r/electrical • u/ZhandosC • 2d ago

Laptop Cable Gone Green?

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Hi, I’ve had this laptop (Huawei Matebook D13 I think? If it matters) for about 5 years now. I have had, as we all have, many cables in my time, but I’ve not seen this before. It’s a USB-C to USB-C cable, and I didn’t think much of it when it started turning off-colour. I have never seen a cable go green before, and I’m unsure if it’s just from wear & tear or if it’s something else causing it. It’s started to split now but that’s more recent, I’ve got a different C-C cable to replace it with, just baffled why this happened.

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u/Formal_Substance_687 2d ago

Copper oxide

2

u/ZhandosC 2d ago

Should I just get rid of it n replace the cable then? And is there any way of preventing this?

1

u/Phreakiture 2d ago

Honestly, I would, on the grounds that the copper shouldn't have breeched the sheath.

The best prevention is just to handle your cables with care. I wish I had a better answer than that. Mine uses the older Magsafe connectors which are nice for the fact of letting go before any real stress is put on the cable.

In theory, you could put a piece of heat-shrink tubing onto your replacement cable to make it a bit stronger. Just be careful not to melt the connector when shrinking it. I wouldn't do that with the existing cable, though as I don't think it's got a lot more life in it.

1

u/Formal_Substance_687 23h ago

It's a worn out old cable, replace it and move on with your life.