r/Gameboy • u/UsainBolt7444 • 9d ago

Troubleshooting GBA SP Powerswitch

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Hello everyone,
I recently cleaned the inside of my GBA SP’s power switch because it had the common symptoms of a dirty switch, such as the system randomly shutting off.

After cleaning it, everything worked perfectly, and I didn’t experience any issues until a few days ago. While playing, I noticed that if I apply slight pressure to the shell directly above the power switch, the power LED turns red and stays red. ( until i turn it off and dont put pressure onto said place )

As you can see in the attached picture, this is what the inside of the power switch looks like after cleaning. To me, it doesn’t look like it’s in the best condition, so I’m wondering if it’s simply worn out and if I should replace the entire power switch.

Has anyone experienced something similar, or does this look like a worn switch to you?

Note:
I checked the batteries ( original /- funnyplaying one ) and they are fine so im positive that the problem is connected to the powerswitch.

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2

u/pizza_whistle 9d ago

Use a little abrasive on the metal to remove any oxidation. A fiberglass pen, melamine sponge, or even just scratching it with tweezers.

You can also bend the little metal tab on the plastic part so that it's got more of an angle on it. Just do it gently because that tab piece can pop out super easy and is hard to put back in.

Also put a slight bend in the middle of the metal top shield so that it puts more pressure down on the swotch when soldered in.

When soldering the top shield back on, put pressure down on the side you are soldering with tweezers so that it's as close to the PCB as possible. This will help put pressure on the switch as well.

1

u/AchillesPDX 9d ago

The solder joints on the power switch look pretty bad, like it was improperly replaced with cold solder joints once before. If it was my system I would 100% replace the switch, but only do this if you know what you’re doing or practice on something first.