Hardware Please help, I bricked my N3DS XL after swapping mobo

[alkar]

Hey,

I'm a noob and thought i would be smart swapping mobos.

It was a PITA for me to reconnect the ribbon cables but i think I did it fine (and I dont think i killed them, they dont look ripped apart).

Yet, when I turn on my N3DS XL, i can see the blue LED when i press power (i can't even see it anymore...) but nothing more, black screen, no power or nothing it seems...

I dunno what i could have done wrong, didn't try to reassamble the other 3DS yet but it smells bad.
Here is a picture of the reassembled 3DS, it looks fine (and the 2 back ribbons should be attached fine... please help.

Have in mind that i didn't put all screws back to gain time for testing.. Didn't screw the mobo all the way back. Is it possible it's just due to screws ? doesn't seem logical to me, but maybe you experts can help.
Thanks


herbergeur d image

 

[Xenon Hacks]

I doubt oil or sweat from your fingers cause a short did you try connecting all the parts to the original board too see if it powers on like normal?

Edit: When it comes to something like this its best to use process of elimination its what I used to do when something didn't make sense after making a psp that would not turn on usually its a faulty party that was damaged some how.

Also this might sound stupid but double check your battery is charged and check with a multimeter (if you have one) if there is power running through the board at all

 

[alkar]

i dont have a multimeter, i'm a noob and just good at Lego...
The only thing i could have done wrong is by connecting the upper right ribbon (on the picture), maybe it's not really really plugged in but i think it's 99% in so i think it's fine... I had a pain plugging in the back ones but they seemed to fit well.. but i'm not sure what all the ribbons are for... also i notice that the mobo is smashing the botton ribbon (next to the audio output) but i dont think it damaged it.. and they look quite solid (i mean, it's hard to kill them without cutting them or tearing them apart).
it's already 3 AM here so i'm gonna sleep, tomorrow i'm gonna put all parts back to where its belongs, who knows what happens... but i hear people here swapping mobo so i must have done something really wrong.

And yes the battery are fine, the consoles are brand new and they were working fine on battery before i swapped their mobo

I read that the 3DS can fail to boot up if the pressure inside isn't good. Is it possible then it's just due to the fact i didn't put all sure back ?

 

[Avalynn]

I would double check that all your cables are seated properly I know sometimes the LCD power cables can be a little finiky so try re-seating them. Also for the top LCD cable make sure the gold fingers are facing towards the motherboard. Here is a quick picture of that.

Spoiler: The Top LCD connector

 

[LemmyT]

Does it turn off after a few seconds of being on? This happened to me and I fixed it by disconnecting all the ribbon cables and reconnecting them over and over until it worked. You really need to make sure all the ribbon cables are in the right way and have a good connection. I also heard that certain screws act as grounds, so make sure they're all screwed in. The tinier ribbon cable connectors like the ones on the bottom left shouldn't be flipped up. You should remove the ribbon cable and press them firmly in place, then just slide the cable in. Be very careful because I actually did accidentally break a connector on the motherboard I wasn't using. Good luck.

 

[Avalynn]

I didn't see any screw that acted as a ground point, many of them are in fact isolated because the board is coated on the parts the screws touch. I completely agree with the reconnecting all the cables, that really can be the number 1 issues of a non-booting system when it was just taken out and placed back together.

 

[alkar]

Thanks guys for the reassuring post. When I'm back from work I'll reconnect every ribbons.
But man the ones of the back bord are a pain in the ass.

Any tip for them ? I just do it with my hands and a lot of patience but it's not that easy.

 

[Avalynn]

Sometimes I use some SMD tweezers to help me along but a lot of time I rely on my fingers and fingernails to get everything securely back into place. Just go slow and make sure each cable is fully inserted and the two sides line up.

 

[alkar]

Just got back home so i guess i'll try to replug all ribbons.
Just another question : do i have to plug in the back cover with the battery etc or the 3DS can starts up with no battery and just wall charger ?
Do i even need to connect the LR/LZ / R triggers ribbons to start it up or i can just try to press power with the motherboard "floating" ?

 

[Avalynn]

Just got back home so i guess i'll try to replug all ribbons.
Just another question : do i have to plug in the back cover with the battery etc or the 3DS can starts up with no battery and just wall charger ?
Do i even need to connect the LR/LZ / R triggers ribbons to start it up or i can just try to press power with the motherboard "floating" ?

