NDSL disassembly/reassembly guide

[Fire2box]

unforunately for us case modders, many of the backs of the displays are marked with marker from a QC worker in the factory

you can try (very carefully) to use either some alcohol or goo-gone (a very, very small amount!!) on a cotton square or folded piece of paper towel to remove the marker. be very careful that you don't over saturate the cotton/paper towel too much. I actually ruined one upper display long ago when some alcohol wicked its way into the display through the flexible ribbon cable

I think I might have a better way around this issue. I am thinking of putting this behind the top screen and it would hopefully cover most or all of the writing.

(Warning My Little Pony image link.)

Rainbow Dash Papercraft.

Now, it would just be a standard printing paper in high the highest quality I can get out of my printer. Would the DS Lite be able to fit back together it the thickness of standard printer/copy paper? I figure this would be a good way to show off my liking for Rainbow Dash/MLP:FiM

 

[thieves like us]

you shouldn't have any issues with fitting a piece of paper inside. I wouldn't attempt to go with anything thicker than a normal sheet of paper since there's not too much extra room in there

you might even want to use a small amount of double-sided (poster) tape to affix the image to the back of the lcd display so that it doesn't slide around prior to putting the outer half of the shell back on

 

[Fire2box]

I m just going to try it with clear matte scotchbrand tape. Also I printed this one out and it was too small, plus you could tell it's paper craft. I'll likely have to find another one.

 

[The Manipulator]

thanks

I'm not aware of any mods for the original "phat" ds that allows you . I believe that is in the the firmware of the DSlite and DSi's which allows you to choice the brightness level

I've got a phat model ds which was recently converted to be used as a direct capture system and I need to swap the case on it (it's pretty beat up). so, when I get a chance to do that, I'll check and see if the original uses the same type of wi-fi/firmware model that the dslite does (although, I can almost guarantee that it doesn't)

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I did not think there was a mod as I've looked high and low. Oh well... Yes - DSLite is a different animal internally as far as how the screens work...

I am currently re-doing my phat with a custom case paint job. Took the whole thing apart. I am both electronically and technically aware, so it was only a short learning curve. Still - Guides do make things a lot easier!

Maybe I'll try implementing a variable potentiometer for the brightness. Finding the correct wiring for it ought to be fun, but I love experimenting!

 

[thieves like us]

glad that it could help you and your nephew out

 

[drew_ballz99]

Hey Thieves....just want to say thanks in advance for the guide. It's been working great for me so far. I have ran into a problem with inserting the metal collar all the way into the upper case. Is there a trick to this?

 

[thieves like us]

the metal collar ins't supposed to fit [all] the way into upper half. it will stick out a bit to get captured inside of the "bump" where the charge and wi-fi indicators are however some after market kits may require a shorter width collar (and hopefully come packaged with it).

 

[hoiboy909]

There is a rip on my flat cable (due to my clumsiness)... and my DS is doign the flash thing. Are the two related?

 

[thieves like us]

yes. if the flexible cable is torn or creased, you'll need to replace the upper display. you'll have to have some solder skills to remove the original speakers and transfer them over to the new display. if you can't do this yourself, send me a pm and we can work something out if you want me to replace the display and finish your case swap.

 

[loliD]

I'm looking at this guide before deciding whether it's worth it to break down my DS to clean it up a bit, but I can't quite tell the difference between the two photos in step 34.

 

[DJ Hobo]

I'm looking at this guide before deciding whether it's worth it to break down my DS to clean it up a bit, but I can't quite tell the difference between the two photos in step 34.

If you look really closely, you'll see that the photo on the left shows that the cable has not been fully inserted into the little connector slot. In the photo on the right, the cable is fully inserted, and it looks even. It's a little hard to tell, so you may need to zoom in. That's actually the step I had the most difficulty with when I was disassembling and reassembling my DS Lite.

 

[thieves like us]

thanks DJ Hobo.

it was hard to try and get a clear photo showing just that. the problem that most people have when performing the reassembly is making sure that the flexible cables for both the upper and lower displays are completely inserted into the receiving sockets before closing the locks on them.

as DJ Hobo commented, if you look closely, you'll notice that the cable is inserted slightly skewed in image on the left.

you'll know that you didn't insert it correctly when you attempt to power up your system and all you get is a brief flash of the lower screen before the system shuts back down.

