Me too! I also have a few more videos I am working on related to game systems in the near future. My friend The Retro Future also does gameboy repair and mod videos so if you aren't already subbed to him check his channel out.
Great Video! I see everyone is saying to use White Vinegar for the corrosion. I also use Vinegar for most corrosion issues, however it should be noted that the DMG Battery terminals are a cladded (layered) metal, the thin, outer layer provides superior protection for the inner, more conductive layer. While the Vinegar does an amazing job removing the corrosion, if the corrosion has already eating through the outer layer you will have an unprotected terminal that will corrode again in the future. You will know if the inner layer is exposed because it is a different color than the outer layer. I still soak all corroded terminal in Vinegar, but if the inner layer is exposed, I toss it, otherwise a customer will have corroded terminals inside of a year.
Thanks to you I was able to find out my Gameboy works. I stripped a USB cord and hooked it up to the battery terminals and it turned on! Now I need to actually get the corrosion cleaned.
I ordered 3 of those on eBay (lot of 3) that aren't functioning, however, when I get them, I'll be checking everything you've pointed out and fix them. I have a Play it Loud version that was advertised as fully functional along with games and accessories. I have the Game Light Plus units that are in good shape, except the 1 had battery acid that leaked all over and a couple of rust spots on the battery contacts. I'll be spraying them with Seafoam Deep Creep and scrub the contacts, soak in vinegar, and add baking soda to dissolve and neutralize the acid.
Just purchased a DMG with no power issues. Hoping that after I get it, it's just something odd with the main board for the display/buttons, as I already have a 100% functional front shell with a brand new glass lens that I took off to do an IPS mod on my main DMG. Planning on giving it to my son when he is of age to play some awesome GB games if I can get the new DMG fixed. As long as the issue is similar to yours and the rear board is good, it should be a fairly easy fix! Great video though. Watching these repairs is great, even if you don't have a broken DMG!
Hi. It's so nice to be able to do what you love to do (and it's something that's a must in society- an ikigai in japanese). It's so nice really, to be able to restore something and repair it. I hope Apple and everybody would bring back the old methods and make repairability better (Right to Repair), like in the 70's & 80's, include the schematics and assembly everything with screws, instead of snap ons (which will break if it's repaired), soldered parts that most likely be upgraded (like RAM) and glue. By the way, if it's ok to as, my ceiling fan is slowing down again. I already replaced it's capacitors and in series too (the total voltage is way beyond the original one, hoping that it'd be more robust), it's a not so branded capacitor which was from a local electronics shop, I may need to order a really branded ceiling fan capacitor from abroad, online. Would you know what's a good brand, ceiling fan capacitor? Thank you. Have a great week. God bless, Revelation 21:4
I had to read about ikigai, I wasn't aware of the concept. I definitely feel that fixing and making things is a core part of my identity and gives me great joy (and sorrow when I cant fix something lol). I've been keeping up with a recent right to repair bill in the US (where I live), and also wish we could have greater freedom but it's sad that manufacturer lobbyists for large companies are preventing that from coming true. As for your ceiling fan, could you remind me what the original cap values were and what ones you replaced it with in series? For reputable component brands I'd go with well known ones like panasonic and nichicon. Buy from sites like digikey or mouser and although it will cost a bit more you'll be guaranteed that you will get genuine parts.
Hi. True, this is our mission in life, ikigai, why we're here. The ceiling fan's original capacitor was a 1.5uF 450v but it now has 1.5uF 800v (two 3uF 400v in series) but it's no name brand. True, it'll be expensive (has to be imported), will cost around US$25.
A strange thing I've been thinking... Is that the Gameboy Color is just twice as powerful as the original Gameboy... But supposedly having color would require at least 3 times more power to manage all these subpixels... The amount of dots on the screen is literally increased 3 times. So I suppose that it would require 3 times more computing to make it work properly... The PCB quality of the GBC however is worlds apart from the original GB.
Trenzinho da Alegria Having color vs monochromatic doesn't necessarily scale computing power linearly. For instance the gameboy has 2 bit mono while the gbc has three color at 15 bits (I'm guessing 5 bits per color). The generation and rendering of color data is also likely handled in parallel and not sequentially so processor speed would have no effect. And it doesn't stop there, the clock rate and hardware are two separate factors. If you add extra hardware you can process more data at the same clock rate. Like I can throw more balls with two hands than one even if I keep the rate of throwing the same. This is why comparing different cpus from just clock rate is so difficult since it ignores all the other differences. As for pcb quality, by the time the gb rolled around Nintendo's handheld line was very mature with many revisions under their belt and a lot of experience so it's no surprise that they did a great job.
I'll be following your steps to work out what went wrong with my motherboard. I'm installing an IPS super OSD Q5, and the first time I tested it, the screen stayed off but the LED came on. Then after reopening it and trying a different IPS display, not even the LED would come on. I tried a different motherboard and it all works perfectly. The broken one's switch is in a pretty bad corrosive state, so I'm figuring this is the main culprit.
At this point I’m torn between finding someone who can repair or just putting it on display. This was my comfort item growing up I wouldn’t leave it behind even if I couldn’t play it.
The repair is worth trying. You'll be thrilled being able to play your old Gameboy, it would bring a tone of nostalgia for you. Worst case scenario, it can't be fixed and you can still put it on display.
