Ds Lite not power up.

Have you dropped your DS Lite and now it rattles?

Is it charging but not turning on?

Then this is the guide for you!!

A very common problem with the DS Lite is that when it is dropped a small chip called the L2 Inductor comes away from the motherboard. This will still enable the DS to charge but you will not be able to switch it on. This guide will take you through step by step how to repair your DS Lite.

Things you will need :-



Tri-Wing screwdriver -



Small phillips screwdriver -



A case opening tool -


A soldering iron -


Some solder -


If you are lucky then your L2 inductor is still rattling around inside your DS. If it is lost then they can be bought very cheaply off of ebay :- L2 Inductor Ebay (Please note - This is not my ebay username, just the person that I always get my parts from)

Ok now we have everything it is time to start. Clear a nice big area for you to work in.

First remove any game cartridges from their slots and the DS stylus, like so -



Next remove the battery cover and 2 small rubber bungs here -




Underneath the 2 rubber bungs are 2 phillips screws.

Next remove the battery and take out the circled 3 phillips screws. You do not need to remove the uncircled phillips screw in the battery compartment.




Next, remove the 4 circled tri-wing screws using the tri-wing screwdriver -




Ok, thats all the screws removed, now to lift the case off. Pulling up from the back with 2 fingers on the shoulder buttons gently pull up and towards you but only enough so that you can get the case tool in to help with leverage. See below pictures -








Work the case tool around the gap and the top cover should lift off easily. DO NOT FORCE IT! You will then be able to see the motherboard like so -




The L2 Inductor sits to the left of the motherboard, right underneath the power switch -




Make sure that when you took the case apart if the L2 inductor was rattling around, it has not been lost. Hopefully you have managed to find it. What you need to do now is resolder the L2 inductor back onto the motherboard. Hold the L2 Inductor in place and carefully apply the soldering iron to each end, like so (it does not matter which way round the L2 Inductor goes) -







If you need to hold the L2 Inductor use something like tweezers.

Once you have secured the L2 Inductor onto the motherboard apply a tiny amount of solder onto each end of the L2 Inductor just to give it a bit more strength.

Thats it! You are done! Congratulations, you have repaired your DS Lite!

Now all you have to do is put it back together and you are finished. There are a couple of important things you need to know when putting your DS Lite back together.

You must make sure both the power switch slider and the volume switch slider are in the right place. The power switch slider should spring back to where it is supposed to but these pictures will confirm where they need to be -

Volume switch all the way to the left


Power switch all the way to the right as you look at it



The case sliders also need to be in the right place too, if you do not get this right you will break the little tabs off of the switches!

Volume slider all the way to the left



Power slider all the way to the right



When you re-assemble your ds, start refitting the case from the front backwards. Get it all in line on the front and the back should drop down with ease. Again do not force anything!!




Replace all the screws in reverse order and you are 100% done!! Give yourself a pat on the back!!

Hi,

Has your DS lite stopped working? does the green/orange light momentarily stay on? Here are a few tips to help you on your way to repairing your DS lite.

These are the three top reasons for the above faults:

1) One of the screens is either not correctly connected or has devlouped a fault... If one of the screens flickers after you switch it on and just before the green light goes out then the screen that doesn't flicker is causing the problem, firstly try reconnecting it and if that doesn't work you will have to replace it, both screens are avaliable for a reasonable fee on ebay, search for either "DS lite top screen" or DS lite bottom screen".
(if you need help with replacing the screens check out my other tips and tricks I have issued on here).

2) Locate the inductor labled "L2" if this is missing then you will need to either solder it back on if you can find it or else you can buy another one again on ebay for a reasonable fee, search for "DS lite L2".

3) If both the above fail then chances are you have blown a fuse, if you can charge the DS then it is not your "F1" fuse in which case you will only need to replace the "F2" fuse, firstly desolder the old fuse and then solder on the replacement fuse, this should solve the issue. If however the charging light stays on for a very brief time (i.e 1-2secs) then you will have to replace the "F1" fuse, locate the "F1" fuse and follow the sames steps stated for the "F2" fuse. These fuses are also found on ebay, search for "ds lite fuse" and buy the quantity you require.

If you don't have access to soldering equipment or are unable to solder these very small parts (i.e fuse dimensions - 1.5 mm x 0.8 mm and the "L2" inductor dimensions - 2.5mm x 1.8mm x 1.8mm) The is a product called wire glue which is avaliable from ebay (located in the USA) which is fantastic as it is a glue with conductive properties.

You may find guides that tell you to "bridge" the fuses and "L2" inductor but I would strongly advise against this, afterall they are there for a reason and just think what damage would have happend if that fuse hadn't have blown.

Here is an image for the location of the fuses, also if you look just under the power switch you will see the "L2" inductor:
http://www.xdupe.com/assets/images/nintendo_ds/tutorials/ds_lite_fuse/usg-cpu-x3_fuses.jpg

I hope this helps and have to say that I accept no responsability for any damage that may occur to your DS lite when following these tips.

Regards,
SOD69