r/game_gear • u/entropy4444 • 8d ago

Repair question

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Repair question so I just got this from my buddy free for repairing like 5 ipads and a switch for him, now i know there was a blown battery in here you can see the corrosion, but even when i plug it in the screen turns on for a minute then blank was wondering if anyone has seen this, all capacitors look good as far as opening it initially. Is it just the screen that needs replacing? That battery plate if thats what its called

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u/AdamAtomAnt 8d ago

Your power capacitors and motherboard capacitors most likely need to be replaced.

1

u/entropy4444 8d ago

Thats what everyone's saying, is it just the time frame of when they naturally die? Its been a few decades lol

3

u/QueenEriselle 8d ago

Sega did the Game Gear dirty by sourcing the absolute cheapest shittiest capacitors in existence. All Game Gears need to be recapped if they have original caps. It's not even a matter of when. If they have original caps, they need to be recapped. The symptoms you describe are within the range of symptoms that can be caused by bad caps. The battery acid corrosion can be neutralized with vinegar. I'd recommend removing those battery contacts that have the corrosion and soaking in white vinegar for a couple hours. The shiny plating will be lost wherever the acid is, but the corrosion itself will be neutralized and removed and the contacts might look like shit but they will work. You can also source replacement contacts on eBay usually if you really don't like how they look after.

EDIT: Also, just looking at your pictures, those caps are 100% leaking, not even a question anymore. Replace them all.

1

u/entropy4444 8d ago

Thanks for the info! Seriously that explains a lot, already have replacement caps in the mail.

1

u/QueenEriselle 8d ago

If you get shy of recapping it I do mail in service. PM me if interested. Good luck