I recently bought an IPS display kit from AliExpress for my GBA SP (The knockoff “one-chip” variation, not the Funnyplaying IPS kit). I’ve found that when I power the system on, the screen backlight turns on, but no picture is displayed. On occasion, the display will work properly and no further issues will occur until the system is powered off and back on again. Then the display goes back to no display, backlight only for another six or seven on/off cycles.
I took the system apart and cleaned both the ribbon cable and the ribbon connector on the board with isopropyl alcohol and made sure that the ribbon cable was seated correctly in the connector. I buttoned everything back up and for a little while it was a bit better, displaying a picture more often than not. But after an hour or two it went right back to the way it was before, only displaying a picture every so often.
I’m almost certain there’s nothing wrong with the board as this GBA had a standard AGS-001 display that worked perfectly well before replacing the screen. My best guess is that the ribbon is causing the issue. I’ve read that it’s possible that improper insulation could cause a short, but I added the insulation film that came with the screen to pad the metal backing of the screen, so I wouldn’t think this to be the issue. It could be the screen, but it does work just fine when the system decides to display correctly, so I’m not sure.
Has anyone run into a similar problem in the past? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!