Troubleshooting

[scarlet aurora]

anything you drop in terms of alcohol or some sort of cleaner on it will only help temporarily

[dry wadi]

there is a video guide in #998610706133954830

[surreal aurora]

Soldering and desoldering is fine by me, I'll take a look at resources

Thanks, guys

[night compass]

This is from a DMG LCD.

I know what I must do to fix it, but what type of wire is normally used as jumper wires for something this small?

Just wondering

[night compass]

Never mind. I just realised how silly the question is.
Literally answered myself 😅

Just a search away

[nimble ibex]

Is there a company that sells remake shells of the Charizard and Venusaur GBA SP’s? I can’t find any on eBay. I’d like to get one of each, but not at $200 per shell. (Please ping for response)

[nimble ibex]

Are there any wii experts here? My wii powers on and accepts/ejects discs, but it does not have any A/V output at all. Unfortunately, I haven’t tested if it receives signal from a remote yet.

The A/V cord is new and has been tested. It’s hard to look at the pins for the A/V output because they are so long, but I cleaned what I could reach of them

[scarlet aurora]

I think people might help in #off-topic, but this channel here is for Gameboy related troubleshooting

[restive pasture]

Hey all, I've got this AGB I'm working on. At first it wouldn't turn on, and it turns out the switch just needed some cleaning. It boots and seems to run just fine. Visually there was only some minor corrosion in a couple places.

GBA games run fine, but this thing won't boot GB/GBC games. At first I thought it might be cart holder switch not engaging (and it still might be?) but I also noticed these oddities. I've never seen a bodge like this connecting CL1 to cart pin 31, and also R6 on the left is missing.

Any thoughts on what could be causing this to not boot in GB mode? Could anything going on in this image be an issue?

[spare apex]

That’s a factory fix. Check the cart switch and that it’s switching to 5V, that’s the most likely cause IMO

[restive pasture]

So just to be clear; I shouldn't worry about R6?

I've engaged the cart lever (switch?) manually while booting and still nothing. Any suggestions on how to test it if it's actually switching to 5v?

[dry wadi]

you cannot operate the switch while its on

there are schematics pinned in #troubleshooting-archived

regardless of motherboard version the circuit works the same. you can meter it out if its a bad switch

[restive pasture]

Okay thanks for the info! I found this image, and found normal continuity between the blue line, but nothing between the red line.

EDIT:

I seem to have fixed the issue and this gameboy is running GBA/GB games just fine now. It looks like the C2, S2, C1, and S1 had some corrosion on them, and wicking away the solder and re-soldering the joints seems to have done a good job of fixing the issue.

[naive ginkgo]

I made a thread, but was directed to post here. Long story short, I have a CGB-001 that has some REALLY stiff screws that won't budge. I have a small update from my thread. Two screws are now out. One came out easily, the second took some work. the rest will not budge at all. The screwdriver took my DMG-01 apart with ease, so I don't think it's my screwdriver, but I'm not an expert by any means, so I could be wrong. The gameboy color has some bad corrosion on the inside.

How can I get these stiff screws to turn?

[spark pivot]

More pressure and likely a better screw driver. How much can your screw driver wiggle around when inserted into the screw?

[naive ginkgo]

If I'm holding it firmly, the tip doesn't wiggle, but the handle does slightly. let me get some pictures uploaded of it.

I apologize for them being slightly blurry. I have some reeeaallly shaky hands

This is one of the screws I managed to get out

[scarlet aurora]

downwards pressure and turn it slowly, if your screwdriver is good it should come out, unless there's something else going on that's holding the screw in place

most of us recommend iFIxit Mako kits because they don't chip as easily, and after I bought it personally I found it much easier to remove these kinds of screws that are stuck or stripped

[naive ginkgo]

I might have to try that

[scarlet aurora]

using the right screwdriver size helps as well

too small or too big and you risk chipping the screws and making it harder for yourself

[naive ginkgo]

Good news: I got it open. Bad news: one of the inner screws is VERY HEAVILY corroded. How do I get this out?

[proven gate]

Lots of vinegar? Although it looks like you've already got some bubbling there. Do you have fine-tipped needlenose pliers?

[naive ginkgo]

I might. I'll see if I have any laying around. I'm working with a friend on it. He says it looks like someone's already tried doing work on it. It's got blue corrosion in the headphone port too.

[proven gate]

Gotta be able to get a bite on it. Maybe poke into the center and see if there's any/enough metal left, to put an oversized Phillips bit into it.

[neat linden]

If you fail to grip it

Grind the head off, remove the board, then use pliers on the remaining stem

[naive ginkgo]

Unfortunately, this one is a lost cause (at least to me). My friend is gonna trade me a working one to reshell. He does gameboy repair on streams, so he's gonna work on this.

The capacitor below that screw fell off. It had some corrosion around it too. I did manage to get the screw out by drilling into it until the head was gone.

There was also a bubble chipping off just next to the BT+ marking on the board, which had a motherlode of blue corrosion under it.

Thank you to all that offered your advice. 😄 I really appreciate it.

[idle oriole]

Is there any issue with putting some solder at the very top of a cartridge pin to bridge a busted connection? I'm assuming the cart reader does not need to make contact with the entire length of the pin

(I know it's tacky to take a phone picture of a screen but I only just got this microscope and I'm being lazy haha)

Was planning on removing a little bit of the above solder mask and tape all the copper around it to avoid getting solder anywhere else and just make a small connection but wanted to make sure that wasn't a bad idea

[neat linden]

You should be able to see the wear where the cart pins do touch

Mask off that area, maybe an extra 0.5mm or so

[idle oriole]

Thanks. Can't really see it on this cart but I grabbed a different cart and I can see the pattern if I catch the light just right

That should give me enough space to do it. Thanks!

[outer thistle]

I'm trying to find some rechargable AAA and AA 1.5v batteries but all I can seem to find online are bogus chinese brands that claim like 8000mAh from a AAA, any suggestions? I only need the batteries, not the chargers.

[spare apex]

Fujitsu and Eneloop (Panasonic) have 900-950mAH AAAs but you’re not going to get 1.5V

[outer thistle]

I was afraid of that since my GBP seems to only want to work off of 1.5v

[proven gate]

Try tenavolts. You will need to get at least the first set with the charger, but they advertise a constant 1.5V. Been using them for my gbp for several months now and they have done pretty well so far.

[pulsar glen]

My potentiometer feels tight and gritty like it needs a lubricant after cleaning with 99 ipa. The same thing happens with power switches, why does this happen?

Nobody ever talks about there being a lube in the switches and my ipa is fine

am I the only one to notice this?

[fathom heron]

for potentiometers I recommend buying some potentiometer cleaner. it's a spray that has IPA and some lubricant in it, sold specifically for potentiometers. Give it a small burst after cleaning it normally.

[proven gate]

Did you blow the potentiometer out with compressed air after you worked the deposits loose?

[pulsar glen]

Yes

[pulsar glen]

Okay thank you

[sharp lava]

This new gameboy sp I got gets stuck on the launch screen. It never fades to the game. Any idea if this is fixable?

[tropic obsidian]

Can you show us what the Nintendo logo under GAME BOY looks like on it?

[neat linden]

Can't help much without pictures

[sharp lava]

I’ll send some in a minute

[pulsar glen]

It’s been a minute lmao

But more than likely dirty cart pins or cart reader

[sharp lava]

Lmao, yeah my bad. Got busy with totk. It does one of these two and just stays there forever

[spare apex]

what brikc said, clean your cartridge pins

[sharp lava]

The game or the gba?

[tropic obsidian]

Yes.

It doesn’t make sense not to at least check both

But if the Nintendo logo is garbled like that, the SP isn’t reading the cart properly and it’s not going to boot to the game.

[sharp lava]

I’ve tried to different cartridges. Neither worked. I have another sp that they work on, so I mean… what would I have to do to clean the sp?

[neat linden]

Search "how to clean cart pins Gameboy" on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-gE7t9Mk3w

[sharp lava]

Sweet! Thank you! Looks simple enough

[neat linden]

This might have come off as snarky

But like, I mean it; most specific tasks can be really google-able

[sharp lava]

All good! I didn’t even think about google lol

[pulsar glen]

So what exactly is the gba cartridge?

I wasn’t able to find it scrolling up

Nvm

[naive ginkgo]

So, I decided to try to work on my GBC again (or at least look at it to see what's going on)

I was watching a video where the person took apart the power switch to clean out the corrosion. I noticed something because the plastic piece in mine fell out just before I watched the video.

Image 1 is what is shown in the video.
Image 2 is my plastic piece inside the power switch.

Could those missing connectors be why my gameboy color won't power on? Well, that and the corrosion

[dry wadi]

yes you need a new switch now

in my experience if the switch is in that condition, the rest of the board is not in good condition

[naive ginkgo]

do you think there's a chance I can get this to turn on again if I replace the power switch? I've cleaned out a decent bit of corrosion that was bubbling up under the board, but some is stuck just a smidge away from the trace by the BT+ marking

[dry wadi]

have you posted pics of your board anywhere

[naive ginkgo]

I think so. let me look

[dry wadi]

yes the corrosion is very bad on the few photos you posted

[naive ginkgo]

These were before I really got into cleaning the board

And this is one I just took

[dry wadi]

yes its very bad

hows the button side look

[naive ginkgo]

I should probably mention that C38 fell off while I was cleaning it the other day

[dry wadi]

this gonna give you audio problems

this gonna give you screen problems

this gonna give you power problems

[hot hatch]

I assume the answer is the IPS screen is bad, but anyone ever had a problem with a thin black horizontal line in motion like this? (Near the center slightly down…I realize it’s faint and I probably have OCD)

Might not show after discord compression.

