I Bought 6 Broken Game Boys - Let's Try to Fix Them!

BW-100 ECC 16 oz x 1 Pack (paid link): geni.us/ESMQ9vt
BW-100 ECC 8 oz x 1 Pack (paid link): geni.us/lDsw
I Bought ALL The Broken Game Boys - Let's Fix Them! I bought every color of Game Boy in the Play It Loud! series (USA available colors) so I have size to try to get fully working. Corroded battery contacts are a problem with almost all of them. I also fixed a couple screen issues and, of course, did some cleaning.
►Tools & Parts I Use (paid link): www.amazon.com/shop/tronicsfix
►TronicsFix Game Console Repair Forum: www.tronicsfixforum.com/
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Tools I Use:
-Protech Toolkit: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/90il5y
-Torx Security T8: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/AEcBvZL
-PH00 Phillips: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/YGVSSv
-Tweezer Set: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/t0VrlcX
-Electric Screwdriver: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/2wbHzJ
-Thermal Paste: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/q2Prd
-Canned Air: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/CPYy
Equipment Used:
-Hakko Hot Air Station: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/y2JDR
-Nozzle for hot air station: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/zpEWlT
-Hakko Soldering Station: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/MTL0qb
-Hakko Air Filter: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/Gqznh
-Digital Microscope: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/fAw8d4Q
-Stereo Microscope: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/WBO3b
-Kester Solder: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/ETXUh
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TronicsFix assumes no liability for property damage or injury incurred as a result of any of the information contained in this video. All material provided within this KZbin channel is for informational, educational, & entertainment purposes only. Some of these projects, materials, and techniques may not be appropriate for all ages or skill levels. No information contained in this video shall create any express or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result.
TronicsFix does not make any claims of the safety of the projects, techniques, or resources listed on this channel and will not take responsibility of what you do with the information provided by this channel. Any injury, damage or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or the information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user and not TronicsFix. Please do not attempt anything contained in this video unless you accept personal responsibility for the results, whether they are good or bad.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
The music used in this video does not require attribution.

[@jeremy2283]

I like that you're doing more retro repairs. You've become well rounded in your reportoire!

[@Tronicsfix]

Trying to mix it up a bit. Glad you enjoy these.

[@tyriedle2658]

Happy Sunday have a nice day today ok i enjoy these videos,

[@adamstewart247]

Would be great to see a WiiU disc drive replacement. I need to do that repair at some point

[@matthewcurry3565]

​@@Tronicsfixwith how much corrosion you see I would mention that only 90% isopropyl alcohol for electronics cleaning.

[@xxSepelxx]

The white stuff that you crunched of the black game boys battery connectors is most likely battery acid. To clean that off there is a very simple trick: Use some vinegar and the acid starts bubbling and dissolves immediately. I usually clean the stuff afterwards with some IPA to prevent rusting due to the vinegar, but I am not sure if you would actually need to. By the way, I really like your retro console repair videos! Keep it up!

[@christophergilmer8267]

this is the way

[@xsaxia2008]

I used the acid to destroy the acid

[@alessandromazzini7026]

Fellow Expert in vinegar anticorrosion tech🗿

[@user-gu3fg2ju5q]

@@xsaxia2008 Well, we call it battery acid but they are alkaline batteries. So that's why vinegar works.

[@xsaxia2008]

@@user-gu3fg2ju5q I was referencing vinegar being acidic, as opposed to basic

[@resalemindset3037]

can you imagine how great it would be if every board had to have vital info printed onto it

[@timhartherz5652]

This used to be the case, many expensive electronics even came with schematics in the manual. For others you could request the service manual with the schematics from the manufacturer. Now even a stupid switch is considered a "trade secret" to make repairs as difficult as possible.

[@howdoichangemyprofilepictu9839]

@@wlerailfan9870 its less capitalism and more corporate consumerism. its the end result of capitalism though.

[@oldmanbiscuit7518]

@@wlerailfan9870 as opposed to what? State made things are perfect and if you tinker with them you get lined up aginst the wall?

[@contraband1543]

@@oldmanbiscuit7518 da comrade

[@dncomments]

@@timhartherz5652Do you really think most people could even do a simple solder job? Most people have no skills to even get electronics apart. I don’t see how wasting money on included schematics would do anything as it’s rare that a consumer would even know the first thing about it.

[@Slashser]

I grew up with the Advance so it just dawned on me, but it surprises me how they managed to make a much more powerful console run in half the battery power.

