Cleaning GBASP Screen

Discussion of programming and development for the original Game Boy and Game Boy Color.
Post Reply
User avatar
Jedi QuestMaster
Posts: 688
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2006 1:08 pm
Location: United States
Contact:

Cleaning GBASP Screen

Post by Jedi QuestMaster »

So there's slight dust (white speckles) inside (Yes, INSIDE) the screen, & I want to clean it out.

I've read that it's easy to screw up & make things worse than they are.

Has anyone tried this before? And, if so, what tools are needed for the job? 8)
User avatar
infiniteneslives
Posts: 2104
Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2011 11:49 am
Location: WhereverIparkIt, USA
Contact:

Post by infiniteneslives »

I've only done it with the original gameboy, there was dust between the clear protective cover and the screen which is what sounds like your issue.

You'll definetly need a small tri-wing screwdriver to get it open. I've never been inside one but I'm guessing everything inside is phillips, that seems to be the trend with newer Nintendo stuff.

If you can try to find the source of the dust. For me the outer protector glue had actually dried up and the seal was broken so dust could actually get behind the clear protector. If you have this issue resist the temptation to reglue with super glue. You'll have a mess most certainly. If you need to and probably not a bad idea if you have scraches, you should be able to pick up a replacement screen protector off ebay on the cheap. Actually if you do that you can remove the old one via semi-destructive means and keep from opening the rest of the gameboy. Just pick the old one out of there somehow, clean up inside and pop the new protector on there. I don't know if this actually works though...

Now that I actually look closer at my SP I don't think it'll be as easy as I make it sound. You'll have to remove those 3 circle covers because there's probably screws behind them. There might even be ones behind the rubber pads too. Good luck getting those off without leaving marks/scratches. And then it looks like you'll have to pop the screen apart by pressing on the sides where you see the 4 little slots, and then jimmy it apart.
User avatar
Grumskiz
Posts: 79
Joined: Sat Mar 26, 2011 1:06 pm
Location: Germany

Post by Grumskiz »

The GBASP screen has no screws on the inside. It snaps into a black plastic cage and it is difficult to remove and easy to break.
You have to be very careful when you open yours. You have to remove all rubber pads on the screen and remove the tri-wing screws behind them. To remove the rubber, without scratching everything I used a small knife. Be very careful and slowly move the tip of the knife around on the rubber pads so that the glue that connects them with the screws and plastic loosens up a little. Try not to cut them, because it'll look stupid when you put them back in afterwards. Once you feel that they're moving a little, stick the knife under one and carefully pull it up. The rubber pad should pop out or stick to the knife. Repeat that for all 5 pads and remove all 5 screws. Keep them somewhere where you don't loose them.

Remove the outer plastic case. You will find a screen connected to the GBASP with a thin cable that is coiled up in the back. Leave it like that and try not to break it. On the screen there is a plastic cover, that says Gameboy Advance SP on it. I'm guessing the dirt is underneath of it, so carefully and slowly remove it by grabbing a corner and pulling it up and away from the screen underneath it.
The glass underneath it is not actually the screen. It is the front light lens and I wish you good luck removing the dirt from it, without scratching it.
Don't really know what to advice to give you here. I used very little glass cleaner on a cleaning tissue for sunglasses before. The results were alright, but I somehow managed to get a scratch it. I don't know if that happened while I was cleaning it or later, when I assembled the screen again.
If you notice that there is dirt underneath the frontlight lens, you CAN (but I don't advise doing it) remove the sticky rubber on the black plastic case the screen sits in and lift the frontlight lens. Be very careful not to break the tiniest cable yet that connects it to the screen. Now you can clean the screen itself if you really need to.
Putting it back together will be hard, but it is not more difficult than the steps before, so I guess if you get to this point, you'll be able to do it, without me telling you to be careful in every second sentence ^^'
Good luck cleaning your GBASP!

Just so you know: I messed up my GBASP doing this (scratches on the cover and on the lens), but I got a new one cheap that was also a little dirty and with a lot of patience put into it I managed to clean it.
User avatar
Jedi QuestMaster
Posts: 688
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2006 1:08 pm
Location: United States
Contact:

Post by Jedi QuestMaster »

Thanks for your helps! :)

I finally found a tri-wing screwdriver at Fry's & after removing all the screws, I found this video:

How to clean a GBA SP (Properly)

I used lens wipes from CVS to clean both the screen & the inside of the overlay. The hard part here was getting all the dust off. Some of it was pretty stuck on.

Tomorrow I'll do this with my brother's SP, which was my former SP I took to Iraq with me. :shock:
User avatar
koitsu
Posts: 4201
Joined: Sun Sep 19, 2004 9:28 pm
Location: A world gone mad

Post by koitsu »

Neat video, though I had two comments (I should really post these on the Youtube video and not here):

1. The individual removes the battery as a precaution, which is fine. However, he states that the reasoning is so "you don't get electrocuted". Utter and complete nonsense.

2. The individual mentions twice during the video that using Windex on the screen is acceptable. DO NOT DO THIS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. You absolutely will damage the LCD permanently. Google "windex lcd" and see for yourself. Windex is too harsh a chemical and reacts very badly with most coatings that cover LCDs. Use Windex on glass monitors (e.g. CRTs), not LCDs. :-)
User avatar
Jedi QuestMaster
Posts: 688
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2006 1:08 pm
Location: United States
Contact:

Post by Jedi QuestMaster »

koitsu wrote: 1. The individual removes the battery as a precaution, which is fine. However, he states that the reasoning is so "you don't get electrocuted". Utter and complete nonsense.
Sure, but no one wants to risk a short, right?

Anyway, I cleaned my brother's SP screen :), but not without scratching the plastic casing whilst removing the rubber caps. :( Those things are small! :x

But now I noticed another thing with this SP... an unresponsive 'R'button! :o And it makes a rather unusual clicky sound!
Last edited by Jedi QuestMaster on Thu Jan 12, 2012 12:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
infiniteneslives
Posts: 2104
Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2011 11:49 am
Location: WhereverIparkIt, USA
Contact:

Post by infiniteneslives »

Jedi QuestMaster wrote:
koitsu wrote: 1. The individual removes the battery as a precaution, which is fine. However, he states that the reasoning is so "you don't get electrocuted". Utter and complete nonsense.
Sure, but no one wants to risk a short, right?

But now I noticed another thing with this SP... an unresponsive 'R'button! :o And it makes a rather unusual clicky sound!
I would agree it's not a bad idea to remove the battery. Electrocution isn't the risk though I agree.

As for the R button my guess is it's gunked up. I haven't dealt with these buttons specifically, but for most controllers in general a little cleaning goes a LONG way in button responsiveness.
User avatar
Jedi QuestMaster
Posts: 688
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2006 1:08 pm
Location: United States
Contact:

Post by Jedi QuestMaster »

Hm... all I did was dab a little alcohol under the button & depress it several times.

Works like it should! :)
Post Reply