Hey guys, took my DS Phat apart to replace top and bottom screen, and was wonder whats the best method to reinsert the ribbons? Thanks in advance!!
Do not use tweezers, pliers, or anythin that could damage the ribbon cable. I've never used anything but my fingers. Things to remember. 1)Make sure that the cable clip is "up" before attempting to insert. 2)There is a white line silkscreened on the PC board. The ribbon cable should line up with this line and parallel or exactly in line with it. If it's crooked it won't work properly. 3)Be careful when setting the cable clip "down" after cable installation. The cable clip should be straight and flat (not bowed) when correctly in place. It is not a delicate part but can be snapped if force is applied in the wrong direction/manner. If the cable clamp is damaged/broken the ribbon cable will never securely seat and you will have to buy a new board.
Thanks for the advise. One more question, if a cable is improperly set can it cause the DS not to turn on??
Yes. The most common symptom is "blinks and then shuts off". This indicates that you do not have a full circuit between the top and bottom screens. Don't forget about the small 4 pin ribbon on the top screen. That's the power cable.
Could be anything from a blown fuse to a blown logic board. If you put the charger in does the charge light come on?
Well, i hope its neither. I'll try putting in the charger when i get home. I also read somewhere that if the ribbon for the upper screen is not set in right that it'll cause the DS not to turn on, could that be true?
No. It should at least blink once. Even a "snapped in half" NDS will blink once and then shut off if the logic board is still OK.
Well there goes that thoery!!!!!HAHA So when i put in the charger the DS should charge if the board is good, right? No light=no good.
What it means is that the board is not totally "dead". There could still be problems with fuses, etc. The first thing I would check is all of your connections. If you press power on and the LED and the screen "blinks" and then shuts off you need to check all of your connections again. On the DS phat, if I recall there are 7 ribbon cables to connect. 3 for the lower screen 1 for the logic board to top screen ribbon 1 for the top screen ribbon 2 for the top screen.
Is there a way of testing the fuses??? I do have a multimeter if that helps. By the way dailun, thanks for all your help. I'd be stuck without it.
wow i really needed this thread =) thanks im repairing my broken phat the top completely came off do you guys have any suggestions on replacement shells ?
www.dealextreme.com Has good prices on anything you need to repair your DS. The items all ship from china so it'll take a while.
Hi dailun,i have the same problem with my ds lite. I tried replacing the upper screen but after the install,unit just blinks then shuts down. Checked the ribbon and did it again around 6x stil no luck. Any ideas how i can fix or where to start? Thanks in advance.
Possibilities: 1)You damaged the cable on install. 2)New screen is defective 3)Lower screen is defective When I install new screens on a DS lite, I test the system before putting it in the case. That way I know that the screens are good before I go to the trouble of reassembling. A quick sanity check of the system only requires the logic board and top screen and battery. It is infinitely easier to install the top screen while it is outside of the case. You can hold the battery in with your hand while switching the unit on. Once you see both screens, you know that you have 2 good screens and a good logic board. If your lower screen was broken but not totally dead, you can try that screen using the method above to rule out the other parts.
Hi People, Just found this site on my search for some ds help. Sorry for hijacking this thread but it seems similar to my prob. Ive just replaced the top screen and the 2 little boads with the wi fi and connectors. And for some reason when it turns on the top screen just lights up with no display and the bottom one has most the display but its abit liney and it wont recognise a game when its inserted. Any Ideas its doing my head in and my sons bugging me lol
If it were just the first 2 symptoms I would say cable connections and/or dead screens. Since it doesn't recognize cartridges I'd say bad logic board. Did you remember to connect the top screen power cable (4 pins) underneath the video cable AND lock the cable clamp?
yeah, gonna check everything again for the third time. Just odd how it worked ok b4 well im told it did.