[hot hatch]

Looks like it mostly only shows up on moving green backgrounds, so Pokémon intro is very noticeable and walking around the overworld (but hard to get a picture). But games with different pallets you will barely notice it.

[pulsar glen]

I can’t see it, I’m dumb though so

[fathom heron]

I can't see it either

[hot hatch]

Basically like a single line of the LCD is dead, but only on certain backgrounds.

[pulsar glen]

Contact who you ordered from

That should not happen

[dry wadi]

is it an ITA kit

[hot hatch]

IPS, the sellers technician though it could be too much OCA glue…said to try heating it with a hairdryer, but I would assume if it was caused by pressure it would always show.

They did give me a partial refund though, it’s pretty minor and I kinda didn’t notice it for months.

[fathom heron]

that line definitely isn't from too much OCA

there's nothing you can do unfortunately. just hope it doesn't get worse with time

[hot hatch]

Like a dead pixel line, but depends on the color which is weird.

Next time I’ll add more games to cycle through during a dry run.

[pulsar glen]

The pixels could be stuck as well. Also I bet you could still return it

That’s something that is really hard to see

you could make the argument you did test it but not with the games it shows

Or I guess worst case try and get a replacement laminated screen part from them because I don’t think they are sold anywhere

[hot hatch]

I think Makho mentions using a funnyplaying screen with the board, but I’ll have to go back through that video.

[wicked shale]

Sorry for this dumb question but is this correct for the GBPP with lipo battery

[dry wadi]

no

meter it out

also if thats afterdark its too thick for GBP shells. check your shell trim before you install

[lucid gull]

@boreal aspen here

You get VDD?

On pin 1

[boreal aspen]

I'm not in front of it right now, I gave up for the night to look at it with fresh eyes tomorrow

[lucid gull]

[boreal aspen]

Using Tetris to test, it initiates the 2 player game to the setup screen, but the other system doesn't go in. If instead, press start on the other system it would send the Poco to the 2 player setup but then it locked up

So I thought it was a SCK thing but it might be a logic level sync thing too

[lucid gull]

I usually test with Pokémon

[boreal aspen]

I could probably get pokemon on my ezflash I'd just need a save, Tetris was easier

[lucid gull]

It’s easy to find completed saves

[nimble ibex]

GBA that I just got plays sound, but it’s very quiet. I’ve followed what I’ve seen on the internet and replaced the speaker, tried to clean the volume wheel, added solder to the tabs, and bridged some of the pins. It is still quiet. Should I just replace the volume wheel then?

[dry wadi]

bridged what pins

can you please post photos

[nimble ibex]

3 & 2

[nimble ibex]

Will do after work

[dry wadi]

pin 3 and 2 of what

[nimble ibex]

The GBA sound wheel

[dry wadi]

as labeled on the board?

and added solder to what tabs

[nimble ibex]

As labeled on the board and added solder to each tab

[fathom heron]

which component though? we are definitely going to need pics

[nimble ibex]

Will send after work

Im pretty new to this, so when stuff looks jank AF, please go easy

[fathom heron]

that's fine - everyone starts somewhere with this stuff

[fierce gust]

my gameboy advance ags-001 is displaying red on the screen instead of other colors and I am concerned as to what may have caused it and how to fix it

perhaps a connection issue with the ribbon cable?

[dry wadi]

any other information you can provide

things youve done to it, troubleshooting steps youve done

[fierce gust]

i opened it up to tighten the screw on the hinge cover

and im currently reseating the ribbon cable

i think that was the issue seems to look fine w/o a game

[neat linden]

Pictures of the interior as well

[fierce gust]

I think ive got it! i figured i would ask before doing anything incase it was drastic but reseating the cable did the trick!

[nimble ibex]

Here’s the follow up picture to my problem. Please ping if you have an answer or request further inquiry. Also, please remember that I’m new to this and just trying stuff out on a “cheap” $30 motherboard.

[mossy mirage]

If that's an aftermarket wheel, you have things backwards. The leftmost pin should be separate, and the remaining pins bridged in pairs of two

[nimble ibex]

As far as I know it’s original. I just tried adding solder to the pins and bridging them to see if it would work. Reddit said pins 2 & 3, but I should’ve asked here first.

Sorry for ping

[mossy mirage]

If it's original, you don't need any bridges

[nimble ibex]

Well after all I did to it, the sound is still quiet. I was asking if I should replace the wheel or if the issue is likely somewhere else

[open glade]

If it's original, remove the solder bridges

The GBA indeed have a low volume on the speaker

What you can try is to replace the electrolytic capacitor in the sound circuito. When this cap goes bad, the sound on the speaker go lower

I don't remember which one is it for the GBA, but it's probably CP4, the one close to the volume wheel

[nimble ibex]

This one?

[lucid gull]

Have you tried froggo's suggestion of removing the bridge yet?

[sharp lava]

I watched a video on how to replace ds lite hinges, and it seemed pretty straightforward. Is there any tips that anyone with experience has for it? I’ve never really taken apart a ds lol

[dry wadi]

this is a game boy server, other consoles to #off-topic. the hinges are similar to SP try those videos

we have a sister DS discord in #998610706133954830

[nimble ibex]

It was quiet before the bridge

[dry wadi]

AGBs are quieter than CGBs if you are comparing

speakers require to be inside the shell to be at full volume

the bridges are not required if that is the original wheel

remove the bridges, check the volume with the speaker in the shell

CP4 can be changed but there are signs for bad caps in #common-issues

[nimble ibex]

Did that before I added the bridges. I can only hear it when it is right up to my ear

[nimble ibex]

I can just order new capacitors and a new sound wheel, test out those, and move from there.

[dry wadi]

there are no good aftermarket wheels. you can measure the range of the wheel. schematics are pinned in #troubleshooting-archived

[nimble ibex]

I think funnyplaying sells OEM wheels

[fathom heron]

from my experience I'm going to guess bad caps is the cause for this one

[nimble ibex]

Bad caps?

[fathom heron]

bad capacitors

these things

[nimble ibex]

Ah Yeah, cap=capacitor

They are cheap enough that I’ll just make the order from funny playing and try them out. I bought 2 broken GBAs for $40 and if this one works I’ll be happy with that. The other one I intend on removing the RAM and CPU for a motherboard swap. I got these to toy around with and learn from.

[stray folio]

Anyone know if the boxy pixel SP battery will charge through the original SP charger?

I'm having trouble charging with the usb-c board

Results seem to be similar

strange how it will power on and the charging light comes on but the battery doesn't charge regardless of the port I use

[remote bobcat]

Does the charging light stay on when the charging cable is plugged in? Post some pictures of the board/install

[stray folio]

The charging light does stay on

please forgive my shabby work

the headphone jack works perfectly

the full charge light stays on and the charging light flashes rhythmically on the usb-c board. the original SP charging light stays on.

aha so the same thing with the LEDs happens after desoldering the charging board

my connection looks solid on the charging board. are there other points on the gba motherboard I can solder to for testing?

still, strange that the SP charging light stays on 🤔

I'm starting to think its an issue with the battery

[remote bobcat]

The TP4056 is used as a pass through in the boxy pixel. How do you know the battery isn’t charging?

[stray folio]

I left it plugged in over night and the battery strength indicator showed that it was still in the red. It also powers down when I try to load a large rom with an ezflash omega. It will sit in the menu for as long as I've left it powered on tho.

also, the charging board indicates full charge whether or not its soldered to the motherboard

[fathom heron]

measure the voltage of the battery after charging it for 30 minutes and let us know what you see

[remote bobcat]

The TP4056 is a USB-C pass through for the Boxy Pixel kit. You aren’t using the charging circuit on it; you’re still using the charging circuitry on the SP.

Red battery indicator is most likely a dirty power switch. Did you open it and clean it?

[stray folio]

The battery indicator told me that it was full when I first assembled the kit. I've used it for several hours before getting to this point and the battery indicator changed according to how a battery normally operates. I doubt its the switch but I've not cleaned it and I'll give it a try.

[stray folio]

I don't have a multimeter but I've left it charging for several hours today to the same end.

[fathom heron]

you need a multimeter honestly

[stray folio]

you're tellin me

[fathom heron]

a cheap $10 one would be sufficient for the testing you would need to do for most mods

I recommend you grab one urgently then we can continue to help you

[stray folio]

I procured one with the utmost urgency and its reading 3.47 V right now. I'll report back in 30 minutes with the next reading

[stray folio]

the reading is still 3.47 v

[fathom heron]

OK from that we can confirm it isn't charging.

So even if your power switch does need a clean, that isn't the cause of your issue. I recommend making a thread so we can deep dive and figure this out

[stray folio]

Done
https://discord.com/channels/246604458744610816/1122324794185101413

[stray folio]

I fixed it by swapping the motherboard

kinda sorta fixed lol

[small yacht]

Hey team, I have a few GBC boards (13 to be exact 😂) and 12 of them have low, buzzing or high pitch sound when theyre turned on

Is there anything I can try before ordering (and waiting) for capacitors to arrive?

[trim jolt]

clean the power switch

or send them to me for disposal

[proper oak]

Found this broken fake Pokemon cartridge, missing battery, and it seems like someone has tried to repair it.

