Game Boy:General Troubleshooting

If your Game Boy is having issues, check the below general troubleshooting information for help.

Cannot Play on Battery Power

If you are unable to play on battery power, your DC jack may have failed. The DC jack detects if something is inserted and will turn off the battery circuit if it detects something. These jacks are known to fail and keep the battery circuit shut off, even if something is not inserted. You can try to spray metal contact cleaner into the jack or replace the jack.

Battery Draining Fast

Properly clean the power switch.

Audio Issues

Crunchy Audio or Crackling

• Properly clean the power switch.
• Clean the headphone jack using pipe cleaner and IPA.
• Replace all of the electrolytic capacitors; especially C32 (Game Boy Color).

Whining Noise

If there is a loud whining noise, particularly when LEDs are set to white on a LED button mod kit, check if a CleanAmp is installed and remove it.