The Process of Repairing my Nintendo DS Lite

F

fezwhy

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Would anybody be interested in photos once I get the parts to fix my Nintendo ds lite?
The repair process is almost the same for the 3ds. Just different parts :)

I can post pics as I progress.

I have to replace the touch screen, and the charge port.

What I thought was just the touch screen turned out to be more than that after I opened it up. Upon further investigation it appears the charge port has some damage to it. So it doesn't always charge.
The touch screen has a dead spot in the center of it.

Touch screen- $3
Charge port- $1.50
screw, spring kit- $4

All in all not too expensive to get it in working condition again.


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This is actually quite interesting. I'm looking forward to see your progress with this.

Sent from my PantechP8010 using Tapatalk
 
Righteous Bovine, it looks like it was put through a blender.

Hope it goes well.
 
I bought the ds used off ebay. Im not sure what the previous owner did to it. The touch screen seems to be a common repair from what I have seen. As for the charge port that is likely damaged from inserting the charge cord in the wrong way and forcing it in. Or possibly wiggling it back and forth when taking out the cord, damaging the port in the process over time. A very common thing I see in other devices I have repaired, especially cell phones.
 
Update.

First off in order to open up the DS or 3DS you will need a triwing screwdriver. Link is below on where to buy.

Here is list of everything I purchased along with the link on where I purchased it.

Screw driver set

Touch screen for DS

Charge port for ds

Case Screws and button spring kit

So I Still don't have all the parts yet. I did receive the screw and spring kit for the case screws and the buttons.

The first picture is My setup on what I used to remove the charge port. It's not fancy but it works well.

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Connector just has to be pushed up with a sharp object, I used a knife

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Connector just has to be pushed up with a sharp object, I used a knife

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2 ribbon cables that must be removed to remove the screen. Gently push up on the flat black piece and the connector will pull out

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6 points that must be desoldered to remove the bad charge port.
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Bad charge port removed
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This day and age it's not even worth repairing it honestly, it's worth next to nothing unless you only want it for old games :(
 
PokeChimpo said:
This day and age it's not even worth repairing it honestly, it's worth next to nothing unless you only want it for old games :(
Click to expand...

Yes, but it's still an interesting project. If you screw up, it won't matter too much, so this is probably good for people new to repairing handhelds and consoles.
 
There is not really much to screw up honestly well maybe with the soldering. The gameboy I still have a ton of games for and it does get played quite a bit. Plus my son plays it also and I don't quite have the coin for a new 3DSXL. Since I picked this up for cheap and it doesn't cost much to fix it's a nice alternative to the 3dsxl. He mostly just plays Pokemon anyway. Parts are super cheap and readily available. For example a new screen for a 3ds XL will run you about 40 bucks.
It won't break the bank if he manages to wreck the screen and honestly for 3 bucks I can replace the screen and not really worry about the cost.

I haven't had to repair anything on my original gameboy, gameboy color, or gameboy advance sp yet.

I do have an electronics background so the soldering is something I do on a daily basis. Soldering is fairly simple and I have pretty basic tools here at home to repair this. The blue solder sucker you see in the picture I picked up for 5 bucks on ebay. The soldering iron I paid around 70 bucks for about 7 or 8 years ago.
The rest of the stuff is fairly straightforward.
I am still waiting for the charge port yet, but once I have that I will install it and put everything back together. The problem is most of the parts come from china and it can take up to 6 weeks to get the parts

If anyone has any questions feel free to ask and I will do my best to try and answer.
 
PokeChimpo said:
This day and age it's not even worth repairing it honestly, it's worth next to nothing unless you only want it for old games :(
Click to expand...

True, but it is very interesting.
 
Great thread.
I've already seen some videos on youtube but pertaining the change of battery in the Hoenn games and it was quite interesting too.

When I was a child, I couldn't get my McDonnald toys opened because of the screwdriver and now it's my DS! So annoying and frustrating!!!