[trim jolt]

theres no battery because those carts dont need one

[proper oak]

I think that's where the battery was connected

[trim jolt]

https://giphy.com/gifs/W5YVAfSttCqre

[proper oak]

Isn't it? It looks perfect for a battery like this one

[trim jolt]

but... i just told you they dont need one

[proper oak]

Oh, I tried clean it and , seems it just couldn't be read

No logo or something and some pins looks like really damaged

[trim jolt]

The cart looks to be in quite bad shape all together.. Blob carts has a tendency to fail but afaik theres no way to fix whats under the blob

[proper oak]

I will try to reconnect those pins first

[lucid gull]

This looks like they mounted the chip on a THT board lol

[proper oak]

I think I should replace the volume wheel and cap, right?

This AGB can hardly read GB cartridges, but it reads GBA cartridges perfectly fine.

[proven gate]

I'd first thoroughly clean the power switch. Those are notoriously dirty in agb-001's and can cause other issues (including audio).

[proper oak]

I think someone have done it before

Well, I can give it a try

[proven gate]

Sounds like the switch in the cart socket is sticky, dirty, or faulty. With no cart in, does the small switch arm stay up, or down? Can you push it down manually, and power it on to see if the gb switches gamemodes?

[proper oak]

it does get into GB mode but can't read it

It looks ok I think?

[neat linden]

Not that switch

There's a tiny little switch in the cart reader itself

[proven gate]

The left contact is discolored, but compared to others it looks fairly clean.

I suggested he first clean/inspect power switch March

[proper oak]

So I think the volume issue comes from somewhere else

[proven gate]

May be worth reflowing volume wheel contacts.

How do the cpu pins look? Any signs on the mobo of previous work/repair?

[proper oak]

No changes

CPU pins looks pretty clean

The previous repairs seemed to only on the switch and battery contacts

back of the reader doesn't look quite right

I believe I saw some battery acid

Just cleaned it

Let's try read some gb cart

Well still getting that black bar

Is it time to order some volume wheels, right?

That's much more painful than can't read GB games

[remote bobcat]

#troubleshooting-archived message @proper oak

[proper oak]

What should I do?

[remote bobcat]

Do you have a multimeter?

[proper oak]

I do

[remote bobcat]

Check the voltage on C1/S1. Should be 3.3V

[proper oak]

I'm not familiar with multimeter, what should I do? Now it is set to 20V, black is on com, and red is on V Ω

Does the board need to be powered on?

I turned it on，c1 c2 is 3.1, and s1 s2 is 1.6

I just didn't see archived

sorry

After insert a gb cart c1 s1 give me 2 to 2.4

s2 c1 is 3.9

c2 s1 is 0

[remote bobcat]

Sounds like the cart switch is working. Have you tested other GBA games?

[proper oak]

All gba games work

GB games got a gameboy logo but nintendo logo is a black bar

sometimes it will be a broken nintendo logo

Sometimes it get into menu but game won't work(white screen or freeze) (uncommon)

[sharp lava]

If I’m cleaning a gba game’s board, is it safe to use isopropyl alcohol on all of it? Can I just use a toothbrush and (gently) go to town?

[dry wadi]

dip the toothbrush into the isopropyl, dont drown the board

[sharp lava]

Alrighty, will do

[delicate locust]

I think this is the best place for it, Ive already cleaned the pins and it still wont boot on my SP or my DS lite. is it a lost cause trying to fix this cartridge with my limited skills? Should I start looking for someone who can? (Pokemon Ruby)

[dry wadi]

there is pretty decent corrosion on the back side. if you are USA
https://discord.com/channels/246604458744610816/1067865163778248837

i know what the listing says, but the same member is very capable of board swaps.

[delicate locust]

Alright, thank you! Once I get paid I will definitely hit them up to see about a board swap

[delicate locust]

actually quick question would it be cheaper to buy a new game or swap the board, I bought this without playing so Im not worried about losing Pokemon I love. Ive been trying to find a board to use for the swap but havent been super lucky (No I wasnt planning on doing it myself, I just wanted a price estimate haha)

[boreal aspen]

swapping the board is almost definitely cheaper

pokemon games are expensive

[delicate locust]

Alright! Thanks so much!

[nimble ibex]

Apparently I burnt TP2 while trying to apply the IPS mod to it. Can I do anything about this?

[fathom heron]

if you look at the agb button nets in #troubleshooting-archived (pins) there is also a cpu pin you could solder to. however I'm not sure I'd advise soldering to the cpu if you managed to burn tp2

you can probably scratch away the soldermask to expose what is left of the trace and go for that

[nimble ibex]

I’ve scratched at it and think the majority trace was removed with some solder

[fathom heron]

does your select button still work?

[nimble ibex]

I’ll test it out real quick

[nimble ibex]

Yes

[fathom heron]

you got lucky

if im right, that teeny bit of metal on the right of tp2 is what's left of the trace, it runs down and completes the circuit to the select button

how hot is your iron?

[nimble ibex]

That’s probably the issue. It’s at 450 C

[fathom heron]

um definitely no way, that's ridiculously hot!

[nimble ibex]

It’s also a $20 iron

I appreciate the help, I’m still learning and trying to figure this all out.

[fathom heron]

that explains some of your issues. you need something with better temp control. if that cheap iron has temp control dial it down to 300C

[boreal aspen]

300-350 is all you need

[nimble ibex]

Done

[fathom heron]

my immediate advice is, stop and make a troubleshooting thread asking for help on fixing this. because you risk losing your select button if you mess with what's left of tp2

you could solder to the cpu (or expose trace near it) but I dont advise that unless you have more experience. someone may know where you can scratch soldermask to get a better place to solder to

dont scratch anything else around tp2

[nimble ibex]

It’s just the screen brightness, so I’m fine with shelving it for now

[fathom heron]

Alright

[nimble ibex]

Again, I appreciate the help. I’m new to this and I’m trying to learn.

[fathom heron]

that's fine. everyone makes a mistake learning and you did the right thing asking for help

[nimble ibex]

Is there a slight chance some kapton tape could work? At least until another option is offered

[fathom heron]

you mean to cover up the burnt area to protect it from damage?

[nimble ibex]

I mean to somehow connect the wire to the point

But that works too

[fathom heron]

no don't try to tape a wire there

[nimble ibex]

I’ll tape it to cover the damage though

[proper oak]

so I tried replaced them, now headphone jack working well but speaker still no sound

Is there a way to know if the dirty earphone jack is causing it

This 2 will be connect if Headphone isn't plug

I replaced the speaker and it's working but sound seems still quiet

[proven roost]

Can a solder iron heating a point fry/destroy other surrounding connections like diodes etc?

[proper oak]

Don't be too hot, and don't heating a point too long, you will be ok

[proven roost]

How hot should I run the iron? Mine defaults to 340 degrees I think.

[proper oak]

I am using a very cheap one, usually 250 degrees Celsius is enough

[proven roost]

I use a pinecil and if 250 is enough to solder I may have burnt something trying to mod my gba. If it is anywhere under though the leaded solder wont melt.

Fact the normal screen still runs fine, however, makes me think I did nothing wrong and one of the ribbon connector pins is bad. Is there any way to tell if a ribbon connector is bad or does that just mean the gba sp pcb is dead?

[proper oak]

I'm not very familiar with sp, are you trying to ips mod it?

[proven roost]

Unhinged mod including IPS which is soldering the ribbon then connecting it to brightness adjust (optional), soldering a headphone jack in, and soldering in usb-c charging.

If you wanna see the primary issue check the troubleshooting post I made. Trying to deduce slowly what is causing the ips to not work. More than willing to provide more extensive pics to help sus out the issue.

[sharp lava]

It never gave me the “won’t save” screen error, but it’s taking FOREVER to save. Is something still wrong?

Nvm, just took forever

[open glade]

Maybe a repro cartridge?

[fathom heron]

yeah this screen is weird. Throw pics of your cart in #1013203552866414692

[sharp lava]

I posted about it before. I’ve been trying to fix the save #1117812733149188176 message

[wicked shale]

Is this normal for a screen to flicker using 2x AAA? 🤔

[fathom heron]

you know what im gonna say

[wicked shale]

🤔 Im going be upset on myself if it’s really the power switch ..

[lucid gull]

Is that a laminated cgs screen?

Looks like it. Bucket Mouse and I found that full volume and brightness on the CGS screen causes that issue. It doesn’t happen with FP and Hispeedido kits.

[wicked shale]

Yup cleaning the power switch didn’t solve the issue .. it doesn’t flicker when connected to the AC or when the batteries is fully charged ..
I do have laminated cgs screen is there anything fix ?

[neat linden]

How did you clean the switch, if you don't mind me asking

[sharp lava]

Any thoughts?

[fathom heron]

not yet im fixin stuff

[wicked shale]

🤔

[lucid gull]

I believe those displays use 3.3V, are you soldering a wire or just running it to the battery terminal or is it one of those new ones that don't use a solder wire?

I built that board, the power switch is always cleaned

[wicked shale]

This one I solder the wire to the power switch label c

[fathom heron]

hah interesting

so cgs ips bad for poco

[lucid gull]

Hispeedido

[proven gate]

Is that a stock regulator or one of the updated ones?

But then again, even the power adapter runs through the regulator, and Captain said it doesn't do that when on external power or fresh batteries. Hmmmm🤔🤔🤔

[lucid gull]

GBPP and PMPB

[proven gate]

Yeah, I'm still not 100% up to speed on the gameboy alphabet soup. But I'm going to assume that means they aren't the originals.

[lucid gull]

Not stock regulators

[quartz zealot]

https://www.reddit.com/r/Gameboy/comments/np8e20/hi_everyone_i_have_a_dmg_with_two_black_lines_at/

Has anyone ever experienced this issue and knows what potential causes could be?

