I'm definitely anal when it comes to coiling my cables. I take great pride in my wicked awesome technique as I carefully twist each coil over the other to make the most tidy, perfect bundle. Recently however, despite my best efforts in ninja coilery, my Apple 65W Powerbook Power Adapter bit the dust- a cable short in the pull relief, right where the cable exits the brick. Tragic!

With nothing to lose, I cracked, smashed and pried 'er open and managed to hack together a pretty decent repair job. A few hours and a few screwdriver-induced injuries later, she's uuuuh-gly but working again!

Here's how:

Apple designs their power adapters to be disposable. They're not only friction-sealed like their iPods, they're physically glued shut. If you want in, you're going to have to work for it! Get a flathead screwdriver, 2 old butter knives, a few band-aids and get cracking. It also helps to have a handy girlfriend who shares your passion for breaking things, but those can be notoriously hard to come by!

The culprit: a cable short in the pull relief.

The easiest place to start prying is near the physical power plug, opposite the 24v output cable; You should be able to see where the two halves meet. I'd also recommend leaving it unplugged for a few hours before you start sticking any conductive objects into an unknown power supply!

Now might also be a good time to say that I take NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER for screwdriver injuries or electrocution, nor any lost/damaged property arising from a poor repair job. This is only to be attempted if you KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING! ok? ...good.

Cathy Wang:. Mighty destroyer of Apple products.

Apple really crams a lot into these little power bricks. BE CAREFUL. If you're using a knife to wedge the two shells apart, watch that you don't damage any components- they're closer to the plastic shell than you'd expect! You might also want to amputate the cable before you begin, it'll make it easier to fumble with the brick. Update (06/12/08): After breaking open a second power adapter, I learned that a simple handsaw is MUCH faster and safer than a screwdriver... Skip the flat-head and grab a hacksaw!

Something else to note: Between the outer plastic and the goods inside is a very thin metal shell. When you start getting the thing to open up, make sure you don't pry off the metal shell. (see picture.)

The pull-relief. Slowly cut away the soft plastic to expose the knot inside. Be careful!

Getting it open is 70% of the work! Once she's cracked, the rest is easy!! Find the soft plastic pull-relief. It's the small blob that stops the cable from ripping out when you yank on your power cord. Buried inside you will find the cable is tied into a small knot. Get a pair of clippers and carefully start cutting off the soft plastic, making sure not to cut into the cable. CAREFULLY!!! Use small snips! It will take a few minutes, but once it's free, untie the knot and you'll find you have more than enough free cable to start stripping off insulation and finish the repair. Update (06/12/08): SLOWLY, dammit. If you aren't very careful, you WILL slice into the cable. I can't stress this enough...

The rest is straightforward. Strip off enough insulation to work with, and twist & solder the brick back onto it's amputated tail (no hard feelings, right?). Tape up the joint and make sure you have no shorts. Carefully inspect the adapter to make sure you didn't damage any components when you pried it open and you're done! Seal the two halves back together, get out the electrical tape and start taping!

Tada! Ugly, but functional. (Hey, just like me!)

You may also want to zap-strap a twist of cable around the body for extra pull-relief, just to make sure you don't have to do this all over again. It will shorten the adapter a bit, but it's worth it in the long run! It's also a good idea to give the thing a quick test before you tape it all up, but be careful, you've got household current buzzing around inside!

If you want to read a bit more about the procedure before attempting it (a wise choice, pancho), there are plenty of good articles out there to be found.

Good luck!

update: I may have a strange obsession with coiling cables, but this guy takes it a bit too far! Enjoy.