GBA - Soldering and Power Issues | Game Boy | Page 1

tropic shoal Jan 17, 2025, 12:43 AM

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Attempted to install a 'clicky button mod' for my dpad and A/B keys, all started fine and worked initially but upon opening the case to fix a caught membrane, now no Dpad/AB buttons work.

Troubleshooting:

Cleaned contacts several times
Resoldered the A/B connectors since they were initially overlapped.
Tried to clean up any excess flux / residue where possible. (Area above A button is quite hard to clean with my non-existent soldering skills. Looks like I may have fried the trace there.)

After the above, I tested connections certain inputs with a wire to see if I damaged the trace but I believe I accidentally connected BT- and SELECT which has stopped my console being powered on. I assume I either blew a fuse or shorted the board. I have a multimeter on the way to help diagnosis further but after discussing this in general, I said I'll post a few initial pictures so people can see.

smoky kettleBOT Jan 17, 2025, 12:43 AM

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tropic shoal Attempted to install a 'clicky button mod' for my dpad and A/B keys, all started...

Please remember to provide as much information as possible including all troubleshooting steps you have already taken. If this is a hardware issue, please provide clear in-focus images of the issue, PCB (circuit board), installation, and any soldering you have done. Help us help you, posts with insufficient information will be deleted

Because this post has the "Game Boy Advance" tag, we recommend checking out this wiki page https://gbwiki.org/en/consoles/advance

Game Boy Wiki

Game Boy Advance

Information about the game boy advance (AGB, GBA)

tropic shoal Jan 17, 2025, 12:44 AM

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@zenith sleet here you are

brave snow Jan 17, 2025, 1:09 AM

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Don't ping people for help.
There's enough helpers hovering around

Seems like R32 is gone (near TP2)
Could be the picture but C37 also looks spiky
Just in case you might want to check your fuse
And your joints don't look nice : you don't use enough flux / use too much solder

smoky rune Jan 17, 2025, 1:10 AM

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idk what's going on in the first picture on the shoulder button but the joint is very cold and uses a lot of solder

brave snow Jan 17, 2025, 1:10 AM

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Yeah same but I'm not familiar with that button kit
Might be using the golden square for grounding

smoky rune Jan 17, 2025, 1:11 AM

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iron probably needs to be hotter, and less solder. for that particular spot

tropic shoal Jan 17, 2025, 1:13 AM

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brave snow Don't ping people for help. There's enough helpers hovering around Seems like R...

The ping was only because that member asked directly for pictures and I wanted them to know I created a thread.

Fuse checking is on the to do, just waiting on multimeter.
Yeah the joints are pretty awful, especially the one below the shoulder button - What's the best way to tidy these up?

brave snow Jan 17, 2025, 1:14 AM

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Do you have a solder sucker or some wick ?

smoky rune Jan 17, 2025, 1:14 AM

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for the small ones, i just clean my iron tip and touch the joint to pick up some solder. the larger joint needs wick

tropic shoal Jan 17, 2025, 1:14 AM

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I have a sucker but no wick

smoky rune Jan 17, 2025, 1:15 AM

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that will probably work

brave snow Jan 17, 2025, 1:15 AM

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The blob is big enough to be sucked with it

tropic shoal Jan 17, 2025, 1:15 AM

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I was hesitant to keep soldering that area since the orange mark just below the solder looked like something bad happening but I'm too inexperienced to know what.

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I was concious of burning.

brave snow Jan 17, 2025, 1:16 AM

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What kit did you use ?

Also can you take detailed picture of the area I mentioned ?

tropic shoal Jan 17, 2025, 1:17 AM

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https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CPDGDMD5?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

Soldering Iron Kit 80W LCD Adjustable Temperature 180-520°C, 13 in ...

Soldering Iron Kit 80W LCD Adjustable Temperature 180-520°C, 13 in 1 Electric Soldering Iron Kit Welding Tool, Solder Wire, 5 Soldering Tips, Desoldering Pump, Wire Stripper Cutter, Stand, Tweezer, PU Case, jewellery soldering project kits

smoky kettleBOT Jan 17, 2025, 1:17 AM

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tropic shoal https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CPDGDMD5?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

I've attempted to sanitize your url: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CPDGDMD5

Soldering Iron Kit 80W LCD Adjustable Temperature 180-520°C, 13 in ...