From my experience I use Hydrogen Peroxide it works great,put it in a small spray bottle and spay some on the corroded battery contacts, once cleaned rinse with IPA and let it dry.Good luck
@@sjm4306 I guess if it does not powering on by using the adapter with 5V output there is more advanced issue. But looking at your skills even this wouldn’t be an issue for you
Yeah if you are going to keep the original shell you can completely take apart and both of them wash in warm or hot soapy water and it will come back to its original color as for the buttons idk I did this to my both Nintendo entertainment systems NES both work and it is for sale just need two power cords two audio cables and two controllers I have the cords but I keep them for future systems that I fixed
Yeah I love getting gameboy advance because j4u sells it like it is but it has no power image or sound nothing works so I take it apart check the terminals no damage or corrosion I clean the motherboard with rubbing alcohol 70 or above and squeeze it in the power connector and let it dry out and it is alive I do this to all of them I bought lol they didn’t know what was wrong with it but if the terminal or bad straight white vinegar cleans it up nice
Nice score. Vertical lines should be pretty easy to fix. Elliot from theretrofuture recently got a clear dmg too for about the same price. I gotta say that backlighting the clear gameboys looks so cool.
It is quite risky. I am sure if you really wanted just the rear film removed you could find a local experienced modder willing to do it for you and then you could do the rest of the wiring/cleaning/etc yourself.
Ideally that would've been the case but I was at my college apartment and didnt have an adapter with me that would fit. Sometimes you just gotta make do with what you have.
How’d you learn to fix this game boy? Mine just recently got the same problem as the one in the video. I want to learn how to fix it but also understand how everything works, ya feel? Any tips on how to learn/fix? Thanks
I started out self taught by tinkering and taking things apart before going to college to learn electrical engineering. After taking apart many gameboys I'd say a good majority that don't power on are due to leaking battery or water damage. Once you open them, it is usually visually obvious what is wrong. As to learning how the circuitry works there are lots of good descriptions online, I even found a site with the entire dmg schematic.
thank you so much for this!! as a person who has no knowledge about circuitry (basic things like probing a circuit, corrosion, etc.), this really has been the most helpful video out there. i wouldn't even have thought to check the DC-DC Converter or to go over the solder joints. sadly, from the looks of it, I think some of the pins of the Sharp LH5264N4 chip of my gameboy got corroded (for some apparent reason). any suggestions on how to fix this, if it's even possible?
Carefully try to scrape the pins with something small and pointy to remove as much corrosion as possible, clean with isopropyl alcohol, add flux and a little solder while going over each leg with a soldering iron to try and reflow the solder to get a nice shiny solder joint.
Bro cool video I gave thumps up, I have a problem I just bought a dmg-01 from ebay and it dont work... I bought a tool kit so I can take it apart but I dont know what to fix... the batterie compartment is free of corrosion.
My game boy won’t power up, battery terminals don’t look bad and have continuity, wondering is someone (me) may have plug the wrong power supply into the power port, and blew something up?
@@sjm4306 I justed checked my DCDC coverter board and i'm not getting any output on the + or - rail, my VCC is measuring fine at 5.95v, smells kinda funky as well but no visible evidence of damage is there a way to replace this component? Any help would be welcomed, i know the other parts of the gameboy work because i have a spare and the screen and speakers work fine when attached to it. Thanks for making this video it helped a lot when trouble shooting.
Sounds like your dcdc has a short somewhere (perhaps one of the components failed as a dead short) which would explain the smell and no output. Did a quick search and I couldn't find anyone selling aftermarket replacement dcdc modules for the dmg. Looks like your best bet unfortunately is to either debug and fix your broken one or buy a wrecked dmg with the hopes of scavenging its dcdc.
@@sjm4306 I have located the problem, its the black hockey puck looking thing (I have no idea the correct name for it). Seems to be the short as when i compared the electrical readings to a know working system they differed, for example the working system had 5.92volts on a pin and .001volts on the dead system. Probally explains why that area of the board is also getting warm to the touch. I also had no luck in finding dc/dc modules for the dmg, or at least no that could also output the -19volts needed for the lcd screen. Do you happen to know if there is anyway to buy that black hockey puck looking device? I know there is probably a 0% chance but tried searching with any markings on it and i'm coming up with nothing. Even knowing the correct electrical device name would be helpful. Do you know what is a good price for a wrecked dmg on ebay? I'm looking at some lower boards that are in working condition that are around $20 on ebay that have the dc/dc module, just don't know if that is the best price. I'm in no rush to finish this project, this was my childhood Gameboy that is why i'm trying to keep as much of the original device as possible. Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions! I hope you get as much enjoyment out of repairing things as i do, its a funny little blessing in life.
There was considerable corrosion near the power switch so my best guess is there was some conductive gunk there shorting power and ground. Cleaning and resoldering the pins brought it back to life.
Hi, thanks I was replacing the front polarizer (sadly the back polarizer is burnt too, any link or video how to replace the back polarizer as well?) and decided I should also disassemble everything the clean the plastic parts (warm soap water, brush, warm water rinse, vacuum, towel dry first and then kitchen towel and cotton buds dry, rechargeable reverse vacuum as can of air to push out the water and into a bag full of silica gel) and also toothbrush clean with 99.99% alcohol the two boards, vacuum the power switch , headphone jack, volume, brightness knobs and link port but now it won't turn on (the screen flex cable I'm sure it inserted back well- by the way what's a good temperature for the soldering iron so the flex cable of a Game Boy DMG or any Game Boy or flex cable dosn't get damage or melt?). What could cleaning the board have damaged the DMG and won't turn on (I just played with it yesterday). By the way how come it measure only 4v, shouldn't it measure 6v coz' it has four 1.5v AA batteries? God bless electronics guys (by the way where did you graduate your ECE or Electrical engineering- what engineering did you take. You have cool education, they taught the minute details).
