FAULTY Game Boy COLOR from eBay | Can I FIX It?

I got me a broken Nintendo Game Boy Colour on eBay.
It was sold as no power, so let's see if we can change that and get this thing working again!
#spoiler, it's not just corrosion.
Hope you enjoy!
Steve
PS. I'm not an expert in repairs at all. I do this for fun, and it may not be the best or safest way to go about repairing broken stuff. I'm pretty good at melting plastic though. Please don't copy me - I'm an idiot.
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Some of the magic things I use to break stuff;
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Filming equipment;
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Links are affiliated where possible to help support the channel. Nice.

[@StezStixFix]

Stupid Game Boy Color/Colour.

[@MichaelM28]

It's COLOUR

[@KK4CNM]

Can you post an affiliate link to the little drill/cleaning tool? I need to order one of those asap.

[@brake_4_cake]

Seeing al that effort it took to clean the battery terminals, it probably would've been easier to unsolder them and let them soak

[@highroyds]

M8, you might want to let others know there’s a person pretending to be you offering them a prize on telegram

[@brake_4_cake]

​@@highroydsevery popular channel has them, they don't last long. If you're stupid enough to fall for it then you get everything you deserve.

[@ivarska]

From my own experience repairing Game Boy Color consoles - use a flashlight and shine it through the board from the bottom, this way you'll see the traces. Also, there is a complete GBC schematic available online. Nice video though, keep up the good work, and keep us entertained!

[@TheMatthooks]

Can you stick up a link to the schematics? I found my old one the other day and want to have a go at fixing it. Is there a good source for general schematics? I always end up spending hours looking for them when I need to fix something.

[@ShadowcasterZero]

For super corroded battery terminals, I usually desoder them off and give them a vinegar soak for 30 minutes. If there's pitting or metal missing, you should either nickle plate them again or full on replacement.

[@christo930]

8:40 You might want to try a brass wire wheel for jobs like this. They make wire wheels for dremmel. A brass wire wheel would be far less destructive. The brass is really only hard enough to get rid of the corrosion without damaging the underlying metal. Get both a cup wire wheel and a flat wire wheel. You'll wonder how you got along without them. You can buy a large pack of them for dirt cheap.

[@anthonydenn4345]

Make sure to wear eye protection using these wire wheels. I had a brass one break up and I'm still picking little brass wires out of my fleece 😄

[@scar6453]

I was gonna say get a wire wheel too lol

[@holemajora598]

Any know of nonconductive wire wheels?

[@simonvann5521]

Loctite Naval Jelly is good for corrosion, just make sure its all washed off after.

[@lookitskazzy]

Grinding anything is overkill. Should be using fiberglass pen and a metal brush.

[@squidjam]

Isn't the oxidization bound to come back if the affected parts aren't protected (by electroplating, for an example)?

[@cassiodalcin]

Yes, they will! Without any protection or replacements, they'll eventually oxidize.

[@lookitskazzy]

Yes, they should've been replaced or at least cover them with dielectric grease.

[@Spuds263]

30 minute video?! Looking forward to seeing the pain unfold

[@jumpingmanjim]

Opening up old playstations is always interesting because you never know what kind of modchip you are going to find.

[@StezStixFix]

Yeah, very true. It surprised me cos I always assume when someone sells something as faulty, they would take stuff out like that. Maybe this ps1 hadn't been opened since the modchip was installed!

[@gir489returns2]

@@StezStixFix It's actually more rare to find a PS1 without a modchip installed, especially in the UK.

[@mehere8299]

@@StezStixFixBack in the day a lot of gamers abandoned their old consoles when the next versions came out. They didn’t bother removing any mods because why would they? The mod wouldn’t necessarily work with the next model, and it's not like anyone would choose to play a PS1 when the new shiny PS2 was out. Retro gaming didn’t become a big thing until consoles had been around long enough in large enough numbers for retro gaming to be possible.

[@christo930]

@@mehere8299 This is especially true with the PS1 because the PS2 could play PS1 games. People kept their NES when they got the SNES and kept the SNES when they got their N64.

[@stpworld]

@@StezStixFixi try to get gameboy colors made in japan they made a few firsf gen ones

[@rciancia]

Steve, you changed an Electrolytic cap with a ceramic cap. While this will work, you will not get a stable capacitance that way. Probably not a big deal but something worth noting. Well done !

[@Pulverrostmannen]

IMPORTANT NOTE: The fuse you took out of the playstation is marked 5G, which is a 5 AMP Fuse

[@cotelo]

It is okay as long it is over 1A, right? Asking, I don't really know much about this.

