How to Fix a Broken Game Boy Advance by Cleaning the Power Switch

If your Game Boy Advance or GBA SP won't turn on, or shows a flickering LED when you do power it on, chances are you can repair it by cleaning the power switch. In this video I'll show you how I clean the power switch on my broken Game Boy Advance for a future modding project. Disclaimer: This method works for me, but I can't guarantee it will work for you and your skill level. I'm not responsible if u frick it up and I can't provide further tech support and troubleshooting here.
00:00 Intro: the Game Boy Whisperer
00:28 Examples of dirty power switch issues
00:50 How to NOT clean your power switch
01:18 Tools and materials you'll need
02:13 Disassembly
02:57 Soldering prep
03:23 Power switch disassembly
04:28 Cleaning the switch contacts
05:25 Cleaning the slider
05:56 Power switch re-assembly
06:43 Re-assembly ASMR
07:10 Moment of truth
07:19 Conclusion
07:52 smh
Tools and materials (affiliate links):
Soldering Mat: amzn.to/350wOAz
iFixit Pro Tech Toolkit with JIS Bits: amzn.to/3nQxaSI
OLFA 9mm Utility Knife: amzn.to/3nLbOpT
TS80P Mini Soldering Iron: amzn.to/3jVmBvy
63/37 Solder: amzn.to/3j6WDEd
SRA No-Clean Flux Pen: amzn.to/2GPlH5w
SRA Flux Paste: amzn.to/2IrIHYx
Non-Conductive Ceramic Tweezers: amzn.to/2GWNjFK
Hakko Iron Tip Cleaner: amzn.to/315ZJ4R
Hakko Micro Flush Cutter: amzn.to/34QkAua
Follow me:
Instagram: / berndoggers
Twitter: / bernardcapulong

[@oboispencer3712]

This worked so well! The flickering LED was driving me bananas.

[@Hightower2804TP]

Dude this fixed my GBA perfectly! Thanks :) The power indicator was flickering and switched to red after a few minutes and the GBA turned off after only about 3 hours. Now it stays green for hours and I get so much more battery life with my IPS mod!

[@discordinc]

I appreciate you going into more detail with the soldering iron. A lot videos just use it as a magic wand and assume you know everything, which was a problem for me starting out

[@berndog]

Same here! I had no idea what temperature to use, how long to apply it for, to actually hold things in place while the joint cools, why to use flux, and so much more. Glad you see the value :)))

[@drcrankenstein]

Was skeptical cleaning the power switch would make a difference, but sure enough, red flicker is gone now. Solid green. Thanks!

[@vix_in_japan]

I literally have no soldering experience but was having this problem and your walkthrough was perfect. I now have a working GameBoy again. Woohoo!

[@ChaosEvaUnit]

Yup, this fixed my flickering power light perfectly! Great video, really well explained 👍

[@wambam]

Lot of great tips in this video that I wouldn't have thought of. Thank you!

[@DrBomb15]

Good stuff, looking forward to more gameboy restoration videos!

[@adimohr2712]

The video I was looking for! Thanks a lot for your video😊

[@ChewyChicken589]

That utility knife trick works great. I used to have a hard time getting those covers off.

[@murrij]

New subscriber. Thank you. Lots of great tips in this video. Awesome.

[@leabriana1223]

Thanks a bunch. Doing my first advanced on a super corroded GBA. I think this should solve my half working power switch!

[@jamesarmstrong3000]

This is what I'm looking for. Thanks a lot.

[@RevExp]

Worked like a charm. Thank you!

[@rhtr.]

Very helpful and informative video. Great for beginners. I give you a sub 😎

[@pimpedoutstereos9747]

Thankyou for this video. It helped me out although my led light still flickers sumtimes but I think that’s coz of the ips screen I’ve fitted perhaps

[@TheDasErdinger]

Best turotial for cleaning a GBA power switch on youtube and It's quite short, too. Just great!

[@franciscorojasth]

Thank you so much! Excellent tutorial, keep it up!

[@AndehX]

very thorough. nice work.

[@SoundwaveWill]

A dope video, my dude!

[@dominiquerochon8443]

Thank you so much for posting! I haven't soldered in years so ill see about taking out the motherboard and kind of cleaning the switch area.😊 EDIT: I took out the motherboard and cleaned the back area with alcohol and it worked!!! Thank you so much!! ❤❤❤

[@mikevsamy]

Good shit Berndog. Keep it up!

[@BrassicGamer]

Thanks, worked a treat!

