Gaming DS shoulder button woes

[sjones900]

I'm sure this has been asked a dozen times, but what's an effective way to make shoulder buttons on a DS of any kinds work when they become unresponsive or troublesome? And how would one prevent this from happening at all?

 

[Sylar1]

Blow into the buttons, it may help

 

[noONE]

Try exhaling at them, often solves it temporarily

 

[Zorua]

You can't prevent it. They are just plain crappy. Blow into the buttons and put some water on a piece of cotton and run it through the edges of the L and R buttons.

 

[klim28]

Same problem thin the TS. I so hate that damn L/R shoulder buttons.

And yes, blowing through the hole helps. But, it always turn back to being crappy on a matter of hours.

 

[sjones900]

What if I doused the button in alcohol? would that perhaps disintegrate the dust and what ever junk is in it?

 

[machomuu]

Is this a plain ol' DS or a DSi?

 

[Hanafuda]

If you know how to disassemble the DS and get to the microswitches, then go to Radio Shack and buy some contact cleaner. Blast the microswitch housing and it should clean everything out nicely. I've brought a bunch of GBA and DS shoulder buttons back into action with the stuff. Note: there are some applications where contact cleaner w/ lubricating oil is appropriate, but this isn't one of them. Just get the one that contains contact cleaner only.

 

[Insane_Cat]

I don't know how to prevent the buttons from failing, but I do know a great way to fix them once they're broken.
You need to blow on the buttons, but there's a specific way you have to do it. You need to open your DS and make a seal with your lips around one of the buttons. Blow out and you will be blowing air inside the system. This will get rid of dust and junk that are messing with the contacts of the buttons. This always works for me and it's a long time before you have to do it again. Short of taking apart your DS, this is the best fix for the button problem that I know of.

 

[sjones900]

Is this a plain ol' DS or a DSi?

It's a DS lite, and I currently have it dismantled for some repair work. It does have problems with the R button, which is why I asked. Worst case scenario is that I have to replace the micro switch.

 

[soulo.kun]

And here i thought that the DS Lite's shoulder buttons can be repaired by a technician...

 

[sjones900]

And here i thought that the DS Lite's shoulder buttons can be repaired by a technician...

I'm not saying I can solder the micro switches. If it comes to that I'm screwed.