Why won't my iphone 3gs charge even though it is plugged in?

Hi guys, so I've had my 3gs for nearly 2 years. A couple of weeks ago I noticed that charging it wasn't going easy. When my iphone shuts down from no battery life and I plug it in to charge, it charges enough to turn itself back on, but when it eventually turns back on it won't charge anymore? Even though it is still plugged in and switched on by the plug. So I have to take out the USB, turn off the switch to the plug, turn the switch back on, plug the USB back in and it charges again.
BUT, recently not even that does it. I've tried different plug sockets, i've rebooted it. I've tried leaving the USB cable in and just turning on and off the plug switch.
So at the moment it's just going through a circle of running out of battery, charging and turning itself back on, having 4% battery and dying again and repeating.
So I googled my problem and didn't really find a solution. I mean the plug and USB cable are fine. Clearly it charges fine because it charges enough to turn itself back on when it's shut down.
I found out that when the iphone is plugged in but turned off it still charges so I tried this when it started itself up again, and it charges!!
But why won't it charge when the phone is on and plugged in??

Hi waplington123,
If your iPhone will not start up unless connected to power, you may want to troubleshoot using the steps in this article -
iPhone: Hardware troubleshooting
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2802
Specifically -
Will not turn on, will not turn on unless connected to power, or unexpected power off
Verify that the Sleep/Wake button functions. If it does not function, inspect it for signs of damage. If the button is damaged or is not functioning when pressed, seek service.
Check if a Liquid Contact Indicator (LCI) is activated or there are signs of corrosion. Learn about LCIs and corrosion.
Connect the iPhone to the iPhone's USB power adapter and let it charge for at least ten minutes.
After at least 30 minutes, if:
The home screen appears: The iPhone should be working. Update to the latest version of iOS if necessary. Continue charging it until it is completely charged and you see this battery icon in the upper-right corner of the screen . Then unplug the phone from power. If it immediately turns off, seek service.
The low-battery image appears, even after the phone has charged for at least 20 minutes: See "iPhone displays the low-battery image and is unresponsive" symptom in this article.
Something other than the Home screen or Low Battery image appears, continue with this article for further troubleshooting steps.
If the iPhone did not turn on, reset it while connected to the iPhone USB power adapter.
If the display turns on, go to step 4.
If the display remains black, go to next step.
Connect the iPhone to a computer and open iTunes. If iTunes recognizes the iPhone and indicates that it is in recovery mode, attempt to restore the iPhone. If the iPhone doesn't appear in iTunes or if you have difficulties in restoring the iPhone, see this article for further assistance.
If restoring the iPhone resolved the issue, go to step 4. If restoring the iPhone did not solve the issue, seek service.
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Brett L

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