 

[loliD]

Thanks for clearing that up guys. I'm going to pick up a triwing tomorrow and do a bit of maintenance.

Update: Popped open my DS today. Just tested everything out and everything seems to be working. Thanks for the guide.

Another Update: Just noticed this while charging up the battery. The LED light is slightly visible from a gap on the side, but I can't get it to fit more flush than it already is. The metal collar is just barely visible on the left side too. For all I know, it could have been like this before I took it apart. Is it worth breaking down my DS to fix this?

 

[Sc4rFac3d]

Thanks for the guide, it's pretty great. But for the part where you can test the power of the DS lite? How do I switch the thing on? I can't find a switch or when I attach the lower part it's just loose and doesn't trigger anything

edit, nvm. It seems my power switch broke off.

 

[thieves like us]

Thanks for clearing that up guys. I'm going to pick up a triwing tomorrow and do a bit of maintenance.

Update: Popped open my DS today. Just tested everything out and everything seems to be working. Thanks for the guide.

Another Update: Just noticed this while charging up the battery. The LED light is slightly visible from a gap on the side, but I can't get it to fit more flush than it already is. The metal collar is just barely visible on the left side too. For all I know, it could have been like this before I took it apart. Is it worth breaking down my DS to fix this?

that's rather odd. I've never had that problem, but it looks strange that you have that gap between the body of the system and the bump containing the indicators (none of my systems have a gap like that). if it's not affecting gameplay, I wouldn't bother to strip it back down again.


QUOTE(Sc4rFac3d @ Oct 1 2011, 01:33 PM) Thanks for the guide, it's pretty great. But for the part where you can test the power of the DS lite? How do I switch the thing on? I can't find a switch or when I attach the lower part it's just loose and doesn't trigger anything

edit, nvm. It seems my power switch broke off.

sorry to hear about that. that's why I stressed in the guide that you need to be really careful of the position of the physical switches for both the power and the volume control.

repair tip:
you don't need to de-solder all six of the solder points for the power switch. just the two (top and bottom). once you get those freed up, you can pop the metal shielding off and simply replace the inner working of the power switch, reassemble and then re-solder.

 

[Sc4rFac3d]

sorry to hear about that. that's why I stressed in the guide that you need to be really careful of the position of the physical switches for both the power and the volume control.

repair tip:
you don't need to de-solder all six of the solder points for the power switch. just the two (top and bottom). once you get those freed up, you can pop the metal shielding off and simply replace the inner working of the power switch, reassemble and then re-solder.

Thanks thieves, it was actually my brothers DSL and he already ripped it apart, he asked me to fix his mess

I just glued a little piece to it and it's sticking out of the hole now (I removed the plastic switch) so at least he can turn it on. One more thing, can overtightening the screws cause the DS not to turn on at all?

 

[thieves like us]

if the mainboard isn't properly seated, overtightening the screws can cause issues. make sure that everything fits back together without you having to force the shell halves together.

the only pinch points should be the shafts that the shoulder buttons rotate on where you may have to "snap" the shells together to get the bottom of the shafts to "hit" the holes into the bottom of the case, but otherwise everything should go together without you having to force the halves to get them to fit together completely when screwing them together.

 

[turnstile]

got to bump this topic.

i'm almost done reassembling my ds-- I did the quick battery test for troubleshooting and found that it turns on very briefly and then shuts off.

i checked the ribbon cable for the upper lcd and saw that it wasn't properly secured, so i made sure again. i kept testing but found that same stuff happens.

so... i could have possibly creased the ribbon for the upper lcd, or damaged it by pulling on it -- OR i didn't charge my battery enough prior to assembly (i haven't charged it a whole month now and forgot about it before i disassembled my ds). could that be the culprit? when i do the test, the battery indicator doesn't turn red. how creased is a ribbon supposed to get before it gets totally damaged?

as soon as i figure out how to put back the shoulder buttons and charge the damn thing, i'll get back to this board. but for now... some advice??

-----

edit: everything is ok now, and my ds works fine.

 

[thieves like us]

turnstile:
glad to hear that you solved the problem. if you don't mind me asking, what was the issue; one of the display ribbon cables not securely inserted correctly or all of the way in?

 

[Tom]

seems like it wasn't in straight/ in all the way