Hardware 2DS Charging Problem / Power Supply Modding?

rrorg · Jan 24, 2020

Combing through the older threads, I was unable to find a thread that mirrored my exact problem.
2DS is not charging at all. Battery has been replaced and works in a different 2DS, cable has been checked to be working too.
It's not a loose charging port. If I charge the battery in a different 3DS I can play just fine, until the charge goes out.
The thing that baffles me, that's not been described by anyone else, is that the charging light will go on when the cable is plugged in, stay on for a few seconds, and then go off. This can be repeated as many times as I want - for all similar problems there was either no light at all or the light continuously being on but still no charge.
I'm at a loss on how to even debug this, multimeter is ready though. I've checked F1 and F2 and I get power through both.

This 2DS means a lot to me for stupid emotional reasons. If there is no way to fix the problem, could the 2DS be modded to take a power supply directly into the battery port or something like that?
Thank you all for your time

ThoD · Jan 24, 2020

Are you sure there's no bad contact between the 2DS and the charger? Sounds very much like it's something like that... Otherwise it would be a bad contact between the power supply inside the 2DS and the motherboard. Other than that, test the charger on a different 3DS/2DS and see if it has any issues since that's the quickest to test for and solve.

TurdPooCharger · Jan 24, 2020

Spray the charger port with canned air. Remove the battery, press and hold the (POWER) button for 30 seconds to quickly discharge the motherboard, brush the inners of the charger port with a toothbrush dipped in isopropyl rubbing alcohol (70% concentration or higher), and dry it with low heat, low fan speed hairdryer.

If all else fails, first replace the charger port, then the power supply filter (if the charge LED indicator does't turn on still), and/or lastly the IC charging chip.

3DS Not powering on [post #10]

rrorg · Jan 25, 2020

Thank you, both of you. The cable is working on a different DS and I've also tried another cable.

Reading in another thread, re-connecting the two ribbons inside the 2DS seem to have somewhat bettered the situation. So I did that, plus the cleaning suggested by TPC.

Now the charging light stays on, but it still feels like charging is not working/extremely slow. According to my multimeter I have connectivity through both fuses and the power supply filter. The IC charging chip is the tiny one with 4 pins on every side, right? I don't have the fine motor skills to replace that one. But I really do appreciate the detailed parts list, great resource for noobs like me.

I would have no problem with losing the ability to play on-the-go, but it seems the 2DS/3DS are designed in a way that power needs to be drawn from the battery, so only using a cable with no or an empty battery will not even let you turn the console on. Has anyone experience with modding this? I'm always wiling to learn and work myself into topics like these, but I'm so incredibly new to hardware modding that even handling the multimeter has been a learning experience

TurdPooCharger · Jan 25, 2020

@rrorg, the most likely culprit for the slow or no charge issue is the IC charging chip if:

Battery tested good in another o2DS or o3DS.
AC adapter also works on that other 2DS/3DS.
Charger port cleaned. Orange LED indicator lets you know o2DS is receiving power.
Power supply filter is good because again the orange LED indicator.
F1 and F2 microfuses test good if the multimeter detects continuity or change in resistance value.

That chip can't be removed with a standard soldering iron. It has to be done with a rework station because of the solder underneath the chip.

[eBay] 862D+ 2in1 SMD Soldering Iron Hot Air Rework Station Desoldering Repair 110V
- This is a hobby grade rework station, but it should do fine reflowing most SMD/SMT components.
[amazon] Heat Resistant Tape No Residue High Temperature Tape Heat Transfer Tape Sublimation Tape Polyimide Tape Sublimation Heat Tape PI Tape 2 Rolls 10mm X 33m 100ft
Amtech VS-213-A-TF flux
[banggood.com] Electrical Soldering Tools
Tools listed above are just examples available in USA. Check the German .de versions of eBay and Amazon.

See if any of your local electronic repair shops have tools like those.

rrorg · Feb 18, 2020

While replacing the IC charging chip just did not work - probably my fault - we've successfully converted the 2DS to take power from a standard Mini-USB input, using a step-down converter, input port, a bit of cable and a standard soldering iron.
It might seem stupid, but the kid and I had a great deal of fun with that project, having never done anything like it before - reading up on electronics and the like, and having a functional fixed device in the end.
The clock resets whenever the plug is pulled, but that's more of a minor nuisance. The trick is to connect the negative to both the top and the middle contact, since the middle one seems to be used for battery diagnostics and the 2DS will refuse to start without contact on it. 3.7V are just right to have it running fine, shows up as 50% charged.

So, a warm, heart-felt THANK YOU to @ThoD , @TurdPooCharger and some guys from the TheEye Discord for helping us with this thing.

TR_mahmutpek · Nov 5, 2020

rrorg said:
While replacing the IC charging chip just did not work - probably my fault - we've successfully converted the 2DS to take power from a standard Mini-USB input, using a step-down converter, input port, a bit of cable and a standard soldering iron.
It might seem stupid, but the kid and I had a great deal of fun with that project, having never done anything like it before - reading up on electronics and the like, and having a functional fixed device in the end.
The clock resets whenever the plug is pulled, but that's more of a minor nuisance. The trick is to connect the negative to both the top and the middle contact, since the middle one seems to be used for battery diagnostics and the 2DS will refuse to start without contact on it. 3.7V are just right to have it running fine, shows up as 50% charged.

So, a warm, heart-felt THANK YOU to @ThoD , @TurdPooCharger and some guys from the TheEye Discord for helping us with this thing.

View attachment 196790 View attachment 196791 View attachment 196792

That step down converter, is that LM2596 or XL6009? or it isnt important if gives 3.7 voltage??

Nynrah · May 14, 2021

Would something like this also be possible for a New 3DS XL? This is the kind of mod I've been looking for as well, although I searched on mods that allow the charger to bypass the battery completely.

TR_mahmutpek · May 14, 2021

Nynrah said:
Would something like this also be possible for a New 3DS XL? This is the kind of mod I've been looking for as well, although I searched on mods that allow the charger to bypass the battery completely.

I did on my new 3ds xl and works perfectly.

Nynrah · May 14, 2021

TR_mahmutpek said:
I did on my new 3ds xl and works perfectly.

You have no idea how much it makes my day to hear that! Can I bother you for instructions? As in, what materials do I need and what steps do I need to take? While I'm not unfamiliar with electronics in general, modding is new for me, especially these kind of mods.

TR_mahmutpek · May 14, 2021

Nynrah said:
You have no idea how much it makes my day to hear that! Can I bother you for instructions? As in, what materials do I need and what steps do I need to take? While I'm not unfamiliar with electronics in general, modding is new for me, especially these kind of mods.

Glad to hear this but I might cant help too much. I did this with my friend's dad who has good electronic skill. I highly suggest that do this with someone who can wire things. But here is my some tips:,

I used LM2596 stepdown converter. You need to turn the screw on that to get down enough voltage (more info on op's post), you might turn the screw on conver too too much, its needed. and you must ensure the voltage by using multimeter/voltagemeter.

Use standard usb cable to wire stepdown converter and use 5v outlet usb charger. Dont use variable/fast charging chargers. They can change the voltage and can be harmful for 3ds.

The rest info in thread is enough. Again, I highly suggest that do this with someone who has enough experience.

Feel free to ping/ask me if needed but I dont know if I can be helpful after from this point.

Hardware 2DS Charging Problem / Power Supply Modding?

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