I've Got No Power

My PB doesn't seem to be getting power from the AC adapter.
When plugged in, the light on the plug lights up orange, but there was a staticy buzzy sound from the computer when plugged in (the pitch of which would change as I moved the plug around in the port). The charge status in the menu bar would flip back and forth from "not charging" to "calculating." Eventually it went to sleep. My guess is that it was running off battery power until the battery finally died. I could get it to restart only after a PMU reset, but it, of course, just dies again, even though it's plugged in and orange plug light is lit.
So basically, my computer is useless at the moment. Do I have a bad port? How can I test this? Is it possible to replace myself? Other suggesetions?
Thanks!
James

Welcome to the Apple discussions.
There are 4 components to the charging circuit: Power adapter, DC-in card, battery, and logic board. Unfortunately there is no automated test of the charging circuit. Based on what you've described, it sounds like the DC-in card may be causing the issue. Before you replace it, I'd want to see if another power adapter gives you the same symptoms. If the DC-in socket is quite loose, that's likely the problem. You can see how to replace it at http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/PowerBook-G4-Aluminum-15-Inch-1-5-1-67-GHz-DC -Sound-Card/354/1#top (You didn't say which model PB 15", so those directions are for 1.5 to 1.67Ghz machines).

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