I tend to solder flex at around 660-680F and try to be quick to avoid tearing/lifting pads. Make sure the solder is fully molten before applying force. As for the battery voltage, it's possible your batteries are partially depleted or something in the power circuity is browning out the voltage by drawing too much current. Finally thanks for the kind words, I'm always happy to read your comments. I received by bachelors in EE from Cornell University and my masters in EE from the University of Connecticut.
@@sjm4306 Cool high-end universities and you even went with a masters (try Phd as well to match say ElectroBoom and invent amazing things, create your own Tesla or SpaceX or Apple or Nvidia like Jensen for the 21st century generation if that's your mission and God's will (why God made you or anyone). :-)
@@sjm4306 I'm using lithium-ion rechargeable which has 1.5v each (a little more that 1.5v each), wonder if that was too much for this DMG? I wonder if it has a fuse like the Famicom (I do have Famicon fuses, too many though) if that can be used.?
The rechargeable lithium ion AA's have a fixed 1.5V output. If their output drops below 1.5V it's because there's a short somewhere downstream that's pulling too much current and the lipo batteries are going into an output limited protection mode. The dmg does have a fuse but if that were blown there'd be no current draw at all, not enough to brown out the batteries like you are seeing.
Hello friend, I need help with my game boy dmg, the problem is when I turn it on it shows lq pqntqllq completely black. When you raise the contrast it goes up and down without a problem but there is no point where it shows the game, although if you hear the sound of it, what could be the problem, I tried it open and closed and still the problem persists, I hope your help many times. thank you.
Hi i have a faulty DC-DC board on my Gameboy, i get a spare one and i installed that board to the machine, unfortunately i measure -31V instead of -19V?! How it is possible? :(
Gábor Gitye Sounds like the lcd bias rail isn't loaded. Pretty sure it runs open loop so under no load conditions it's output will be higher than expected. Is your screen plugged in when you made the measurement?
Hi, with the spare screen there was a scratch from the speaker so i tried to inser a card :) and it's working. Still no sound but there is a picture and the machine is working. Thanks, for the help!
You got way too technical to begin with when it was just corrosion in the battery contacts. That should be the first thing you do.. especially when it's visually corroded
I saw the corrosion had made it's way to the rest of the pcb and started eating copper, I think it was reasonable to check for more serious potential damage when I already knew cleaning the battery contacts would be necessary but quick and simple. Also I wanted to point out what to check for non-trivial faults which could be more useful to a wider set of situations to help viewers, afterall there's already so many "repair" videos on yt that just end up being battery contact cleaning.
The gameboy i have is really messed up It doesn’t turn on and it isn’t the battery contacts sometimes it turns on but i don’t know what’s wrong with it
Can i use the 70% alcohol to clean the inside? I have the same problem with mine it wont turn on but i dont want to do anything first especially with the inside cause i just might corrode it
Ah, I pretty much get all my gameboys from ebay. I used to get them cheap but it's been a few years and looks like prices have increased quite a bit recently.
Hi i have a problem with powering my gameboy dmg 01 with an adaptor. Batteries work fine. It was bit corroded inside and could see some sugar like residue on a big part of PCB. Physically scratched it off and it works but still no power adaptor.
I'd check and clean the female ac adapter plug on the gameboy as the pins inside could be oxidized/corroded preventing electrical connection. Another possible issue is if someone inserted a plug with higher than 3v or opposite polarity then some input protection fuse or diode could be damaged/destroyed which would obviously need to be replaced.
I am having the same problem that you found in the video. Lower voltage when turning on. However my board looks fine. The solders around the power switch are fine. I don't know where to go next to find the problem. Ideas?
Measure between ground (anywhere connected to the big copper plane or the metal shell of the link port) and the battery + tab (should be ~6v depending on your batteries). Then measure the input of the power switch, should be close to the same voltage. Then turn the switch on and measure the output pin, should also be close. Then move to measuring the caps near the cpu, they should be near 5V. If anything is way off then that's a hint to what's failed.
I have a dmg-08 that turns on but doesnt display or have sound. The display board is fine as i tested it in another dmg. Really bad water damage by the looks of things. I know what to do to fix the sound, but not the display, any thoughts? Should i reflow the solder joins on the ribbon cable connector??
@@sjm4306 i had to unsolder a bit of stuff as it was flaking off. There was no rf shield either, which means someones been inside. I think they put lead based solder on it instead. Theres a few revealed traces too. I'll have to whip out the multimeter and see but is the board salvageable if its been eaten away internally?
Corrosion that eats its way under soldermask and through the copper is the worst. I'd say there's a chance it's toast but still worth the effort of inspecting the extent of damage. If you are lucky it'll just need a few traces jumped to get it back up and running.
@@sjm4306 there was also the fact that the pwer regulator is dead too, someone tried to skip a few traces by jumping it, that one is most likely DEAD. My friend noticed that as ive not been inside a dmg before. We're going to test his power regulator on it, see if thats the problem.
i tried that, no luck, ive got a handy boy that should plug in to the jack, no power gets to it. i dont know if the convertor board might be bad but i know once i plug in the adapter the power comes out of it, but it doesnt go to the gameboy. i wanna say its the power board thats responsible but im not sure, i havent seen this topic talked about online so i need as much help as i can get.