Ribbon cable connector was reflowed. Known good screen. System sound works and afaik boots games

[fathom heron]

Ah n/m your system does infact read games. so my suggestion was bunk

inspect the board very carefully for corrosion/broken traces

[small yacht]

Can I use these as replacement caps?
https://www.jaycar.co.nz/22uf-16vdc-tantalum-capacitor/p/RZ6658

They're available locally so wouldnt have to wait for Aliexpress 😅

[fathom heron]

which cap are you replacing in which system?

[boreal aspen]

that would only work for c35 and it's not really recommended to replace aluminum electrolytics with tantalums

[small yacht]

I've got a whole pile of GBCs with audio issues but would like to replace all caps on the ones that need them

[small yacht]

sounds like a bit of patience is best then 😅

[lucid gull]

Dang, what are you planning on doi g with all those once fixed?

[fathom heron]

if you are desperate you can shoehorn in a through hole aluminium cap if you're careful to make it clear the case plastic

but you'll be much happier if you do it properly

[small yacht]

I bought a lot of 35 when I was in Japan - all of the pockets came up fine but most of the colors have audio issues 😭

Only 14 colors and 2 pockets left to repair 😅

[night compass]

Thks question might be silly, but I want to make sure that I'm doing it right.

I'm trying to check for continuity on a Pkmn Silver board, to confirm if there any broken tracks at all.

I know it's quite messy, but the stuff marked in blue have all been checked, vias and all. The stuff in pink are just a few I had issues with, which I'll reflow and check again, but that's not too important here.

Anyway, as for the question: For the components or tabs that are grounded, do I just check for continuity with the ground (GND) pin/gold finger and the side of the component that is grounded?

excuse the diagram. I haven't got around to installing KiCad yet 😅

[dry wadi]

continuity to the edge connector ground

fyi pin 31 is AUDIO and is typically not connected

[night compass]

Thank you. I've managed to fix it now. It turned out to be two separate issues:

• bad solder joints on the MBC3A chip
• incorrect replacement capacitor (for C6) value

Just wanted to make sure everything else was alright.

Also, out of curiosity, what is the capacitor C6 used for?

It boots without it, but I'm not sure if it's safe to run without it since a capacitor basically prevents DC from flowing through while allowing AC (like a filter?). I'm not very knowledgeable with electrical stuff 😅

edit: checked the datasheet and it goes to the Write Enable pin of the RAM chip (i.e. pin 27), and the other side is grounded.

[haughty mica]

is there a way to determine what vs of SP you have just by the board ?

[boreal aspen]

Between 001 and 101? -the board is labeled AGS for 001, and AGT for 101

That's a 101 board

[haughty mica]

oh i thought both were AGS my bad

okay perfect thankyou 🙂

[boreal aspen]

The sticker on the back will say AGS

For both

[haughty mica]

okay so I'm not going crazy phew haha

[calm shore]

I'm having trouble fitting my GBxCart in this GBA cart shell. I believe it's a "high-quality" CGS shell from RGRS

Sometimes I can get it to sorta fit, but most of the time it keep slanting like the first picture

[scarlet aurora]

this part is the front of the shell?

[calm shore]

No, it's the back

[scarlet aurora]

are you placing the PCB like this?

there's this cutout where it fits around the screw post

[dry wadi]

the mold of the CGS high quality shells match OEM, there is more internal trimming that has to be done

the gbxcart is designed for bootleg shells with less internal walls.

keep trimming

[scarlet aurora]

oh I see, that explains it then

didn't think my shell wasn't OEM standard

[calm shore]

Will the front part still go on if I trim the walls on the back?

[dry wadi]

these walls

you have to use them modding skills compare. i believe the top notch still engages

[calm shore]

Alright I'll figure it out, thanks Mike

[dry wadi]

trim little by little

you dont have to trim too much iirc

i boxed the whole side because i havent trimmed an OEM shell in a while. but there wasnt a lot to trim but iirc its mostly the bottom area

[calm shore]

Ok

[dry wadi]

this area

[scarlet aurora]

this is how mine is, for reference

[dry wadi]

actually is your gbxcart a pro model? only pros fit in GBA shells

[calm shore]

The RGRS listing said it was a pro

But it fits after trimming, so no worries there

[proven gate]

Funny this convo was going on, because I was similarly confused as to how the gbxcart was supposed to fit in the agb shell. For some reason, I thought it would just fit and no trimming be required.

[scarlet aurora]

for some aftermarket shells you don't need to trim, but apparently CGS shells require trimming

probably just filing those parts that mike pointed out a bit

[proven gate]

Since I got the pro directly through insidegadget and it came with the cart shell, I assumed it was a cart molded for it (including the usb-c access/opening). Not a big deal, just not what I expected. Pretty sure it was printed somewhere and my dumbass neglected to read🤪

[dry wadi]

its no ones fault. its just a quirk of GBA cart shells. we didnt have this problem before CGS cause all aftermarket GBA shells were the bootleg mold.

[true meadow]

Hey y’all, noob to modding GBs - I just installed a funnyplaying ips v3 and there’s a thin white vertical line at the very edge of the screen, is this typical or a sign I did something wrong and should I be worried about it getting worse? Sorry for the kinda blurry pic

[stoic grove]

Is that a laminated screen?

Is there any hope for this guy or is this a bonafide “parts” board? Practice board for a mgbc?

[dry wadi]

fixable if you want to do trace repair

its a small grouping of corrosion

[stoic grove]

Thanks, I might. Would corrosion there prevent it from turning on? I’ve tested everything else and it seems OK besides this spot.

[dry wadi]

yes it could. those are mostly display lines, but there could be corrosion under the CPU

[lucid gull]

I was going to say, a tooth brush and some IPA should clean that up pretty good and it might just work after.

[true meadow]

Yeah it’s laminated. Loving the look of it otherwise.

[stoic grove]

Tooth brush and IPA didn’t get it running but a new power regulator did 😅

[stoic grove]

So… I’ve got one that I put together for my brother and it doesn’t have that. Unless you did something funky installing it I’d say it’s defective. You might try re-seating the ribbon cable though, just in case?

[delicate locust]

Hello!I recently bought a GBA and was testing it today before I mod it. It seems the start/select button isnt working, I was wondering if it was just a fluke or if theres something more going on? heres a picture of the board (EDIT: Tested again and its only start and select, everything else seems fine but I dont have a way to test the R button)

by fluke I mean like, a membrane issue and not an issue with the board

[delicate locust]

Update: I shouldve cleaned the contacts before saying anything 😔

[stoic grove]

All good, did you get it working?

[delicate locust]

Yep! Thanks for checking in!

[clever totem]

Does anyone have experience with the special Japanese tamagotchi game? Both of my copies have this issue where my save will end up corrupted - I think based on the timing and my tamo’s health it’s whenever the game tries to trigger the speaker.
The message reads 「データが不正です。」, or “the data is corrupted”

[midnight quiver]

Hey guys I’m recently gotten into game boys then nodding them and now fixing them I have this game boy color that won’t turn on I’m cleaned the power switch and used a multi meter to test the connections from the better terminal to the power switch I will say I have no idea what I’m doing when using the multi meter any tip and I’ve tested the whole circuit board everything has a reading

I’ve tested the screen too and it works

[lucid gull]

Did you check the fuses like I said?

[midnight quiver]

yes\

But not ive also never used a muti meter till now so not to sure if im using it correctly

[boreal aspen]

put it in beep mode, put one probe on each side of the fuse

if it beeps it's good

if nothing happens it's a dead fuse

[midnight quiver]

Which one is beep mode 😅

[boreal aspen]

I don't see a continuity on there, strange

[lucid gull]

That should work

[midnight quiver]

thats the one I used to test and numbers came up

[boreal aspen]

yeah that's diode - so it should still work for most continuity purposes

[midnight quiver]

002

[boreal aspen]

you could also put it to the one directly to the left of that and if you get a number then the fuse is good, if you get an overload then it's bad

(the number should be 0 or close to it)

[midnight quiver]

1.1

01.1*

[lucid gull]

Also read your multimeter's manual if you don't know which setting does what

[midnight quiver]

ive kinad tryed just a lil overwhelming

but im sure ill get use to it over time

but the fuses seem good what would be the next step

[boreal aspen]

if I'm interpreting your reading right the fuse is reading 1.1 ohms which is fine

[midnight quiver]

yeah it reads the same on my working GB

[remote bobcat]

#troubleshooting-archived message

[boreal aspen]

^ I was going to skip some of those steps, so just do those in order

[midnight quiver]

Step 6 seems to be the problem

Red on negative and black on 3

What does it mean if nothing comes up

What would be my next step*

[dry wadi]

is there continuity between 3-4 on the DC jack

[remote bobcat]

Does your multimeter read OL?

[midnight quiver]

it reads a rumber then emediatly goes away

[remote bobcat]

What's the reading on Step 3 (Pins 2 & 3 of the DC jack)?

[midnight quiver]

01.7

[remote bobcat]

Do you get continuity from the positive battery terminal to pin 1 of the dc/dc board with the switch in the on position?

[scarlet aurora]

Built a Skimzor poco, turning it on with no screen gets me sound and reads games, but whenever I plug the screen in there's no video and no sound, have you guys ever had this problem?

[remote bobcat]

Pictures of the install? Specifically the FCC

[remote bobcat]

Soldering looks clean. What about from the other side? I'm assuming that's the OEM connector? FFC connectors get a bit wonky if they're exposed to a lot of heat.