[@ATthemusician]

I definitely recommend just replacing it, but ONLY replace it if you have a heat gun. Do not try removing it with only a soldering iron, you are more than likely gonna rip out the motherboard contact points. I do clean up some of the solder with a desoldering braid so there's less that the heat gun has to melt. The thing that's sketchy about the original switch is that it's a slider and not a true on/off switch, and it only "switches" due to how the plastic part goes back and forth in the shell.

[@TuMalaCon100cia]

Nice! Thanks. Greetings from Barcelona.

[@ibbygulam8505]

Super thorough. I really wish KZbin showed me this BEFORE I removed my entire switch and ordered one from china that is taking a month to arrive 🙃

[@berndog]

Hi Ibby, thanks for watching! If you need your switch in a rush, Helder just put out a flex pcb assembly for about 4 USD www.heldergametech.com/shop/gba/gba-power-switch/

[@Bennjammin]

The plastic moving part of my switch broke apart. Now I'm hopeful I can replace the plastic, without having to resolder the whole switch to the board. Thanks

[@jorgeesparza9434]

Thank you!

[@mobetac29660]

I refer to your teaching to save my GBC, thank you

[@cljoe35]

This video is true but I have a back lit gameboy advance that requires more kick and that puny 1.2V battery was not enough. All the clean power switches in the world wouldn’t solve My problem. The simple fix for me was to use a rechargeable 1.5V AA battery. That thing stayed so green that it could light up a leprechaun festival! Cheers man! Nice vid!

[@thefireking5729]

I have a Gameboy color the power switch is super hard to flip but everything has been swapped the case buttons and Q5 backlight looks awesome 🤷‍♂️ hard to turn off and on !

[@ambitiousmelon1219]

Brilliant tutorial and it was so easy to follow, subscribed!

[@jeffreybenefield2530]

My GBA keeps resetting itself. Praying this works

[@NayruSSB]

Thanks a lot for going through the tools needed. Do you recommend that soldering iron for other stuff like switching cart batteries and other console mods like GameCube?

[@berndog]

Yeah the TS80/80P is very popular with modders, it can be a bit pricey but the different tips and USB-C and small form factor are appealing. I’ve seen people use it for mechanical keyboards, drones. RC cars, gameboys etc.

[@climbingdan]

Um, can we replace the switch with a higher quality one that doesn’t oxidize so quickly? ::inserts home light switch::

[@anversailles]

Is okay to just put solder on the 4 contact points on the shield to more easily desolder? My SP has the same problems but the shield shown here looks different. Here you got 2 fat legs, but my SP’s shield is connected with 4 tiny points.

[@MathiasEek]

This just saved a «dead» GBA i just got 🤩

[@Henry205]

Thanks I just forgot were the power button was

[@ItsITARI]

OK so I yeeted R13, what now? You should totally make a video 😬

[@Soy_Riven]

Hola, espero que estés super bien, ¿podrías decirme dónde comprar el resistor R13? Accidentalmente quité el R13 cuando estaba quitando el switch para eliminar el oxido. 😢😢

[@berndog]

hmm creo que no lo necesita. si lo quitaste, puedes esperar un tiempo más despues de apagar el GBA y ante de encendirlo. El power switch debe funcionar sin el R13. Pero si quieres comprar uno nuevo R13, buscar . Lo compré de Digikey o Mouser en los USA. Lo siento por mi español jaja

[@Soy_Riven]

@@berndog ok, muchas gracias, realmente estoy muy agradecido contigo por tu ayuda y tiempo que dedicaste para responderme. Excelente vídeo, muy bien explicado y con muy buena grabación. ¡Tu vídeo fue de gran ayuda para reemplazar mi switch de GBA! Deberías seguir haciendo vídeos como este. ✌🏽✌🏽✌🏽 Y uno donde expliques como soldar el R13🤣🤣🤣 ¡Saludos y un fuerte abrazo!

[@chrisgarcia6934]

The animation plays but doesnt play the game, what should I do?

[@LucasSaturn]

What should I do if the metal pin piece on the plastic removable piece (the slider piece) comes off? Is there an easily accessible replacement?

[@berndog]

in that case I would honestly look to replace the entire switch assembly. i'd check out retrogamerepairshop for parts

[@LucasSaturn]

@@berndogThanks for the quick reply! Unfortunately am struggling as I don't have a very good soldering iron, so wary of removing the entire switch assembly.

[@itberts]

Hello friends :-) I tried fixing my power switch like in the video but I’m afraid I used too much solder on both ends and shorted my gameboy :( I have a multimeter coming in the mail soon, can anyone offer some advice on a repair? :-)

[@xdtshoaquewea]

That was affecting my screen too

[@magnetmat]

do you think just a rapid flicker on the power led then the system shuts off sounds like a power switch problem?

