Multiple Broken DSs

ChrisR · September 11, 2008, 07:33:33 AM

The first DS that I'm having a problem with is showing the signs of a broken fuse. The system switches on and then quickly switches off again. So I shorted F1 and F2 but that didn't fix anything. I also replaced the top screen and that didn't help either.

The second is a DS phat which never saves the date/time. It always pops up with the setup menu whenever you switch it on. It will save the name,colour and birthday, but when you enter the time and date they just show up in the top screen as 00:00 and 00/00/2000. That is until you switch it off and it asks you to setup again. Obviously this means it can't be used to play games.

The third DS has very little sound. You can only just hear it very quietly if you press your ear right up against the speaker, or if you put headphones in you can only just hear it through them.

onekelly · September 11, 2008, 11:18:02 AM

ChrisR, welcome to scdev and sorry to here of your DS issues.

For the Fuse issue you may want to check out this post
NDSL recovery service + Supercard service + more
http://www.scdev.org/forum/index.php/topic,2648.0.html

He may be able to help with the others as well. Read thru the post and you will see a lot of happy customers of his.

bitblt · September 11, 2008, 02:08:19 PM

That is odd about your DS phat not holding date and time. I've never ran into that problem before. However I believe that if you had a DS ONE it would boot to the Supercard menu and allow you to play game backups and homebrew. This should work because if you remove a DS battery for a few seconds the DS will ask for date and time etc, but with the DS ONE inserted it skips the setup and boots directly to the Supercard menu.

As far as your DS lite I would recommend testing the fuses that you bridged with a multimeter set to 1k ohms. If the problem is not the fuses or the BIOS (problem with flashme) then my DS service will not help you.

Double check the ribbon going from the top screen as a bad connection will also make a DS shut off after power-up (bottom screen may flash). Sometimes fiddling with the ribbon from the top screen will fix this sort of shut-off symptom. Try re-inserting the ribbon and make sure it's well seated in the ribbon connector.

I will assume that you already checked if your DS lite is still under warranty? Nintendo has a great replacement policy in my experience. Tell them your hinge was making weird noise and now your DS lite won't turn on.

ChrisR · September 11, 2008, 03:00:46 PM

I don't have a multimeter to hand but I'm pretty sure it's bridged properly, and the ribbon cable should be working properly because I tried swapping out the top screen with another one I know to be working properly and it still didn't work.

As for warrantee I don't think it would be covered because I didn't buy these (obviously

). They got given to me by a friend who obviously couldn't be bothered with them, so I figured I'd try and see if I could fix them so they'd be worth something.

As for the DS phat I'm guessing it's corrupt as I have my R4 set to boot automatically, skipping the setup screen. And then running DSorganiser, it can properly read the name, but the date and time show up as random (sometimes negative) numbers. I don't know how to fix it.

bitblt · September 11, 2008, 04:31:19 PM

Nintendo doesn't ask for a receipt for warranty replacement, they only validate the serial number is still under the one year warranty. It wouldn't hurt to call the 800 number and ask, or enter the serial number on the Nintendo service website to see if it is still covered.

Also, I have seen problems with the top screen ribbon before and even though it appears to be seated correctly playing with it might solve your problem. Do you see the bottom screen flash before it shuts off? That is an indication of a ribbon or the ribbon connector issue. Try blowing out any dust that may be in connector.

Good luck.

ChrisR · September 12, 2008, 06:46:58 AM

With the DS that doesn't switch on, I've tried switching the screens with ones I know work and I still get the same problem. I've tried blowing on the connector to make sure nothings shorting. The bottom screen doesn't flash before it switches off but the top screen does and the speakers let out a little click sound.

bitblt · September 12, 2008, 12:42:04 PM

Quote from: ChrisR on September 12, 2008, 06:46:58 AM
The bottom screen doesn't flash before it switches off but the top screen does and the speakers let out a little click sound.

If one screen flashes and the other screen stays black and the DS shuts off, that is an indication there is a bad connection to one LCD, usually a ribbon connector. A problem with fuse F2 would not flash the screen. I recommend you double check both fuses with a cheap multimeter and also double check all your ribbon connectors. The problems you are having are exactly like the problems some members have when replacing their DS lite shell, usually resolved by re-seating ribbon connectors. I have no other advice to offer.

ChrisR · September 17, 2008, 10:26:23 AM

Ok, I have another one for you

This DS switches off at random intervals. The fuses are fine (checked with a multimeter), I've used compressed air over the whole board and sockets so there shouldn't be anything shorting out.

bitblt · September 19, 2008, 07:10:07 PM

Quote from: ChrisR on September 17, 2008, 10:26:23 AM
Ok, I have another one for you

This DS switches off at random intervals. The fuses are fine (checked with a multimeter), I've used compressed air over the whole board and sockets so there shouldn't be anything shorting out.

Well, you probably already tried a different DS battery and power supply. It could be a problem with the magnetic hinge switch. Does the DS shut off if you put it down and don't move it at all? It could also be a hair thin crack on the main board.