For over a year I depended on EDF for electricity and while it often went out, I never had any problems with power surges until just recently when I attempted to boot up my MacBookAir and it attempted multiple times to turn on but never quite managed. I'd get little apple and even log on screen for p/w and then shut off. This is a Caribbean island with frequent power outages. And, since I was only there for 2 weeks and had never had trouble before it never occurred to me to bring along a surge protector.
The charging area looks almost as if there's brown around the pins, as if there was some kind of small combustion there. I wonder if cracking the case open, removing and reinstalling the battery would help? Or is it probably toast? I know this is probably like calling the mechanic and asking if your engine has melted -- hard to diagnose over the phone and all that, but has anyone any ideas about what I'm likely dealing with?