The AC adapter on my Powerbook started shorting out last week but I could usually fiddle with it and get it to work. Yesterday, in the middle of such fiddling, there was a little spark and it started to burn through the casing (and my finger). Having nothing much to lose, and not wanting to shell out $80 for a new adapter, I cracked open the case, cut out the offending section of cable, and spliced it back together.
Everything worked out and now I have a fully functional power cord once again. The electrical tape give it a kind of evil chic look. If anyone else has a similar problem with their power adapter, or if they just want to see how I did it, I put together an instructable of the process.
