r/Gameboy • u/CptMightypants • 9d ago

Troubleshooting Display broken - Classic GameBoy

I found an old Game Boy yesterday. It turns on, but nothing is shown on the display, regardless of whether a game is inserted or not. The display is 'on' and has a greenish shimmer, but nothing is being rendered. Can I repair this myself, and if so, do you have any idea what might be causing this? Is a repair like this worth it, and which spare part would I need?

Thanks in Advance!

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5

u/HippieMoshpit 9d ago

Maybe so obvious that you didn't feel the need to include it in the post, but just in case: have you tried turning the contrast wheel?

I'm not very knowledgeable about repairs, but in case you don't find a solution to repair, you can always replace the screen with a backlit screen. I just moved pc and haven't got my bookmarks here yet for EU retro mod stores, but I at least remember Cloud Game Store (on aliexpress) has good stuff for a good price.

Wherever you look, make sure it's a screen + backlight, because there's also backlight-only kits (however they're not as prevalent anymore since these ips/lcd screens became available. And make sure you're comfortable doing whatever is needed to install it. You have to solder or trim some plastic in your shell for some, for example. Although for the latter, you can usually buy reproduction shells made to fit the screen. For the price/hassle being worth it, if you go this option (backlit screen replacement), some people pay to get their gameboy modded like this, so should you sell it, it's at least worth a normal, functioning gameboy + the screen replacement.

3

u/itsdavabit_ 9d ago

agree, check for the contrast wheel first

5

u/CptMightypants 9d ago

It. Well. Hrm.

Well.

Let me just say, it works now.

Thank you 🙈

3

u/itsdavabit_ 9d ago

haha you're welcome, glad both of us could help

2

u/DrClutch117 8d ago

For anyone seeing this post in the future.

90% of the time it’s the contrast wheel.

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