Soldering Iron Kit 80W LCD Adjustable Temperature 180-520°C, 13 in 1 Electric Soldering Iron Kit Welding Tool, Solder Wire, 5 Soldering Tips, Desoldering Pump, Wire Stripper Cutter, Stand, Tweezer, PU Case, jewellery soldering project kits

brave snow Jan 17, 2025, 1:17 AM

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That's good to know but I was talking about the button kit, sorry

tropic shoal Jan 17, 2025, 1:18 AM

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Ah, apologies - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004866714107.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.23.3aad1802Hx31ld

smoky kettleBOT Jan 17, 2025, 1:18 AM

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tropic shoal Ah, apologies - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004866714107.html?spm=a2g0o....

I've attempted to sanitize your url: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004866714107.html

tropic shoal Jan 17, 2025, 1:22 AM

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Difficult to get them in focus but here’s a few more.

zenith sleet Jan 17, 2025, 1:22 AM

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Can you post a photo of the entire board.

brave snow Jan 17, 2025, 1:23 AM

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Seems like R32 is gone (near TP2)
Could be the picture but C37 also looks spiky
I meant this, sorry for the confusion

brave snow Jan 17, 2025, 1:24 AM

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tropic shoal I was hesitant to keep soldering that area since the orange mark just below the ...

The masking is being damaged, most likely by excessive heat, pressure or scratching

tropic shoal Jan 17, 2025, 1:25 AM

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Is C37 on the left hand side with the dpad?

brave snow Jan 17, 2025, 1:25 AM

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It's near TP2 ( the wire you added at bottom right of Dpad )

tropic shoal Jan 17, 2025, 1:27 AM

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To clarify, the red wiring was not my handywork - this model came with that. I believe it's a mod to control screen brightness with shoulder buttons and START.

All I've done is soldered the button kit for DPAD / AB buttons.

brave snow Jan 17, 2025, 1:29 AM

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rn_image_picker_lib_temp_d75de5d5-cd3d-4fc0-bbdd-cc2f0b671e1b.jpg

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Look around on your table, in the solder specs
You lost a component

tropic shoal Jan 17, 2025, 1:32 AM

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brave snow Look around on your table, in the solder specs You lost a component

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That's an incredibly small component, yikes

brave snow Jan 17, 2025, 1:34 AM

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Yep, but if you didn't clean your desk yet and don't have a big carpet you could find it
If you don't find it stand up and try to see if something falls, or if it's on your chair

tropic shoal Jan 17, 2025, 1:36 AM

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Moved my desk around a fair bit whilst working on this - Had a scan just now and doubt I'll be able to find something like that now, grey carpet too

steel tree Jan 17, 2025, 1:39 AM

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with some harsh lighting from a low angle ( a flashlight lying flat on the carpet) you might still be able to find it.

tropic shoal Jan 17, 2025, 1:40 AM

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brave snow Yep, but if you didn't clean your desk yet and don't have a big carpet you could...

Is that part imperative to the system? Since this is a second-hand modded system, I'm wondering if it's always been missing.

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The flux from the cable is under where R32 would slot on so it must have been off when the previous owner added the red cable at least.

brave snow Jan 17, 2025, 1:44 AM

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Did you solder those wires yourself ?
Sorry I missread your message

tropic shoal Jan 17, 2025, 1:44 AM

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No, I haven't touched the red ones at all. All I soldered was the dpad and AB buttons.

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To clarify steps thus far;

I carried out the mod and everything worked as intended
I noticed the B Button was a little too raised for my liking so I opened the shell again
Fixed the membrane and closed it all, this time A/B stopped working.
I tried fixing up the soldering on the A/B area by removing overlap for the left points, and tidying up the right point
After closing and testing this, now neither the DPAD or AB buttons were working, even though I hadn't touched the DPAD at all since it was fine post-mod.
I tested connectivity with a wire for several buttons to see if any responded and accidentally touched BT- and SELECT with the batteries in the console.
The console no longer powers on.
A multimeter has been ordered to help troubleshoot.

#GBA - Soldering and Power Issues