Could be pins crossing and causing a short on the power rails.

[scarlet aurora]

Really struggling to take a pic of it

It does look a little "wavy"

[remote bobcat]

Yeah, I'm leaning towards the FFC connector as the issue. I'd recommend replacing it

[scarlet aurora]

Damn, I do have a few coming on the mail already so at least there's that

About the Power LED whats the correct orientation? Couldn't figure it out looking at the board

[scarlet aurora]

Oh nice, thanks a lot man!

Gonna save this for later

[boreal aspen]

Might be silly but the screen works on a regular CGB right?

[scarlet aurora]

yeah I tested it before

[trim jolt]

Ive had that exact issue. Turned out the power pins was shorting when connecting the screen because the connector had melted (yes yes i was stupid and learned not to heat it too much...)

Did you try a different screen kit, just to be sure?

[scarlet aurora]

no, but I can try just a sec

[trim jolt]

It doesnt exactly look melted from the pictures. Maybe theres flux on the inside? Did you try to clean it with ipa or do you have a ultra sonic cleaner?

[scarlet aurora]

tried with IPA

but yeah not very well

don't have an ultrasonic unfortunately

[trim jolt]

if you have a tooth brush, maybe you can clean the inside carefully

[scarlet aurora]

I have one of those antistatic brushes

[lucid gull]

Poke around these pins to see if anything is loose

Also let’s see that CPU!

[trim jolt]

☝️ dis

[scarlet aurora]

none of those are loose, I'll post some pics of the CPU

woo baby

pressed down a little bit on the ffc connector and it's alive

it was probably the "wavyness" on it that made some of the pins not make contact with the connector

[lucid gull]

Holding it down and reflowing often helps

Floating pins are things I hate the most

[scarlet aurora]

yeah it's still not consistent

I'll probably replace the connector anyways

[midnight quiver]

No continuity from + better term. to the 1 on dc/dc

[scarlet aurora]

gave it more of a clean, now it boots consistently

the AAs I was using had a low charge as well, just realized it

[remote bobcat]

Is the switch in the “ON” position? Have you cleaned your power switch?

[boreal aspen]

make sure you run 240p test to catch any hidden color issues

[scarlet aurora]

will do, gotta get it on my EZ Flash first

seems good to me

[midnight quiver]

I turned it off then back on now it’s reading 002

[remote bobcat]

You have any way to hook up a power supply to the battery terminals to measure voltage? Something like a battery pack with alligator clips?

[midnight quiver]

Na I normally take the shell battery terminal out and squeeze the battery's with my fingers I could buy one if you have any recommendations

[remote bobcat]

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2255800626045213.html

[scarlet aurora]

Got a blue LED installed on my Skimzor PoCo but the LED only works with a multimeter, not when I turn on the console. What could cause the whole console to work except for the LED? (On a CGB)

I soldered it with this polarity in mind #1006398521576005663 message

Hmm D5 looks poorly soldered, I'll reflow it

[boreal aspen]

I'd check the components around it like that

[scarlet aurora]

There we go

These diode smol pads sure hate getting tinned

[shadow topaz]

Following as mine is exactly the same. Game will work for about 24 hours and then the data corrupts

[clever totem]

On my Reddit post asking the same question someone did a good job of narrowing down the problem - the cart having to stay in a console to work put me off of further debugging the issue for now though. If you have a gameboy DMG (or advance maybe?) and want to see if that makes a difference let me know.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Gameboy/comments/14xbj0v/tamagotchi_osucchi_to_mesucchi_having_saving/jrw3okp/?utm_source=share

[haughty mica]

Is 300-350 Celsius the best temperature for soldering mods to gameboys ? Or what is recommended?

[stoic grove]

Depends on the solder and iron and which tip you’re using 🤷‍♂️

[haughty mica]

I have two option - peinsil and a Doss ZD8916ESD

Both with fine tips

[spare apex]

it’s a good temperature range IME, I default to 320C and go lower for more fragile components like plastic connectors and higher for larger components like vias in a ground plane

keep in mind iron temperature is only one variable, the amount of heat energy it transfers and the temperature of the component and board matter more. and your iron’s thermistor isn’t a precision instrument anyway

I use a J-tip which transfers more heat than the point of a fine conical tip but less than a big chisel tip for instance

[haughty mica]

Oooo a j tip I may have to look into that thanks for your advise 🙂

[fathom heron]

J tip is very nice I swear by it

use it myself for almost everything

[proven gate]

Standard Leaded solder has a transition temperature around 220C. I usually solder on gameboys between 240-300 C.

If you maintain the solder tip well, then higher temperatures aren't necessary (or advisable) until your soldering experience is sufficient to where you are capable of quickly and accurately soldering components.

[analog grail]

that's weird I also default to 320 for some reason haha

[zenith marten]

I found these gbaturbo 1.0.2 pcbs in a box that i forgot about and i could only finde documentation for the 1.0 version. It is probably the same but i cant read the silkscreen on the pcb. Anybody have the old repo or gerber so i could check the description?

[stoic grove]

Anyone have or know of a good resource on troubleshooting SP L+R buttons?

[haughty mica]

this is thew solder i bought - https://www.jaycar.com.au/0-71mm-duratech-solder-200gm/p/NS3005
so if my iron can melt it between 240-300 i should just do that ?

[proven gate]

That's a bit thicker of a solder at .71 mm, so I would say maybe start at about 260/270 and give that a try. If it feels like it's hesitant to melt/flow ( first make sure the iron tip is clean) bump it 5 degrees and try again. Unless you are soldering onto a 4-6 layer pbc or on a large motherboard, you really shouldn't need to go higher than 300.

[haughty mica]

im only really doing gameboy mods so defiantly nothing crazy

should i get a smaller diameter solder ??

[proven gate]

It depends on your comfort/ skill with soldering really. For context, ive been soldering for better part of 20 years now and the solder i have/use is .56mm and .38mm for smd soldering.

Smaller diameter you have to feed more, but it melts faster on contact. Soldering is all about heat transfer.
For general soldering, I would say between .5 mm and .4 mm would be a good starting point.

[torn glen]

what's the process like for replacing the cartridge slot on an og GBA? I recently purchased a cheap GBA with a replacement AGS-101 screen and it seems like the cartridge slot is completely dead... I was considering buying the FunnyPlaying replacement slot and trying to repair it myself but I'm not very skilled with soldering

I was trying to mess with the pins to see if I could get it to read the cart but I think I may have just made it worse lol

[mossy mirage]

It can be tricky, especially if you don't have experience desoldering through hole stuff

[spare apex]

It’s not a beginner soldering task but I’ve seen some beginners do excellent work, I recommend wick+low melt solder over hot air if you attempt it. Or both

[dry wadi]

HDR has a decent method of just cutting all the pins from the plastic body and removing that first

then you desolder the leftover pins

but if you understand none of these words, i would highly recommend finding someone that can do this for you

[stoic grove]

Anyone know what the deal is with this ring inside of the polarizer burn? It seems like it casts “a shadow.”

[haughty mica]

i just found my old DS LITE and thinking i want to turn it into a macro as the top screen is dead

all the guides ive seen are using 1 x 330 Ohm Surface Mount Resistor

my local electronic shop has

330 Ohm 0.5 Watt Metal Film Resistors - Pack of 8
and
330 Ohm 1 Watt Carbon Film Resistors - Pack of 2

both under $1 does anyone know which would be best ?

[spare apex]

both are rated higher than the SMD resistor

get the smaller of the two, probably the 0.5W

like physically smaller, want the shell to close

[haughty mica]

Awesome thankyou x

[digital otter]

finally got a multimeter
looks like only F2 was blown

[digital otter]

just to make sure, i just need to get this and replace my current one with it? and it should be as easy as unsoldering and soldering again, right?
https://retrogamerepairshop.com/collections/gba-sp-power/products/game-boy-advance-sp-replacement-fuse

damb, $6.66 shipping, if this is the right piece, is there another place that could possibly be cheaper?

[scarlet aurora]

buy spare ones as well

specially if you don't know what else is wrong

[terse dew]

the replacement is nice and simple and fuses don't care about polarity, so you just plop the new one in place of the old. if you're not comfortable working with SMD components you'll definitely want to get some practice in first though

[hidden basalt]

So like a dumbass I didn't even test my gbc before yeeting into a funnyplaying shell with a q5 laminated screen and it won't turn on or respond at all, how do I even behind to troubleshoot this now D:

Wait oh now there's a red dot on the power led and nothing else, that's progress at least!

[lucid gull]

Have you checked out this: https://gameboy.github.io/wiki/commonissues#game-boy-wont-power-on

[hidden basalt]

I haven't, thanks, I'll do that tonight

[stoic grove]

So I’m assuming because I don’t have continuity from P00 to the via for right that I need to run a jumper wire—do y’all have recs for which wire to buy?

[fathom heron]

is the break just where the testpoint P00 is?

looks like it yes

[stoic grove]

I think so, I have continuity from the pad to P00 but not past it

Tried cleaning it, nothing still

[fathom heron]

expose a little of the copper to the left of P00, cut off a tiny piece of solid wire (or an offcut of a resistor lead you saved etc) and solder that across. you could probably do it with a solder blob if you wanted but a tiny piece of wire might lead to a neater (less tall) result
you'd finish it off with a very thin layer of uv mask if you wanted

[dry wadi]

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/332487991383687169/797321904456597564/HoZy_CGB_ButtonsV2.png

meter it first

[fathom heron]

^ this for sure

[stoic grove]

sorry, what do you mean to "meter" it?

