MacBook A1278 (late 2008) MagSafe plugged in no power - help!

Hello all,

I have a MacBook late 2008 and it does not charge nor run off the MagSafe Power Adapter.

This appended the other day when I got the low battery warning on my MacBook. I unplugged and re-plugged the MagSafe power supply with no success.

The MagSafe light is very dim green when plugged (more visible in the dark). I shut down the computer as I had only 17% left on the battery. I left the MacBook plugged in a different outlet for the night. The morning after, it was still the same, not charging...

Then, I took an appointment at the MacBook Store and brought the MacBook to the store.

The employee at the Genius Bar was very helpful and here is what he said:

- The MagSafe charger adapter did charge another MacBook when plugged in.

- The possible culprit was the MagSafe board (dc-in board) and it would be somewhere around $60 to change.

So, I left the MacBook at the store to have the MagSafe board replace. He told me it would be done in three days.

Three days later, I got a call from an Apple Tech guy who told me I had to change the Logic Board, that the MagSafe board and the battery were ok. I asked him if his work guaranteed and he said no! Then he told me the cost to change the board would be 550$ Canadian dollars 😢. I was holding to this MacBook as is and was planning to change it for a new one in maybe a year... I asked if he had some kind of trade-in program for my old MacBook and he told me : "the only thing we have is a student discount price".

Looking for an alternative, I found the iFixit website and videos but they sell the Logic Board for 700$ US! 😟

I am very handy and willing to do some tests with the board (I have built almost all of my PCs 😉). I have looked at the tear down video and I am convinced I could achieve such a challenge... Is there any way to test the components on the Main Logic Board? Where and what should I look?

Here are the symptoms:

+ When plugged, the laptop does not charge, does not run on external power and nothing indicates that it is plugged (no charging meter icon).

+ The Power Adapter, MagSafe Board and the battery are known to be good.

+ The MagSafe Power Adapter has a very dim light green when plugged.

+ On the battery the MacBook works just fine (so, it is not related to the graphic card, CPU, memory, ...).

To me it looks like the power from the MagSafe board does not get into the Logic Board or is been short-circuited somewhere.

Here is a more complete description of the laptop:

Identifiers: Late 2008 Aluminum - MB467LL/A - MacBook5,1 - A1278 - 2254

"Unibody" MacBook "Core 2 Duo" (Late 2008/Aluminum)

os x mountain lion 10.8.2

CPU 2.4ghz

Ram 4Gb

HDD 250

Any help would be greatly appreciated!