Hardware Broken Charge Port. Advice Needed!

[X_Frost]

About 2 weeks ago a neighbor of a friend gave me his broken 3ds . I took it under the idea I could get it fixed. The top cover was broken along with the charge port. The top cover I replaced without issue, however I don't trust myself to re-solder a charge port.

The port isn't loose, it is simply not there, it fell off at some point according to the previous owner.

Given that, should I try and change replace the charge port or use a Nyko battery with separate charger instead?

 

[Sicklyboy]

If you don't trust yourself soldering a new port on, a Nyko battery that uses an external charger isn't a bad idea at all.

When installing the new port you have two things together:
-You have some nice, small SMD (surface mount) soldering to deal with. Four ground legs of the charger casing plus a few more for the plug itself, somewhere between 2 and 4.
-When a port is just ripped out or falls off like that, you run the risk of it breaking a solder pad or tearing up a trace along with it. If this happens, you either have to connect in to the trace at some further point, or solder to a via. In a system as compact as the 3DS, either option is going to be somewhat difficult. Trace repair isn't fun, either.

Did you actually confirm the system does indeed work?

 

[gamesquest1]

Try wiggling the charger see if it charges in certain positions, if the charging port was snapped out its likely already ripped the pads off though,

You could always look at the induction battery charger docks too, would be more convenient than swapping the battery all the time

 

[X_Frost]

Did you actually confirm the system does indeed work?

I used a battery from an original 3ds that my friend provided, I can confirm that it works very well, apart from the broken charge port.

Try wiggling the charger see if it charges in certain positions, if the charging port was snapped out its likely already ripped the pads off though,

You could always look at the induction battery charger docks too, would be more convenient than swapping the battery all the time

There is nothing to "wriggle". Charge port is simply not there. That's the reason I wanted the Nyko battery.

 

[Sicklyboy]

Then yeah, if you're not comfortable soldering a new port on, an externally chargeable battery work work well.

The Nyko PowerPak+ (which I own) can charge via a proprietary base (which I do not own). From what I have heard, the base kind of sucks, but if that's the only way you can charge it, then it is what it is. This is getting a little bit harder to find at this point though from what I have seen.

My best friend owns the Nyko 3DS Power Grip, that has its own standard 3DS charge port on it and it charges the 3DS via the charging contacts on the system. If those are intact, then this will work.

I just found out about the Nyko 3DS Game Boost, it looks like it works the same way as the Power Grip but is much smaller.

Actually, though, that's another thing - if the charging contacts (the little pads to the left and right of the charging port) are intact, you could just use a 3DS charging dock to charge the stock battery.

 

[X_Frost]

Actually, though, that's another thing - if the charging contacts (the little pads to the left and right of the charging port) are intact, you could just use a 3DS charging dock to charge the stock battery.

Sadly those are not there either, it looks like the whole charge port and contacts are gone.

 

[Sicklyboy]

Yikes... I couldn't remember if the charging contacts were part of the charger port assembly or not.

As far as I am aware then, the Nyko PowerPak+ with their charger dock is going to be your best, and probably one of your only options at this point.

Holy shit if you're going to buy it buy it now. I just found it for $6 in Groupon. http://goo.gl/YJajmP

From what I have heard it tends to give very poor indication as to whether the battery is finished charging or not, but it doesn't take too long off of the original charger and I can't imaging the Nyko one being much different. Plus now you get double battery life, too.

 

[X_Frost]

Ordered, Thanks! I could never trust myself to solder, so this is my best bet!

 

[Sicklyboy]

Woohoo! Yeah that was the battery and base all together (which is how the dock is sold according to Nyko's site). I've got this thread followed, so when it comes in, do post back and let us know how it goes. Would be great if you got this thing working again on the cheap like this.

One quick tip I'll give with the PowerPak+ - if you use a flashcart, specifically the Supercard DSTWO, only tighten the outer two screws, while leaving the inner two mostly loose on the Nyko battery. If they're tightened down all the way they tend to put extra pressure on the cartridge slot, making it a major pain to get the DSTWO in and out. Any other flashcart that has chips sticking through the shell on the front or back will probably run into the same issue. If you're not using one though, I've never had a problem getting 3/DS games in and out when they're all tightened properly.