Gameboy SP Problems

[Ryaan1234]

Yesterday, I got a Gameboy SP at a church sale for $8. I just got around to testing it out today and I found out that it doesn't work! When I plug in the adapter to charge it, the charging light comes on but when I switch the gameboy on nothing happens. I left it charging for about an hour and when I came back the light was no longer on, I then tried to power it up but again, nothing happened. The gameboy is in good shape with no damage or anything that would lead me to guess the problem. At first I though it might be the battery, but it would've powered on while it was charging. Does anybody have a good guess of what might be wrong with it?

[Poofta!]

you get what you pay for. 8 bucks for a gba sp charger is about right.

[Ryaan1234]

Actually I used the charger from my DS to charge it. :(

[mario2butts]

Have you tried cleaning the cartridge connector?

[Ryaan1234]

I'll try that but it won't power up, even without a cartridge inserted.

[davidbrit2]

It's entirely possible that the power switch itself is malfunctioning. Crack that baby open and have a look at it. It's probably the first thing I'd check.

[neuropolitique]

Even without a cart you should get the power-on screen. Also, the light going off is an issue, it should turn green when finished charging. It could be that the contacts on the charger or port or dirty, but it sounds like the board is bad.

[Ryaan1234]

Thanks for the help! I'd open it up if I had a tri-wing screwdriver. I'll probably get one just to open it and see what's going on.

[davidbrit2]

Thanks for the help! I'd open it up if I had a tri-wing screwdriver. I'll probably get one just to open it and see what's going on.

I've found that if you can get just the right size flathead screwdriver, getting those weird screws out is actually pretty easy. Dig around your stash for something eyeglass size and work your way up or down from there.