I have an early 2013 Macbook Pro Retina 15". It stopped charging right at the beginning pf stay at home stuff. For a few days it would charge intermittently, then quit entirely. I've tried using a different charging cable and ruled that out. Took it to Apple store. They said they couldn't get it to run a diagnostic, and could ship it off for $600 for a power issue repair. They said a battery replacement would have been $200, but couldn't ship it off for that wothout the diagnostic telling them to. I don't really want to spend $600 repairing a 7 year old laptop.

I bought a replacement battery online and got it swapped out today. It booted up and is showing 97% charge, but still won't charge. The lights don't come on at all on the MagSafe cable. I'm guessing it's some other hardware issue.

Thoughts?

Bought a new Magsafe port on New Egg for $16. Gonna give that a try. Then might try a new logic board if that doesn't do it.

It's had a good run, but time to move on. Why not invest in a new model rather than pour money into a 7 year old machine? Financing options from Apple, especially if you get the Apple Card, are great.

You can replace the battery yourself for about $90. Did it myself on my old MacBook Air to get a couple of extra years out of it. They even send you the tools and supplies you need to DIY.

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/NewerTech/BAP15MBR95WK/

https://everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook-air/macbook-air-faq/macbook-air-battery-replacement-instructions.html

Already replaced the battery. Didn't help.

Dumb question, but to clarify, have you tried another charging cable AFTER you replaced the battery? I had this exact same issue on the exact same model, and the $90 DIY battery repair still didn't fix it (couldn't get a green or orange light to come on when I plugged it in). I ordered a new power cord off amazon and now it's working perfectly again. I had no idea that chargers can wear out too, but the good news is there are a ton of knockoff brands that work just as good for less than half of what Apple charges.

I have not tried a new charger with the new battery

I think I've heard of that before. The problem wasn't with the battery or the power cord; the problem was the little circuit board that is behind the connector where the power cord connects.

Ogre09 said:

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Already replaced the battery. Didn't help.

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Sorry! I obviously stopped reading halfway through the 1st paragraph.

Did you try the SMC reset?

https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/if-your-battery-wont-charge-mh29198/10.15/mac/10.15

Here's the instructions about replacing the power port. I *think* we had one that needed it and I decided that I didn't want to mess with it, too many steps with too many small pieces. I'm not sure if this would solve your problem, too.

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+15-Inch+Retina+Display+Early+2013+MagSafe+DC-In+Board+Replacement/17055

Caesar4 said:

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Did you try the SMC reset?

https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/if-your-battery-wont-charge-mh29198/10.15/mac/10.15

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Yes

lunchbox said:

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Ogre09 said:

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Already replaced the battery. Didn't help.

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Sorry! I obviously stopped reading halfway through the 1st paragraph.

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It was lots of words...

Caesar4 said:

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Here's the instructions about replacing the power port. I *think* we had one that needed it and I decided that I didn't want to mess with it, too many steps with too many small pieces. I'm not sure if this would solve your problem, too.

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+15-Inch+Retina+Display+Early+2013+MagSafe+DC-In+Board+Replacement/17055

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Thanks! I used their guide for replacing the battery too. The DC port does seem tedious also, but a little easier than the battery. The worst thing was reinstalling the logic board. I had to start over twice because I accidentally left ribbon cables tucked underneath the board. The directions said to make sure none were trapped, but there a bunch of those little boogers and it was easy to miss one.

Sine poena nulla lex.

Replaced the DC in magsafe port, still not charging, no light on the charger cable. Trying to decide whether to try a new charger cable or just call it quits.

Look up Louis Rossman on YouTube. He has several videos where he diagnoses this issue. Could be a burned fuse. If you don't feel like fixing it yourself you can send to his shop and he will fix it for a fraction of what Apple charges.