Gaming Trying to fix a DS Lite

[Thalelith]

Greetings folks, I have a bit of a temperamental DS Lite at hand and am not entirely sure what the problem is, any assistance in the matter would be greatly appreciated.
While I'm not exactly an authority on the DS and its electronic functions, I have gone to school for electronics for about 2 years. That being said, issue I'm having with this DS lite is nothing I've ever come across.
I'm attempting to fix a friends DS from the following issue:
80% of the time, whenever there is a cartridge (have tried a variety of games) into the DS, the DS refuses to start up. The DS on the other hand WILL start up every time with no game inserted! The DS is not having any charging or battery issues, nor are the copper contact points on the DS and game dirty (I've cleaned each with window cleaner and a Q tip, and allowed time for it to dry).
I have asked my friend about how she managed to create one of the most bizarre actions out of a handheld that I have ever seen, sadly she can't remember anything past 10 minutes ago, providing little to work with, *joy*. I have looked up on other forums and such and have not come across anyone having the same problem. Now, the DS is well past its warranty, so either its on its way to the trash can or it has to be fixed.
I have not had a chance to tear open the DS and look over the components (writing this post right before work in fact) And while I'm pretty confident it is a hardware issue I.E. a corroded contact point, a temperamental fuse, or some such, it could also be a software issue with the DS. All I know is, if the problem was something definitely broken, the problem would persist, and not actually work upon some random miracle.
Any ideas what the problem at hand would be would be greatly appreciated one again, thanks!

 

[sporkonomix]

Be very careful while opening a DS Lite. The cable that goes to the touch screen digitizer is not only in a screwed up location, but the ribbon breaks very easily and is temperamental. I think the DS Lite was designed that way on purpose, to deter people from modding or fixing it themselves.

Best of luck to ya!

 

[Sora de Eclaune]

While I've never seen this problem in a DS Lite, I've heard this is a semi-common problem for DSi handhelds. Strange how it would appear on a system it shouldn't...

If you're not confident on taking the system apart, send it to Nintendo. It'll put you out around $75+, you can be assured that you WILL get a perfectly fine system (whether it's the same one or a new/refurbished one is a different story).

 

[sporkonomix]

No point in paying $85 for a fix when you can get one brand new for $15 more.

 

[RalphUp]

There is no such thing as a temperamental fuse...
Its either OK or BLOWN.

As for your issue, I had a similar issue with my sons DS Lite, it wouldn't boot into Sakura from the M3 Real inserted would freeze at LOGO, would boot without a card in no problem and would boot to the standard M3 touch menu. using the Homebrew app DiagnoSe I found the RIGHT Shoulder button was permenantly ON. Replaced button ...DS Lite fixed!

 

[thieves like us]

power up the system without any cartridge inserted and make sure that it loads to the screen where you are seeing the blinking "Touch the Touch Screen to continue." message. if your system advances beyond that point, then you definately have a contact for one of the buttons or the touch screen itself that is being tripped. with the case of the touch screen, it's usually a particle of dirt or something lodged between the touch screen and the edge of the frame which can normally be resolved by using a toothbrush around the edge to free any of the debris.

in the case of the shoulder buttons, it's probably as RalphUp described and you'll need to replace one of them.

sporkonomix:
the ribbon cable for the touch screen is actually quite resilient, but most people don't look at how the locking mechanism works (which is opposite the way the rest of the connectors for the upper and lower displays are locked into place). also, because it is made of plastic, you can't expect to "man handle" something delicate without risking breaking it.

edit:
the last thing that I can think of which is not electrical in nature is the possibility that the system's firmware has somehow become corrupt. I've been chastised before for saying this (because no one believes me), but the dslite's firmware is stored in the wi-fi module. I've repaired a few system by removing the back cover and swapping out the wi-fi module with one from another system. (or, if you don't have a second wi-fi module to swap out, you could always "flash me" the system, which may also work, but I would do that as a last resort since the procedure has some risk where you could possibly short out one or both of the fuses.