Trying to FIX: Nintendo GameBoy Advance SP that doesn't CHARGE

Hi, in this video I attempt to repair a Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP that doesn't charge up. The orange light stays on for 1 second and then goes out. It was sent to me by Mike from 1up Gaming who has an Amazon store selling gaming related products.
I have never opened up a Game Boy Advance SP before so it will be interesting to see if I can locate the charge problem.
Remember that this is just for entertainment and I am not an expert in these repairs. The processes in the video may not be the best way, the correct way or the safest way to fix these things.
I do love fault finding and trying to fix broken things so I hope that comes across in this 'Trying to FIX' series.
Many thanks, Vince.

[@Tronicsfix]

Really good fault finding here Vince! I really enjoyed watching this video.

[@Mymatevince]

Thank you Steve, it was such a relief when I finally found it...Many hours went into this one but it ended up being one of my favourite fixes :-)

[@donaldmcgowan6580]

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[@whatasteve7992]

Hi Vince, just wanted to say a big thanks as you inspired me to try my hand at some component level repair during lockdown. I got a completely dead PS4 for £50 on ebay and after sorting out the 5V PSU connector on the mainboard that had been GLUED?!?! back in place after being ripped off probably when someone tried to remove the power supply, with some IPA and some actual solder it works perfectly and had my very own YESSSSSS moment! Hope you and your family are staying sane :-)

[@MellowVR24762]

That's awesome I love buying busted and repairing 😄it's great when you get the fix ha ha

[@ot928]

@whatasteve just a quick question what soldering station do you use and congrats on getting the ps4 working

[@SpeedyJoe.]

I'm new to electronics repair (started a new career). I've looked on you tube for videos teaching circuit board troubleshooting and came up with nothing helpful. Your videos are hands down the best the absolute BEST circuit board troubleshooting videos I have found. Please make more!

[@therobotx512345]

Thank you for this post. Because of you I was able to fix my AGS-101 board. The board is a different design but I checked the connection from the diode to the battery port and it was bad as well. So I jumped the diode and the battery port and it worked. You really went all out on this and I appreciate the effort. Thanks.

[@ZealousWins]

Just want to say, congrats on your fix! I'm glad you could get it working again :) What color is your SP?

[@SkippyDa]

I would recommend watching Mike's Electric Stuff video called "Wire brush for reverse engineering PCBs" for easy finding where stuff goes to.

[@getyourkicksagain]

Wow, that _is_ a time (and eyesight) saver! Thanks for sharing.

[@instanoodles]

Thats what I use, great for power issues but with so many chips being bga now that trick doesnt work so well with those.

[@BrianOfAteionas]

Great job Vince! Amazing troll from this board! The location of the corrosion being under the connector, the fact that it looked like it cleaned up nice, the dual via situation... I'm so impressed that you defeated this absolutely crazy problem! What a glorious orange light!

[@masterball2928]

This video is much better than every so called repair and restoration videos... It teaches us every components and actually finding the source of problem in a motherboard. Good job

[@LucasFowler]

This video REALLY helped me in fixing an old SP I bought for my 5 year old daughter. I have a basic understanding of passive electronics from guitar wiring but small circuit boards without discrete components are intimidating to work on for me.

[@squallneko5004]

That's totally awesome Vince, it's always cool to watch your videos and learn things. I hope to see many more videos. I hope you are safe.

[@klayer9990]

Excellent work, Vince! This was a rollercoaster of emotions, and I'm really glad it worked out in the end.

[@legatusaugustipropraetore3484]

I have started with personal electronics work as well and must admit besides other sources I have learned a lot from your videos. I like the patience you have finding the problem and the precise explanation during your work. Therefore this is really my favorite electronic fix channel. Keep up your great content. Cheers from Germany!!

[@StuartHicks01]

Absolute awesome fix, sheer determination to get it fixed come though in the end, well done.

[@ryanbeall7542]

Thanks! Literally EXACTLY the same problem I had. Saved me hours of rework. Thanks brother! Also was very helpful to watch you cover down on all the chip exploration (even though I wanted to just jump to the end, but didn't) because I couldn't find a schematic anywhere and you pulling off all the chips to identify what they were helped fill in all the gaps without me having to take any off. One bridge wire on the vias and I was back in business!! Thanks again. KZbin needs a way to send people a free beer cause you'd get one from me!

[@monstratorfull]

I just discovered this video because I also had the charging problem and after checking everything that was visible nothing has changed. I followed everything he did and realized that the motherboard had the same problem and now it works great !

