Project Nintendo DS Repair!!

[Jeremy airjer W]

One of my boys DS's decided to stop working. I did some research on the web and narrowed it down to either a blown F1 or F2 fuse or a broken ribbon wire for the top screen. Easy enough I thought and decided to start with the fuses. The new fuses and a tool kit to make the repair cost me about $10 with free shipping from a popular online auction.

Holy cow the fuses arrive and there super small!!

the F1 fuse gets soldered here

the F2 fuse gets soldered here

It wasn't pretty or easy but I managed to get them in but it did not solve the problem. So I decide to tear the DS down a little further to inspect the ribbon wire. Sure enough if I pinch it in the right spot everything will fire up until I let go.

The new screen arrived today. About $20 including shipping.

The first thing is to get the ribbon wire fed through the hole for the hinge.

Then solder the speaker wires to the ribbon wire and mount the screen to the top cover (reuse the double sided tape/screen protector that you peel off the old one).

By far the most difficult part is getting the ribbon wire through the slot in the lower cover.

The mother board back in place and the ribbon tape in its connector on the other side. It just plugs in and then a little bar flips down to secure it.

With the bottom cover back on and the battery installed the moment of truth arrives........ It lives!

All for about $30 dollars which is a lot cheaper than new and still a bargain over a used one.

[LMITOUT]

Nice write up. You aren't kidding about those fuses. wow!

[thorski]

airjer- What symptoms did your sons DS have? I have a DS sitting in a cupboard that does not work properly. You have me curious as to whether the cause of the problem on my sons DS may have an easy fix as well.

thanks.

[Jeremy airjer W]

The power light would come on, the bottom screen would flash, and then power would shut off.

If I would have researched a little further the key was the bottom screen flashing. The DS looks for both screens and if it doesn't see one at start up it will shut down.

If the bottom screen didn't flash than the fuses would have been more likely.

[zamboni]

And my dad almost refused to put together my first bike

[DTro]

Very cool post Jer!

Thanks for taking the time to document this. I probably will never need it, but I love seeing these things.

[Jeremy airjer W]

And my dad almost refused to put together my first bike

Chuckle chuckle!

[Jim Uran]

Holy cow your good, build me a friggin robot that fetches minnows and beer while you are at it.

[Jeremy airjer W]

Holy cow your good, build me a friggin robot that fetches minnows and beer while you are at it.

I think there's already an "app" for that!

[riverrat56]

Those fuses really aren't that small, it's just a GIANT dime right?

Nice fix! I'd have just bought a new one....