The dcdc converter module has to be working or it wouldn't work on both battery and ac. The most likely culprit is the ac detect switch inside the ac jack. The headphone jacks in gameboys have a similar switch to disconnect the speaker when headphones are inserted and most audio problems are attributed to this so I'd hazard a guess that's also the case for your ac jack.
Ok another option is the diode in series with the ac input is blown. You can see it marked 2S110A in the switching power supply schematic on this page gbdev.gg8.se/wiki/articles/DMG_Schematics
Nice video. I been trying to get mine to work and it too had corrosion all over the areas this one had but even had some in the game slot. The only thing is my LED light comes on but nothing on screen or any sound. I used CLR to clean it after using alcohol and backing soda. Those didn't do much but the CLR cleaned it good. I wish I had one of those power level detectors to check things. Any idea what it could be?
It could be the ribbon connector between the front pcb and back, or the dc converter isnt putting out 5v (the led is wired up to the unregulated 6v battery before the 5v converter).
I made a video recently for a clear pocket recently that had that problem. Basically it is either the speaker needs replacing (likely), the headphone jack switch contactsneed cleaning (likely), or the audio amp is burnt out (not as likely)
Inside the headphone jack in the back there are switch contacts to disconnect the speaker when headphones are plugged in. If these contacts are oxidized bad enough the speaker wont work but headphones will.
you dont have to buy new battery contacts. Soak them in distilled white vinegar or get an old toothbrush, get some vinegar on it, and scrub away. Thats how i fixed a broken gameboy advance off of ebay. no need to buy new ones
I was more worried that now the chrome plating is eaten away and bare copper is exposed, there is nothing to prevent more corrosion as copper tends to oxidize quickly in open air. As a quick fix cleaning with vinegar works well, but long term and given how cheap replacement contacts are it's a better idea just to replace them and remember not to leave batteries in for long periods of time.
hi, my gameboy problem is: nintendo brand comes from up, sound beeps and then there is nothing on screen but power lamp is on...what would be the problem ?
I love watching these kind of videos of people fixing game boy 😃
Me too! I also have a few more videos I am working on related to game systems in the near future. My friend The Retro Future also does gameboy repair and mod videos so if you aren't already subbed to him check his channel out.
I enjoyed both of your channels keep up the great work👍
Great Video! I see everyone is saying to use White Vinegar for the corrosion. I also use Vinegar for most corrosion issues, however it should be noted that the DMG Battery terminals are a cladded (layered) metal, the thin, outer layer provides superior protection for the inner, more conductive layer. While the Vinegar does an amazing job removing the corrosion, if the corrosion has already eating through the outer layer you will have an unprotected terminal that will corrode again in the future. You will know if the inner layer is exposed because it is a different color than the outer layer. I still soak all corroded terminal in Vinegar, but if the inner layer is exposed, I toss it, otherwise a customer will have corroded terminals inside of a year.
Roarke Murdock The one looks absolutely destroyed so I'll probably just dig into my parts drawer and find a suitable replacement.
I just learned this by doing. Damage is done, but thank you for the tip.
Thanks to you I was able to find out my Gameboy works. I stripped a USB cord and hooked it up to the battery terminals and it turned on! Now I need to actually get the corrosion cleaned.
These videos are so interesting to watch I’m so glad I found this channel
You know what grinds my gears? AA battery leaks.
Thank you for finally being the one to explain what they jelly looking stuff does! I'd been wondering for so long...
... well sometimes I get hungry when i repair stuff ... jk
Well sometimes he gets really hungry when he repairs stuff!
Peanut Butter Flux Time! Peanut Butter Flux Time!
I ordered 3 of those on eBay (lot of 3) that aren't functioning, however, when I get them, I'll be checking everything you've pointed out and fix them. I have a Play it Loud version that was advertised as fully functional along with games and accessories. I have the Game Light Plus units that are in good shape, except the 1 had battery acid that leaked all over and a couple of rust spots on the battery contacts. I'll be spraying them with Seafoam Deep Creep and scrub the contacts, soak in vinegar, and add baking soda to dissolve and neutralize the acid.
How did it turn out? Did you manage to get any of them working ? (In the same situation right now)
You know so much stuff! You really helped me out, thanks
ImOnNirvana Comments like this really make my day!
Soak the contacts in vinegar, it will dissolve the battery acid
Thx for the tip. Next time I'm out shopping I'll have to pick some up.
Then use baking soda after to neutralize that acid.
then use rubbing alcohol to wash off the baking soda
Then use battery acid to clean off the rubbing alcohol
No it's supposed to be put in vinegar, then put in isopropyl (99% is best) to get rid of the vinegar. Then let it dry, and put it back in
Just purchased a DMG with no power issues. Hoping that after I get it, it's just something odd with the main board for the display/buttons, as I already have a 100% functional front shell with a brand new glass lens that I took off to do an IPS mod on my main DMG. Planning on giving it to my son when he is of age to play some awesome GB games if I can get the new DMG fixed. As long as the issue is similar to yours and the rear board is good, it should be a fairly easy fix! Great video though. Watching these repairs is great, even if you don't have a broken DMG!
