Hacking DS Lite compact case modding

[IxthusTiger]

Yesterday my EZ4L Compact froze while saving Phoenix Wright 2. After that, I kept getting "First in/Not enough power" messages. Then I was getting only white screens at boot (same result as having FlashMe and holding ABXY with nothing in the slot.) Finally, the card is not even detected anymore.

HOWEVER! Months ago I had modified a large GBC sized cart case that also fits the flashcart. I made it for practice so I could put an EZFlash lite into a GBA cart so it will fit in a DS phat. PUTTING IT IN THIS CASE WORKS FINE!

I thought it was the contacts, but I've tried boosting them with paper and tape beneath them, giving a tighter fit by pressing the down on the gba contacts inside the DS, but that didn't work. I also tried adding girth to the opposite side of the cart to hopefully press on the other side of the inner slot, pushing the contacts together.

NOTHING IS WORKING.

This big ugly GBC sized cart (from a GBA PDA) with the EZ4L board in it just slides right in, doesn't even feel tight, and works perfectly. What could possibly be different about the casees that's causing the original not to detect the cart?

Summary:

EZ4L Compact in its regular case = nothing detected in slot-2
EZ4L Compact in a different case = works great

Why?

 

[OSW]

i heard that the message "First in/Not enough power" has something to do with the carts internal battery.

 

[KidIce]

My guess would be that you've knocked the battery loose, and putting it in the modded GBA case holds the battery in place while the EZ4 case being cut for the battery doesn't. Check the solder joints and the metal connectors glued to the battery. The metal is pretty cheap and it probably wouldn't take much flexing before it broke from fatigue.

 

[IxthusTiger]

This is a good guess. I will have a look

EDIT: Normal GBA carts are detected fine, so in theory, my slot is not too loose. However, when I put in my original EZF4 Lite (not compact, not deluxe) it went in much loosely than it use to, and it was also not detected.

 

[KidIce]

Another fairly common cause for this sort of failure is filthy/coroded contacts. Best way to clean them is give them a scrubbing w/ a soft easer, like the sort Pentel loads in their Click Erasers. But this wouldn't explain why it works in one case and not the other...

It doesn't sound like the problem is w/ your DS's GBA slot, it's more likely something to do w/ the card.

 

[Destructobot]

But this wouldn't explain why it works in one case and not the other...Â

It sounds like one case is not holding the PCB close enough to make good contact, and the other case is.

Another possibility is that the PCB is sliding too far into the slot, or not far enough, and the other case holds it in just the right position. This could happen if only a small part of the guilty pin(s) was dirty or corroded. I remember having games on the NES that would only work if I didn't push them all the way into the slot.