Nintendo 3DS dead Joystick

[DaButtla]

In June, for some reason I took my 3DS apart to see what the inside looked like and while doing that I screwed the joystick up

When turned on, it uncontrollably moves on its own and goes to the last column of squares before turning off and being unusable

I know I killed the joystick/motherboard as I asked chatgpt, my only immediate source of help though it's delusional, for help and it says I damage the motherboard which I probably did because I'm insanely clumsy and butterfingered

Again, I am not the brightest. I get the urge to take something apart to see inside or try to fix and I end up making it worse. I try to be like my cool friend that can fix everything but I am nothing like him unfortunately

I'm not using this as a way to fix it because I know it's dead but what did I do

 

[DaButtla]

I know when I took the joystick module out, I didn't flip the doors up

And I also dropped the screwdriver onto the mother board a few times

How do I get better at this

 

[zxr750j]

Practice, spend money, make mistakes, learn from them, spend money. Eventually you'll get better or you'll be broke...

 

[DaButtla]

Practice, spend money, make mistakes, learn from them, spend money. Eventually you'll get better or you'll be broke...

Thank you

 

[zxr750j]

Oh I forgot: Have fun whilst doing it!

 

[DaButtla]

Oh I forgot: Have fun whilst doing it!

It is very fun yes but very stressful and unfortunate if broken

Almost like a puzzle

Fun to put together, stressful to search for pieces, and sad If the puzzle breaks

 

[BADQUASI]

What you're describing is just what happens when the circle pad isn't connected to the motherboard, it's not actually clear whether or not anything is broken. If your latch can still close and hold the cable in place, I'd try just reseating the cable making sure it gets all the way in there. If that doesn't work, try pushing down gently on top of the latch to try and secure a better connection. Can't guarantee anything, but I think it's worth a shot. Maybe get your friend to try it if you don't feel confident going back in.

Even if you're interested in this kind of stuff I'd strongly advise against opening up anything that isn't already broken. Not just because of what happened to you but also because you always cause unavoidable wear and tear during disassembly, things like screws, screwholes and connectors etc..

Best of luck to you.

 

[emcintosh]

I know when I took the joystick module out, I didn't flip the doors up

And I also dropped the screwdriver onto the mother board a few times

How do I get better at this

Practise on something cheaper! E.g. buy broken joycon and replace the defective sticks &c. The joycon have: fiddly layering of ribbon cables, tiny springs that will ping out if you're not careful, many different types of screw, components that are glued down (battery) or wedged in tightly (rumble actuator), sockets that open on the side near the ribbon cable and on the opposite side (though they're significantly more friendly than the 3DS's ones, some of which you MUST NOT lift but work by friction alone), parts that need to physically slot into each other before screwing down, some necessary tight bends in ribbon cables.

If you want to practise soldering, I would go for some even cheaper broken gadget, as there is even more scope for damaging things if you're inexperienced.

Have enough space to work, so you don't have to have heavy tools above the rest of the device.

Read through the iFixit page for the thing you are working on - before starting and when you do each step. Open the large pictures if it's not clear how a step needs to be performed. Ask (there or here) if it's still not clear.

 

[DaButtla]

Practise on something cheaper! E.g. buy broken joycon and replace the defective sticks &c. The joycon have: fiddly layering of ribbon cables, tiny springs that will ping out if you're not careful, many different types of screw, components that are glued down (battery) or wedged in tightly (rumble actuator), sockets that open on the side near the ribbon cable and on the opposite side (though they're significantly more friendly than the 3DS's ones, some of which you MUST NOT lift but work by friction alone), parts that need to physically slot into each other before screwing down, some necessary tight bends in ribbon cables.

If you want to practise soldering, I would go for some even cheaper broken gadget, as there is even more scope for damaging things if you're inexperienced.

Have enough space to work, so you don't have to have heavy tools above the rest of the device.

Read through the iFixit page for the thing you are working on - before starting and when you do each step. Open the large pictures if it's not clear how a step needs to be performed. Ask (there or here) if it's still not clear.

Okay thank you

It was a silly mistake to operate on my 3DS as a noob to this stuff

I know my cool friend solders he does basically everything

Post automatically merged: Jul 31, 2025

What you're describing is just what happens when the circle pad isn't connected to the motherboard, it's not actually clear whether or not anything is broken. If your latch can still close and hold the cable in place, I'd try just reseating the cable making sure it gets all the way in there. If that doesn't work, try pushing down gently on top of the latch to try and secure a better connection. Can't guarantee anything, but I think it's worth a shot. Maybe get your friend to try it if you don't feel confident going back in.

Even if you're interested in this kind of stuff I'd strongly advise against opening up anything that isn't already broken. Not just because of what happened to you but also because you always cause unavoidable wear and tear during disassembly, things like screws, screwholes and connectors etc..

Best of luck to you.

Thank you

When I turn the device on and it shoots all the way to the back, it's because of it not being connected to the motherboard? Insane

I , unfortunately, am on my own as my cool friend is going away for a few years so he is studying and very busy