Sound problème after water damage

h-run08 · 2026-06-17T10:40:52+0100

Hello

I have a problem with a Nintendo Switch that got wet.

The sound is distorted on both the Switch speakers and the headphones.

However, the sound is fine on the TV.

I replaced the audio chip, but the problem persists.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.

thesjaakspoiler · 2026-06-17T11:45:30+0100

Sound to the TV over HDMI is a digital signal, the rest is analog.
The likely suspects are in the area around the ALC chip or the chip itself.
The ALC chip is the one with the crab logo.
It is an all-in-one audio chip, including the opamp for the speakers and headphones.
It depends on some analog stuff like resistors and capacitors.

The values of these capacitors and resistors do matter and broken components can cause the distortion you're hearing.
Capacitors should not be shorted and resistors should have the proper values.
With water damage, sometimes eats away connections underneath components.
If you gently push components, then they should not come loose.

This is the OLED model but the other models are very similar.
The Lite has a lot of zero ohm bridges and bad connections with those also cause funky issues.

Use some IPA alcohol to clean the area because minerals and corrosion can also short things or eat the underlying pads away.
I would not start reflowing the ALC chip right away unless it looks bad around the edges.

Sound problème after water damage

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