Hardware Trying to revive a GBA SP: what's wrong?

[xenon]

Hi. A friend of mine found a GBA SP in a park a couple of years ago. Not being much of a gamer, he gave it to me, and I finally tried to revive it. I bought an USB cable charger, plugged it in and here's what happens:
if the GBA is turned off, the red LED turns on for about 1/2 second, then it goes off. If the GBA is on, the green and the red LEDs turn on, the screen gets white, again for about 1/2 second, then it's all off. Needless to say, the GBA doesn't get charged and isn't usable when plugged. What could it be? A dead battery?
Thanks for your attention.

 

[KirbyPink]

Sounds like mine. Sort of. Mine as it if you turn the battery button on all the way up it turns off.

I say get a new battery.

 

[VmprHntrD]

If it doesn't work when it's plugged in I'm not so sure it's the battery as much as a circuitry problem.

 

[ridgecity]

just get a new one. $40 in k-mart.

 

[xenon]

I know they're cheap now, but having a DS Lite I'm not too inclined to spend that money on a GBA. But thanks for your replies.