[fathom heron]

double check with a multimeter to confirm exactly where the break is

[stoic grove]

Oh, yeah, I'm 99% sure it's there

All the other pads have contuity to corresponding vias

[fathom heron]

ok, expose a tiny bit of copper and then meter between that and the via

[stoic grove]

Exactly

[fathom heron]

if you get continuity then you can bridge it

[stoic grove]

Should I just my fiberglass pen on that spot?

use*

I think I'll need something harder...

[fathom heron]

you could but it might expose the ground plane a bit too unless it's a very fine one so I probably wouldn't

do you have uv mask?

[stoic grove]

nope : (

[fathom heron]

ok, you can use kapton tape to mask off the ground plane if you expose too much to make soldering easier

[stoic grove]

Cool, yeah I have continuity right on the other side there. So just just drop like the tiniest amount of solder and then cover with kapton?

[fathom heron]

you could put a tiny square of kapton over once done, uv mask is better

[stoic grove]

Thanks, I'll do kapton for now and replace with the uv mask once I get it.

[fathom heron]

uv mask is great stuff, definitely get some

[stoic grove]

Sweet, that worked perfectly

Thanks so much!

[fathom heron]

im glad to hear that

[stoic grove]

I'm fixing this one up for a friend--she'll be stoked. I thought it was gonna just need a simple clean but it wasn't too much worse, which is cool.

[nova nexus]

hello guys, accidentally shoved some soldering lead onto one of the pins, any possible way to get it out?

i tried heating then scrubbing it but to no avail

okay so I got it working now. thanks everyone

[fathom heron]

@nova nexus even though you got your game working, understand that it's now permanently damaged. you cannot fully remove solder from the pin. the only fix is to transplant the chips to a replacement PCB.

next time cover the contacts with kapton tape when soldering

[nova nexus]

besides the pin being damaged. the game should work fine as intended right

[fathom heron]

the problem is the pin will oxidise and require constant cleaning. it can also transfer the oxidisation to the game connector in the console, meaning that you end up needing to clean that as well

which game is it?

[nova nexus]

Pokemon ruby

[nova nexus]

So clean with toothbrush + ipa constantly?

[fathom heron]

no, you replace the PCB

if you are in the US, imod.systems might be willing to help you if you cant do it

[nova nexus]

Ahhh no i dont live there

Also you said cleaning constantly so i was preferring for the in the meantime solution of cleaning with toothbrush + ipa combo

[fathom heron]

if you're desperate to keep using it like that you can keep cleaning it with IPA but you need to remove the board from the case, because translucent plastic can be damaged by IPA

[nova nexus]

how many times per week you think

Or months idk

[neat linden]

Not often

Every few months or so

[nova nexus]

Got it thanks summer! I’ll clean it every 2 months or so

[nova nexus]

Any one have an idea as to why it still says battery run dry? apologies on the soldering i may not have the best soldering iron available

[boreal aspen]

its incredibly hard to see but, my assumption is one of 4 things: it's installed backwards, you inserted the battery incorrectly, you destroyed the battery holder or part of it in some way that renders it inoperative, or one of the pads under the solder is gone

correction to the above - it could be 2 or more of those things as well

[neat linden]

With that solder job it could be one of many issues

No way to diagnose the specific one without cleaning it up. If you don't have a soldering practice kit to practice on, consider sending it out for commission. imod.systems here takes cart commissions

[nova nexus]

yeah, not in the US unfortunately

[nova nexus]

I did, the tip of my solder suddenly does not melt the lead when i tried it on the cart

[boreal aspen]

this advice should also include "watch a bunch of tutorial videos on soldering"

[nova nexus]

honestly, i think it's the 3rd and the final point

i'll find someone in our country to commision this for me, thanks a lot everyone 😄

[fickle hare]

where are you from?

[nova nexus]

philippines

[fickle hare]

unfortunately I can't help you there either

[jovial nacelle]

is that plastic melted? never used a battery holder so idk if that's normal or if it'll cause issues

[fathom heron]

the plastic is burnt, yes

[lucid gull]

Remove the entire thing, clean up everything and re-evaluate.

[runic surge]

hi guys! i have an old bootleg gba sp which powers on (charging light etc) but shows no screen display. what are the chances of this still working when i swap the screen? apart from that, i also bought 2 gbas to be modded and i have access to v1 and v2 pcb's for makho battery mod, which should i get, the v1 or the v2? unfortunately the seller does not sell the corresponding bracket so i need to solder it and fix it into place (loc is philippines)

[proud pagoda]

Stripped screw on the battery cover, any easy fix?

[marble sail]

Try a rubber band between the screw and driver.

[proud pagoda]

oh shit thats a really good idea

[digital otter]

that ain't good ain't it
possibly time for a new board?

yeah definitely
i fucked this shit up too much

[marble sail]

You might be able to glue it down with mask or some other high temp glue. But having it loose so close to the battery is probably asking for trouble.

[lucid gull]

I'd just get another board, desolder that one and solder the wires to that new one.

[digital otter]

i was thinking that, until i noticed this on my battery

don't know the hell that happened but it sure doesn't look good

[dry wadi]

thats a lifted trace, i wouldnt take this any further

[digital otter]

so just get a new battery and board?

[dry wadi]

yes. if you would want to try to repair this, it would effectively be reverse engineering this board to repair the trace

while not shorting the thing out

[digital otter]

all right then, i figured

i was having trouble with charging issues with my GBA SP and it had seemed to be my battery so i tried to redo the wires because i had to replace them before too

but i'll just get the pre-assembled one and save myself the trouble lmao

thanks for the help ‼️

[dry wadi]

check with your local municipality on how to recycle those correctly. throwing them in the trash results in truck fires. its happened quite a lot recently.

[digital otter]

oh yeah, true

[marble sail]

FP makes a great replacement w/ a frame to hold everything together

[digital otter]

yop, i got that one from RGRS

should be coming on saturday

[runic surge]

So err, is this a cartridge issue that needs battery replacement?

It also cycles between green and red light, I'll assume it's a power button issue correct?

[fathom heron]

green/red flickering means a dirty power switch.
As for your error, no that's not a battery issue. It could be a bad EEPROM memory in the cartridge (or pins are loose and need reflowing) - does it ever get past that message and start working normally?

[runic surge]

Yea

I managed to play but when I try to save it says that

Also when I rebooted, it said save file been deleted

[haughty mica]

can a dirty power switch on a GBASP case an IPS screen to have temperamental turn ons ?
sound works evey time

[fathom heron]

Your eeprom has issues or there are bad solder joints. If you're in the US check out the marketplace as imod.systems offers a repair and battery replacement service.

[fathom heron]

Yes

[haughty mica]

Okay just a little dirty

[runic surge]

Nah, I'm from the Philippines, I'll try to fix it myself

[marble sail]

@compact flame

[compact flame]

Yo

I made a ticket in troubleshooting

[hidden basalt]

So I got a second gbc that I tested and it works, I installed it, now the gameboy boots up but there's nothing on screen. Any ideas?

[dry wadi]

did you test the kit outside of the shell

and is this fully seated

pinch the connector and the flex ribbon between your thumb and forefinger, do not press down on the panel

[hidden basalt]

I didn't test it outside the kit because I'm dumb but also I'm not sure how you would do that. Do you just close the shell together with the ribbon cable poking out and then slot the batteries in?

[dry wadi]

https://github.com/GameBoy/gameboy.github.io/blob/master/wiki/images/cgb_miketf1.jpg?raw=true

but its already installed

did you check the connector

[mystic bramble]

Some kits require soldering from the PWR pad on the ribbon cable to the center, "C" pad of the power switch.

Depends on if it's a later revision or not

[dry wadi]

i spotted 2.7 on the driver board. 2.6 and later didnt need the power wire

[nova nexus]

Did I put the orientation of my battery wrong? I just replaced it now it wont recognize the battery

[scarlet aurora]

we usually don't recommend battery holders on GBA games, it makes the cart not close well

and it's hard to tell from the picture, but the pads might not be making contact with the battery holder

[nova nexus]

the battery was working fine, I actually replaced it because sometimes the cart hangs

and thought "I should brush it with IPA and maybe replace the battery as well "

[scarlet aurora]

wdym with the cart hangs, I don't understand

[nova nexus]

the one where it makes unholy sounds when the cart is not working

[scarlet aurora]

oh I see

yeah it's probably cause it's not closing correctly

I've had the same problem with a GBC cart, where since it doesn't close correctly sometimes the edge connector stops making contact with the cart reader slot

but we can wait for the modders to chime in, I might be wrong

most people will tell you to just use a CR1616 tabbed battery though

[nova nexus]

i see,

im trying to upload a couple of pictures

[proven gate]

When you place your multimeter probes at the soldered battery holder tabs, is meter reading good voltage of the battery and the correct polarity?

[nova nexus]

yup

[proven gate]

Okay, then the answer to your original question is yes. orientation is correct.

[nova nexus]

sorry, so the + is on the left side right?

and the - is on the right?

does it need to have the icon?

[proven gate]

Yes and yes.

[proven gate]

I don't understand what you are asking here.

[nova nexus]

there are symbols on the battery right, do i need to orient them as well ?

[proven gate]

That's not now button batteries work m8

[scarlet aurora]

one side is + and the other is -

the positive side has a + on it

[proven gate]

The top side you are looking at, that is the + side. The side of the battery down towards PCB is the - side

[boreal aspen]

the flat sides

[nova nexus]

i get it, thanks!

hmmm it's not working. I'll check it some time later.

