Nintendo DS Lite

[maybenever]

My granddaughter's DS game stopped working on the lower screen. It has a back light, and you can hear some sound, but no video. Got it apart and found a cap that looks bad. It is next to the data ribbon going to the lower screen. There's corrosion on the cap and the connection. I can't tell what this cap is other than C14. I can't find a diagram or parts list. I've not worked with anything this small. It appears to be a surface mount and half the size of a match head. Thanks for any help identifying this little devil.
The second pic is the backside of the board, it's a pot, I found something on it in an older thread.

[ComputerGeek]

Re: Nintendo DS Lite

Just my 2cents but I would try a new screen before the capacitor. Did you also try reseating the connector?

[maybenever]

Re: Nintendo DS Lite

No, I haven't tried to reseat cable yet. If I can't get this part identifyed, I will. It's not worth a new screen probably. Kids are pretty rough on these things. Found one on e-bay for $50, screen are $35.

[Newbie2]

Re: Nintendo DS Lite

Parts for the DS Lite are a lot cheaper on Dealextreme from Hong Kong:

NDS Lite lower screen - $7.40 USD: http://www.dealextreme.com/p/tft-lcd...er-screen-3175
NDS touch screen module - $2.40 USD: http://www.dealextreme.com/p/touch-s...-nds-lite-3245

Dealextreme has free shipping through Hongkong Post Airmail (or $1.70 for tracked airmail), however they can take 1-2 weeks to process and package your order before sending it off. Hongkong Post is very slow at sending items out of Hong Kong as well, so it might take around a month to get your order.

I purchased the NDS Lite touch screen module before from Dealextreme to replace a scratched up one on a Nintendo DS Lite I was preparing to sell on Kijiji about two years ago, and it worked perfectly. If I remember correctly, you have to carefully peel the black plastic border from around the old module however without damaging it, and stick it on the new one before installing.

[maybenever]

Re: Nintendo DS Lite

Thanks for that info. Any idea how I can identify this cap? I don't think replacing the screen will do any good if I've got other problems.

[ComputerGeek]

Re: Nintendo DS Lite

DO you have a meter that reads capacitance?

[maybenever]

Re: Nintendo DS Lite

No I don't. But this one looks fried and shot, could I get a reading from it? I've looked the board over, and I don't see another C14.

[momaka]

Re: Nintendo DS Lite

C14 is a multi-layer ceramic capacitor. These ceramic caps normally short out if they are bad. Measure the resistance across it with a multimeter. If it doesn't read less than 30 Ohms, it's probably fine. If it does read less, remove it and check it again out of circuit.

If it is bad, normally I just find a junk board and pull one off that's the same size. So far, I haven't had a case where this doesn't work.

Be careful with those ribbon cables and connectors - they are very easy to break! After opening a few of these DSs, I find them not worth my time to repair now.

[maybenever]

Re: Nintendo DS Lite

Thanks MONAKA, I'm going to clean this thing up now and do some checking. You're right, if too much is wrong, they are not worth the time, but I'm trying to learn. I used to be green, after months of reading and building test circuits, now I'm 'not so green'. A small step up a very tall latter. I love reading this forum, you guys are the best. I'll get back.

[maybenever]

Re: Nintendo DS Lite

Update
I removed connector and cleaned everything up (cap C14 doesn't look so blown up now) put it back together & same results, no lower screen display. I probed around on that cap and got no readings, there are a couple of other tiny caps on that board, I got some readings from them. So now, I'll find a lookalike on an old board and try to replace it. This will be like tyring to solder under a flea's wing.

[momaka]

Re: Nintendo DS Lite

You're right, if too much is wrong, they are not worth the time, but I'm trying to learn.

Well, if its for a learning experience, then it is worth trying to fix it. Now I see that you actually mentioned this in post 1.

I removed connector and cleaned everything up (cap C14 doesn't look so blown up now) put it back together & same results, no lower screen display. I probed around on that cap and got no readings, there are a couple of other tiny caps on that board, I got some readings from them. So now, I'll find a lookalike on an old board and try to replace it.

I doubt the problem is with any of the ceramic caps. The whole area around the connector looks like it has some corrosion/water damage to it. But perhaps, that's just how the picture came out.
...
Can you post a full picture of the board? There might be some fuses. I know the game card slot has quite a few of them.

I removed connector and cleaned everything up

Did you really remove the connector (as in desolder it) or did you just remove the ribbon cable from it? Also, how did you clean it and what did you use for the cleaning?
I would suggest cleanning the connector with 90% (or higher) alcohol. If you can, gently try cleaning the pins inside it as well. Like I mentioned earlier - BE VERY CAREFUL! Those connectors and ribbon cables are extremely fragile.

And for the sake of peace, do not take appart the upper screen. The connector for the upper screen runs in one of the hinges. It's made to rip if you excert even a tiny ammount of force on it. Very bad design IMO.

[maybenever]

Re: Nintendo DS Lite

Yea, this is a learning experence. I learned this cap is too mirco sized to mess with. I took one off an old MB that was close to the size of that one. When I removed the one from the DS, that thing looked the size of a grain of sand, OOPS.
I did get the cap replaced, finally, but that wasn't the problem. After i got it off and looked at it under a 60x scope, it was clean. Gave me a bad feeling.
So, this one is bagged for future parts ( the kids have 5 of them in service )
Thank You for your time.

[b700029]

Re: Nintendo DS Lite

If you plan to go on in electronics, either as a hobby or professionally, I suggest investing in a decent 'scope. With one you could determine if the signals are getting through to the screen or not.

[maybenever]

Re: Nintendo DS Lite

What decent scope would you say is the best for the money?