Adapter light GREEN but battery does not charge NEED HELP, PLEASE!

Question

My battery won't charge but the problem is a little different from others I have seen posted. The battery shows 3% charge but the adapter light is green. If the computer adapter is disconnected, the computer shuts down (as we would expect at 3% charge). I used another MacBook Pro cord to plug in and the same thing happens.
This is what the System Profiler shows:
System Power Settings:
AC Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 5
Automatic Restart On Power Loss: No
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Wake On LAN: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Battery Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 15
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 5
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Reduce Brightness: Yes
Battery Information:
Battery Installed: Yes
First low level warning: No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 2815
Remaining Capacity (mAh): 87
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 9921
Cycle Count: 62
AC Charger Information:
Connected: Yes
Charging: No
I purchased this 15" MacBook Pro (Oct 2006) from a reputable non Apple Apple dealer but f course this problem started a week or so after it was out of their resale warranty. There is nothing to say "check battery" just that it is not charging. It is a trek to ANY apple dealer or reseller and it is hard for me to get there easily so I was hoping someone might have an idea what is wrong and do what I can from home. Could it just be the battery? It seems more like a problem with the adapter connection. OCCASIONALLY, the light on the adapter will flicker on orange/red for a few seconds before going to green.
THANKS!

Answer 1

The only way to tell if you have a hardware problem is to trek on down to your local AS or AASP for them to run some diagnostic tests. If it turns out to be just the battery, you can purchase directly from them. I am assuming you do not have AppleCare....
Not sure if you can run the same tests at home. Hopefully, you have the right tools. Search through the following "do-it-yourself" sites:
iFixit
TakeItApart
Also do a YouTube search. Loads of Macbook Pro +"how to"+ videos.
Good luck!