[stoic grove]

I think you need more solder—with the battery tray bending that much to make contact with the traces your battery might not be making good contact with the tray.

[lucid gull]

Do you still have a pad? 👀

Ooh is that lead-free?

[stoic grove]

looks like lead-free

[scarlet aurora]

also looks like cold joints

[stoic grove]

A veritable cornucopia of potential issues.

[nova nexus]

A pad?

[terse dew]

the exposed copper on the board that the solder sticks to. i'm reasonably sure you do otherwise it'd look different

[nova nexus]

@terse dew @lucid gull @proven gate @scarlet aurora @stoic grove sorry for the tagging. just wanted to give you guys an update

there were some black "something" in between the contacts of the positive part, we just cleaned that up, and added a pad on top to make sure it stays on contact with the positive and negative. and it works just fine

also just wanted to ask if these are just on the polarizer film and can be fixed.

[boreal aspen]

Looks a little like @torpid plaza 's alcohol damaged slate screen

[terse dew]

yeah makes sense for that to be at the edges

[nova nexus]

do I just replace the white film thingy inside?

i have a donor part that I can take stuff of

[dry wadi]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJeh1zNd85A

proceed at your risk

[neat linden]

By this he means "expect it to end up worse than how it started, but you can try it if you want"

[nova nexus]

i tried this before. everything went well with the screen, except for the ripped ribbon cable

[fathom heron]

lol

im sorry to hear that

it's so easy to damage the ribbons

Chicki if you attenpt this again you could hold the ribbon against the back of the panel using some kapton tape - just be very careful unpeeling it to avoid damage to the ribbon or display

[nova nexus]

i'll keep this in mind in the future. thanks for the tip!

[fathom heron]

never apply tape to the back of the bare panels from cgs/etc (where you see a very thin white sheet on the back) as that rear panel is a very thin piece of plastic film but it's fine on the back of any screen with a metal cover plate etc

[torpid plaza]

😪

[last bramble]

Fired up my gba today and when playing some Pokémon I noticed it was changing brightness any time I hit L/R. Opened it up to take a look and found this. Hoping that this board isn’t done for, it’s incredibly clean and in great shape otherwise. Can pads be repaired/replaced?

[dry wadi]

does your select button still work otherwise

[last bramble]

Yes

[dry wadi]

so then you havent broken the signal path to the CPU

you can resolder to TP3 but be careful

this would change your brightness control to start + R/L

[last bramble]

Ahh ok awesome that’ll work just as well. Thank you!

[fossil scarab]

I just installed an IPS kit from funnyplaying into a gba sp, it works fine sometimes but sometimes when i power on the gba it just flickers for a second and goes black

[dry wadi]

please post photos of the motherboard as well

[fossil scarab]

okay

one sec

[dry wadi]

both sides please

it doesnt have to be powered on

[fossil scarab]

Sorry for taking long to reply I had to go do a thing

you know what

i think it might just be a battery thing

i left it to charge while i was away and it seems to be more consistant with turning on now

is this normal for it to have trouble powering on on low battery?

i am having a different issue with the screen though, the other display modea are not working

1, 2 and 4 all look the same

as in the standard look

only mode 3, horizontal scan lines, is any different

[fossil scarab]

Actually I am not sure if this is true now its doing it again

[neat linden]

Have you desoldered and cleaned the power switch?

[fossil scarab]

No I haven't messed with the power switch

Now the screen is making a light clicking sound when I turn it on and not displaying an image, so you think something is shorting out?

To clarify the sound is coming from the screen not from the speaker as it is not installed

[fossil scarab]

Okay after some experimenting for some reason if I put a cart in and power it on I'll boot to the gameboy screen but it will have a weird pink squiggle under it and not start the game

[fossil scarab]

The system still turns on like it'll even start the game I can tell.by the menu music

The screen just loses power

[dry wadi]

do you have a multimeter and know how to use it?

can you measure resistance from pin 1 of the power switch to ground? the bare copper on the bottom of the cart slot side is ground

these leads should also be clipped fully. they could short on things

[fossil scarab]

I dont have one sadly I live with my mom and she doesn't really have many more specific tools like that

It's weird it seems completely random whether it turns on

Once it's actually on it works perfectly fkne

I just have to flip the switch like 30 times until the screen decides to work

Once the screen is on there are no more issues during play

[dry wadi]

stop flicking it back and forth so quickly like your video

im trying to figure out if your system is discharging correctly, but it seems like you have limited skills and tools. if you like, you can post a in #1049401311101206649 and have someone repair it for you

purple names have been vouched my admins and mods to have troubleshooting and repair skills.

[fossil scarab]

I would imagine it's not an issue with the system discharging since it works perfectly fine with the original screen

It's only once the new screen is connected that it starts having issues

[fossil scarab]

i don't usually that was just to demonstrate without having a long ass video

basically the console always turns on fine, i can here the audio from the game so the game is starting and everything

it's just the screen that doesn't always power on

[fossil scarab]

i made sure to trim them

[dry wadi]

the only way to confirm the discharge circuit is with a multimeter

it could also be a power issue, something to be confirmed with a multimeter

could be as simple as needing a power switch clean, but with your soldering skills, it would be best done by someone else

there is a video on how to clean the power switch in id:guide and pinned in #modding

[fossil scarab]

I've already cleaned the power switch

it does not seem to have anny effect

[fossil scarab]

i'll see if i can either buy one or borrow one from someone

[dry wadi]

please stop pinging me on replies

how did you clean the power switch

[fossil scarab]

oh sorry, i was just replying to point out the specific messages i was replying, i followed this guide : https://wiki.handheldlegend.com/power-switch-cleaning-guide

i did the cleaning after i was having the issue already as a way to try and solve it, so that is not the cause of the problem

[dry wadi]

the power switch looks quite undisturbed if you did open it up

usually no start on reboot or no screen on boot is power switch issues or drain resistor R48 issues

[fossil scarab]

when you say usually do you mean with a ips screen though or with regular screens, like i mentioned if i connect up the regular ags-001 screen it works just fine every time

[dry wadi]

both but worse with IPS screens

there is more in-rush on the IPS and more caps to discharge on an IPS

[fossil scarab]

would i have to have that resistor replaced then?

[dry wadi]

the resistor doesnt fail, but the circuit can get damaged and it becomes no longer in circuit

[fossil scarab]

i see

alright, i'll see if i can either buy or borrow from someone a multi meter. Is there a guide somewhere for how to test this specific component

[dry wadi]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTWHMchUlws

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lAyzRxsbDc

there are recommended tools in id:guide

[fossil scarab]

sorry for pinging you but it's been a little while since i've said anything here, i got ahold of a multimeter from a friend and tried to measure the resistance from pin1 to ground. it's showing up as 997 ohms

[dry wadi]

how are you measuring, can you try to take a photo

[fossil scarab]

yeah one sec

[fossil scarab]

yeah those are the two contacts im touching

[dry wadi]

then the discharge circuit is in place

power switch is cleaned and the wipers are lightly bent to make better contact?

cleaned as in opened up and scrubbed

[fossil scarab]

Yes I've opened it up and cleaned it

Lightly scrubbed it with ipa and very lightly sanded the contacts a little

[dry wadi]

what battery are you using

how consistently does the no-screen happen

[fossil scarab]

I've tried with both a stock battery and a shitty chinese 900mah one i got on amazon, the no-screen seems to come in waves, like sometimes it'll turn on fine 10 times in a row but then other time it will give me the no screen thing like 15 times in a row

[dry wadi]

can you measure this voltage when the system is on

and can you post a current photo of it as well lit as you can. if it is daylight, please take it to a window

[fossil scarab]

im only getting around 0.005 volts if im meassuring correctly

[dry wadi]

with the system on

meter in DC voltage mode

[fossil scarab]

When I first touch it is higher but it begins to fall over time

[dry wadi]

touching the gold squares correct?

[fossil scarab]

yes

[dry wadi]

and is the screen black?

[fossil scarab]

yes

but i get similar results even if the screen turns on

in this video the screen is on displaying the gameboy logo

[dry wadi]

sorry. misremembering things

[fossil scarab]

it's alright man i appreciate you helping either way

[dry wadi]

move the red there if you can get a black screen

the one with the hole

[fossil scarab]

im getting 5.01 volts there

[dry wadi]

screen is black?

[fossil scarab]

yeah

[dry wadi]

without continuing further, it seems like its not a system problem. do you have another SP to test to see if its a kit problem?

[fossil scarab]

no i don't have another sp, im guessing it could be an issue with the ips screen since everything seems to work fine with the normal ags-001 screen

[feral dome]

Hello everyone I made a post about this on the reddit but decided to come here for easier access on my end. I have a pokemon crystal cartridge that recently was taken into the shop I've gotten all my batteries replaced at and the game still will not save after getting the battery replaced.

They tried a few batteries and none could get the game to consistently hold a save

I don't personally own the gamebit to open these up yet but I had them open it for me today so I could get these pictures of the board

There used to be a lot of dirt/corrosion on the backside of the board which was also cleaned up when they did the battery

[remote bobcat]

When you say “get the game to consistently hold a save”, are you able to save and then continue playing on that save and then after a while the save is deleted? Or does it not hold a save at all?

[spare apex]

some of the vias and traces look corroded, it’s possible a connection was cut

[feral dome]

As soon as the console turns off, the save is wiped as if there wasn't ever one in the first place

Yeah the cartridge had a decent amount of corrosion on the back when I bought it so I had them clean it up as best they could

But once my gamebit gets here I can always do more work myself

I didn't check the battery with a meter since I didn't have mine with me when they opened it up again

[remote bobcat]

What’s the voltage on the battery?

