check here to see if it's still under warranty, in which case they will take care of it fore free. Your problem is really easy to fix, but would void your warranty if something serious goes wrong in the future.
If it isn't under warranty, you should be able to fix it yourself, if you have the screw-driver to get into it.
oh god ds is breaking my heart
Moderator: Moderators
-
BoomBox-Creations
- Posts: 198
- Joined: Fri Oct 10, 2008 10:37 pm
-
FyberOptic
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2008 9:55 pm
I signed up just now to chime in on this subject, cause I very recently just had a dead L trigger on a DS Lite as well! In fact, I bought it that way, because I couldn't afford a new DS. The hinge was also broken, but some super glue has fixed that temporarily.
I was afraid I was going to have to replace the switch, which would have possibly been a chore considering how small it is. But I decided to see if I could fix what was there, because I didn't have anything to lose, and I really didn't want to have to put anymore money into it if possible since money was obviously a concern from the beginning (considering I bought it in such a shape).
Turns out, I did fix it, without soldering, and it works just fine now!
I started by pulling out the soft rubber nub from the top of the switch. That's the thing you actually press in on. It's easy to do, it's not secured inside by anything other than its own rim. You should be able to do it with a small screwdriver, tweezers, whatever.
Once removed, you can see that the switch is basically empty inside, short of a tiny silver disc-shaped plate sitting at the bottom. The disc provides the actual clicking mechanism of the switch, connecting two contact points below it when pushed downwards. The disc isn't secured in place, as you can see if you tilt the board around.
If you carefully lift the metal flaps which hold the top of the switch onto its plastic body, you can lift the top section upwards just enough to provide an opening into the switch. You don't need to be able to actually reach inside, so don't bend it up too far, or you might break the solder joints loose from the DS board. It only needs to be open far enough for you to tilt the DS board and dump out the silver disc. Note which direction it goes in, although it should be easy to figure out if necessary considering how it works.
Once you have the disc out, you should clean it. The bottom, particularly, where the contact is made. I used the same fine-tipped screwdriver that I removed the rubber button piece with to scrape across it until I saw shine coming through. This is probably not the best of methods; some kind of cleaning solution is surely better. But this was the quickest and cheapest for me.
But be VERY CAREFUL not to drop it, or you might never find it again. It's seriously small. Mine went into the carpet, and it took me forever to find. Note that even the act of pushing on it to scrape away any corrosion or gunk could make it jump out of your hand or off your work space, due to its springy/clicky shape.
After you've cleaned it to your satisfaction, you should also scrape around carefully inside the button housing. There's metal pads in there at the bottom which the metal disc comes in contact with, so you want them all to be as clean as possible. I just scraped around a little with the same tiny screwdriver.
Afterwards, carefully slip the metal disc back into the plastic switch housing, making sure to put it in the right way. Then fold the metal lid section back down, and secure its flaps back into place. You can then poke the rubber button back down in the hole in the top. That's it!
Aside from some other possible problem with the DS board, like a cold solder joint, there's very little reason I can think of as to why this method wouldn't fix these very simplistic switches. The rubber button and the silver disc is really all they contain, so unless the disc itself loses its shape, I assume a good cleaning is all they require.
I hope this helps someone else, cause my L trigger now works better than my R one! (Though that may have something to do with my broken casing).
Note that the original DS uses a different trigger switch if I recall correctly, so this method probably wouldn't work for those.
I was afraid I was going to have to replace the switch, which would have possibly been a chore considering how small it is. But I decided to see if I could fix what was there, because I didn't have anything to lose, and I really didn't want to have to put anymore money into it if possible since money was obviously a concern from the beginning (considering I bought it in such a shape).
Turns out, I did fix it, without soldering, and it works just fine now!
I started by pulling out the soft rubber nub from the top of the switch. That's the thing you actually press in on. It's easy to do, it's not secured inside by anything other than its own rim. You should be able to do it with a small screwdriver, tweezers, whatever.
Once removed, you can see that the switch is basically empty inside, short of a tiny silver disc-shaped plate sitting at the bottom. The disc provides the actual clicking mechanism of the switch, connecting two contact points below it when pushed downwards. The disc isn't secured in place, as you can see if you tilt the board around.
If you carefully lift the metal flaps which hold the top of the switch onto its plastic body, you can lift the top section upwards just enough to provide an opening into the switch. You don't need to be able to actually reach inside, so don't bend it up too far, or you might break the solder joints loose from the DS board. It only needs to be open far enough for you to tilt the DS board and dump out the silver disc. Note which direction it goes in, although it should be easy to figure out if necessary considering how it works.
Once you have the disc out, you should clean it. The bottom, particularly, where the contact is made. I used the same fine-tipped screwdriver that I removed the rubber button piece with to scrape across it until I saw shine coming through. This is probably not the best of methods; some kind of cleaning solution is surely better. But this was the quickest and cheapest for me.
But be VERY CAREFUL not to drop it, or you might never find it again. It's seriously small. Mine went into the carpet, and it took me forever to find. Note that even the act of pushing on it to scrape away any corrosion or gunk could make it jump out of your hand or off your work space, due to its springy/clicky shape.
After you've cleaned it to your satisfaction, you should also scrape around carefully inside the button housing. There's metal pads in there at the bottom which the metal disc comes in contact with, so you want them all to be as clean as possible. I just scraped around a little with the same tiny screwdriver.
Afterwards, carefully slip the metal disc back into the plastic switch housing, making sure to put it in the right way. Then fold the metal lid section back down, and secure its flaps back into place. You can then poke the rubber button back down in the hole in the top. That's it!
Aside from some other possible problem with the DS board, like a cold solder joint, there's very little reason I can think of as to why this method wouldn't fix these very simplistic switches. The rubber button and the silver disc is really all they contain, so unless the disc itself loses its shape, I assume a good cleaning is all they require.
I hope this helps someone else, cause my L trigger now works better than my R one! (Though that may have something to do with my broken casing).
Note that the original DS uses a different trigger switch if I recall correctly, so this method probably wouldn't work for those.