Hardware Strange power switch issue with AGB-001, any advice?

[actualkoifish]

Hello all,

I bought a used GBA as part of a lot. It seems to work fine, except that the power switch is funny. Flicking the switch all the way to ON makes the unit power turn off. However, if you push it very slightly leftward from that rightmost position, it powers normally. It seems that the switch somehow goes too far when it clicks from OFF and into ON position.

My question is, what methods should I use to get around this? I haven't seen this before so hopefully someone else has a suggestion. I figure at worst that I can just put something inside to block the switch from moving too far.

I actually have a second unit too, with similar problem. It clicks on just fine, but it has a problem when you touch the power switch too much in the rear direction. Is this just something that happens with some GBAs? I know the power switch only "clicks" because of the connection of the plastic on the switch and the body of the console. Does this wear down over time, or something like that?

Thanks for all your help.

 

[koffieleut]

Have you tried opening up the powerswitch and cleaning the pads? It often helps with this kind of issues.

 

[actualkoifish]

Thanks for the suggestion. I ended up following something that was remarkably simple; I just took out the motherboard, put rubbing alcohol on the power switch, moved it to the opposite extreme, put more alcohol on it, moved it back, and basically repeated this process, sliding the power switch back and forth over and over, while adding rubbing alcohol back in doses as needed. After a few dozen swipes back and forth, both power switches were working like new. It's my understanding that the switches can just get dirty, and that while you can get them thoroughly by using a soldering iron to remove the metal shield over the top and then rubbing the switch vigorously with rubbing alcohol, that even just running the switch back and forth with alcohol pushed in will improve the situation. It's probably not perfect, but it did the job for me. I can barely tell them apart from some of my other GBAs now, so far as I can tell, it's mission accomplished. Thanks again for anyone who read this and to koffieleut for the helpful response.