[@Pulverrostmannen]

@@cotelo a fuse is meant to protect against over current in a circuit. If it is too big it may not blow and the device can take damage or even catch fire

[@andrewgrant6516]

The fuse is designed to fail so you lose a 50p part while protecting the 30 quid chips beyond it. Fitting a fuse that's too big is like laying a safety net on the floor of the circus. Sure, the trapeze artists can still do their act above it, but....

[@Pulverrostmannen]

@@andrewgrant6516 indeed, higher current equally bigger damage

[@beedoubleyou_]

I bumped into Ste once in a Morrisons in Manchester. He was very nice. A fascinating, true story.

[@lookitskazzy]

Those contacts shouldve been replaced, and the entire board shouldve been cleaned with acetic acid before any rework started. Introducing heat can accelerate the corrosion. Pads or joints with corrosion should have had all old solder removed, then cleaned and reflowed. Highly recommend a wire brush and fiberglass pen for this kind of work. Shining a light under the PCB can reveal the traces.

[@leonardgoertzen7883]

Love your sense of humor. Always puts a smile on my face.

[@Mymatevince]

I must say you are looking mighty fine in this video Steve, that coupled with spilling the IPA made it the perfect video. That was a Game Boy from hell though.

[@JamesStocks]

How did you know the fuse was bad, versus the fuse blowing due to something else being bad?

[@AnadiaShark]

I'm guessing it blown because metal shavings shorted something.

[@ellesmerewildwood4858]

If you ever get another device with that much corrosion, maybe try taking out the speaker and drop the whole board into some vinegar. In some restorations I've used Evaporust which also magically removes the blue crusties. Then it's a matter of blowing the board out with air and letting it dry thoroughly. Anyway, just a thought. Glad you got it fixed though, even if it is a stupid game.

[@headyD]

The capacitor you are talking about is a tweeter protection capacitor. Its in series with the speaker to block very low frequency signals and DC current which could harm the speaker. Whenever I repair a gameboy and there is no sound at all, i'll shortcut it for a second with a wire to check If its the cause. And, as always, a great video, thank you!

[@infin1ty850]

Just finished watching and honestly it's one of the best videos you've ever put out.

[@StezStixFix]

Thank you! It was fun to work on and felt good to get it working again! 💪

[@kevinwoolford123]

When you ground back that corrosion with the shell on and then tried to clean it I knew it would pop the fuse 😂 well done on the fix dude, repairs are pain 👏

[@cotelo]

Really? Why would that happen in that specific scenario :o

[@kevinwoolford123]

@cotelo particles going inside the shell with cleaner leaving trails of metal flakes bridging points like a conductive film

[@mikeytappe]

Nice to see the gameboy get an extended life! £39 seems a bit steep for a broken gameboy though 🤷‍♂️

[@nemofio6463]

hahahah I loved the fact that youtube showed me a video of you fixing some cartridges and now I am watching all your videos just to listening to your songs! Amazing job, keep doing it! You are a great content creator!

[@adil9332]

40 quids for a broken gameboy color, disgusting shape, no backcover? My man, you got ripped off :D Got my Pikachu limited edition in pristine condition for 70 Euros. Good job as always though :)

[@ImranAwvince]

I oddly enjoy watching your vids. You keep me entertained and smiling for something most would consider boring

[@troxster]

I love the Xbox / Playstation Lava Lamps and Signs on that shelf. Never noticed them before.

[@troxster]

Just fyi Steve. You have a telegram scammer on your page I believe.

[@thematthewlondon]

cyanoacrylate accelerator! everyone needs this! life changing product! super glue still doesn't like heat though

[@damionmahon5216]

Something relaxing and watching you sort stuff

[@joshholbrooks1181]

Good job putting the Ceramics ones on there good upgrade enjoy watching your fixes can't wait for the rest of all😊

[@JonnyFix]

I winced when you glued that pad back on. My experience with heating such glue was watering eyes and my nose almost running off my face!

[@AndrewRiebe]

My favorite one so far. Love watching this channel, and you have inspired me to get into electronics.

[@danieljerabek7578]

Love your work mate. As a beginner solderer/gameboy fixer, its great to hear you say your thoughts outloud and break down your thinking, i have been copying and doing it as i work on my GBs! Thank you!

[@groom_of_the_stool]

21:04 "What have I done to deserve this?" 🎵 Since you went away, I've been hanging around I've been wondering why I'm feeling down 🎵

[@UhYeahNoThanks]

I liked this one a lot, it wasn't just one simple obvious problem it was one thing after another and that's often how it feels when troubleshooting problems like this. Nice to see it had an eventual fix

[@trbdann2]

0:34 immediatly knew you were a classic pro, that AA sliding action, works most of the time tbh

[@damionmahon5216]

Can't wait to see you 3D print a back cover for this, along with every other missing cover you need.

