Hardware O3DS won't charge

[rufuszombot]

My friend gave me an old 3DS on 8.1.0-16, and it came fully charged, but when I plug it in with my existing power cord the indicator light won't come on. I'm going to try to get a cradle to see if it will work, but is there a way to fix the DC in on the console itself?

 

[migles]

My friend gave me an old 3DS on 8.1.0-16, and it came fully charged, but when I plug it in with my existing power cord the indicator light won't come on. I'm going to try to get a cradle to see if it will work, but is there a way to fix the DC in on the console itself?

craddle, make sure the craddle comes with a charger, or get a separated one because the craddle that comes with the O3ds is just a plastic thing you have to connect your charger.. it doesn't have a second charger or power plug..

also, i can't say for sure if the problem is the charger or console, 2 ways to find out, one is to get a borrowed charger and try it...
other is use a multimeter to check if the charger is working (maybe someone you know has one?)

 

[rufuszombot]

craddle, make sure the craddle comes with a charger, or get a separated one because the craddle that comes with the O3ds is just a plastic thing you have to connect your charger.. it doesn't have a second charger or power plug..

I had one once before I traded in mine for an XL, if I recall it doesn't use the input of a regular plug to charge the DS, just the connectors on the outside. I already have 3 plugs from having 3 3DSs.

 

[migles]

I had one once before I traded in mine for an XL, if I recall it doesn't use the input of a regular plug to charge the DS, just the connectors on the outside. I already have 3 plugs from having 3 3DSs.

there are 3 plugs, (i think there is a fourth one for gameboy micro but lets ignore that one)
the first one works for the gba sp and original DS
the second one is only for the DS Lite
the third one works on every nintendo portable after the DSI ( "DSI" DSI XL" "3ds" "3ds XL" "2DS" "N3DS "N3DS XL" )

 

[rufuszombot]

Right, and since I have plenty of 3DS plugs, they're all compatible, they just don't work which leads me to believe it's the Jack in the system itself. That's why I was asking if the cradle would work since it doesn't plug directly into the system.

 

[migles]

Right, and since I have plenty of 3DS plugs, they're all compatible, they just don't work which leads me to believe it's the Jack in the system itself. That's why I was asking if the cradle would work since it doesn't plug directly into the system.

the craddle plugs to the outside pins (thoose little metal holes on the sides of the plug
i don't believe it will work, since they are connected to the same place...
unless your contacts are rusty... if that is reason of not working, then you can probably use the craddle,
but i wouldn't waste my money on a craddle...

since you have several chargers, and to don't spend money on a craddle that probably will be useless, i would cut the wires on one of the chargers, and use them on the craddle pins...
just to make sure it charges... the problem is knowing which is negative and positive.. (should be the same sides as the normal plug...)

 

[rufuszombot]

the craddle plugs to the outside pins (thoose little metal holes on the sides of the plug
i don't believe it will work, since they are connected to the same place...
unless your contacts are rusty... if that is reason of not working, then you can probably use the craddle,
but i wouldn't waste my money on a craddle...

since you have several chargers, and to don't spend money on a craddle that probably will be useless, i would cut the wires on one of the chargers, and use them on the craddle pins...
just to make sure it charges... the problem is knowing which is negative and positive.. (should be the same sides as the normal plug...)

From the looks of this jack, it seems like someone bent the connectors on the inside, so it won't make contact. That's why I was assuming since the cradle uses those outside connectors, that they would have to make contact. I didn't know that the inside affected the outside.

 

[migles]

From the looks of this jack, it seems like someone bent the connectors on the inside, so it won't make contact. That's why I was assuming since the cradle uses those outside connectors, that they would have to make contact. I didn't know that the inside affected the outside.

well, if thats the case, probably it will work then...
i was making a possibility of the charging components being broken (this happens a lot on laptops)
if the charging module (the chip that's next to the port (inside the 3ds) is broken, it wouldn't be any use get a cradle... do you understand?

but if the standard connectors are phisically damaged, you can use the other ones (the craddle ones)
if the craddle is not that expensive, then go ahead!
there are also replacement connectors, but you would need to solder...

 

[gamesquest1]

you could just test it by cutting the end off a usb wire and putting the black wire to one pad and red to the other, although i would imagine you could probably pop to a local console repair shop and get the port replaced for the same cost as a cradle thing depending on how much you are paying....imo most places will probably only be charging say $15 to replace the whole port, and depending on workload they could have it done within 20 mins usually

one more thing you can do is get something small and pointy and try poke the charging pins back out, if the port is on its way out it will probably get jammed again, but as a temporary fix it would work ok assuming its just the pins being squished down a bit

 

[Megaben99]

Cradle is $1.97 at GameStop if your local shop has one. They run about $5 on eBay international, a little higher for US sellers.

 

[nero99]

My friend gave me an old 3DS on 8.1.0-16, and it came fully charged, but when I plug it in with my existing power cord the indicator light won't come on. I'm going to try to get a cradle to see if it will work, but is there a way to fix the DC in on the console itself?

If you don't mind, open up the 3ds. Where the chare port is, youll be able to tell if you need a new charging port (they cost like $# on ebay). But only fix it this way if you are some what decent at soldering small pieces. I don't think a crade is going to fix your problem unless the charging cord is the problem.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

If you don't mind, open up the 3ds. Where the chare port is, youll be able to tell if you need a new charging port (they cost like $# on ebay). But only fix it this way if you are some what decent at soldering small pieces. I don't think a crade is going to fix your problem unless the charging cord is the problem.

The cradle still uses the charge cord though.
From the sound of it, it might be either the plug itself, or a more serious problem with the charge circuit. Since it came fully charged I'm guessing whoever had it used to charge it with the cradle, so they must have had some way to charge it, and it can't have been too long ago or the battery would be partially discharged.

From the looks of this jack, it seems like someone bent the connectors on the inside, so it won't make contact. That's why I was assuming since the cradle uses those outside connectors, that they would have to make contact. I didn't know that the inside affected the outside.

In that case, the cradle will probably work. The previous owner must have been able to charge it last time he used it, since it was fully charged, so he was probably using a cradle.