[@cidkramer]

Desolder like you did, throw the battery tabs into some heated vinegar for a few min, clean them up with isopropyl and reinstall. Works every time for me. I also drop some isopropyl into the wheels and work them back and forth before blowing the with compressed air. I do the same for the power switch. For the cartridge slot I use a tooth brush to clean the pins nicely.

[@kazinwho]

Heated vinegar, eh? I've used room temp vinegar for some battery terminals which worked, does the heating make it work better?

[@cidkramer]

@@kazinwho heating vinegar seems to make a difference for me. For other household cleaning people suggest heating it

[@kazinwho]

@@cidkramer Good to know! I hadn't heard to do that. Thanks!

[@cidkramer]

@@kazinwho I put vinegar in a shot glass and heat it for 10 to 15 seconds. Throw the battery tabs in and agitate them after a min to make sure the crustiness is breaking off.

[@matthewcurry3565]

​@@cidkramerheating acids will in fact make it angry or be a bit more acidic. So, you are correct. Just dont put any chips, or copper into vinegar heated or not. Such frail copper connections will not like being made into copper acetate. But, the corrosion will be bright pretty blue if you do so there is that. Beats the white toxic acid from the batteries.

[@HybridDivide]

If you want to get a bit more contrast on OG Game Boy screens, change the polarizer direction, and install a bivert chip. It'll end up with the image being correct, but with better contrast.

[@Moby41]

Always a good day when Tronics uploads a new video

[@Tronicsfix]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@killuagaming.21]

No

[@abdullahrex4769]

I don't know why, but your game console repair videos feel like they are repairing my childhood. You are our hero!!

[@daniel070487]

your childhood can't be repaired 😂

[@carlthejexican7551]

I honestly bought BW-100 a few weeks ago because of your content, really does work wonders, works better than IPA 99% for a lot of what I normally do.

[@EMNemesis]

Enjoyed watching this, looking forward on more handheld consoles being repaired back to life and give new purpose.

[@Tronicsfix]

Glad you enjoyed! Always more to come

[@TheBrando212]

Would love to see you get ahold of a Vita or one of the micro Gameboy's sometime. Could see those being interesting to see broken down and repaired.

[@daboomer2277]

👍👍👍👍

[@westla3074]

Great video as always. One suggestion for production value when showing retro handhelds, have a dedicated variable speed camera to match the lower refresh rates of the screen in use. It would show a much better representation of what you're actually seeing.

[@Christophersanchez1326]

As everyone saw, the first Gameboy already had its own video. 😁 Just sit back and enjoy the rest of this video. 😊

[@310_Latchkey_kid]

This type of video is the reason why I love watching your channel!! Amazing job!

[@bloink3511]

Just found my old gameboy and game collection a few weeks ago. Been tinkering ever since. Thanks for the incredibly well made videos. They really help my understanding of how these old things work

[@Tronicsfix]

Love finding old stuff! Glad you enjoyed this. Good luck fixing yours up!

[@generalorgana45]

Yay more DMGs! Thanks for working on these, they’re some of my favorites to see fixed

[@pc-122]

The dmg-1 might be my favorite gameboy. I bought a broken one to reshell and battery/screen mod a few years ago. It was so satisfying, one of the bigger projects I’d done up to that point. It set me on a path to collet more and repair more stuff in general. So I have some serious love for these chunky boys haha

[@edusszfx]

I had the red one with that case and all ! Brings back good memories! Great job getting it all working!

[@pikaplayer2870]

Watching you fix old consoles and handhelds always makes me happy :)

[@kirimasu5179]

Your Videos are soo enjoyable. The cleanings are kind of ASMR for me haha. Keep it up, you are a truly impressive man.

[@ShoelessJP]

Your videos are so satisfying to watch. Keep up the great work.

[@Priksy]

Hey @TronicsFix u could take Q-Tips with some Vinegar to loose all of the corrosion easily. The Vinegar will react to the corrosion caused by batteries. Just take some IPA after loosing everything like that and ur contacts will most likely look like brand new.

[@dschult3]

I love the BW-100 can I bought after watching your videos. I haven't had a stick drift issue on my JoyCons since I bought the can over a year ago. Thanks for recommending it. Nice job with the Game Boys!

[@Tronicsfix]

Love hearing this! I have a couple cans at home too that my wife and son use to clean their joycons when they start to drift.

[@haralamc]

Tried contact cleaner myself on series s controller even gently lifted back the plastic green sides to get behind but still drifts sadly

[@Javisflip_]

I was just looking into buying new battery contacts for my corroded DMG GameBoy. I think I’m gonna give it a shot after this video, thanks!