Did you manage to get yours fixed? (I'm in the same situation lol)
Hi. It's so nice to be able to do what you love to do (and it's something that's a must in society- an ikigai in japanese). It's so nice really, to be able to restore something and repair it. I hope Apple and everybody would bring back the old methods and make repairability better (Right to Repair), like in the 70's & 80's, include the schematics and assembly everything with screws, instead of snap ons (which will break if it's repaired), soldered parts that most likely be upgraded (like RAM) and glue.
By the way, if it's ok to as, my ceiling fan is slowing down again. I already replaced it's capacitors and in series too (the total voltage is way beyond the original one, hoping that it'd be more robust), it's a not so branded capacitor which was from a local electronics shop, I may need to order a really branded ceiling fan capacitor from abroad, online. Would you know what's a good brand, ceiling fan capacitor?
Thank you. Have a great week.
God bless, Revelation 21:4
I had to read about ikigai, I wasn't aware of the concept. I definitely feel that fixing and making things is a core part of my identity and gives me great joy (and sorrow when I cant fix something lol). I've been keeping up with a recent right to repair bill in the US (where I live), and also wish we could have greater freedom but it's sad that manufacturer lobbyists for large companies are preventing that from coming true.
As for your ceiling fan, could you remind me what the original cap values were and what ones you replaced it with in series? For reputable component brands I'd go with well known ones like panasonic and nichicon. Buy from sites like digikey or mouser and although it will cost a bit more you'll be guaranteed that you will get genuine parts.
Hi. True, this is our mission in life, ikigai, why we're here.
The ceiling fan's original capacitor was a 1.5uF 450v but it now has 1.5uF 800v (two 3uF 400v in series) but it's no name brand.
True, it'll be expensive (has to be imported), will cost around US$25.
A strange thing I've been thinking... Is that the Gameboy Color is just twice as powerful as the original Gameboy... But supposedly having color would require at least 3 times more power to manage all these subpixels... The amount of dots on the screen is literally increased 3 times. So I suppose that it would require 3 times more computing to make it work properly... The PCB quality of the GBC however is worlds apart from the original GB.
Trenzinho da Alegria Having color vs monochromatic doesn't necessarily scale computing power linearly. For instance the gameboy has 2 bit mono while the gbc has three color at 15 bits (I'm guessing 5 bits per color). The generation and rendering of color data is also likely handled in parallel and not sequentially so processor speed would have no effect. And it doesn't stop there, the clock rate and hardware are two separate factors. If you add extra hardware you can process more data at the same clock rate. Like I can throw more balls with two hands than one even if I keep the rate of throwing the same. This is why comparing different cpus from just clock rate is so difficult since it ignores all the other differences.
As for pcb quality, by the time the gb rolled around Nintendo's handheld line was very mature with many revisions under their belt and a lot of experience so it's no surprise that they did a great job.
Thanks, You helped me a lot finding problem in my dmg 01. Corroded battery joints, like Yours. Now i ned to fix this missing screen lines.
I'll be following your steps to work out what went wrong with my motherboard. I'm installing an IPS super OSD Q5, and the first time I tested it, the screen stayed off but the LED came on. Then after reopening it and trying a different IPS display, not even the LED would come on. I tried a different motherboard and it all works perfectly. The broken one's switch is in a pretty bad corrosive state, so I'm figuring this is the main culprit.
Woo nice to see a gameboy video again!
Ikr, it's been awhile. Also got another on it's way in the near future.
At this point I’m torn between finding someone who can repair or just putting it on display. This was my comfort item growing up I wouldn’t leave it behind even if I couldn’t play it.
The repair is worth trying. You'll be thrilled being able to play your old Gameboy, it would bring a tone of nostalgia for you. Worst case scenario, it can't be fixed and you can still put it on display.
From my experience I use Hydrogen Peroxide it works great,put it in a small spray bottle and spay some on the corroded battery contacts, once cleaned rinse with IPA and let it dry.Good luck
I'll have to give it a try, never even thought of using peroxide.
Nice video, very relaxing. Just wondering if it wouldn’t be good to check the power supply by using a power adapter upfront. Just as an idea….
Of course, I was stuck at college so didn't have access to an adapter that fit so I did what I could with what I had on hand.
@@sjm4306 I guess if it does not powering on by using the adapter with 5V output there is more advanced issue. But looking at your skills even this wouldn’t be an issue for you
Yeah if you are going to keep the original shell you can completely take apart and both of them wash in warm or hot soapy water and it will come back to its original color as for the buttons idk I did this to my both Nintendo entertainment systems NES both work and it is for sale just need two power cords two audio cables and two controllers I have the cords but I keep them for future systems that I fixed
Yeah I love getting gameboy advance because j4u sells it like it is but it has no power image or sound nothing works so I take it apart check the terminals no damage or corrosion I clean the motherboard with rubbing alcohol 70 or above and squeeze it in the power connector and let it dry out and it is alive I do this to all of them I bought lol they didn’t know what was wrong with it but if the terminal or bad straight white vinegar cleans it up nice
Thanks! Corroded battery connector for me!!
Two uploads at once Shaun? Man we are lucky
Thx man!
