My GAme Gear died - why?

[Hateshinai]

I was playing with my refurbished (changed all capacitors) Game Gear yesterday when suddenly it died. I was using the official power adapter and just changed carts. I turned it on and there was a burning smell immediately and it went off. If I try to turn it on it only stays on for a second. I disassembled it and found out that it is the board with the power switch that is faulty. It hearts up as soon as it's turned on. This happens on battery power as well. Luckily I had a spare GG that's beyond help so I transplanted the faulty board and still have a working GG.
What I would like to know is:
1. Why did it happen?
2. Is there anything I can do to prevent it from happening again?

[Opa Opa]

1) The Game Gears are pretty old now and it's not uncommon to replace parts.
2) As far as I know there is nothing you can do but keep some spare systems around so you can cannibalize them for parts.

Right now I'm starting the process to build a GG into a home console. I don't know if it would help the lifespan of the power system but it would eliminate the need to replace screens. I'll just have to build it and see what happens.

[Gnashvar]

1) The Game Gears are pretty old now and it's not uncommon to replace parts.
2) As far as I know there is nothing you can do but keep some spare systems around so you can cannibalize them for parts.

Right now I'm starting the process to build a GG into a home console. I don't know if it would help the lifespan of the power system but it would eliminate the need to replace screens. I'll just have to build it and see what happens.

That would be really awesome to see once you're done.

[Hateshinai]

1) The Game Gears are pretty old now and it's not uncommon to replace parts.
2) As far as I know there is nothing you can do but keep some spare systems around so you can cannibalize them for parts.

So it was just bad luck then. Thanks. Good luck with the conversion.

[thelolotov]

1) The Game Gears are pretty old now and it's not uncommon to replace parts.
2) As far as I know there is nothing you can do but keep some spare systems around so you can cannibalize them for parts.

Right now I'm starting the process to build a GG into a home console. I don't know if it would help the lifespan of the power system but it would eliminate the need to replace screens. I'll just have to build it and see what happens.

That would be really awesome to see once you're done.

A tutorial would be even better, I've got a game gear I might get around to repairing one day.

[WrathOskvro]

Hold up, exactly what is your Game Gear doing? Mine turns on then right back off. Turns out it just needs new capacitors.

[Opa Opa]

A tutorial would be even better, I've got a game gear I might get around to repairing one day.

Since this has been bumped I'll go ahead and post this update:
The project is temporarily on hold until winter due to time consumed by school and work. Also, If I'm successful I'll definitely post a tutorial video on YouTube and put a link in my signature.

[fvgazi]

A tutorial would be even better, I've got a game gear I might get around to repairing one day.

Since this has been bumped I'll go ahead and post this update:
The project is temporarily on hold until winter due to time consumed by school and work. Also, If I'm successful I'll definitely post a tutorial video on YouTube and put a link in my signature.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eitPZ24_7KE

A basic tutorial for changing the video capacitors. There is an audio fix guide as well.

I've tried changing the capacitors on both my Game Gears, but no luck. My screen just turns white and there is a high pitched squeal that comes out of both. I have to go poke around again. If i ever make any progress, I will post a guide, but it won't be for a while.

[Opa Opa]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eitPZ24_7KE

A basic tutorial for changing the video capacitors. There is an audio fix guide as well.

I've tried changing the capacitors on both my Game Gears, but no luck. My screen just turns white and there is a high pitched squeal that comes out of both. I have to go poke around again. If i ever make any progress, I will post a guide, but it won't be for a while.

Thanks for the link. I've watched that guy's videos before. He's pretty knowledgeable.

I'm actually considering just abandoning the project so I can focus on doing some mods to other consoles. I'll probably just repair my Game Gear and then do a region mod on my Genesis and N64. I also want to get a spare GameCube and repaint it and do some other customizations as well. Haven't decided yet, though.

So many projects and not enough time...

[xan_racketBOY_fan]

Hold up, exactly what is your Game Gear doing? Mine turns on then right back off. Turns out it just needs new capacitors.

Mine does this as well, but I found out all you have to do to get it running is quickly turn it ON then OFF and back ON again. When I say quick, I mean quick! Works everytime. If I'm playing for more than 5 minutes and I turn it OFF again, I can turn back ON like normal. I got my GG free off Craigslist because the guy selling it thought it magically broke as soon as I got there.