[@ZackMuffinMan]

Love seeing the retro repairs!

[@sjohnpo1178]

Also can clean heavy corrotion with vinegar. Couple of hours and turns back new. Great video.

[@javiles2331]

Steve you’re going a real great collection! 🎉❤ love your videos!

[@brrruuuh]

Great videos as always. You inspire me to fix my videogame collection everytime I see your videos Greetings!

[@tomleech9753]

The contacts aren't so much "corroded" as the battery acids have turned into salts and have adhered to the metal. I mostly just squirt some vinegar on them and watch it bubble away the salts which are impeding the connections. Additionally, you'll often find them in the headphone jack, which will stop the sound from working, as it uses a switch to make sure sound only comes out of the speakers or the headphones. While I love that you repaired all of these, I gotta be honest, I hate the original gameboy screen and I'd love to see you show how simple it is to install an IPS screen mod, because they look BEAUTIFUL, and even can do 4 color pallette modes which are really nice with some games.

[@BlueTrane2028]

I know he likes to solder, but the one with the lines would've been PERFECT for the IPS mod.

[@tomleech9753]

@@BlueTrane2028 I've never seen anyone bother with swapping the actual screens like that. heh. It's so not worth it. heh.

[@Zetsumei88]

Wow! That red Gameboy is beautiful! What a great find!

[@ekspatriat]

Did you know Japanese screws are not Phillips? They are JIS and you can get screwdrivers. Phillips screwdrivers 'work' but chewed screws happen more often.

[@Keepskatin]

Interesting, I like and dispise custom tools

[@Island360]

I always use a Japanese Hammer to open Gameboys

[@jdgamingandfriends5286]

I didn't even know that game boys originally came with a cover for the port! Great repairs steve.

[@trevorkneeland5605]

Using a Hot air station at about 200-250 degrees works very well for vertical screen lines. Much better than the soldering iron most people seem to use.

[@mikesmith7249]

14:02 exactly! Love the channel, keep up the great work

[@seba830]

Dude, you just made me pull out my old gameboy and try to fix it. Im gonna try to replace the shell, change the contacts and clean it, maybe it will work, i did notice some rust on it,, when i was a child it fell into water i dunno maybe there is still some life left in it

[@Spartan122S]

Another great Tronicsfix video to end the Friday afternoon! Thank you Steve and like always happy Friday! 🍻

[@Tronicsfix]

You too!

[@aroundtheblockwithbrock4799]

Loved the video definitely would love more retro repairs keep it up 😃

[@Tronicsfix]

More to come!

[@patpatboy2]

I love watching retro tech get a second lease on life! My GameBoy Color is still kickin' around! 😁

[@newbutthunt]

You got the best thumbnails, always smiling👍

[@reinholdachleitner2069]

Awesome video,it's nice to see all the play it loud series Gameboys.The white build up on the contacts is lead sulphate or sulfation,it's not actually corrosion,just a coating.💯👌🏻✌🏻

[@Dosmod]

Ironically in the video with the most mentions of the word "corrosion".

[@cameronbernard493]

Love all your videos dude. "The perfect amount of thermal paste" 😅. Gets me every time. How do you find these good deals, I would live to fix some old electronics. Can never find a half decent deal on ebay.

[@12345.......]

This reminded me I think I left batteries in my wii controllers when last stored

[@Tronicsfix]

NOOOOOOO...lol. I don't think batteries leak as bad as they used to at least.

[@Lotus_1776]

Soake the contacts in vinegar for 10 min it dissolves the corrosion . Then you can just solder them back on

[@sndsofscnce]

Like seeing all these different colored Game Boys, only ever had the traditional beige version.

[@nevinmc3880]

You should try to do a IPS screen mod. They're very easy to do on these DMG game boys. It's essentially plug and play😊

[@Franxy108]

Gotta Love His Content.

[@Mr.Bearded.Mechanic]

I recently found out that Lemon Oil (Citrus Limon) is a pretty good glue solvent. Even better than IPA or at least quicker. I use Lemon Oil on glue residue to soften it up and use IPA to clean the rest of the oil. I have a Gameboy Color in green color from the mid-, mid-late 90'. It has given me some core memory for me. Still got it.

[@bradleythatcher2869]

Every month I find a GameBoy to fix. Its fun and such a low cost of entry. The best part is that most are fixable with very little effort.

