Hacking DS power switch loose and not working

[CPhantom]

So, my sister is having the same problem my DS has, except worse. Her power switch is loose, doesn't feel like the spring is working anymore, and her power will not turn on when she moves it. We called Nintendo and they said that the damage was not covered in the warrenty. Fuckers. I was thinking of buying a tri-wing screwdriver to pop it open to see what is going on with it. Would this be good to do or not? Or does anyone know what has happened to it?


Thank you very much.

 

[thrallking]

I had the same problem. The deal is that the actuator on your power switch snapped off. This is a cheap fix if you trust your skills (I didn't, but I was allowed to tinker around with a junker), or if you know someone that could fix it the part is only $3-7 (I paid $7 since the seller was from the US, and it would get to me in days instead of weeks).

Here is a how to guide if you want to try it: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shalf/sets/72157604320666655/

Good luck!

 

[CPhantom]

That is wonderful, thanks for the link!

also, what was the part? Or at least where did you get it from? I'd like to buy one so I don't have to pay 59 bucks to Nintendon't for repairs, haha.

 

[thrallking]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Nintendo-DS-lite-Repla...1QQcmdZViewItem

Twice the price of the Hong Kong part (and the exact same model), but it does not have to go through customs. I have gotten many a gadget through HK, and though they tend to work they take 10-16 days to come in. This one should take 5 at the most.

 

[CPhantom]

another quite useful link, thank you!

I did notice though, does have to be soldered?

 

[Joey90]

You will need to solder something...

The simplest way is to desolder the pads left and right, and take off the metal cover, to replace the parts inside. Otherwise you have to desolder all the points and swap the whole lot over...

 

[Sportsmaniac1322]

You will need to solder something...

The simplest way is to desolder the pads left and right, and take off the metal cover, to replace the parts inside. Otherwise you have to desolder all the points and swap the whole lot over...

Didn't know you could do that. Have you or anyone had success with this method?

 

[Joey90]

I replaced a power switch by just taking off the cover, using an original power swithc from another DS. The thing is spring loaded whihc makes it slightly tricky, but it depends whether you find that easier than desoldering important connection points.

Also, I don't know how it works with 3rd party switches.

 

[Sportsmaniac1322]

Since Ive already bought a third party switch, I'll just go ahead and desolder the whole thing. The switches look slightly different from each other, so I don't think your method would work in my case.