AC Adaptors Dropping Like flies

I recently had two AC Adaptors seemingly die within days of each other. They were plugged into two different jacks and two different 'books (a Lombard and a Pismo). The Lombard's battery was not charging, so I tried swapping AC Adaptors and batteries with the Pismo as a test and soon after neither batteries were charging and the 'books shut down. I bought a new adaptor and the machines booted and the batteries charged. I am taking them back to work on Monday where they were originally plugged in when this all started.
My question is, what causes an adaptor to fail?
I just spent $70 on a new one and I don't want to short it out (if that's what happened... i.e. power surge, etc.)
Thoughts?

There are a few things possibly happening. Faulty power at the mains [even though you tried 2 sockets] is one possibility. An electrician or someone with a voltage multi-meter could check to see if the outlets have faults. The design of the power bricks in general allows for some variance in the voltage from the mains, but large sags and spikes are not acceptable. A quality UPS with line conditioning can also cure power related issues.
Another common problem with laptop batteries not charging while AC power is connected is a broken power jack. The physical solder joint that connects the AC adapter cord to the laptop is vulnerable to breaking due to flexing and other stress. You can test the integrity of this connection by gently wiggling the AC cable where it attaches to the laptop. If there is excessive play, the actual receptacle may have detached from the logic board. Sometimes this problem is intermittent due to partial contact at certain angles of plug insertion. Unless you have soldering skills on small IC boards this usually dictates a logicboard replacement, unless the PMU is socked and detachable [not the case for your Powerbooks]. =[
Instead of buying the Apple AC adapters, you can find alternatives for about half the price from Macally and others. I have used the Macally unit with great success.

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