[@LadySamurai88]

And i already saw the cleaning video and that was great to see even tho i saw many of these videos it never gets old and it is great to see such video on my favorite KZbin account 😁

[@demonbeast86]

Amazing video thanks for the tips please make one for Gameboy advance SP some of mine SP don't change anymore and need ideas for repair

[@lazereth45]

White vinegar dissolves that corrosion pretty well so could use it on the plastic and then just make sure it’s all cleaned up, gets in the nooks a lot easier

[@sergeleon1163]

In the video you call a lot of the white power/crystals corrosion, but it's actually potassium carbonate formed by the potassium hydroxide in Alkaline batteries. Alkaline batteries a liquid potassium hydroxide which is unpleasant stuff, but when it converted to potassium carbonate that is stable and it’s not dangerous and can be just cleaned off.

[@bengoshi4]

I have the blue version! Perfectly working 😎 Anyway .... Great content !!!

[@overlordghs1081]

Hey, love your videos. Was wondering if you could try doing a video on fixing a bunch of controllers for the switch besides Joy-cons (like the elite controllers). I have gone through so many over the years with either serious stick drift or just complete loss of power and I'd like if you could take a look at some.

[@I_am_Allan]

Great video, as always Steve!

[@Tronicsfix]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it

[@mukeshgoolcharan6121]

Good stuff man 😊

[@Fetteremo]

Hey, do you have any recommendations on how to get started doing the same thing you do? I have a bunch of old games from my childhood, that I think are similarly damaged to those gb games you already repaired, I want to repair them and play them again myself. Love your content, keep it up!

[@gstarscream]

nothing broken at all. well done. indeed the red one is beautiful. I had one back then. I don't even know where it is and if it still functions.

[@steveaustin330]

Also, another banger episode,Steve!

[@OG_Zero_Cool]

LOVE your videos, I'm sure you know this but you can use white vinegar to clean up that battery corrosion.

[@cmdrparasite]

Loving the 8-bit music in this video

[@cutchyuz630]

You almost got all those LCD lines to come back to life! I had a similar issue, but I just came back to it later and got them working. I probably spent 45 minutes in total.

[@Tronicsfix]

I was so bummed that I couldn't get it working

[@UssyMustyYS]

Great retro fix, great nostalgia.

[@jrgaln]

You are amazing. Keep up the great work.

[@CDRaff]

With bad battery corrosion try some water with baking soda dissolved in it. It works wonders as long as the metal isn't corroded away altogether. Also cleans the residue off boards really easily. Plus the foam is cool.

[@sjmoorez]

You are generally thorough so I never say anything, but with those shelves off, why not give them a complete cleaning with hot water and soap? Makes a huge difference in the final product.. for example the green one still had what appeared to be hella dirty spots on it. Edit: I watch a lot of Tysy tube and also odd tinkering who do similar things but complete full restorations rather than your more specific fixing broken circuit board and compactors/chip sets. For what little my opinion is worth to you already successful channel is I'd personally like to see more shell/casings receive a portion of the video. It's super helpful and I doubt most people follow multiple channels like this. Also doing upgrades to these devices could be cool. Like backlights or changing conventionally battery run handhelds into lithium ion variants. Just my opinion. I think it'd help draw a larger audience. But I enjoy your content regardless

[@mrlox9576]

Lay a piece of foil accross the corroded part and put batteries in to test to see if the unit works or if you have bigger problems before going to the effort of cleaning. Will save you time.

[@verybempostadepaiva3008]

just love your video's keep them coming

[@Tronicsfix]

Thank you! Will do!

[@mikinard]

Drag back and forth on the whole screen connector and not just on the dead lines.. it works

[@shady4422]

Enjoyed that,Great vid

[@matt25876]

You should get one of the guys that works for you to do the restoration..maybe one of those cleaning ASMR style videos. I hear Robert is pretty good at it .😉😂 Loving the content, giving me more confidence to take apart some of my own electronics.

[@walter9724]

For something that old, a bit of grime is expected along with wear and tear. I still have my multi tap to join one gameboy to others and its still in its box. Its never been open or used 👍

[@XaFFaX]

This mostly was not corrosion, but rather spilled battery acid. Quite good contacts though, mostly not rusted with that acid.

[@Tronicsfix]

And what does spilled battery acid cause?

[@BlueTrane2028]

Source for the correct dark grey screen cover for the Play it loud gameboys? The ones I've gotten were either too light or too dark, the one on that green looked perfect...