[@kenny9648]

I'm glad I've found your channel. It's gorgeous. It's my 30th video for today I think. Keep the good work going!

[@burningheart2909]

Ty for the adventure! That last part was such a mystery 🔍🤔

[@adrianubilla3598]

Lo vengo siguiendo hace bastante tiempo, me agradan sus trabajos realizados y el humor de cada vídeo. Lo felicito

[@MarkGFRex]

Great to see you complete a bigger challenge for a change. I've been hoping for a longer video again 👍

[@cidkramer]

The tiniest bit of corrosion on the shell battery contacts can cause enough resistance that it'll cut down the voltage of the batteries.. The last gba I got off ebay had this simple fault, easy money :)

[@chrisj2848]

That was intense! Nice one Steve👍

[@StezStixFix]

Cheers Chris! 👍

[@elliaction]

so glad i found your channel mr Steve, it gave me a reason to live again

[@BrentBlueAllen]

The exact same SMT cap by the speaker failed on my childhood GBC. I replaced it with a small leaded ceramic cap which worked well enough for me.

[@spiders-tours]

Always turn your bench power supply on first before connecting as these things can deliver a nasty spike on start-up. I'm pretty sure Vinny had this problem.

[@grahammarsh4652]

At the point Steve said "I just need to tidy this up and put it back together" I noticed the video was only halfway through, clearly more entertainment to follow!!

[@wesleybilly8097]

Where is that fix play station video? I have seen a lot of these fix videos so it took me a while to get to watch this one and all I gotta say is this was a great video and i love watching you figure it out.

[@Nine_Violets.]

Thanks for the entertainment. Not only are you educational, you're also hilarious 😆

[@infin1ty850]

Hope you had a great vacation! Wasn't expecting a video today but I'm definitely not complaining 😊

[@LeoBerardino]

Maybe you can apply a thin layer of solder to the contacts to protect them against rust and also improve the conductivity

[@ricgreen1]

Nice vid! and love the Pet Shop Boys at the end!

[@BATMACE555]

what an absolute rollercoaster of a video. real drama.

[@MeisterTheFunk]

I had the same fuse issue you had. I just nicked the same fuse from the DC in circuit. The fuse is just next to the one you removed.

[@codenamev5659]

@StezStixFix Love the videos, love the humor and I even love the members raps :) keep up the great work. I do have a question though related to your capacitor sample book, when I've tried to find these , you have to state a size , do you have multiple books of multiple sizes or did you manage to find a sample book that was a mixture of all sizes and values ?

[@djmystareez5961]

We love you Steve 🎉 thanks for the new vid x

[@mattc3385]

I like you. Your videos are informative, humorous, and oddly cathartic.

[@UpToNoGood83]

Very well done! I would have given up and binned it.

[@johnbaldwin143]

@0:53 the tool roll had me in stitches!

[@davidleerobinson7771]

This was one of the best I've seen, as soon as you said "what have I done to deserve this" I was praying for the pet shop boys at the end 😅😅 The repairs are great, but even more so for the rap and song at the end!

[@robertpucovsky]

Get a fiberglass pen for removing the silk screen off PCBs. Looks much cleaner and it doesn't grind off the copper.

[@Martyn-ey9lw]

Why did you replace an electrolytic capacitor with a ceramic ?

[@honorw4125]

As someone who is IPC certified, watching surface mount Lands (Pads) being butchered makes me shudder but also makes me laugh because you soldier on and get it fixed anyway 😁. Keep the videos coming I love them 👍

[@pat5986]

J'adore ta chaine ; des reparation avec de la bonne humeur

[@KeiRetroGaming]

I've been loving the content on your channel lately, and I think I've watched nearly all of your game console videos at this point. I recently picked up a digital microscope from Andonstar but I've been disappointed with the video quality recording from my HDMI capture card and USB output. How do you get the microscope footage so sharp for your videos? Keep up the great videos!

[@simonlunt353]

Nice one Steve I was filling for you when you couldn’t get it working but you did it l like your little dremell 😊

[@davesampson6148]

Hi Steve great video as always can I ask where you got your grinder from as Im looking to get one for myself

[@krauterfrischkase8939]

Nice video 😊 But you know you have to show us the PS1 fixing now, right? 😅

[@Cobalt-Jester]

The chipset in the PS1 or PSX is such a solid chipset that it's used in 100s of other applications. It's even used by NASA in their space probes. They needed a stable chipset that could withstand being "turned on" for years without any loss in performance and if it lost power could reboot in seconds. Rather than spend time and money designing one they just used the ones in a playstation... Things like that have happened many times. For example. When they were first designing a rocket to leave Earth they were trying to design a special fuel pump to deliver enough fuel into the combustion chamber. It turns out that what NASA was looking for was already in use on the back of a fire truck.