[feral dome]

I can't open the cart back up till I get my own bit but it's a new battery because the old one was the original the game came with

Luckily they didn't charge me for the battery replacement since they weren't successful even though they left a new battery and cleaned the board

But other than not holding a save the game works perfectly fine

Here I'll get a quick video of the save being reset on startup

[remote bobcat]

The battery they put in could be dead

[feral dome]

ill check it in a few days when my bit is here but the store owner who does these repairs said he went through like 3 different new batteries after I came back from the first one

[remote bobcat]

Either way, you’ll need to open up the cart. Check the voltage on the battery. If it’s good, then check the voltage on the top right pin of the SRAM chip

[wary crystal]

anyone know what this is called, and if there is a way to fix it easily?

[mossy mirage]

Vertical lines. Can generally be fixed by running a soldering iron at lower temp along the ribbon. Plenty of videos on YouTube

[wary crystal]

gotcha, I tried that fix a while ago but I might have been using too high of a temp

thanks!

[fathom heron]

it also helps to peel off that rubber strip on top of the ribbon if it's still there (carefully). dont heat with it there. send a pic if you are unsure

[wary crystal]

not sure if I have time right now but maybe later!!

[fathom heron]

sure!

[fickle hare]

hold the soldering iron only briefly at the defective spot. even if the line is not immediately visible again, wait a moment until it cools down. only if the line still does not appear, hold the iron again at the defective spot.

[wary crystal]

is this like a universal fix or will it sometimes not work?

[remote bobcat]

You may have to work the iron over the spot a few times. Watch YouTube videos as well as what olDirdey says. Should be fixable but some lines may be stubborn. Just be patient and don’t overheat the ribbon

[wary crystal]

alright

going to fix this and then have the time of my life

ty for the tips

[mystic bramble]

Also sometimes using tweezers to apply pressure nearby as the solder under the ribbon is solidifying can help get those lines to reconnect

[wary crystal]

I am running it at 230 C

In videos the picture changes at least a tiny bit but nothing is happening for me

[mystic bramble]

Hold it there for a second or two longer, to let the heat propogated inward a bit

[wary crystal]

I have held it there for like 30 seconds and nothing for some reason

I nocites a clear plasticy frame over top of the ribbon cable, is that suppose to be there

[lucid gull]

Cone👀

Do you have a different tip?

[wary crystal]

likely

are you thinking a flat tip?

[lucid gull]

Something that transfers more heat. I’d up the temp as well

[stoic grove]

Chisel or knife tip at 450F should be plenty but yeah cone tip essentially useless for most GB projects.

[tiny bane]

Hey guys just got my first job lot from Japan and was hoping to get a guidance on learning to solve issues with Gameboys :)

The gba doesn't power on and both the gbc/p work fine but dont have functioning speakers

[feral dome]

First things to check are the battery contacts in the GBA to make sure they aren't damaged or corroded. After that it's checking the board to make sure it's not damaged or corroded. For the GBCs, check the contacts for the speakers and replace with a new speaker is gonna probably be the easiest fix

[fickle hare]

try a drop of solder

[fathom heron]

take a look at our resources in id:guide , you have a lot of reading to do about common issues in our wiki as well. If you have specific questions after you've tried to look at the problems you can ask in troubleshooting

[calm shore]

I'm trying to install the FunnyPlaying MGB backlight kit, but after we've soldered the wire, the system turns off after being on for only a split second. The system turns on normally again if we re-connect the OEM screen. What could be the cause?

Below is a picture of the soldering work. Also of note is that we're powering the system with AAs and not AAAs, if that's relevant.

[mossy mirage]

Could be a dirty power switch if it's especially bad

How are you connecting the batteries?

[calm shore]

We have the battery contacts connected to the back shell, and then we place the back shell on the back of the board and put the batteries in

Obviously we don't screw the shell in yet

[mossy mirage]

Did you insulate the cart slot pins?

[calm shore]

What do you mean?

[mossy mirage]

The pins where the cart slot connects to the board -- they should be either insulated(with kapton tape) or trimmed, since they can contact the screen driver board when the Game Boy is assembled

[calm shore]

I believe we separated the driver board from the slot pins with a plastic bag as a temporary measure. Should we put kapton tape on there instead?

[mossy mirage]

Worth a shot. I'd also recommend posting full pictures of the board, front and back. Do you have a multimeter?

[calm shore]

Yes, we have a multimeter

[mossy mirage]

Use continuity mode to check for a short between pin 1 on the switch and ground

[calm shore]

Alright, we'll try that. In the meantime, here's pictures of the board

[lucid gull]

👀

[mossy mirage]

You sure you're getting good contact on the batteries? Any chance you could try with a regular back and AAAs?

[mossy mirage]

That's a bit sus, lol

[calm shore]

What the hell is that

[fathom heron]

please do clean the switch too, that has definitely not been opened.
that wont be the cause of the issues I think, but it will prevent further issues

[calm shore]

Okay well whatever it was, we were able to brush it off

[calm shore]

Which pin is ground? Is that the one in between pins 1 and 2 on the Switch?

[mossy mirage]

Ground is all over. That big gold square in the bottom right of Zipplet's picture is ground

[calm shore]

Ok

So according to our multimeter there doesn't appear to be a short

We'll try applying the kapton tape and report back

[calm shore]

So it turns on when we use the original back shell. We suspect that the batteries are shorting something on the AA shell, since the latter shell leaves the board exposed.

I tried covering that area of the board with kapton tape, but it doesn't appear to have an effect...

Turns out the AAs we were using were just dead. I feel so stupid.

[lucid gull]

It happens to the best of us

[stoic grove]

Truly

Me: “Why isn’t my system working anymore????”

Me to me: “did you turn the AA battery pack on?”

[scarlet aurora]

better to forget to turn it on than to forget to turn it off, with batteries inside of it

[stoic grove]

I have also started a fire that way

Clips were touching and melted the case 😄

[boreal aspen]

I blew a fuse yesterday testing with a power supply because I plugged it in with 12v

[mild helm]

https://www.retromodding.com/products/game-boy-advance-sp-usb-charging-cable

Using one of these to charge my SP and it's taking a LONG time, i finally unplugged it after 13 hours and the charging light was still on. Is it more likely an issue with the cable, or the battery? Battery works fine otherwise

[fathom heron]

more likely an issue with the SP or battery rather than the cable

what power supply did you use?

[mild helm]

Dont have the exact model handy but it's an Anker powered usb hub

[fathom heron]

alright. that wont be the issue imo. do you have a multimeter?

[mild helm]

Yes

[fathom heron]

remove the battery and measure the voltage please

Also drop a picture of the battery here so we can see what you are using

[mild helm]

Cant right this second but once im free I'll do both and update here

[fathom heron]

👍 no worries

[mild helm]

I bought it used and ive never actually opened it, so im curious if the battery is OEM

[fathom heron]

if it is OEM then your issue is almost certainly a bad battery, but lets figure that out when you have time to open stuff up

[mild helm]

Just gotta have breakfast + coffee first

[mild helm]

Looks fine, not puffy

[fathom heron]

thats an ancient OG OEM battery

what does it read voltage wise right now? note that even if the voltage reads ok this does not mean the battery is ok, it might have high internal self discharge which would explain the charge not finishing

[mild helm]

Dumb question cus i havent really used my multimeter much since i got it: these are the settings i should be using right?

I cant get a pic while testing it but the voltage readout is 0.000 and...that dont seem right

[fathom heron]

Wrong setting you have it set to AC volts. one more click to the right to get DC volts

[mild helm]

Ahhhh ok

Sec

[fathom heron]

and you say it was on charge for 13 hours? that battery is defective

[mild helm]

Yup, 13. Guess I'll get a mahko then

[fathom heron]

Yeah. do that and let us know what happens 🙂

please don't be tempted to leave it on charge to try to fix it. a battery that endlessly charges is dangerous

[mild helm]

Noted.

Guessing i should go ahead and dispose of it then

[fathom heron]

Yep

once you have a new battery, if you still suffer from charging issues let us know and we will help you figure it out

[mild helm]

Will do. Is it worth keeping the oem one around until then just in case its not the battery?

[fathom heron]

nope because it's ancient and needs replacing regardless

[mild helm]

Cool, mahko it is. I think i asked this a while back but forgot the answer: does anyone sell the mahko batteries besides RGRS?

[fathom heron]

https://retrogamerepairshop.com/collections/gba-sp-power/products/gba-sp-game-boy-advance-sp-rechargeable-850mah-lipo-battery-mod-by-makho

that's based on makho's original design and you can also buy it from funnyplaying directly if you prefer

[mild helm]

Yeah RGRS doesnt even have the mahko listed anymore

[fathom heron]

aye

[calm shore]

So my modded MGB that was working perfectly yesterday (as you can see in #gallery) suddenly won't turn on at all no matter what batteries I put in it. I can't seem to figure out why, but in case you guys have an idea, here's what my board currently looks like.

[trim jolt]

have you checked anything yet?

[stoic grove]

Fuses, continuity to and from power switch?

[trim jolt]

like the fuse or the dcdc output

[calm shore]

I can check both of those, let me find my dad's multimeter

[stoic grove]

Oh yeah, sometimes these CGB power boards just... give up the ghost

Oh but it's MGB nvm

probably same situation

[calm shore]

I'm not 100% sure how to use a multimeter...is this what the dial is supposed to be turned to for testing continuity?