Search

[Phred]

I put an old gba flashcart I had lying around in my DS lite to see if it worked.  It didn't, and it killed the DS.  Nothing would happen when I tried to turn it on, and when I plugged it into the charger the light would come on for a second.  If I flipped the power button as the light flashed for a second, the green power light would also come on for a second and then go out.  I looked up the problem and it seemed to be a blown fuse.  I don't have a multimeter so I just used a soldering iron to remove fuse F2 and replaced it with a drop of solder (I couldn't do the wire thing, it took me about two hours and I just couldn't get it to stick).  Now if I plug in the charger the orange light stays on, but the power won't come on.  (On a side note, if the battery is out, the charger light comes on for about a second like before, I don't know if this the normal behavior).  If I try to turn on the system without the charger, nothing happens like before. 

What exactly did I do?  It charges unlike before, but now the green led will not turn on under any circumstances.  What are these the symptoms of?  Is this what happens when fuse F1 is blown, so should I bridge that one as well?  I'll also mention that when I was putting it back together I broke the little nub on the power switch but I can still move it by sticking a pin in it and sliding it (a fix I read somewhere else) so please don't take that into account.  I guess the next step would be to replace the motherboard, but for the price they go for I'd might as well buy an entire used DS.  (not to mention that I don't have any money anyway).

[Phred]

Oh, and when you take apart the DS, is there any special sticker or anything that tells you it's been opened?  I just remembered how I "fixed" my broken GBA for free a few years ago.

[bitblt]

I think it's time to get your hands on a multimeter to check fuse F2 again.

To bridge a DS fuse simply coat the tip of a thin strand of wire with solder. Apply the tip of the wire to the fuse with a little more heat and solder. Then cut off the excess wire. Check your work with a multimeter.

[Phred]

Thank you very much for your response.  So I should just connect the contacts by soldering a thin wire to them?  The "cut off excess wire" part threw me off but I guess I will try it.  If worse comes to worst I can just buy a new DS and swap the innards.

[bitblt]

Thank you very much for your response.  So I should just connect the contacts by soldering a thin wire to them?  The "cut off excess wire" part threw me off but I guess I will try it.  If worse comes to worst I can just buy a new DS and swap the innards.

Well, it's difficult to get solder to stick to a DS fuse without using wire, as the solder tends to bead into a ball. It's also difficult to manipulate a tiny piece of wire unless you are skilled with soldering.  Use a long thin strand of wire with solder already coating one end. Solder down the end of the wire and remove any excess wire. Just be very careful not to get solder on any other other components, as that would be very bad. Also don't apply heat to the fuse for a long period of time, as that could cause solder around other components to reflow.

[Phred]

Thanks again.  It was much easier to do it the way you described.  However, the DS is still behaving the same way.  Will bridging F1 do anything at this point?  I guess the DS is dead

[bitblt]

Did you ever get your hands on a multimeter to check the fuses? It might be fuse F1, or a problem with your soldering on fuse F2.

Originally the problem sounded like a F2 fuse problem when you described the light coming on for a moment then shutting off. Now I'm not sure what the problem is.  Are you sure the power switch is still working? Are you sure something didn't come loose like a ribbon cable or the BIOS module?

If you want I will take a closer look at your DS for you . . .

NDSL recovery service + Supercard service + more
http://www.scdev.org/forum/index.php/topic,2648.0.html

I can't guarantee I can fix your DS because I don't have extra parts like a power switch. PM me if you want me to give it a shot.