original Gameboy problems...

[bomberpunk]

i recently acquired three of these. two of them had several missing columns on the screen and one would not come on at all. after watching a video on youtube, i was able to pop open the two working gameboys and try to fix them. one came out perfect while the other still has one stubborn column smack in the middle of the screen that will not come back. i gave up on that one and starting messing with the third one that wouldn't come on.

 

after cleaning some corrosion off the battery terminals and some corrosion that leaked onto parts of the main board, it started to power up! however, every time i turn it on i get a different "epileptic light show" regardless if a game is inserted or not. any tips on what to do with this one? thanks.

[nathanallan]

if it were me, I'd see how the cable is seated on the inside that goes from the mainboard to the LCD. Take it all apart and clean as you go, that's what I would start with. Good luck!

[bomberpunk]

I've got an update. The problematic system now plays games, but only the bottom half the screen works. The top half is dead. No columns on the bottom half are missing. Sometimes the screen will flicker dimmer or darker. I've been running the Battetoads title w theme song for like 15 minutes now and I'm still not sick of it!

[bomberpunk]

yeah scratch that progress. it's in the trash. and i have tiny bits of screen embedded in my knuckles. f------ piece of s---.

[nathanallan]

Ouch, sorry to hear this. If it were me I'd pass the parts off to a modder if they can use them.

[SeberHusky]

I've got 3 old GameBoys, and two of them have the LCD problem with columns on the edges of the screen like you described. Only noticeable when I turn the contrast all the way up though.

 

PS: Put the parts on eBay, there are nutty people that will use it for an art project, or parts.