Weird USB problems on vintage Macbook
Good morning everyone!
I have recently (in the last decade) developed this hobby (or obsession) of restoring "vintage" Apple computers to at least get them functional... for no other reason than for my own enjoyment. However, I recently got my hands on a 12" Retina Macbook )Early 2015) and I may actually make this my daily carry! It's apparently the lightest Macbook EVER and I really love the portability of it. I only need a machine for very light browsing or word processing while on the go, so it's actually a perfect choice. I have several modern Macs and an iPad, but I dunno, there's something about this machine that I like.
About the computer: it seems like it's working... But, I am struggling to get the USB to function properly. To sum it up, it will charge the laptop, very very slowly (usually at 4 Watts, but sometimes higher, it's kind of random). It also only likes the cable put in one way or the other, which shouldn't be a thing since it's USB-C. Also, it won't recognize any device plugged in (USB flash drive, etc.). I guess my question is, could it be the USB port itself or the logic board? Is there anything that I could do to eliminate one or the other? I just don't want to go through the trouble of finding a buying a logic board, when all I needed was a USB port assembly. Or maybe a better option would be to find ANOTHER dead machine for parts.
Side note: It appears as though the battery is good! It's actually says "normal", and upon further diagnostics, the battery IS at 80% capacity, which is okay by me. However, no matter what I do, I cannot get it to charge "fast". The charging rate appears to be limited to either 3 Watts or 8 Watts, but it's kind of random. If I let it charge overnight, it will charge the laptop to 100%, which is great! So yeah, I think I have eliminated the battery as the culprit. I have also done all the fancy resets via various key combinations, I have reinstalled the OS, and even upgraded the OS to the latest officially supported release, Big Sur (which BTW, I will have to downgrade, because it drains the battery very very quickly).
Obviously, this is a just a fun little project I'm working on, and it's technically an obsolete machine, so I can understand if this is stupid. I appreciate any and all advice. Have a good day.
MacBook, macOS 11.7