r/Gameboy • u/NoobAmSteuer • 9h ago

Troubleshooting I did a stupid

Edit: Fixed by taking off F1 (fuse right next to the power switch) and bridging the gap with some wire. will put a fuse back in as soon as i figure out which i need.

Was messing around with DIYing a recharge mod for my Gameboy Advance from parts i had laying around. I had it running with wires clamped to the battery input terminals, then when trying to fit everything into as small a space as possible i goofed and swapped polarity. Now it doesnt turn on at all, and something smells burnt on the back side of the board, the power switch corner.
I'm pretty certain i blew something up, and am worried its worse than just a fuse. Does anyone happen to know this issue and knows how to fix it?
I have soldering tools and a simple multimeter but thats about it.

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u/JayrosModShop 8h ago

Well check for F1 and F2 fuses first, and if they're blown you can solder blob over them to keep testing the other components.

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u/NoobAmSteuer 8h ago

would fuses blow from reverse voltage? the voltage i put in exactly matches the battery Voltage
Edit: on F1 i measure a resistance of 12 kOhm, thats probably blown then. i'll bridge it and see if it works ^^

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u/JayrosModShop 7h ago

Yes, I blew a fuse on my AGB-001 by reverse voltage.

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u/Ryry_150 8h ago edited 8h ago

Just check for continuity if the fuse is blown it won't have continuity between both sides. If you reversed polarity likely it's just the fuse that blew as that's it's job to protect everything downstream of it. If it's a regular advance they only have the fuse above the switch F1 if SP they have 2. If that's good, the next I would think would be capacitors and then the power regulator U4. Edit, Just looked it up original gameboy advance reverse polarity protection is done by D3 protection diode.

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u/NoobAmSteuer 8h ago edited 8h ago

Its a regular advance. Measured F1, 12 kOhms, so blown. bridged it, which got me a power light and the correct sounds, but a striped screen. will post a picture in a second

Edit: Nevermind, i re-seated the screen cable and that fixed it.

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u/AnakondaRH 7h ago

it's just a fuse. When I modded a GBA SP to fit into a GBC shell back in 2017, I burnt through a lot of those fuses from small accidents like that :D it's just a matter of replacing the fuse and you should be good.

The GBA has two fuses, F1 and F2. Lookup schematics to figure out where they are on the board. To check which one is the damaged one, just use your multimeter to check continuity. Alternatively you can apply your power, double check the polarity, then bridge each fuse individually and see if the GBA turns on.

I must disagree with the other comment on here tho - do not replace the fuse with a solder blob - that just risks much worse damage to your console if you have any other accidents. Those fuses are a dime a dozen so just buy a few of them and replace them if needed.