[@berndog]

Possibly, you should clean the power switch properly regardless. Then try with fresh, high quality alkaline batteries. Other things to check would be fuses, shorts from any additional mods, etc.

[@BashoStrikes]

What does one do if one of the upper bracket anchor pads of the switch, which hold the actual moving part in place, is lifted? Are those anchor pads relative to circuitry or are they just for holding the bracket in place?

[@berndog]

If you've lifted those pads you will need to do a "trace repair" or jump a wire from the switch itself to neighboring components to complete the circuit. media.discordapp.net/attachments/332487777986019337/877028141678362634/unknown.png

[@BashoStrikes]

@@berndog The four front pads are fine. The righthand anchor for the upper bracket is the missing pad that was partially torn when I discovered it. I tried to save it but couldn't do so.

[@berndog]

@@BashoStrikes I think those are just anchoring, you should be fine then. to be sure, look for GBA board scans and see what the traces look like underneath those pads

[@BashoStrikes]

@@berndog It seems you're correct because, after further inspection, the anchor pad was reattached to the motherboard on that side with super glue or something of that nature. The board was still working somewhat with sporadic power failures that, when jumped outside the switch, did not occur anymore. Thanks for the great communication, it really helps with the learning process.

[@ctrpie858]

Hi uhm i just cleaned the switch it works but not everytime.Led doesn't flicker anymore after cleaning.Sometimes when i change battery it doesn't turn on too everytime, does it mean it need more cleaning?thank youu

[@berndog]

It might need more cleaning, but more likely it's that you need to make sure the metal shielding holding the switch down is flush and flat. If it's not down flat all the way, the switch might not make a good connection when you try to turn it on and it will seem like it doesn't work. Watch the video again where I solder the metal shield back on.

[@ctrpie858]

@@berndog ok thankyouu:)

[@Kirbo_exe]

Does the shielding have polarity ? If i just put tin an it touches the two little legs at each end of the shield, it will short-circuit ?

[@berndog]

nope the orientation of the cover of the switch doesnt matter

[@Kirbo_exe]

Thank you for your reply. I would also like to know if, when we reconnect the shield, the two small legs which are located at the two ends touch each other because of the tin, it will short circuit ?

[@Kirbo_exe]

​@@berndog and a have unfortunaly no flux, can i do it so ?

[@berndog]

@@Kirbo_exe hmm i am not sure I understand what you mean, the legs of the shielding at the two ends are not connected to the rest of the circuit to cause a short. All the shield does is hold down the plastic 'switch' piece that makes electrical contact with the rest of the circuit that turns the console on or off. And you don't need flux, it just makes it easier to use it, but it is still possible to do it without it. To be safe just try to follow the steps in my video as closely as possible. It has been a few years since I have opened a game boy so I don't remember all the small details perfectly right now

[@Kirbo_exe]

@@berndog oh tanks you so much. So if i understand correctely, the shield is not related to the board, its just make the contact with the switch ?

[@CaptainReaperPE]

My GBA flashes green light once when i try to turn on and then nothing happens, and when i move the switch to turn off, it flashes again once do i need to clean?

[@berndog]

yes, you should clean it. cleaning a power switch is like one of the most basic and important repairs you can do to keep your console in good working order, provided you do it properly haha

[@CaptainReaperPE]

@@berndog i cleaned like you did and nothing changed Still the same problrm

[@erasmus027]

@@CaptainReaperPE I’m here to say me too

[@DamfinoMR2]

Yeah I'm definitely about to drip some 99% in there and jiggle the switch back and forth

[@Stiffeno]

Warning: When doing this make sure to wear safety goggles, when I removed the first side molten solder flicked at my face and barely missed my eye! You have been warned! Please take care!

[@mariowario5945]

Dont use leaded solder on the gba, it will mix the leaded solder with the non leaded solder Nintendo used in the gba and create a weaker joint. Older consoles used lead, the gba didnt because of the regulations in place

[@burgerking32]

His slider having contacts me wondering why mine dosent

[@ShadowZero1980]

Pic?

[@burgerking32]

@@ShadowZero1980 no also update i got a new switch so

[@ShadowZero1980]

@@burgerking32 Ok. I need to doublecheck, but I thought my SP didn't have contact on the slider either...

[@cdragon88]

Lol howd my experience go? Broke my gba.

[@HeyHaffiz]

nice! I have not come across this issue yet but glad that you did this tutorial for reference. I refurb a GBA not too long ago as well. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pJjbqp98apKKedk

[@izaakplayz1079]

That to much tools im 13 is there a easier way

[@berndog]

Ask an adult you know and trust for help, then show them this video. It’s okay to ask for help.

[@izaakplayz1079]

@@berndog nah I'm good then my parents don't even have those tools