Hardware Busted Camera. How hard to fix?

[Isaac]

So a few months ago, after walking home in the rain I found my 3ds had gotten wet. So I let it dry for a few days and when I turn it on, everything works. A few days later I try to use the camera, and I get a message saying "An error has occurred. Hold down the POWER Button to turn off the power, then turn it on and try again. For help, visit support.nintendo.com". So I check another app that uses the camera, (face raiders) and check out both cameras. No crash, but the front camera works, but the image is distorted beyond use, and the rear camera is just black.

Basically I was wondering how hard it would be to replace the camera module, as I've seen a few on ebay, or if somebody has a better place to buy from that'd be even better.

Thank you.

Edit: I forgot to mention it's an XL

 

[SmileCitrus]

It's basically the same procedure as replacing the upper LCD or speaker cable, which means it's arguably one of the most difficult repairs to do on a 3DS or 3DS XL, at least in my opinion. But if you've done either of those, you can certainly replace the camera. There's a guide to replace the upper LCD on iFixit that covers 99% of the same steps for replacing the camera, but even with a guide it's easy to accidentally damage one of the ribbon cables if you haven't done this sort of thing before. On the XL the hinge lock is far trickier to remove than on the small 3DS. You'll need some very strong, curved tweezers. But on the other hand, with the XL you can do the whole repair without necessarily having to remove the plastic display lens from the upper LCD, which means there's very little risk of getting dust or debris beneath it. That alone makes it far less aggravating than replacing any of the parts in the top half of the small O3DS.