You need the battery but don't need the back cover with the buttons, I'll screw at least 3 screws to hold it down, place the battery in, hold it there and power the system up for a quick test.

 

[alkar]

What is the ribbon here ? Because it's possible i did damage it a little (although the circuit seem fine) while closing down the 3DS. It seems like a minor ribbon and not major for powering it on but i'm not sure.
(on the left)
it looks like the home button so not mandatory either way

 

[Avalynn]

What is the ribbon here ? Because it's possible i did damage it a little (although the circuit seem fine) while closing down the 3DS. It seems like a minor ribbon and not major for powering it on but i'm not sure.
(on the left)
it looks like the home button so not mandatory either way

That is the ribbon cable for the home button.

 

[alkar]

I think I'm an idiot Avalynn, i noticed that one of the back ribbon wasn't like your screenshot and was on the wrong side.... i think because i dissambled it so fast that i didn't check well but i'm pretty sure i had failed here. It could makes sense

Will report you in a few hours cuz i'm AFK

 

[alkar]

meh still same problem after remounting it once... I see the power light blinking for 1sec when starting the 3DS (blinking in orange) while plugged on the wall charger and nothing else
Here are a few pics of the ribbons, they look good no ?

And what is the small grey ribbon on the top right ? I think i might have remove a bit of the protection layer of it but i'm not sure...

 

[alkar]

same problem with original mobo back, i can see power blinking for 0.5sec in orange when plugged (nothing when on battery) and that's all...

I dunno what to do. It's been 4 times i've been reassembling the 3DS now and always the same error (both N3DS XL were working fine prior to dissassamble..) not sure how i managed to screw it up.

 

[alkar]

OK I got a little bit further on one of the 3DS, but I think if you see the 2nd image, I failed in the back ribbon and it's upside down AGAIN. Anyway i'm quite sure i did it fine this time, and the 3DS shows the blue power led etc, i can see it trying to boot with the screen dimming bright then it shuts down with a sound crackle... Any idea ?


EDIT : got the exact same issue

 

[Sheimi]

same problem with original mobo back, i can see power blinking for 0.5sec in orange when plugged (nothing when on battery) and that's all...

Well shit, that reminds me of my brothers DSi that broke awhile back while I was cleaning it. (I'm gonna look at it again).

From reading your posts and the above video. The only thing I could think of is the ribbon cables not inserted all the way or put in wrong.

 

[omgcat]

OK I got a little bit further on one of the 3DS, but I think if you see the 2nd image, I failed in the back ribbon and it's upside down AGAIN. Anyway i'm quite sure i did it fine this time, and the 3DS shows the blue power led etc, i can see it trying to boot with the screen dimming bright then it shuts down with a sound crackle... Any idea ?


EDIT : got the exact same issue

make sure your shoulder button ribbon cables are in the right direction, they snap in both ways and will short with a crackle when turned on. i had this problem, when i double checked and fixed them it turned on fine.

heres an image of how it should look like

 

[alkar]

didn't look at the N3DS that does the same as the youtube video because meanwhile i was trying to obtain at least the same on the other one, and it seems that I probably ripped off the ribbons (although they do look fine) since this one always does nothing except when plugged i can see power blinking orange during 0.5 sec. And this happens whichever mobo i put in it, so I guess the case (ribbons) are somehow dead, but honestly they dont look that bad.

I'll focus on the other one i guess that goes further...

 

[gamesquest1]

didn't look at the N3DS that does the same as the youtube video because meanwhile i was trying to obtain at least the same on the other one, and it seems that I probably ripped off the ribbons (although they do look fine) since this one always does nothing except when plugged i can see power blinking orange during 0.5 sec. And this happens whichever mobo i put in it, so I guess the case (ribbons) are somehow dead, but honestly they dont look that bad.

I'll focus on the other one i guess that goes further...

yeah i had one that someone had done something similar on, if i took the motherboard and put it in another console it worked fine, and a different motherboard with the screen and it did the exact same....his ribbon cable didn't look damaged either, but it did have a slight twist in it where i assume he pulled it a bit too hard or twisted it too much and basically it was dead.....so again people be extra careful with the top LCD ribbons they seem quite a bit more sensitive to twisting/bending than the original 3DS ones