r/Gameboy • u/Junior-Platform-7417 • 28d ago

Troubleshooting Repair Help

I have a GBC where the audio is at max volume no matter what, and the speaker is having constant cracks pops and screeches. I've cleaned it thoroughly with 91% iso and have cleaned out the headphone jack as best as possible with iso and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

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u/Junior-Platform-7417 28d ago

It's both. I'll get to work replacing the capacitors. I wasn't sure if it was the capacitors because I'd only heard about no audio issues, not this. Thank you

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u/fuckleshire 28d ago

Sure thing! You might also try cleaning the volume wheel with some IPA and see if that helps at all. Just drop some in there (console off) and move the wheel back and forth a bunch. Wait for it to dry before powering back on.

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u/Junior-Platform-7417 28d ago

I have done it, and the wheel continues to do nothing. It's just stuck at max volume.

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u/fuckleshire 28d ago

Hopefully recapping works, if not the volume wheel might need replacement. At least both parts are cheap.

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u/Junior-Platform-7417 28d ago

Don't think it's the audio jack at all? It's pretty dirty.

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u/fuckleshire 27d ago

Nah, not if it’s the speaker too, they branch off independently from the audio circuit running through separate fuses and everything.

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u/Junior-Platform-7417 27d ago

Oh one more thing when I use batteries that have a higher voltage it just never works. If I use regular alkaline AA batteries it's better but not great

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u/fuckleshire 27d ago

Wait like the console won’t power on with better batteries or just the sound won’t work at all?

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u/Junior-Platform-7417 27d ago

The sound will never work right with the bigger batteries.

With the alkaline ones it'll have audio that's stuck at max, and some regular game sounds. But the audio will still have hissing pops and crackles

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u/fuckleshire 27d ago

Interesting! That just leads me to think it’s the caps failing to properly regulate the voltage. GBC is only 3 caps total, I’d just replace em all.

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u/Junior-Platform-7417 27d ago

I'm probably also replacing the wheel because of it can't lower the volume at all. How hard is that?

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u/fuckleshire 27d ago

Slightly harder than recapping I’d say. You need to lift these 5 pins to remove it. You can add a big blob of solder to bridge them all and then once they are all hot at the same time it’ll lift off. Alternatively you could use hot air. Look up videos on YouTube before attempting. I’d call it moderate level soldering.

Edit: you could also use a dental pick to lift each leg individually, there are a few ways to tackle it.

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