Author Topic: GCW Zero doesn't want to boot-up! (Read 9230 times)

opt2not · « **on:** January 23, 2017, 07:41:36 pm »

I recently opened up my GCW to replace the select/start buttons with the new 3D printed ones, made sure to be careful with the thin wires, etc...but after I put everything back together and powered-up it didn't boot!

The power light is on, and I can see the LCD is on, but only displaying a black screen. One other weird thing is that it seems to be running hot in the back of the unit. As if the battery is heating up.

Any ideas what happened?

pcercuei · « **Reply #1 on:** January 23, 2017, 08:07:02 pm »

A short circuit most likely.

com64 · « **Reply #2 on:** January 23, 2017, 10:48:19 pm »

Sure sounds like a short as pcercuei suggested.

Maybe you should check for loose screws; on my unit they tend to come loose and rattle around inside the case.
Perhaps tape any loose ones down or remove them altogether?
It's worth looking at the battery cable connections... and making sure the cables aren't pinched anywhere.

I do offer a repair service now; link in my signature. ↓↓↓↓↓

opt2not · « **Reply #3 on:** January 24, 2017, 01:41:30 am »

Thanks guys I'll check the board with a magnifier as well as those wires.

opt2not · « **Reply #4 on:** February 01, 2017, 06:25:07 am »

I've checked for a short and couldn't find anything. But I believe I ascertained the symptoms incorrectly.
The unit does indeed boot up and runs, it just doesn't light up the backlit screen. Ive confirmed this because when I turn it on, I faintly see the GCW boot screen, very faintly, and I'm able to blindly navigate to a game and can hear it run.
FTP'ing to it works, and I'm able to power it on and off, as well as charging the battery seems to be fine.
It runs a little warm, but not hot anymore.

Could my LCD screen be broken? This really sucks 'cause I just got the full set of 3D printed parts, and haven't able to try out the PSX emulation yet due to this being out of commission.

howie_k · « **Reply #5 on:** February 01, 2017, 07:21:05 am »

Might be a silly question, but have you tried increasing the brightness?

opt2not · « **Reply #6 on:** February 01, 2017, 07:51:50 am »

Yes, of course. Not a silly question though.

pcercuei · « **Reply #7 on:** February 01, 2017, 04:43:04 pm »

Ok, then there's probably something damaged, if the backlight doesn't work.
It might not be the LCD itself, though, but the part on the motherboard that supplies the power.

com64 · « **Reply #8 on:** February 01, 2017, 07:17:50 pm »

Oh boy... maybe reseat the LCD's ribbon cable? IIRC the power connectors for the backlight are near one of the sides, so if it's lopsided they may not be connected properly.

opt2not · « **Reply #9 on:** February 01, 2017, 08:21:54 pm »

I've tried reseating the ribbon cable and am pretty sure it's evenly installed. I even checked the ribbon itself to see if there are any cracks or scratches that could have happened when it was disassembled.

The other thing I noticed is that even though it was turned off, when I tried to power it up this morning the battery was drained. I'm pretty sure it was at full juice last night.

This really sucks! I finally get the new replacement parts for the controls that do actually feel so much better than the originals, and my GCW gets completely ruined. Figures...

And the red was really working for me:

com64, does this sound like something you can repair?

Edit: Also, I just touched this area on the PCB and it seems to get hot when there is power supplied to the board:

It doesn't heat up enough to be burning, but it is too hot to touch.

Senor Quack · « **Reply #10 on:** February 01, 2017, 09:21:57 pm »

Quote from: opt2not on February 01, 2017, 08:21:54 pm

It doesn't heat up enough to be burning, but it is too hot to touch.

That appears to be the Realtek wifi chip. Is there anything in that area above or below the PCB that could be shorting out? Any loose metal pieces that perhaps fell into the wrong area or a wire that came loose? The area appears to be behind the new A/B/X/Y buttons.

com64 · « **Reply #11 on:** February 01, 2017, 09:24:27 pm »

I might be able to fix it; the parts should be readily available, too.