[@xerxes4863]

I commend you on your extreme patience and hard work :-). You don't give up! Watching your videos is good for me. I fixed the tape deck of an old Philips compact stereo the other week and had it not been for watching your videos, I would have thrown it into the closest wall the 15:th time a little plastic lever behind some springloaded plastic thing fell right into the rest of the mechanism. Thanks!

[@rafa159x]

Hi Vince! Thanks to your video I was able to find where the charge problem is on my AGS-101 motherboard. Kind regards from Mexico and take care!

[@robocitizen8103]

So cool to see a repair that hits me with so much nostalgia at the same time. Luckily my sp still functions perfectly to this day, even the battery can hold a good charge along with my other handhelds.

[@NickMicallef]

What a miracle, Vince! So glad you were able to fix it!

[@kevindavis4305]

Because of this video I have now fixed two SP’s. Blown fuse on one and a bad charging port on the other. Wouldn’t have known what to look for without watching you go thru the process. Thank You.

[@mitchelboehm6408]

I had exactly the same problem and it was driving me crazy. Thank you for your extremely helpful video!

[@Drunkenpaws]

Thanks Vince, I had a short between two via’s which I never would’ve found without this video showing underneath the cartridge slot. Legend!

[@diggerdrum]

Well done mate, always a relief when you suss out a problem and get it working again. Always enjoy your videos and keep them coming. 👍👍

[@hnasje66]

seeing you swapping the chips you improved your skills a lot. nice fix

[@wassupjg]

Appreciate the uploads Vince, hope you and your fam stay safe during this time

[@GhostReaper2043]

Nice work Vince Can you please do more of these long repair videos I like them a lot. It seems like watching theses long videos you are doing makes my day go quicker. Looking forward to the next video keep up the good work. Hope you and your family are safe and healthy.

[@joshuastill2619]

This is insane, it’s very satisfying seeing your joy when it works!

[@MarcusMiranda]

Vince, i't so joyous to watch your videos! I really enjoy watching these... Kudos for finding the problem on this GBA! Your determination inspires me! Keep doing these videos, mate!

[@basshikaru]

I have no knowledge of how circuits work yet I enjoy watching this so much.

[@dtrotzjr]

Vince, thank you for doing this video. I had a similar issue to yours and learned a few good trouble shooting skills in the process of watching this video and was able to fix a GameBoy Advance SP that was not charging due to the EM8 being bad. Thanks a million!

[@prashantandsapna]

Good job Vince! Enjoyed that fix. I love your technique for fault finding.

[@guymatteson6321]

As an Electronic tech myself, I run into these kinds of problems as well. Great video Vince!

[@CryPlz]

Huge win Vince, really enjoyable watch!

[@terminationshock1356]

Just an hour ago I checked to see if there was new video from my mate. And it's even my favorite kind! Retro gaming repair FTW! Like Vince always says when he successfully repairs something... "YESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!"

[@Sam_Holt]

You have the patience of a saint. I'd have given up at about the minute 2 mark. Congratulations on another really interesting fix. I'd be interested in knowing your fix to fail ratio across all of your videos. *I think you are getting to the point now where you can't call yourself an amateur anymore* :D

[@Runningbowels]

I admire your tenacity. Great job! I kept rooting for you throughout your video.

[@legion6546]

Good to see you back with the vids mate, been over a week and started to get withrdawal symptons.

[@cesar8ramirez]

Best video I've seen thus far. Well articulated and assisted me in getting my SP to charge. Even though I had the newer board it truly helped! Thanks a mil!

[@cesar8ramirez]

@Mymatevince I need to change out the CPU on mine. Looks the 2-3 prongs that broke off were because of corrosion. I was trying to clean up the CPU using alcohol with a light brush but no luck. I know it worked before because my won used it for awhile. I ended up changing out the EM8 chip because it wasn't charging anymore and converted to a USB-C charge port. A bit sloppy on my part because I burnt the board in those areas but its turning on and charging at least now. I shot a video so I can show you. Definitely not my favorite project to work on. What would you charge me to fix the CPU?

[@davidelliott8016]

Hi Vince, great video! If you're hunting through a board and can't find where a via goes, get a very fine wire and put it through the via hole, makes it very easy to spot on the other side that way.

[@Ashbasher]

Dead chuffed for you mate! I was on the edge of my seat the whole way through! Really entertaining video Vince, keep it up buddy!

[@captainwasel8377]

It is so satisfying at the end. Very good man.

[@DOMINATOR3211]

This video was a god send. I had the exact same issue under the slot. I didnt want to risk damaging the cartridge slot so I just a wire from the diode you removed to the fuse you blew. Works great now. Thank you so much😁

[@hali_moto]

Learned a lot watching this video, very happy you were able to find it in the end!

