Gaming Dropped a DSi, will no longer start?

[Deleted User]

So, I was messing around with a DSi I recently got back from a relative that I lent it to for four years, and everything was working fine on it. I decided to look at the motherboard, to see how small the pins are for retrieving a NAND backup (so small), and I accidentally dropped it.
With the bottom case off.
Bottom down.
So, I thought, "hey, this thing has survived plenty of drops before, maybe it'll still work?"
Nope! I reassembled it completely, and it did not boot at all (not a single LED shone). I thought that maybe the battery was dead (unlikely, I fully charged it about an hour earlier) and plugged it in. I got the blinking orange light, the one it shows when it's charging but can't detect the battery. It still wouldn't boot up, even when plugged in. I think a ZIF cable or something might be loose, but I wanted to check here before I drop it again. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Oh, right, the specifications are a blue DSi non-XL. I don't know if it's a rev. 1 or a rev. 2 (I think those are things). I have my Console ID from before I broke it, if that's needed.
Sorry if this is in the wrong place.

EDIT: Hello, future people! GBATemp just notified me that this thread was viewed 1000 times, which leads me to believe that people must have had the same issue as me. I never did figure out what the problem was, nor did I ever replace the power board. Then one day I desoldered the charging port on the DSi in order to replace the broken one on an old 3DS, inevitably causing both devices to be irreparable (I was not very good at soldering). Though, if you want my opinion, I think something on the DSi's motherboard was broken after all. Good luck!

 

[slaphappygamer]

Maybe the battery shifted. I would take the battery out, then place it back in. Even thought you plugged it in and it wouldn't boot, if the battery isn't sitting properly, the circuit won't be complete and it won't boot.

 

[Deleted User]

Maybe the battery shifted. I would take the battery out, then place it back in. Even thought you plugged it in and it wouldn't boot, if the battery isn't sitting properly, the circuit won't be complete and it won't boot.

Okay, so I did that... it still won't boot, unfortunately. I even tried holding the battery in manually (without the case) and it did not work.

 

[justin-dabath]

Evening Kitters....

Few things to try with your DSi...

1 x Unplug the wire and re connect it - see if that fixes it.
2 x Unplug the brown ribbon cable and re connect it - see if that fixes it.

The problem you describe sounds like a fuse problem, most likely the one on the power board, a lot of people blow these without realising it until they put their DSi back together, which is because if you have the DSi apart and you connect the battery to the battery connections upside down - it instantly blows the fuses without you even needing to turning the DSi on.

Hope this helps

 

[Deleted User]

1 x Unplug the wire and re connect it - see if that fixes it.
2 x Unplug the brown ribbon cable and re connect it - see if that fixes it.

The problem you describe sounds like a fuse problem, most likely the one on the power board, a lot of people blow these without realising it until they put their DSi back together, which is because if you have the DSi apart and you connect the battery to the battery connections upside down - it instantly blows the fuses without you even needing to turning the DSi on.

Hope this helps

While following your advice, I noticed something:

That looks a little loose, doesn't it? Unfortunately, while trying to unscrew the battery holding piece:

I stripped one of the screws. Badly. But with my trusty soldering iron, nothing can stand the way of my DSi functioning again!

By the way: once I do get this thing fixed (and I will, I'm sure of that), do you know anyone who might be able to hardmod it? I mean, I can solder, but not that well. I'm probably willing to pay (unless it's something crazy, like more than the price of whatever a DSi costs these days).

 

[testerfan]

the LED flex cable always looks like this on DSi (like it's not fully inserted), but since it's showing orange when system plugged in - there is nothing wrong with it, and even disconnecting it completely won't prevent the system from turning on, so you need to look somewhere else

 

[Deleted User]

the LED flex cable always looks like this on DSi (like it's not fully inserted), but since it's showing orange when system plugged in - there is nothing wrong with it, and even disconnecting it completely won't prevent the system from turning on, so you need to look somewhere else

It doesn't have a static orange LED when plugged in, it has a blinking orange LED, which I'm fairly sure means it can't find a battery. Although, other images do show the ribbon not fully inserted, so you're right; that can't be the problem. I'm also starting to believe that the ribbon isn't related to the battery in the sense that it takes any charge from it directly, and is instead connected to the D-PAD. I think that the issue may be with the red and black wires that connect the battery to the system itself, I will check it when I have the chance.

EDIT: I couldn't find anything wrong with them (see the attachment), and as a side note, the system has the blinking orange light when plugged in with and without the battery in, and doesn't turn on when plugged in either way.

EDIT2: I've discovered that I am able to turn on the DSi for a few seconds when it is plugged in and charging, just before the orange light starts blinking. It doesn't fully boot to the "home menu", though; the blue light just turns on for a few seconds and then back off again.

 

[Deleted User]

Alright. After several months, and a few broken daughterboards, I've torn the D-PAD thingy out of the DSi!
...Obviously, it doesn't work anymore. But before I go out and buy a new one, I was wondering if anyone else could see anything wrong with it (besides the cracks and the broken connector, of course). Here's a pic:

Thanks