Gaming DS Lite Repair Question x4

[ISO-Man]

1) How do you PROPERLY remove/insert ribbon cables ?

2) What is the 2 wires (Black/White) going from base to the top ?

3) Is the ribbon cable from base to top part of the top LCD or independent?

4) Is there a Diagram of the top half ?

My youngest broke his Mario DS Lite not even a year after buying it at Best Buy for Xmas several years ago. I'm tired of it sitting around. I disassembled bottom/base part of unit. For the most part, everything is great. The top half has recently went MIA. I have no idea what all parts are in the top half. If anyone can make a list would be great I tried using a normal DS top for general reference, but I know the DS doesn't have the extra features as the Lite.

Thanks,
ISO-Man

 

[ISO-Man]

I was able to answer 2 of 4.. Took all night, but I got 2 of the answers



1) How do you PROPERLY remove/insert ribbon cables ?

2) What is the 2 wires (Black/White) going from base to the top ?
A) Mic + WiFi

3) Is the ribbon cable from base to top part of the top LCD or independent?
A) LCD Ribbon Cable

4) Is there a Diagram of the top half ?

My youngest broke his Mario DS Lite not even a year after buying it at Best Buy for Xmas several years ago. I'm tired of it sitting around. I disassembled bottom/base part of unit. For the most part, everything is great. The top half has recently went MIA. I have no idea what all parts are in the top half. If anyone can make a list would be great I tried using a normal DS top for general reference, but I know the DS doesn't have the extra features as the Lite.

Thanks,
ISO-Man

 

[Atashi]

1) How do you PROPERLY remove/insert ribbon cables ?

Look closely at the plastic socket thingy that the ribbon cable is in. Usually these are made of two different colours of plastic. Typically beige and brown. One colour is used for the larger part, which is the part that's affixed / soldered to the circuit board. The other colour is used in a smaller part which might surround the ribbon cable, might look like a bezel around the ribbon cable, or might look like just a 'bar' above, or below, the ribbon cable. You might need to use a magnifying glass or loupe depending on the size of the part & your eyesight.

This smaller bit of plastic in a different colour is the locking part. There are two basic ways to 'unlock' it. One flips upwards, think of it as having a hinge and it rotates upwards. The other kind slides forwards, towards the ribbon cable. This might seem counter-intuitive, but towards the cable UNLOCKS and away from the cable LOCKS.

Apart from experience, I can't think of a way offhand to explain how to learn which is which. When I'm facing an unknown ribbon connector, I use a very small screwdriver (think jewellers' or watchmakers' screwdriver), or the tip of an X-acto knife, and try and slide the locking part towards the cable. You may have to work both sides, to get it to slide fully forwards. Think of a stuck drawer that you're wiggling out. If it won't move forward at all, then I try and rotate it upwards. If it's the rotating kind, it usually has a bit of resistance then 'pops' up releasing the pressure on the ribbon cable.

In both of these cases, you can remove the cable just by pulling on it, but you can't get it back in unless you unlock the connector. It can be easier to fiddle with the connector once the cable is out of the way, but there is a risk, however small, of damaging the cable by pulling it free without first unlocking the connector.

Good luck, & cheers!

 

[ISO-Man]

How durable is the connector? How much force should be expected to use? I was trying the slide technique, but did not see any change. That is when I stopped and came to forum asking. My tiny precision screw driver tip seems too wide. X-acto knife is a great idea to try... I haven't owned one for 20 years. Does Lowe's sell it? I always bought mine at hobby shops in the old days for balsa wood planes.

No way to determine if it is a slide or hinge style? I actually never seen hinge style before

Thanks,
ISO-Man

 

[Atashi]

All that stuff I typed before was 'generic', I didn't have a DSL infront of me to compare. Here's what I've got from an actual DS-Lite main board.

The attached image is a close-up of the ribbon connector that's near the volume control. IIRC this is the cable for the lower screen, but the connector for the upper screen works the same.

In this example, the connector is open and it is the flip-up kind. You can see the dark brown part is rotated upwards. With a loupe you can probably see there are little plastic 'pins' protruding from the brown part and into the beige part. That's about the only way I know to identify the 'hinge style', is if you can spot the 'hinges' which are just a tiny protrudance on either side.

Anyhow, if you lift up the brown part then the ribbon cable just slides in, then you close the brown part down to lock it.

There is one other ribbon connector on the DSL, for the touch panel. This is also a flip-up one but it's totally different. Best to remove the WiFi / BIOS daughter-board to access it. The connector is dark brown and black. The black part flips up, but it works 'backwards', in that its 'hinge' is where the cable goes in, and it rotates up and towards the cable. Once it's open you can slide the touch screen cable in and then flip the black part down and lock it.

Cheers!