No problem, gotta love the Gameboy Whisperer
Thx for this video
Bought a clear play it loud DMG in good condition with battery cover just a couple of vertical lines on the screen for only 20€ from J4U :D
Nice score. Vertical lines should be pretty easy to fix. Elliot from theretrofuture recently got a clear dmg too for about the same price. I gotta say that backlighting the clear gameboys looks so cool.
sjm4306 I have already destroyed a game boy screen by trying to do the mod so I'm not sure if I'm going to mod it :/
It is quite risky. I am sure if you really wanted just the rear film removed you could find a local experienced modder willing to do it for you and then you could do the rest of the wiring/cleaning/etc yourself.
sjm4306 yeah but I don't know if I can find a modder in France
Wish I could help, but shipping to and from the US would probably cost quite a bit.
on electronics to clean up corrosion i always clean them with the strongest white vinegar then iso alc. 70% or higher!
I love watching it bubble in vinegar
If you tried and used the DC in instead of batteries, you would've found out the problem in 5 minutes
Ideally that would've been the case but I was at my college apartment and didnt have an adapter with me that would fit. Sometimes you just gotta make do with what you have.
Ah, understandable. Nothing like a cheap universal power supply cant handle anyways. They are always useful
Love watching your videos. :)
Can you make a video about adding the AGS-001/101 battery to a AGS-001?
Domi Senpai Thanks for the kind words. I'll add it to my todo list!
How’d you learn to fix this game boy? Mine just recently got the same problem as the one in the video. I want to learn how to fix it but also understand how everything works, ya feel? Any tips on how to learn/fix? Thanks
I started out self taught by tinkering and taking things apart before going to college to learn electrical engineering. After taking apart many gameboys I'd say a good majority that don't power on are due to leaking battery or water damage. Once you open them, it is usually visually obvious what is wrong. As to learning how the circuitry works there are lots of good descriptions online, I even found a site with the entire dmg schematic.
sorry but what did you put at 6:02 to remove the corrosion?
thank you so much for this!! as a person who has no knowledge about circuitry (basic things like probing a circuit, corrosion, etc.), this really has been the most helpful video out there. i wouldn't even have thought to check the DC-DC Converter or to go over the solder joints. sadly, from the looks of it, I think some of the pins of the Sharp LH5264N4 chip of my gameboy got corroded (for some apparent reason). any suggestions on how to fix this, if it's even possible?
Carefully try to scrape the pins with something small and pointy to remove as much corrosion as possible, clean with isopropyl alcohol, add flux and a little solder while going over each leg with a soldering iron to try and reflow the solder to get a nice shiny solder joint.
I just fixed my gameboy about five minutes ago, it somehow works with twice as much water damage as that one on it
Amazing how resilient these things csn be.
@@sjm4306 one sad thing though, I thing all the guts are to corroded to do anything, I'm going to need some more vinegar, and yes it is.
Bro cool video I gave thumps up, I have a problem I just bought a dmg-01 from ebay and it dont work... I bought a tool kit so I can take it apart but I dont know what to fix... the batterie compartment is free of corrosion.
Do you have a multimeter to test the board with?
My game boy won’t power up, battery terminals don’t look bad and have continuity, wondering is someone (me) may have plug the wrong power supply into the power port, and blew something up?
It could be, best to check the input and output voltages of the dcdc converter board inside with a multimeter to be sure.
@@sjm4306 I justed checked my DCDC coverter board and i'm not getting any output on the + or - rail, my VCC is measuring fine at 5.95v, smells kinda funky as well but no visible evidence of damage is there a way to replace this component? Any help would be welcomed, i know the other parts of the gameboy work because i have a spare and the screen and speakers work fine when attached to it. Thanks for making this video it helped a lot when trouble shooting.
Just want to mention, in case you don't notice, i'm not the original poster just happened to have the same problem and found your video!
Sounds like your dcdc has a short somewhere (perhaps one of the components failed as a dead short) which would explain the smell and no output. Did a quick search and I couldn't find anyone selling aftermarket replacement dcdc modules for the dmg. Looks like your best bet unfortunately is to either debug and fix your broken one or buy a wrecked dmg with the hopes of scavenging its dcdc.
@@sjm4306 I have located the problem, its the black hockey puck looking thing (I have no idea the correct name for it). Seems to be the short as when i compared the electrical readings to a know working system they differed, for example the working system had 5.92volts on a pin and .001volts on the dead system. Probally explains why that area of the board is also getting warm to the touch.
I also had no luck in finding dc/dc modules for the dmg, or at least no that could also output the -19volts needed for the lcd screen. Do you happen to know if there is anyway to buy that black hockey puck looking device? I know there is probably a 0% chance but tried searching with any markings on it and i'm coming up with nothing. Even knowing the correct electrical device name would be helpful.
Do you know what is a good price for a wrecked dmg on ebay? I'm looking at some lower boards that are in working condition that are around $20 on ebay that have the dc/dc module, just don't know if that is the best price. I'm in no rush to finish this project, this was my childhood Gameboy that is why i'm trying to keep as much of the original device as possible.
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions! I hope you get as much enjoyment out of repairing things as i do, its a funny little blessing in life.
Hi. What caused that voltage drop on your device? I saw you measured about 100 ohm between power wires. Why it was so low? Thanks.
There was considerable corrosion near the power switch so my best guess is there was some conductive gunk there shorting power and ground. Cleaning and resoldering the pins brought it back to life.
You just need To put in white vinegar .
game boy zero???? coming soon?
My Gameboy powers on and shows the nintendo logo and then the game does not boot. Do you know how to fix that so that the games boot?
