Game Gear Caps (help needed)

Hi there;

I bought a Game Gear some months ago which hadn't any video or any audio coming out, and therefore last week I changed it's capacitors (all video, all audio, and one 22mF PSU that had gotten pretty bad).

So after soldering all caps an double-checking the polarity and the lack of bridges I turned the system on and:

-Still no video, just the backlight's on, but I can't control brightness with the side wheel (I'm almost sure that I could before changing the caps).

-A buzzing sound coming from the speaker.

-Flickering red LED.

I'll attach some pictures and hopefully somebody will spot any mistake I've made.

Thanks in advance!

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[GALLERY=media, 1132][/GALLERY][GALLERY=media, 1133][/GALLERY][GALLERY=media, 1134][/GALLERY][GALLERY=media, 1135][/GALLERY][GALLERY=media, 1136][/GALLERY]

 

Hi-FirstvI want to say that Im not an expert by any means but I have done a couple of cap replacements. Are you positive all the caps were put in the correct spot? Are there any tiny solder spots that may be causing a bridge or short? When you say "no video", do you mean just a very washed out screen that is unplayable? All the new caps were good?

 

Probably not your issue, but also check the power jack in case you're using a PSU (and wriggling around while testing). Wouldn't be the first that makes bad contact.

 

Several things regarding a Game Gear recap (just my thoughts):

1: Best to replace all caps including power board and sound board
2: Just as there can be several caps that do leak, it is important to get the board clean and make sure your traces and pads are intact. It is possible to solder a new cap to a floating pad and basically make no difference to the system because there is no connection.
3: The sound can also have issues due to the volume pot.

It is possible that your ribbon cable or your major voltage circuitry for your screen can have issues that lead to display problems, but prior to that you'll want to check all of your voltages.

 

All caps were new and are in the spot I've seen in a guide, the voltage of the caps it's between 25v and 50v so I don't know if that is a problem. No bridges apparently, but I haven't got any multimeter to double check on that. And no video at all, not the slightest :\

Caps replacement guide:

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http://www.otakus-store.net/en/content/16-game-gear-cap-kit-installation-guide

Will check on that

I'll desolder all caps and give the board a nice cleanup with some ethanol, any idea about how to clean or repair the volume and video potentiometers?

Thanks a bunch for your answers, I'll just try couple things and let you guys know. By the way, I'm almost 100% sure the pads where the 22mF was in the power board are pretty bad, any alternative soldering points?

 

Well, I suppose you could desolder them, clean underneath them while they are out, and clean the contacts (maybe with Dexoit or something). Alternatively, you could pick up replacement pots. If you have scratches/jumps in volume when adjusting the volume pot, you probably have an issue with it. If you have bad sound and it just turns into louder bad sound when you turn the pot, you most likely have an issue with your sound signal's path.