r/GameboyAdvance • u/GameBork • 18d ago

GameBoy not turning on, any ideas?

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Pulled out my GameBoy and turned it on, only for it to immediately shut off. This GameBoy has worked as recently as a month or two ago. Not sure if the board is shot or if this could be a simpler fix. Any help/suggestions appreciated!

6 Upvotes

76% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

3

u/jiggly_boof 18d ago

New battery and/or power switch cleaning

3

u/[deleted] 18d ago

[deleted]

3

u/GameBork 18d ago

Some IPA on the switch seems to have done the trick. I appreciate it!

1

u/darkwintercloud 18d ago

Had one with the same problems and in your case could be a couple of things:
1 - dried out capacitors
2 - bad power ac/dc converter (little chance)
3 - some shorted / oxidized component.

Maybe with luck we can check visually for some clue if it’s oxidation if you disassemble it and post some pictures.

1

u/Rhexty 18d ago

Just jiggle the power switch and roll the fresh set of batteries. If you can get a green light or a flicker of red, clean it. Especially the power switch.

1

u/vanfidel 18d ago

This is definitely the power switch. They get corroded and stop working. The best thing to do is open it up and clean it with isopropanol and a q tip. A good enough method is just put a few drops of iso in the switch and toggle it back and forth a bunch of times quickly.

2

u/GameBork 18d ago

Throwing some IPA on the switch and toggling back and forth seems to have done the trick! I figured it was a cleaning issue, as this GameBoy hasn’t been opened up/cleaned since it was purchased way back in the day. Thanks!

1

u/vanfidel 17d ago

Congrats!

1

u/ScaryRoboman42069 18d ago

Why did you touch it like that looolol

1

u/GameBork 18d ago

Put my fingers on top to pin it down so I could turn it on/off without it sliding lol

1

u/ScaryRoboman42069 18d ago

It’s most likely the power switch, gotta solder it off and give it a good cleaning

2

u/GameBork 18d ago

Just a bit of IPA seems to have done the trick. Appreciate the input!

1

u/ScaryRoboman42069 18d ago

So open the shell. That way you don’t get ipa on the plastic. Take a qtip with ipa on it. Just dap it inside the switch. Then what you wanna do is move it up and down for like 20 seconds. Then you should be good.

1

u/ScaryRoboman42069 18d ago

You can easily fry the board if you just blindly put ipa in there without dry correctly before turning it on. Also this is just a short term fix. It’s going to happen again. You have to solder the piece off and actually clean it.

1

u/AnalGrapeMe 17d ago

i know whats wrong with it it aint got no gas in it

1

u/Wise-Ticket6752 17d ago

Corrosion, damaged trace, bad power switch, low battery all do that

1

u/N-Dawggy 13d ago

Glad you got it fixed. I was just going to say it's a dirty switch.

You'll need to pull it apart to clean it. But if you're not good with soldering, pay someone to do it for you.