Won't charge unless macbook is off

My 4 day old macbook won't charge its battery while it's open and turned on. When I plug in the adapter the light will do its usual (green for a few seconds and then turn amber) and the icon on my desktop will indicate the battery is charging- but this only lasts about 2 minutes before the light turns off and my desktop icon goes back to showing how long until my battery runs out (and it does run out, so I know its not just a problem with the adapter's light.) The battery charges just fine when the computer is off or asleep.
I'm new to Macs and this is my first laptop of any kind so my question is: am I just making a mistake or is there a problem with the hardware that I should have checked out? Thanks in advance for any help!
Message was edited by: krrristyn

That was the first problem I had with my Apple one year ago. It has only gotten worse! If I had known it was the beginning of a bigger problem which Apple refuses to admit to, would have returned it right then and there. I have had that problem fixed and am on my 4th going on my 5th battery and am constatntly sending it back to Apple -- After getting your situation fixed, my computer now runs hot, fan runs quickly and battery dies. It is a symptom of a bigger problem -- Unfortunately, Apple has not been able to fix it and I am truly disappointed in their attitude towards what seems to be a common problem which is known by many but not admitted by Apple.

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Won't charge unless macbook is off

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