Laptop Power Problems?

I am using an ADVENT ROMA 1000 laptop. Recently, I began experiencing problems with the Charger, believing that the wire had become faulty as I had to play about with the positions of the wire for it to charge. Then I noticed that the Battery light was not permanantly on and instead just blinked on/off. Then, things got even worse as the laptop began having problems, cutting out on 30% battery (before it can even bring up Low battery warning messages) and not actually being able to run without the charger. I can run the laptop without the battery plugged in if the charger wire is wiggled into the right place. It is as if the laptop isn't reading the battery properly. The laptop charges but at a much slower rate. I might be experiencing two different problems at once, but I can't understand why it is just cutting out before the battery is even dead. Does anybody have any tips or advice for me to try, or any ideas what the problem could be? A replacement laptop is not an option at the moment so please do not advise warranty etc.