Hi, thanks I was replacing the front polarizer (sadly the back polarizer is burnt too, any link or video how to replace the back polarizer as well?) and decided I should also disassemble everything the clean the plastic parts (warm soap water, brush, warm water rinse, vacuum, towel dry first and then kitchen towel and cotton buds dry, rechargeable reverse vacuum as can of air to push out the water and into a bag full of silica gel) and also toothbrush clean with 99.99% alcohol the two boards, vacuum the power switch , headphone jack, volume, brightness knobs and link port but now it won't turn on (the screen flex cable I'm sure it inserted back well- by the way what's a good temperature for the soldering iron so the flex cable of a Game Boy DMG or any Game Boy or flex cable dosn't get damage or melt?).
What could cleaning the board have damaged the DMG and won't turn on (I just played with it yesterday).
By the way how come it measure only 4v, shouldn't it measure 6v coz' it has four 1.5v AA batteries?
God bless electronics guys (by the way where did you graduate your ECE or Electrical engineering- what engineering did you take. You have cool education, they taught the minute details).
I tend to solder flex at around 660-680F and try to be quick to avoid tearing/lifting pads. Make sure the solder is fully molten before applying force.
As for the battery voltage, it's possible your batteries are partially depleted or something in the power circuity is browning out the voltage by drawing too much current.
Finally thanks for the kind words, I'm always happy to read your comments. I received by bachelors in EE from Cornell University and my masters in EE from the University of Connecticut.
@@sjm4306 Cool high-end universities and you even went with a masters (try Phd as well to match say ElectroBoom and invent amazing things, create your own Tesla or SpaceX or Apple or Nvidia like Jensen for the 21st century generation if that's your mission and God's will (why God made you or anyone). :-)
@@sjm4306 660 that's 360 C°, I didn't know flex cable can withstand that :-)
@@sjm4306 I'm using lithium-ion rechargeable which has 1.5v each (a little more that 1.5v each), wonder if that was too much for this DMG?
I wonder if it has a fuse like the Famicom (I do have Famicon fuses, too many though) if that can be used.?
The rechargeable lithium ion AA's have a fixed 1.5V output. If their output drops below 1.5V it's because there's a short somewhere downstream that's pulling too much current and the lipo batteries are going into an output limited protection mode. The dmg does have a fuse but if that were blown there'd be no current draw at all, not enough to brown out the batteries like you are seeing.
hello there, my Game boy dmg, it does not work with a power adapter, but it does work with batteries. what can be the fault?
The dc input jack is probably oxidized/dirty inside and could use a good cleaning with some isopropyl alcohol and a toothbrush
Hello friend, I need help with my game boy dmg, the problem is when I turn it on it shows lq pqntqllq completely black. When you raise the contrast it goes up and down without a problem but there is no point where it shows the game, although if you hear the sound of it, what could be the problem, I tried it open and closed and still the problem persists, I hope your help many times. thank you.
Sounds like there's a problem with the connector between the screen and main board.
Hi i have a faulty DC-DC board on my Gameboy, i get a spare one and i installed that board to the machine, unfortunately i measure -31V instead of -19V?! How it is possible? :(
Gábor Gitye Sounds like the lcd bias rail isn't loaded. Pretty sure it runs open loop so under no load conditions it's output will be higher than expected. Is your screen plugged in when you made the measurement?
It wasn't plug i will try! Thanks
Thanks! The voltage is now around -20V! :) Unfortunatelly when i turn on there are several lines appeares for a while on the LCD, but nothing else.
Gábor Gitye Measure the 5v rail to make sure the cpu is getting power. Is there audio at least. Might also be a lcd connection/ribbon issue.
Hi, with the spare screen there was a scratch from the speaker so i tried to inser a card :) and it's working. Still no sound but there is a picture and the machine is working. Thanks, for the help!
You got way too technical to begin with when it was just corrosion in the battery contacts. That should be the first thing you do.. especially when it's visually corroded
I saw the corrosion had made it's way to the rest of the pcb and started eating copper, I think it was reasonable to check for more serious potential damage when I already knew cleaning the battery contacts would be necessary but quick and simple. Also I wanted to point out what to check for non-trivial faults which could be more useful to a wider set of situations to help viewers, afterall there's already so many "repair" videos on yt that just end up being battery contact cleaning.
The gameboy i have is really messed up
It doesn’t turn on and it isn’t the battery contacts sometimes it turns on but i don’t know what’s wrong with it
Sounds like the contacts inside the power switch may need a good cleaning
It was actually the contacts that needed cleaning because they were badly corroded
Can i use the 70% alcohol to clean the inside? I have the same problem with mine it wont turn on but i dont want to do anything first especially with the inside cause i just might corrode it
Should be fine, just make sure you give it enough time to dry or hit it with a hairdryer before powering it on
Help my gameboy won't turn off so every time I want to swap a game I have to take out the batteries
What gameboy model? Have you opened it up to inspect the area around the power switch?
Can you tell me where did you buy stuff like this? Can you give me the website
What specifically are you looking for?
@@sjm4306 Gameboys and hand handle game in general
Ah, I pretty much get all my gameboys from ebay. I used to get them cheap but it's been a few years and looks like prices have increased quite a bit recently.
Hi i have a problem with powering my gameboy dmg 01 with an adaptor. Batteries work fine. It was bit corroded inside and could see some sugar like residue on a big part of PCB. Physically scratched it off and it works but still no power adaptor.
