Gameboy Color Power Issues

[robotwilliams]

My Gameboy turns on fine when I'm only using batteries, but if I plug in a 3v adaptor to power it, it does not turn on. The gameboy does not turn on with the ac adapter regardless of the batteries still being in the gameboy or out. I have done the pro sound mod on this GBC, but I did not test if the issue started before or after the mod. I'd rather have just the power adapter than just the batteries, if someone knows how to connect the battery connections to a 3v plug. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

[Hobie-wan]

I'd imagine having a plug in the power port bypasses the batteries so they aren't connected to the power circuit. Did this mod involve tapping power somewhere for the extra bits? Perhaps you accidentally bridged some power line that's connected to the power plug to something that's shorting when things are shifted there?

[robotwilliams]

Yes, having the 3v adapter plugged in bypasses the batteries from the circuit, so that leads me to believe that at least the section of the power circuit after the batteries is working. I'm not exactly sure about what the mod does, but it bypasses the internal audio amp so that the audio signal is better (here is the mod http://lowgain-audio.com/GBCmod.htm). I already double checked that I didn't bridge anything, but I'll check again. Would covering possible bridge areas with electrical tape work fine for ensuring bare connections don't touch?

[Hobie-wan]

As long as you didn't accidentally solder something that shouldn't be, yeah, putting electrical tape between things that could be pushed together when closing it up should be sufficient in something that low power. When I replace batteries in game carts, the ones I get don't have the plastic ring around the outside, so I put a piece of electrical tape under the one leaf to make sure it doesn't short when folded over the edge of the battery to solder to the board.

[robotwilliams]

My wiring looked good. Just to make sure, I covered all possible shorting spots with electrical tape anyways. Since the Gameboy works fine when run on batteries I don't think that there is a short. I'm thinking about switching out the 3v from my Gameboy Pocket into this Color, since I know that the pocket works fine on the 3v power adapter. That would at least help me narrow down the issue.