Hardware 3DS - Not powering on, no blue light at all. No water damage.

falken · Nov 28, 2015

Hi all, I've repaired a few 3DS consoles recently but come across another today that looks immaculate. No signs of drops, no water damage. Looks brand new on the outside and inside!

Problem: When plugged in the charging light comes on then off a few seconds later. The power button gives no response at all, no blue light, nothing.

I've I've swapped the mainboard with another mainboard and everything works flawlessly, so it's definitely the mainboard that's the issue. Also ruled out the wifi module and IR module, both working fine in another 3DS.

Checked both fuses with a continuity test and both are working.

Any ideas? Maybe the power button itself on the board is faulty, if so how could I rule this out? Thanks in advance!

Edit: Lifted the SW1 power button and bridged the connection to see if it was the power button. Same issue. Doesn't seem to be the button.

Seriel · Nov 28, 2015

Leave it.
Most 3DS probblems with not powering on are solved by leaving it alone for a day or so.

falken · Nov 28, 2015

Jackus said:
Leave it.
Most 3DS probblems with not powering on are solved by leaving it alone for a day or so.

I don't think that's going to resolve the issue somehow, it's been sitting untouched for weeks prior to me looking at it. Power isn't getting to the mainboard, that's the issue.

falken · Dec 3, 2015

Anyone who does repairs come across this before?

Ruby Gloom · Dec 3, 2015

If the system overheated, overcharged, or simply is dead, this causes that issue. Ensure the system is charged, leave it set as said above for 24 hours.

Deleted-236924 · Dec 3, 2015

You've thoroughly inspected the main board and compared it to one that's working, yeah?
If you say it's identical to a working one but it won't turn on...

I have a DS Lite here that does the same thing, except some inductors broke off from fall damage, so it won't power on.
I don't know if the 3DS has similar inductors that would prevent it from powering on if it were damaged, but it's possible those may not have entirely broken off from fall damage, but just enough for contact not to be fully done, and they wouldn't work.

If you can locate such things on the main board, you could try pushing down on them gently, and then try powering it on.

(While trying to read up on inductors on DS Lite motherboard, found a post on a community somewhere where someone was having trouble with their DS not powering on, but if they applied some pressure on the inductors, the contact was made better and it powered on as normal, so that might be worth investigating.)

If the charging light comes on then off a few seconds later, likely the battery is fully charged, but from being left alone it loses its charge a bit, so you plug it in, starts charging, then stops charging right away as the battery reaches max capacity.

SmileCitrus · Dec 4, 2015

It sounds like you checked thoroughly, but on the slim chance it helps, one place that you might not initially think of to check for liquid damage is beneath the shielding under the WiFi board. Sometimes a board won't have signs of liquid damage anywhere else, but if there's gunk or corrosion beneath this shielding it may not power on or charge. Even if it looks clean beneath, it couldn't hurt to try cleaning with a brush and isopropyl alcohol.

Having said that, I've had a bunch of dead but pristine-looking boards just like what you're describing. They had no signs of liquid damage, good fuses, and looked as though brand new but wouldn't power on or charge at all. I never figured it out.

Hardware 3DS - Not powering on, no blue light at all. No water damage.

Active Member

Doing her best

Active Member

Active Member

GBAtemp Maniac

Deleted-236924

Guest

Well-Known Member

Similar threads

Popular threads in this forum