I'd check and clean the female ac adapter plug on the gameboy as the pins inside could be oxidized/corroded preventing electrical connection. Another possible issue is if someone inserted a plug with higher than 3v or opposite polarity then some input protection fuse or diode could be damaged/destroyed which would obviously need to be replaced.
sjm4306 thanks I will try tomorrow and look for the things you mentioned!!
I am having the same problem that you found in the video. Lower voltage when turning on. However my board looks fine. The solders around the power switch are fine.
I don't know where to go next to find the problem. Ideas?
Do you have a multimeter? You'll need to measure voltages if nothing is visibly wrong.
@@sjm4306 yea I do. Where do I measure and what would I be looking for?
Measure between ground (anywhere connected to the big copper plane or the metal shell of the link port) and the battery + tab (should be ~6v depending on your batteries). Then measure the input of the power switch, should be close to the same voltage. Then turn the switch on and measure the output pin, should also be close. Then move to measuring the caps near the cpu, they should be near 5V. If anything is way off then that's a hint to what's failed.
I have a dmg-08 that turns on but doesnt display or have sound. The display board is fine as i tested it in another dmg. Really bad water damage by the looks of things.
I know what to do to fix the sound, but not the display, any thoughts? Should i reflow the solder joins on the ribbon cable connector??
Test every connection with a multimeter set to continuity. Tedious but it will save you a lot of needless resoldering in the end.
@@sjm4306 i had to unsolder a bit of stuff as it was flaking off. There was no rf shield either, which means someones been inside. I think they put lead based solder on it instead. Theres a few revealed traces too.
I'll have to whip out the multimeter and see but is the board salvageable if its been eaten away internally?
Corrosion that eats its way under soldermask and through the copper is the worst. I'd say there's a chance it's toast but still worth the effort of inspecting the extent of damage. If you are lucky it'll just need a few traces jumped to get it back up and running.
@@sjm4306 there was also the fact that the pwer regulator is dead too, someone tried to skip a few traces by jumping it, that one is most likely DEAD. My friend noticed that as ive not been inside a dmg before. We're going to test his power regulator on it, see if thats the problem.
i have a original gameboy, works fine on batteries, the second i plug in a ac adapter it powers off
Assuming the polarity, voltage and current of your adapter are correct I'd guess the contacts inside the gameboy ac jack need cleaning.
i tried that, no luck, ive got a handy boy that should plug in to the jack, no power gets to it. i dont know if the convertor board might be bad but i know once i plug in the adapter the power comes out of it, but it doesnt go to the gameboy. i wanna say its the power board thats responsible but im not sure, i havent seen this topic talked about online so i need as much help as i can get.
The dcdc converter module has to be working or it wouldn't work on both battery and ac. The most likely culprit is the ac detect switch inside the ac jack. The headphone jacks in gameboys have a similar switch to disconnect the speaker when headphones are inserted and most audio problems are attributed to this so I'd hazard a guess that's also the case for your ac jack.
@@sjm4306 ok just tried it, conection when nothings plugged in, no connection when i plug something in so i think the switch in there is working
Ok another option is the diode in series with the ac input is blown. You can see it marked 2S110A in the switching power supply schematic on this page gbdev.gg8.se/wiki/articles/DMG_Schematics
Nice video. I been trying to get mine to work and it too had corrosion all over the areas this one had but even had some in the game slot. The only thing is my LED light comes on but nothing on screen or any sound. I used CLR to clean it after using alcohol and backing soda. Those didn't do much but the CLR cleaned it good. I wish I had one of those power level detectors to check things. Any idea what it could be?
It could be the ribbon connector between the front pcb and back, or the dc converter isnt putting out 5v (the led is wired up to the unregulated 6v battery before the 5v converter).
Do you happen to have any video of how to fix a dmg speaker for some reason I can’t get sound to work:(
I made a video recently for a clear pocket recently that had that problem. Basically it is either the speaker needs replacing (likely), the headphone jack switch contactsneed cleaning (likely), or the audio amp is burnt out (not as likely)
the aux still works. idk maybe ill get a beat up gameboy to fix it.
Inside the headphone jack in the back there are switch contacts to disconnect the speaker when headphones are plugged in. If these contacts are oxidized bad enough the speaker wont work but headphones will.
what does dmg even mean
Dot Matrix Game (the label text written on the gray plastic lcd bezel)
Do you fix phones? Just asking I have a broken IPod with a shattered screen and the screen doesn’t work by moving
I used to buy stopped after a couple generations in when they started gluing and permanently fusing everything together.
Multi-meter!
Mull-Tim-eater
lol, I heard Ben Heck pronounce it this way and for some inexplicable reason it greatly amuses me.
I got a kick out of that pronunciation also. Reminds me of my preferred usage of "thermo-meter". :)
you dont have to buy new battery contacts. Soak them in distilled white vinegar or get an old toothbrush, get some vinegar on it, and scrub away. Thats how i fixed a broken gameboy advance off of ebay. no need to buy new ones
I was more worried that now the chrome plating is eaten away and bare copper is exposed, there is nothing to prevent more corrosion as copper tends to oxidize quickly in open air. As a quick fix cleaning with vinegar works well, but long term and given how cheap replacement contacts are it's a better idea just to replace them and remember not to leave batteries in for long periods of time.
hi, my gameboy problem is: nintendo brand comes from up, sound beeps and then there is nothing on screen but power lamp is on...what would be the problem ?
It could be the lcd is dead or just the contrast bias voltage coming from the dcdc converter. Do you have a multimeter to check the voltage?
@@sjm4306 i have...i will check it...