[@shadowfrost44]

Extreme green was missing love that you are doing retro stuff

[@Tronicsfix]

More coming!

[@shadowfrost44]

​@@Tronicsfix woop!!!

[@dbzfighter2025]

Are you considering a retro-bright video for the grey one? That would be pretty neat if you did.

[@Diabolotherium]

Do you sell these devices that you are able to fix? If so where? Thanks.

[@nahuelgonzalez2709]

New TronicsFix video, let's goooooo!

[@marcopasta]

I find white vinegar is best for battery corrosion. Should try that first lol

[@gordonfreeman7680]

love your vids man.

[@stiuireadair]

Hello where can you get the battery terminals if you don’t mind me asking? Many thanks love the video. Chris from the UK 👍👌🤜

[@skiplazauski1497]

Those very corroded battery terminals could easily be made perfectly clean by dropping they into a sonic cleaner with the correct amount of abrasive added. This would save you a chuck of time. The sonic cleaners aren't that expensive. I enjoy your videos, Dr. Skip

[@timhartherz5652]

You can easily get it off with some household vinegar, it neutralises the alkaline residue. Afterwards rinse with water/q-tips and clean up with ipa. Apply protective zinc coating with q-tips or at least some oil. Great for contact which you can't or don't want to remove. Don't need an ultrasonic, but if you have one i still recommend neutralising that battery gunk beforehand.

[@stevenmael]

Alcohol eats away at adhesive, so just use some alcohol when removing polarizers, less risk of breaking the glass due to less pressure needed to pull off the polarizer.

[@adzmitch]

I recognise that first one, the dirt in the speaker :D

[@OldGamerPapi]

I wish I could go back in time to learn stuff like this. I wasted so much time in dead end jobs without trying to learn anything.

[@alexhaarman7871]

You should try Lemon Juice Concentrate like the little lemon shaped bottles for corrosion sometime, it works really fast, just don't use it if usomething has to started to rustic because in that case it will just make it look super ugly and sometimes worse. I use it all the time for Wiji Remote Lots

[@thebreatho]

I always try the roll the batteries trick to try and make better contact

[@cesars5106]

Thanks for the amazing content, now I'd like to know if you have repaired a PS4 launch edition with the error su-42118-6? my ps4 is unable to update and I think the grey cable from the motherboard to the disk reader is broken

[@jakelamont6205]

I like to desolder the corroded battery terminals and just soak em in distilled white vinegar. That corrosion will just dissolve right off of there.

[@DanielOliveiraViolao]

Great, dude!

[@briandoss9232]

Dude I learned alot about contact cleaning today.

[@AJpalma23]

Would love to see you do an IPS screen mod to one of these or a GBC/GBA!

[@tinystar3010]

I really like that yellow one. Do you sell some of the stuff you fix on ebay?

[@MrBlackmaxDK]

Man i allways wanted the clear Game Boy as a kid, and i still want it today :D, i do still have my original grey Game Boy from back in the days :)

[@AhmadCycro]

Awesome video!! Would the polarizer have been a little easier/safer to remove if you had used a heat gun on the adhesive first?

[@Tronicsfix]

Yes, definitely

[@timboslizetv2638]

Love it!

[@vhfgamer]

"Use a chemical to eat the rust..." Yeah. It's Vinegar. If you don't have vinegar, you can also use citric acid dish detergent booster, which is available widely in most grocery stores. A common brand name is Lemishine. It also has the side benefit of neutralizing all the alkaline battery leakage.

[@shindukess]

I still have my radiant red with the hard case. No warranty card though. Need to get my Gameboy fixed because it won't play games with saves. I dunked it in the tub as a kid. Thought it could be played under water for some reason.

[@adwol48]

taking the old polarising filter off my gameboy during a back-light and bi vert mod was probably the most scary thing I have ever done when i heard that crack when you were doing yours I thought you had cracked the glass.

[@OfAaron3]

I find that it's easier to gently use a heat gun to fix the vertical line issue on the screen as opposed to a soldering iron. With a soldering iron it just feels really finicky.

[@BenMorse0]

If you use heat the polarizer will come off a lot easier. Even just a hair dryer cuz I know you would be afraid of using a heat station

[@Tronicsfix]

Yes, that would have helped. I was actually surprised at how easily this one came up

[@BenMorse0]

@@Tronicsfixok fair. In the video you seemed scared to break the glass. I’m glad you got it done that’s the important part

[@0plp0]

This white precipitate is not corrosion but KOH Potassium Hydroxide from the battery.