I fixed my DSi XL shutdown issue - simple fix

[Hanafuda]

I have a blue DSi XL that I bought new, and it never saw a lot of use. A few games were played on it, the 3DS came out, and the DSi XL went into storage. One reason it didn't see a lot of use - it has had a tendency since new to shut down, seemingly at random. But recently when my wife wanted to play "Doubutsu no Mori" and she was having this problem with it again, I figured out the shut down wasn't random but was happening when pressure was applied in the lower left corner of the console, near the power button. Especially if you picked the console up from that area - the 'squeeze' on top and bottom would make it turn off. I feared a loose ribbon cable to the power daughterboard inside, but with the battery cover off I figured out it was the battery itself. It was momentarily disconnecting from the console's terminals, and the reason was the battery is just slightly short for the cavity it sits in. I fixed this by cutting a thin strip of card stock paper approx the size of the end of the battery, and pushed it in on the opposite end of the battery from the connectors. Now there is no 'wiggle room' and the battery stays connected no matter what. I cannot duplicate the shut down anymore! Be careful to use card-thickness paper, not "cardboard." A piece of playing card or business card is about right. Also don't bother if your DSi XL doesn't do this, but when I googled I came up with multiple results discussing this problem and nobody seemed to ever identify that it was simply that the battery is about .5mm shorter than it should be to keep pressure on the springy terminals.

 

[Shadowler]

I had that issue too. I sprayed some electrical contact cleaner on the pins on both the battery and DSi XL. I have been playing it a year+ with it never happening again.

Worth a try if you don't want something stuck in there. It probably is due to being loose, but also because the pins get a tiny bit corroded overtime.

 

[Hanafuda]

I had that issue too. I sprayed some electrical contact cleaner on the pins on both the battery and DSi XL. I have been playing it a year+ with it never happening again.

Worth a try if you don't want something stuck in there. It probably is due to being loose, but also because the pins get a tiny bit corroded overtime.

I'm familiar with the contact cleaner, that's my first go-to when SP shoulder buttons start flaking out. But this was an inducible physical disconnect for sure. With the cover off I could push the battery back against the rear wall of the cavity and see it. The battery door on the DSi XL being really thin and flimsy doesn't help either.

 

[LittleGuy56]

I have a blue DSi XL that I bought new, and it never saw a lot of use. A few games were played on it, the 3DS came out, and the DSi XL went into storage. One reason it didn't see a lot of use - it has had a tendency since new to shut down, seemingly at random. But recently when my wife wanted to play "Doubutsu no Mori" and she was having this problem with it again, I figured out the shut down wasn't random but was happening when pressure was applied in the lower left corner of the console, near the power button. Especially if you picked the console up from that area - the 'squeeze' on top and bottom would make it turn off. I feared a loose ribbon cable to the power daughterboard inside, but with the battery cover off I figured out it was the battery itself. It was momentarily disconnecting from the console's terminals, and the reason was the battery is just slightly short for the cavity it sits in. I fixed this by cutting a thin strip of card stock paper approx the size of the end of the battery, and pushed it in on the opposite end of the battery from the connectors. Now there is no 'wiggle room' and the battery stays connected no matter what. I cannot duplicate the shut down anymore! Be careful to use card-thickness paper, not "cardboard." A piece of playing card or business card is about right. Also don't bother if your DSi XL doesn't do this, but when I googled I came up with multiple results discussing this problem and nobody seemed to ever identify that it was simply that the battery is about .5mm shorter than it should be to keep pressure on the springy terminals.

Thank you so much I tried cleaning pins and around it the battery still had power problems.But this simple solution fixed it.

 

[redondobeach01]

My DSi XL has also been with that same problem. But, even when it is "charging", it still turns off if I press around the bottom area of the D-Pad. Will this problem fix aswell with that method?