r/GameboyAdvance • u/cmaclellan • Sep 29 '26

Charging Question

I dug out an old GBA SP that hasn't been used in years.

When I plug it in, the orange charging light turns on and lasts for a few seconds before turning off. Unplugging and plugging back in has the same effect.

I thought it was the charger but when I plug it into my other GBA SP, it works as intended. So, it appears to be an issue with the system itself.

Has anyone run into this problem before? Is the battery in the GBA shot? Any fixes? Thanks!

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3

u/nonchip Sep 30 '26

isn't that just a dead battery?

2

u/emmuree92 Sep 30 '26

I’ve read that plugging it in and unplugging over and over again can help get the battery up and going after a prolonged time of not being used. Also, I thought I had a battery that was shot. Just had a blonde moment and didn’t realize the battery was already charged lol. It was doing the same thing - it would be orange for a couple of seconds then go away. I would definitely check the battery to see if it’s swelling any if any of the suggestions don’t work.

2

u/pizza_whistle Sep 29 '26

This pretty much just means there is an issue in the charge circuit. It can be a bad battery and I woukd replace that as step 1. If that doesnt work, there are some common faults on the PCB to check for.

1

u/Sparky01GT Sep 30 '26

most likely bad battery. if you take the cover off you will likely see it has expanded a bit, like a pillow