Help with Broken Action Replay for GBA

[MattTheGamer]

Hello all. I recently picked up this Action Replay for the Gameboy Advance. Knowing it's broken, I want to fix it. I have a few issues already though. My biggest one I want to address is that it doesn't seem to boot. I've never owned one, so I could be wrong. I plug it into my GBA, attempt to put a copy of FireRed in it and turn it on, but nothing loads. The GBA boots as if you have no cartridge installed. I also can't seem to properly insert the GBA cart into the AR. I have to remove the front part of the housing to seemingly insert it fully. Regardless, it doesn't seem to put. No traces seem to be broken or components missing, so I'm not too sure what is wrong with it.

I seem to be unable to add links to my posts yet, so I can't link the eBay listing. But it's the clear AR with a USB Type B port on the side of it.

 

[Localhorst86]

The action replay needs a game inserted correctly in order to boot. It passes information through to the console because otherwise datel (or whoever made the AR at that time) would have to commit copyright infringement by including a copy of Nintendo code in their cartridge.

The unti should have a switch on the top, try switching it to either position.
Try to see if any of the connector pins are bent and try clean them using rubbing alcohol. Try a different GBA title, maybe.

 

[MattTheGamer]

The action replay needs a game inserted correctly in order to boot. It passes information through to the console because otherwise datel (or whoever made the AR at that time) would have to commit copyright infringement by including a copy of Nintendo code in their cartridge.

The unti should have a switch on the top, try switching it to either position.
Try to see if any of the connector pins are bent and try clean them using rubbing alcohol. Try a different GBA title, maybe.

Tried all of the above. Different games, cleaned contacts, even desoldered the cartridge connector and cleaned the pins and pads and I couldn't make it turn on. I can't tell if it's the cartridge connector or a chip on the board.

 

[Localhorst86]

Well, then I am out of ideas. The only thing I noticed with my unit is that it doesn't work properly with bootleg gba cartridges, but even then it will still boot to the menu.