[@b21lukas]

Nice work done! I actually have an SP with exactly the same problem which I gave up on after checking Fuses and Batterie now I'm. Probably going to have a revisit with it 😁 I'll keep yall updated

[@Pingoinnn]

39:02 Was an ABSOLUTE torture to watch ! But I'm so happy you eventually fixed the conection between the bloody hidden wires ! Have a nice day !

[@algerinostylee]

Thank you very much from France. Great job Vince, very helpful !

[@ScottFix]

Legend. Great video Vince. Learning so much from watching your videos. Thanks and keep up the good work. 👍

[@littlebalup5676]

I had the exact same issue. Same corroded vias under the cartridge slot witout any conductivity and no charge. You saved my time. Thanks!!!

[@silent-ghost]

Man! Hats off to your patience, perseverance, and smarts!! Kudos!

[@jhgpsimons]

This video is a long time ago, but still congrats with this very difficult find. I still feel your happiness at the end when you found it

[@getyourkicksagain]

Corroded via _under_ the game slot connector? Maybe you should apply for a job at CSI or something! Awesome detective work, sir, I admire your perserverance in the face of adversity. Well worth the watch! Edit: -and don't call me Shirley!

[@juma0427]

Thank you very much, I had exactly the same problem, and I was about to give up, but I found your video and it helped me a lot, again thank you very much for your time and your knowledge. Greetings from Mexico.

[@onasazi]

Wow that was a great perseverance video! So much time spent on and in the end you found!!

[@bumbumlazyguy]

Thanks for posting this video! Helped me find/fix the same problem!

[@guigro_]

Thanks to your process of following the trace I managed to repair my non charging GBA SP ! My trace was lost just after yours, now it works perfectly thanks !

[@MemryHunts]

This video helped me SOOO much! My SP has the EXACT same issue and its been driving me crazy! So thank you for your pain!! lol it helped me with mine! Every time you went to test it early in the video I was hoping it wouldnt work because mine didnt either lol. Horrible I know, but all in all you helped save my SP so thank you! Crazy how it was the same thing. Must be more common than I thought, or we are outliers.

[@Mymatevince]

Excellent, cheers for letting me know. At least my pain helped ease your pain, I can only say that now as so much time has since passed. In the first few weeks the pain was immeasurable 😂👍

[@dvernor]

Your commitment is commendable! Nice job!

[@fahadalbaz7680]

I have over 100 gameboy Sp 's and they all have the same problem you addressed in your video. When you charge the gameboy the orange light stays on for few seconds then turns off. Easy Fix is you need to trickle charge the battery. Just keep pulling and inserting your charger multiple times over 1 min and it will start to hold charge. You will start to notice that the orange light stays on for longer time. It works 90% of the time

[@PunkNDisorderlyGamer]

You know you could just boost the battery back to nominal value with a AA battery it takes 10 seconds. Connect the positive to positive and negative to negative and hold for 10 seconds.

[@paullefur6213]

Another great vlog Vince, i was with you for a while on tender hooks, but you came through, like said a new LCD spray the cover and be good as new, top job matey.

[@deadguy3669]

That was the most epic thing I’ve ever watched. More gameboy advance sp won’t charge videos!

[@dirzz]

Amazing fix. I applaud your perseverance!

[@TorqueEffect]

Big thumbs up to you Vince! I retraced your exact steps and found my SP had the same exact via issues. (though I didn't remove the cart slot) but I didn't have continuity between the two via after the diode and the positive battery terminal. I jumped a wire from that via to the positive battery terminal and it worked! So not as elegant of a fix as yours, but I'd rather not go through the trouble of removing that cart slot. xP

[@Jinxnator]

Yessss Omg I been so bored now I have a hour of you buddy hope you and your family keeping safe and well much love

[@thomasandrews9355]

First the beginning I partly assumed it was an issue with a connection to the battery as when you found it didnt work without a battery. Good job!

[@1up_Gaming]

GBA and DS don't switch on if there is not a battery inside, won't work on power supply alone.

[@talon4x4]

Wow! That really was some nice fault finding and a great fix!!

[@blagzster6255]

You did good mate. I thought you had it pretty early when you went straight to the charging IC and mosfet. That was a tricky find. Just bear in mind that sometimes in the charging circuit a mosfet can switch in the ground and not always the positive.

[@mldesigns6846]

Oh man im glad I found this for a better understanding of charging issues, I fixed two motherboards from non working sound and had to do same thing... Hours of following all the traces but end the end it payed off and fixed both ")

[@etiennevanharen3893]

wow that was an amazing fix and an interesting journey to the fault. Too bad that screen kept glitching, maybe replace it with an ips screen like elliot does? good stuff Vince.