I haven't being able to play on my DS Lite for awhile because I had problems when charging (it wouldn't charge right and to light up the light it would had me waving the charger's cable so it must be something with the charger but since the only person I know that has a DS and charger is busy I can't even test it to see if it's really the charger's fault) so now my DS lights up red after cetting to the game's menu.

So, after this little chat, my question is if those parts are reliable? I know the consoles are made in China and so there must be factories now selling the same stuff they use in making those but I have this akward habit of needing to have an official part, something with a brand, to give me more confidence in the product not to mention my distrust towards chinese made products.
 
Uhh guys you should be taking this through Nintendo. Go to their site then Support to talk to an online staff member. Taking apart the DS system voids warranty and also could farther damage your DS. It only costs about $75.00 to ship and repair it through Nintendo. Usually takes about 2-3 weeks to send it out and get it back too. That is the best thing to do XD.:)
 
Do you by chance know how to repair an L button that won't work? Perhaps, a spring malfunction?
 
The typical answer to this is "blow through the hole between the button and the system" if we're talking about the 3DS. In DS Lite, I dunno. Replacing the button is possible, but I won't suggest it unless you know what you're doing.

xxashxx, I highly doubt there's a DS Lite in existence that's still under warranty. This thread is a good place to show the possibilities available to you, if you wanna skip the almost 100$ fee for such severe damage.
 
xxashxx said:
Uhh guys you should be taking this through Nintendo. Go to their site then Support to talk to an online staff member. Taking apart the DS system voids warranty and also could farther damage your DS. It only costs about $75.00 to ship and repair it through Nintendo. Usually takes about 2-3 weeks to send it out and get it back too. That is the best thing to do XD.:)
Click to expand...

My warrant has already expired. I've sent my system to Nintendo but in Portugal it won't go to Nintendo itself (despite they handling the deliveries; in PT the only thing we have is an administrative branch that deals with the phone support and handles interviews to the press; otherwise the main branch is in Spain (the two are one and it's the "Iberian branch" but since Spain has more population and influence, I bet that there the repairs will really go to Nintendo) but to some third-party company that fixes them and since I already sent there my DS (casualties inflicted by my lack of attention) and didn't like their work, I don't have nothing to lose in trying to repair it by myself.

PS: since Platinum games, Nintendo has been betting more in Portugal with publicity made here and for us, and it's not just related to Pokémon but their games and consoles in general but this repair thing is one of the things that really bothers me and it's an important matter.

Chaos Jackal said:
The typical answer to this is "blow through the hole between the button and the system" if we're talking about the 3DS. In DS Lite, I dunno. Replacing the button is possible, but I won't suggest it unless you know what you're doing.

xxashxx, I highly doubt there's a DS Lite in existence that's still under warranty. This thread is a good place to show the possibilities available to you, if you wanna skip the almost 100$ fee for such severe damage.
Click to expand...

I'm thinking of buying a new DS Lite from a physical store and even I doubt (unfortunately) there are still any of them for selling, talk about warrants. Mine has already some 7 years.
 
I've seen the DSis for sale (new, unopened) in stores, but not regular DS Lites, I don't think.
 
Athena said:
I've seen the DSis for sale (new, unopened) in stores, but not regular DS Lites, I don't think.
Click to expand...

The thing is that DSi doesn't have the dual slot mode. I'm wanting to buy another DS Lite not only because of that generation but also because of GB Advance's games!
 
Ah, I guess that makes sense. I actually don't care much for playing GBA games on my DS Lite (my hubby and I still both have ours) because the game sticks out of the bottom awkwardly, but I still have my old GBA SP that I can use for my collection of GBA games.
 
Athena said:
Ah, I guess that makes sense. I actually don't care much for playing GBA games on my DS Lite (my hubby and I still both have ours) because the game sticks out of the bottom awkwardly, but I still have my old GBA SP that I can use for my collection of GBA games.
Click to expand...

I don't have any problem with the games sticking out and my GBA advance isn't bad (Start and Select are a little "sore") and since it's easier to play some GBA games on my DS due to the lighting (you should see hor dark is Castlevania: Circle of the Moon on the GBA) I'd get two in one!
 
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