I’ve tried connecting to multiple power supplies confirmed working, but my core seems to not be starting. Also when inspecting the core, with power on, I noticed that the part just below the USB port gets really hot (to the level where I fear that the “magic smoke” will exit if I leave the power on.
Is there anything I can do, or is my only option to get a new core?
Can you try powering the core with 3.3V if you have access to it?
The pins are labeled 3v3 and gnd on the core.
If that works, we will need to replace the LDO to make it work again 
To be entirely sure, does it matter if it’s 3.3* or which of the gnd it is? And sure it’s the 3.3 v and not vin?
http://docs.spark.io/hardware/ also here it looks like vin, I have 5v power, so should be easy
Tried both options, no luck. I think it’s fried big time 
Sorry your core is not working. Shoot an email to hello@spark.io and we’ll get you sorted out