[@andersmmvfc.8376]

Congratulation! What a relief! Thank you for the entertainment!

[@jimmyramkisoen191278]

Good job Vince! Learned much from your video's.

[@binkman853]

Wow! Congratulations to a great video and great repairs!

[@CecilMcW00t]

Please do more Game Boy family fixes! This was so nostalgic for me 🥰

[@Doc_Fartens]

Interesting that the blown fuse caused the same symptoms as the other system had, despite having different problems

[@Pingoinnn]

That's what I was thinking ! What I thought (might be totally wrong since I'm new to electronics) was that some connecions were operated on the two motherboards, but those connections weren't complete. Like that : -Vince's Gameboy : Charger plugged > Charging circuit operational > Lights turn on > Broken fuse on the way > Blocks current > Lights turn off -Faulty Gameboy : Charger plugged > First half of the charging circuit operational > Lights turn on > No connection between two wires in the middle > Current can't continue it's way > Lights turn off If someone can confirm if it's correct maybe (again might not be that at all lol) but that's how I saw it.

[@UserUser-ww2nj]

@@Pingoinnn The charger detected no current draw so it turned off , a safety thing

[@MikeK-NIreland]

Very Well Done Vince that was a tricky little fix, fair play to you. Keep up the good work and keep safe. Mick 👍🍻

[@bluethingfan5]

I got ridiculously happy when you got it working.

[@AnonGolden]

wow, just wow. This repair had it all. Better plot than most movies i tell you

[@catcam]

Thanks for great and calming content . Stay safe !!

[@ArreglandoCosas]

Excellent video vince. I felt release mysellf when that orange light of hell remained on. Just excellent

[@stepanremes987]

oh my gosh. Had the same exact problem and couldn't figure it out for months. thanks a lot.

[@MirceaD28]

Oh man!! I almost jump for from my seat! Nice work Vince!

[@pbakai182]

Great job, Vince! As expected, another rollercoaster ride of emotions. Just a small tip (pun not intended), when you were soldering the "U" shaped jumper wire thru the via, you should really be using a thinner tip to solder that bit, as it looked like you were heating mostly just the jumper wire with your wide tip, when you should be ensuring to heat both the via & the jumper wire to get a good solder connection. Otherwise, if you just hit the copper with heat, the solder may form a cold joint as it runs down and cools on it's way to the via. Not really an issue for that joint there, but could help with future jobs!

[@paultasker7788]

Very well done. What a battle!

[@kriswillems5661]

I don't think I would have found that one. Nice fix Vince.

[@TheSkaldenmettrunk]

Your patience is insane. Great fix.

[@Th3OmegaPoint]

F1 & F2 probably refers to the fuses.

[@ftrueck]

It doesnt necessarily need to be you who broke the trace to the diode. The corrosion below the card reader could lead to a high resistance path drawing higher power through the diode trace which burnt it.

[@ekens6344]

Yes! Or maybe the diode trace, that whole area, was itself very corroded from water damage and the last person who had the board cleaned all the corrosion off, but didn't check the traces. I think that might be what happened because there was a lot of flux around the charge IC, they probably cleaned it and resoldered some of the chips to remove the corrosion but missed the damaged traces.

[@nostalgiainjection8867]

Wonder how the fuse blew on his good gba

[@ftrueck]

Nostalgia injection i think over current. Maybe of a wonky connection or a shortage.

[@Driv3r96]

Learned a lot from this video, thanks.

[@Tommy20005]

Love your videos keep making us smile :)

[@wisher21uk]

Well done Vince ....... determination always pays out ...

[@darrenthebuilder]

Well done on getting there and persevering!

[@xnakxx]

amazing fix and great detective work there!

[@Huntingslife1]

No quick version? Still worth the watch great vid Vince!

[@lenoillionel2342]

congrats mate... like always you are awesome on fault finding

[@louie888888888]

Super Video Vince 5 stars Mate love it please keep making more Thank you.

[@gordonwiese1409]

Thank you very much for this video. You are my hero!

[@DazeAftersAndNeets]

Well done. You've really entertained me

[@nostalgiainjection8867]

This was addicting had 2 watch it all thanks, inspiring me to fix things at home

[@nightstah]

As usual, you have the patience of a saint (which does you in good stead) - excellent video!

[@breaux555]

that was awesome man. great video

[@retractingblinds]

55:20 Thanks. I always struggled getting those on, knowing I could just flex the hinge and it clicks in perfectly will save me a lot of headaches.

[@kevinburns6690]

Great video Vince.

[@andr1984]

Damn i can really feel it at 51:03 xD i prolly would've had anxiety and almost a mental brakedown lol, anyway was nice to see that you got it fixed :) thumbs up.