Hacking DS Hinge Repair

[SleepingDragon]

I have a Gold Zelda DS Lite, which I love. I bought it new about 6-8 months ago from a local Gamestop in a ZeldaH bundle. I have kept it in very good condition, but the hinge has become a bit loose. There is probably nothing I can do, but I thought I would ask any of our hardware wizards out there if it is possible to disassemble the hinge and either tighten it somehow, or replace it. I would just really like to get the hinge tightened-up like a new unit, if it's possible. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[gratefulbuddy]

The "spring unit" for the lid is a small sealed cylindrical device. Short of replacing it there is no way I can see of "tightening it up".

 

[gizmo_gal]

Wow, sorry that must suck, your DS being Special Edition and all, hmm...The only thing that comes to mind immediately would be the Dis-Assembly Guide found stickied at the top of the page, read through it and google a few guides. Maybe you'll find a guide all about DSlite Hinges.

Other than that, maybe you should begin looking for Replacement shell and begin thinking about changing the case completely once the hinge finally snaps.

 

[DeMoN]

I think that broken hinges are usually caused by faulty plastic used in the case itself, so there's no way of fixing a hinge without replacing the case altogether.

 

[Twiffles]

Just buy a replacement case, I saw they sell a case that looks exactly like the one in the DS bundle.

 

[gizmo_gal]

Just buy a replacement case, I saw they sell a case that looks exactly like the one in the DS bundle.

Really thats great! I was just about to go hunt for a Pic of the Zelda DS--would you mind giving a link to the replacement shells? That'd be neato

 

[PizzaPasta]

I have an ice blue DS from Japan with the same problem, which side is it on? The only thing I can think of is to send it to Nintendo, if your DS is still under warranty (which it should be, the Zelda SE came out in November) they should only charge you for shipping or maybe a small fee. They've been known to do it for free if you get the right person on the phone and act dissapointed enough.

I can tell you that it's not going to cause you any further problems though. Mine has been that way since I got it and it works just fine. It's just a little loosey when it's closed.

Maybe it's more incentive to save up and import one of those red ones from Europe.

 

[gratefulbuddy]

The large part of the spring unit goes into the lid and the smaller end goes into the LED lens housing (on the right side if DSL is open and facing you.). Any decent DSL disassembly guide will show it.
The other side of the hinge has a small metal ring which holds the lid onto the bottom and allows the screen cable and wifi and mic wires to pass thru.

 

[striderx]

I have a Gold Zelda DS Lite, which I love. I bought it new about 6-8 months ago from a local Gamestop in a ZeldaH bundle. I have kept it in very good condition, but the hinge has become a bit loose. There is probably nothing I can do, but I thought I would ask any of our hardware wizards out there if it is possible to disassemble the hinge and either tighten it somehow, or replace it. I would just really like to get the hinge tightened-up like a new unit, if it's possible. Any help would be appreciated.

If the DS Lite is like the DS Phat in the hinge design, then your only recourse is a replacement case (based on my review of case replacement procedures I think they are the same in this regard). The 'hinge' is a barrel that's split across the mid-section. One end engages the bottom and the other the lid. The shapre is not exactly round, but is keyed to the shape of the holes in the base and the lid. It's probably these holes that have gotten enlarged and is making it loose.

Short of replacing the case the only thing I can think of that would fix it would be to secure each end with epoxy ('superglue' won't cut it).

However you might consider a replacement case too. Since the Zelda color is now Nintendo standard it's likely that an aftermarket case in the same color will come out and all you'd need to do is replace the damaged pieces...

Just my 2¢...

striderx

 

[SleepingDragon]

Problem solved. Thanks to everyone for your comments and suggestions. I just got off the phone with a nice guy named Matt at the NOA 1st Call Resolution Center. He just emailed me a Fed-Ex label that I will be using to send my DS Lite in for a new hinge and touchscreen. Since it is under warranty, everything from shipping to the actual repair is free. Anyone else that has a similar problem, call 800-255-3700. Thanks again.

 

[Toni Plutonij]

Well thats a great news..You'll be few days without your NDS, but it should come back like new..

 

[SleepingDragon]

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it. It's all packed up and ready for drop-off at the local Fed-Ex Kinkos.

The other good news is that since each of my 3 daughters have DSs, I will still be able to play some over the next couple of weeks. Of course, that would require one of them to actually STOP PLAYING for a moment. The only time I'll be able to play is when their taking baths or sleeping. Those are the ONLY times they aren't playing something!

 

[Holaitsme]

its limited edition!!!! nintendo will probally just completely replace it and send you a white one

 

[SleepingDragon]

Well, I just checked nintendo.com regarding my hinge repair, and they have already fixed it and it shipped out back to me on Saturday, Jun 21 and is set to be delivered on Wed. June 25. Considering I shipped it to them on Tuesday, June 17, that is an incredibly quick turnaround. Their customer service rep says that is supposed to take 11-16 business days, so I was preparing myself to be without my baby for at least 3-4 weeks. If the repair is solid, I'd have to give this experience an A+. Of course, we'll have to see the quality of the repair job.

 

[Toni Plutonij]

Well, I'm hoping it'll be OK.....Be sure to write us what happened as soon as it gets back!!

 

[SleepingDragon]

Well, I wanted to bring this story to a close. Three days ago, I received a brand new Zelda Gold DS Lite from Nintendo. Apparently, instead of making the 3-4 minor repairs, they just went ahead and sent me a brand new one. Needless to say, I am very pleased with their handling of this matter. And as an added bonus, the tension level in my house has dropped dramatically. This is because for the last 2 weeks, I have been having to take turns using each of my 3 daughters' DSs in order to play games and write the subsequent Temper Post review. It was getting pretty old hearing the phrases "No, you used my DS last time!" and "Are you done with my DS yet, I'm bored!" Happy days are here again...

 

[CorruptJon]

Well, I wanted to bring this story to a close. Three days ago, I received a brand new Zelda Gold DS Lite from Nintendo. Apparently, instead of making the 3-4 minor repairs, they just went ahead and sent me a brand new one. Needless to say, I am very pleased with their handling of this matter. And as an added bonus, the tension level in my house has dropped dramatically. This is because for the last 2 weeks, I have been having to take turns using each of my 3 daughters' DSs in order to play games and write the subsequent Temper Post review. It was getting pretty old hearing the phrases "No, you used my DS last time!" and "Are you done with my DS yet, I'm bored!" Happy days are here again...

Glad to hear you got your DS back, but it's probably a refurbished one since I don't think Nintendo sends out new units to replace ones under warranty.

 

[Joey90]

Actually, it's probably an awful lot easier for nintendo to send out new consoles (DS or Wii) than repair old ones (which requires technical expertise and time). So unless it's a very easy fix (i.e. they know exactly which fuse to replace etc.) then they'll just send one of the thousands of new ones they have.

On the other hand, they probably don't have a huge amount of limited edition ones (obviously)