MacBook Pro charging issues

[ChrisD.]

Not my 15" Retina thank god, but my old 13" that I gave to my girlfriend.

It started some months ago but it's been slowly getting worse. It basically only charges when it wants to. Sometimes it'll charge normally, then all of a sudden the light will go out on the magsafe and nothing.

Also when it's not plugged into charge, sometimes the screen brightness will go really dim and it can't be turned up (not seen this myself, she's just told me).

Are there known problems with charging and how much am I likely to have to pay to Apple for them to fix it? Warranty ran out in January.

 

[icedbullet]

Have you tried a different magsafe charger? It may just be the tip of the charger that is causing the issues (a replacement is around £80 if memory serves me correct). If you take it into apple I'm sure they will help you figure out the issue. If it is the port things may get a bit more expensive.

 

[ChrisD.]

I've tried an SMC reset after a quick google of the issue, though I am not sure if it's fixed it as it just refused to charge. Saying that, I have no idea if the SMC reset worked or not.

I have tried another charger, but I don't really have access to another to try, all my friends have Windows laptops and my 15" charger is a different shape.