[@MyklBlue69]

You're amazing! Well done!

[@bwheatgw]

Nice one on the battery insertion.

[@fabiankoenig6499]

Your raps remind me of the Goldie Looking Chain in a nostalgic and good way, very charming. Subscribed. Oh and nice repair videos, too. ;)

[@ItsMrAssholeToYou]

19:32 You are aware you just introduced thousands of metal shavings (a metal that's specifically chosen to be conductive, I might add) into the device, right Steve?

[@lookitskazzy]

That's probably how the fuse blew

[@ItsMrAssholeToYou]

@@lookitskazzy Yeah, that's what I figure. too. Funny thing is, I paused the video to write the comment as soon as I saw it, before the fuse blew. So when it did blow, I was like, "Yup".

[@colinbailey6236]

You sir, are fecking awesome 💯💯💯

[@Yore0]

An easy way to figure out where the traces are on these motherboards is to shine a bright torch light through the backside. It'll reveal what lies beneath.

[@Yore0]

⁠nice try scammer.

[@TheRasalhaag]

What brand is the cordless dremel tool? Can you use it for drilling too? How long does the battery last?

[@jackmehoffe9372]

I always enjoy your stuff and raps

[@turnerhayes5303]

Flexing with that Wera rollup! Nice!

[@Ness_3]

That was quite an adventure

[@mariopascoal2731]

Love your content! One thing though, I think you need to 1up your board cleaning skills. You tha man tho!

[@AA-gk1wi]

What was that handheld thing u used to scrub the corrosion off? U have a link ?

[@mattsephton]

Great video. PS1 repair next please!?

[@vas729]

What screwdriver set is that? No link in the description. Thanks for all your videos Steve!

[@LuisFCorreia]

as you would probably know by now, battery damage needs vinegar neutralising. soaking it in vinegar, then proper washing and drying should do the trick!

[@TheYoutuyu]

buen trabajo amigo

[@artturiko]

I should try to fix my car mirror indicator.. Dunno if it is openable tho. Have got some inspiration of your videos. Thank You!!👌

[@artturiko]

seems only bad connection somewhere

[@roscoe454]

you need a light that you can put behind the board and you can see the circuit paths 😁😁👍👍

[@rickseiden1]

What's the little brush you use with isopropyl alcohol?

[@jothain]

Question: As you don't see traces, why don't you just backglow powerful led laps and/or have ie. old lcd turned to lamp to get better view?

[@mmutants116]

sad how expensive faulty things are getting now

[@RETROGAME-FIX]

I really like your videos. Please do more console repairs. Especially under the microscope. Thank you.

[@infin1ty850]

Also, I love that Wera rollup mat. Is that something you received in one or their sets or something you bought separately?

[@StezStixFix]

Yeah, i got it with a set i bought last year. It's a cracking set of drivers, love it.

[@infin1ty850]

@@StezStixFix Lol, I actually took a look and realized I have a different set of drivers that came in the same style of rollup.

[@devttyUSB0]

wow, nice twist at the end! :O

[@StezStixFix]

😊 yeah, had me scratching my head for a while! 😅

[@craigtaco9875]

Do you have a link to the tool you use to clean off the contacts?

[@PlutoPebble]

Awesome video! P.s. whats the music you use? Many thanks

[@born-again-nerd5537]

Omg, I can't tell you how many times I blew at the screen to get the debris off, now you know I'm a tinkerer/fixer too lol 😂 - cheers 🍻

[@gharrington6484]

Those tiny drill bits are sold and used to clean out the nozzle on 3D printers.

[@MrLeftsaidfred]

Love your music tracks! Can you tell me where you source them?

[@tyronenelson9124]

There's still a fair bit of corrosion present especially in a few of the through hole via's.

[@paulissus8974]

Do you do private repairs such as on a Pure evoke h6 dab radio?

[@trevorworrall1226]

Been better not to grind the battery terminal so close to the internals , all those particles of metal flying around ;-)

[@ninaevans4501]

That was great Steve. Full marks. ❤️❤️❤️❤️👍👍👍👍😊😊😊😊 Love, Nina.

[@EdstaProductions]

Great video as always, could I ask you for the name of the song throughout the video please

[@Kikay0n]

Most of these that act like this you can reflow and they are fine. It’s cold solder joints that plague them.