I don't charge more than the shipping costs if I'm not able to diagnose and fix the problem. Send me a PM whenever you get the chance.

opt2not · « **Reply #12 on:** February 02, 2017, 05:22:59 am »

Quote from: Senor Quack on February 01, 2017, 09:21:57 pm

That appears to be the Realtek wifi chip. Is there anything in that area above or below the PCB that could be shorting out? Any loose metal pieces that perhaps fell into the wrong area or a wire that came loose? The area appears to be behind the new A/B/X/Y buttons.

I've gone over it with compressed air, and used a magnifying glass to see if there was. It was clear of any debris from what I could tell.

Quote from: com64 on February 01, 2017, 09:24:27 pm

I might be able to fix it; the parts should be readily available, too.

I don't charge more than the shipping costs if I'm not able to diagnose and fix the problem. Send me a PM whenever you get the chance.

Thanks, I ended up sending you an email to the address in your signature's page.

com64 · « **Reply #13 on:** February 02, 2017, 06:46:56 am »

Quote from: opt2not on February 02, 2017, 05:22:59 am

Quote from: com64 on February 01, 2017, 09:24:27 pm
I might be able to fix it; the parts should be readily available, too.

I don't charge more than the shipping costs if I'm not able to diagnose and fix the problem. Send me a PM whenever you get the chance.
Thanks, I ended up sending you an email to the address in your signature's page.

Stellar! I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

opt2not · « **Reply #14 on:** February 28, 2017, 07:02:44 pm »

Just an update for everyone, I've sent this off to com64 for repair. Hopefully his skills can find the problem and solution for it. My poor GCW, off to get surgery

I'll update the thread with news when there is any.

Excalibur · « **Reply #15 on:** June 09, 2017, 02:18:00 pm »

If it's fixable, I'm sure com64 can do it.

Good luck

opt2not · « **Reply #16 on:** June 24, 2017, 02:02:06 am »

I haven't been able to get a response from com64 since the beginning of April. I sent it to him after he offered to repair it, we had a few email exchanges, then communication went dark.

Surkow · « **Reply #17 on:** June 24, 2017, 02:08:07 am »

From what he told me, he didn't fix your unit and still works on it on and off. Obviously, communication could have been better but it looks like your board is dead.

opt2not · « **Reply #18 on:** June 24, 2017, 02:12:35 am »

Well that's good to know. I haven't heard from him since the beginning of April.

opt2not · « **Reply #19 on:** July 05, 2017, 10:31:32 pm »

I just wanted to put some closure on this thread.

com64 got back to me, and was able to send back my GCW completely repaired and upgraded!

Well, sort of.

He ended up replacing the motherboard with a working one. My original board had voltage issues, which created the overheating issue in that one section of the board. He was able to fix that, but suspects there are issues with the voltage circuit powering the LCD back-light which was preventing the LCD to be visible when turned on.
There might also be some damaged transistors that need to be replaced.

But it sounds like the board has got too many issues to fix, so he generously offered me his own motherboard, and has returned the unit back to me.

Additionally, I requested if he had a way of making the button switches for the Start and Select more quiet. He ended up replacing the tact switches with more silent ones, which works like a dream! They're so much more quiet now, and even feel a bit softer to actuate. I'm really happy about this feature as it was a really annoying click with the stock switches, making bed gaming very difficult at night when the missus is trying to sleep.

He was also able to re-install my 3D printed replacement buttons, d-pad and analog nub, plus upgrade the battery wire with a connector.

All-in-all I'm extremely happy with my GCW now. It's running like normal, and has a couple enhanced updates that make this already great device even better.
It may have taken a while to get back, and involved a bit more follow-up on my part, but the work and time was worth it in the end. Thanks goes to com64 for getting this back to me, my GCW is better than ever!

also, shouts out to Surkow for the support as well!

Author Topic: GCW Zero doesn't want to boot-up! (Read 9230 times)

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