, find a third-party replacement.

Posted by: markyb86 on 2013-04-09 08:52:08 Every time I plug mine in, it sparks :O

Posted by: CC_333 on 2013-04-09 10:25:27 Hi All, I did it! The clear plastic was damaged slightly, but I don't really care; it doesn't show much anyway. All that matters is that it works! I'm sorry to hear that these tend to be fire hazards, but in all the years I've been using them, they've never failed (except the one I just fixed, but that was my fault; I stepped on it and ripped the cable off the plug). Thank you for the suggestions! c * I probably would've figured it out myself eventually; it was surprisingly easy! ** Now I guess I could look around for broken ones and cobble some working ones together using this method.

Posted by: Schmoburger on 2013-07-08 11:48:12 Do these have a replacable fuse of some description in them? I have two yoyos, one well used one which I have had since about 2004 when i found out about the Lombard brick adapter recall (also apparantly a fire hazard) and had sent free by Apple, and one that I bought as a replacement for my spare adapter from my old 1400, which just inexplicably blew up one night. Anyway, the older one appears to get power still somehow as i can hear interference in the speakers of the Pismo when i wiggle it, and it sparks in the power point when I plug it in with the switch on, it used to drop in and out until one day it just woulkdnt charge so I'm gonna assume its stuffed... I'd expect it to be as it went everywhere i went for years. The other one however is stone dead, doesnt create any noise in the speakers, no sparking as the pins make contact in the wall socket, no heat, no nothing.... it's as if it has a completely open circuit , and it failed at a time when there was an issue with power surging and spiking at my work, which makes me think a spike simply blew a fusible link or something. It shouldnt be however, as its almost brand new and was rarely used and never moved around. it basically sat on my bedside table and got switched on to charge the Pismo at night sometimes... itd be lucky to have seen a years worth of sporadic use at a stretch, so it shouldnt burn out of its own accord. I swapped wall cords to rule out a broken wire and it made no difference. Ive got an aftermarket generic one coming so i can finally run my Pismo and Lombard again, but I like the yoyo and if its a simple fix, Id like to perform it... Any ideas?

Posted by: Schmoburger on 2013-07-11 08:49:54 Sooooo... I pulled apart one of the two yoyos the other night. Whilst there is no obvious damage at a cursory glance, this one had a somewhat noticably overheated/burned electrical aroma... similar to when one of my Pluses popped a couple of caps. I'm not going to explore it or try to repair it after seeing how they are put together tho. It's an absolute abortion of a design inside that nice looking case...

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