Gaming DS Lite hinge hairline crack question

[Deaddy]

My launch Lite has had this type of hairline crack (not my photo) on the back of the hinge for as long as I can remember, it was common with early Lites back in the day and has never caused me a functional problem or gotten worse. I'm planning to replace my white shell with a third party replacement off eBay just for a new look, and was wondering if anyone knows what causes this crack. Was it a flaw in the white shell, or will the internal parts of my DS cause the new shell to crack? I thought I had read years ago that there was some kind of ring in there that was coiled too tight and was causing that crack but I can't find anything about that via google now. Any advice? Thanks!

 

[Sicklyboy]

As far as I am aware, it's just a design flaw in the DS Lite's housing. Not too sure exactly what causes it. My brother's Lite had it, as did mine, and the aftermarket shell I bought for mine got it too. There is a little metal ring that goes in that hinge, and my aftermarket one came with a differently designed one - evidently, that didn't make enough of a difference.

 

[Aurionfox]

Be extra carefull with that kind of crack, i've got 3 DSLites and all of them got the same problem after a few years, but one of them got a problem with the top screen thanks to that crack, and when i tried to repair the hinge with a new shell it only got worse, now it can't recharge the battery and the touch screen don't work properly, be sure to get an official shell and nothing cheap

 

[Deaddy]

Yeah, I see that small metal ring that goes right in there in some youtube videos, and was wondering if what I read years ago was that this ring was too large in some units and cause this. I don't remember if this was an official explanation or maybe just somebody speculating. Was debating ordering a replacement ring just in case mine is causing the issue. My brother got a Lite a month or two after me and his hasn't developed a crack. Don't know what to think, I'd be pretty disappointed if I went to all the trouble of dismantling and rebuilding my DS and wound up with another crack in my brand new housing.

The shell I bought is not official, it's from Hong Kong but I read that they're very good and I asked someone who bought the same one. He said it doesn't feel cheap. I wasn't willing to spend a lot of cash on this thing so hopefully it turns out well. There's nothing wrong with my original case but I just want a change and to have a brand new feeling DS.

This is the one I bought. Looking at the auction it looks like it may come with a replacement ring. I think I'd try the new one vs reusing my original, just in case that's part of the issue, even tho it didn't help plasma dragon.

I was advised by someone who bought this to reuse my original screws, that this one can come with screws of the wrong length. If anyone has other tips about replacing the shell I'd love to hear em. It looks like a really complex job but there are lots of guides on youtube and I think I can do it.

 

[Aurionfox]

Looks fine for me, but if you're gonna do the replace for yourself be extra careful with the battery zone, don't push the shell to hard because there're a lot of fuses over there

 

[Deaddy]

Ooh, this could be what I read years ago, I found this in a GBAtemp thread from 2006:

according to a Nintendo rep I spoke with it was caused by the hinge being tightened up beyond the proper torque spec. A batch simply were screwed down too tight.

Don't know what I could do about this, if it's the true cause. Haha, I just noticed that I replied to that post way back then.

http://gbatemp.net/t...post__p__479161

 

[Sicklyboy]

I had read that a while back as well, and funny thing is, there's nothing to tighten down there. The hinge is only on the inner-top half - there's nothing on the outer-top half that comes into play. The only screws on the top half are four screws around the corners of the shell to hold everything together. None come near the hinge.

Edit - just looked at my Lite, and as best as I can tell, the cracks are caused by a slight movement tolerance in the top half of the screen. With the DS closed, grab your top half and push it towards the slot-1 edge, then pull it towards the slot-2 edge. The shell on mine isn't cracked, but there is a little wiggle room. I'm sure any sort of prolonged pressure, like sticking it in your pocket, amplifies this movement and causes it to crack after a while.

 

[Deaddy]

Even if a Nintendo rep gave that explanation, there's a great chance he didn't know what he was talking about. I guess we shouldn't put too much faith in that. I just remembered that my Lite has another issue, I never connected it to the crack but I believe it's related to the screen ribbon cable which passes right through there. When my Lite lid is between the closed position up until it snaps into the first open position, the screen is all white and the image is not displayed properly, it's totally white with a few pixels, as soon as you snap it into the first open position the image is perfect. I get the idea there's something loose with the ribbon connector and I'm hoping that gets resolved when I reassemble everything. It doesn't impact me, but it'd be nice to get rid of it. My brother's uncracked lite doesn't do this. It's definitely based on the angle that the screen is opened to, once it hits a certain point it turns white and once it gets open further it goes away. Gotta be the ribbon.

 

[BORTZ]

They all do that. Its super lame. My Dsl even after i replaced the case started cracking agian.