DS Lite Broken Hinge Repair & Shell Replacement

Alright gamers, back at you again to give a little how-to help for any of you with a functional DS Lite out there that may have broken hinge or beat up shell. First of all there is no need to scrap it for a new one since the LCD’s still work. The hinge shell can be replaced very easily - and you can do it yourself at home. Also, don't forget that you can get all the parts you need right here at www.NintendoRepairshop.com so sit back, pay attention, and get ready to get that old DS Lite back to as good as new! Essentially this repair is based on the fact that the outside of the upper shell or the part you see on top when your DSL is closed is fine. We will be replacing the inside half of the upper shell which is the part that contains the hinge. To get the most done in the shortest amount of time be sure to get your tools together you will use before you start. I would grab a pair of tweezers, an exacto knife, a small Phillips, Flathead & Tri-wing screwdriver, and pair of pliers.

I must note all of the screwdrivers you will need are available here at the NintendoRepairshop.com. To begin, first power your device down and flip over so you can remove the battery cover and battery. This involves removing only one screw. Beneath where the battery lies there are two Phillips screws which you will now also remove. With the bottom of your DSL still facing up grab your Tri-wing screwdriver and remove the 3 screws that are essentially in each of the 3 corners except the top right. There is also one black tri-wing screw in the center of the top of the underside.

At this point, use your flathead screwdriver to remove the two rubber grommets that basically equidistant between the center black screw you just removed and the far edges on each side. Below these two rubber grommets there are two small silver Phillip’s head screws which need removing. Also, if you have game slot cover it will need to be removed too. With all these steps completed you should be able to use the flathead to pry gently around all the edges and pop off the underside cover of the bottom half of the DSL but be careful.

If you face a lot of resistance at any one spot you most likely have forgot to remove a screw somewhere. You don’t want to destroy your DSL over a simple misstep. At this juncture you will now be looking at your green board of the machine exposed.

Depending on your orientation you will see two black bumpers on two corners with small springs. Adjust your machine to where this is the top of the device from your vantage point as I will continue with the steps from this vantage point. Now remove these two bumpers but do it carefully so each mechanism stays in tact.

This makes it much easier to reassemble. On the bottom right you will see two small button snaps. You can now undo these. About midway up the board on the right side there is a Phillip’s head screw which you should now remove. Next you should be able to pull through the black antenna wire beneath the game slot using tweezers to where it is free on the left side. Everything is free now so you can open of the DSL and push gently on the LCD screen and the motherboard/screen should unhook from the case itself.

Now look for the ribbon cable at the top left and flip the latch so it can be unhooked. Now on the detached case half look for the two small screws side by side which hold the hinge together and unscrew them. One corner will have a cover that needs to be popped off and on the other side you should gently push the ribbon cable through the slit so for it to not be ripped.

You may remove the buttons for ease of working but if you are careful it is definitely not necessary. For now you are done with case half with the buttons and it can be sat to the side. At this point we will be work on the inside half of the upper casing which contains the upper LCD. There are once again four rubber grommets covering phillip’s head screws. These are most easily removed using either the exacto knife or the small flathead screwdriver. With these four screws out the top upper and inner should slide apart. Holding the half with all the inner parts (not the shell half) remove the antenna, and then push from the inside to pop loose the upper LCD.

There may be minor resistant but it should detach. Now grab the microphone and pull it through followed by the trickiest step. Here you need to grab the ribbon cable and roll it within itself so it can be slid through the hinge hole. With this complete the upper LCD should be able to be completely removed from the inner casing. Do make sure to save the silver ring from the hinge of the original casing but the inner case itself can now be thrown away as this plastic will be replaced. Alright, now we need the brand new replacement case. You begin by aligning the antenna in the hinge opening and seating it into the groove it stays in. Often this can be aided in doing by using your flathead. With the antenna in place, the LCD can now begin to be worked back into place. You will once again have to roll the ribbon cable into its hole to put the LCD back in face down.

With the LCD sat down in its opening you should now place the antenna in its slot on the top right. The antenna wire will go underneath the left speaker. Now you can grab both the antenna and microphone wire and feed them together through the ribbon cable roll and out the right side of the device. Now re-roll the ribbon cable that is outside the case on the right side over top of the two cables previously mentioned. Now take the silver ring you saved from the old shell case and slide it over the two wires and the ribbon cable too at the bottom so that it is now back in place in the new case.

Now grab the top half of the upper case (the part you see when the DSL is closed) and put two halves together. This make take some gentle bumping to make sure both sides align and connect together securely. Now you can screw back in the four silver screens on each corner beside the LCD and then cover them with the black grommets. Now this halve is done you can grab the lower inner part which has the buttons.

Here is a part you will want to take your time with as it can be difficult. I will not that removing the buttons does make this easier for some. Here you need to feed the wires through the corner along with the ribbon cable which is rolling and pressed through the slit available for it.

Now the top and the bottom should just slide together. At this point if you have lost your barrel hinge you will need to get a new one. Insert it in place (this may take a little bit of force, especially with a new shell) and then press on the barrel cover.

With the upper and lower half connected you now need to find the two long Phillips’ head screws which need to be reinserted on the right bottom corner near the hinge. Now on the opposite side by the barrel you can grab the protruding ribbon cable and the presently disconnected mother board and begin to hook these back together using the ribbon clip which holds the ribbon in place on the board side connector.

Once the cable is locked in grab the white microphone wire and feed it through all the provided grooves on the lower case. You will also want to fold the black wire under the motherboard, out of harms way during this step. You can now flip the motherboard over while making sure you have the touch screen lined up. With the board sat in place, you should feed the black antenna wire back underneath the game slot. The tweezers can be helpful for pulling it through the other side clipping it back in place between the game slot and the black square as seen here.

The white microphone wire snaps on right by the corner of the same square near the outer corner of the device. From here you can reattach the black trigger buttons on the top corners. Use your tweezers to place the spring in their proper notch beside the trigger themselves.

Let’s now reinsert the two Phillips’ screws somewhat centered vertically on both the right and left side of the board. Now you can grab the very bottom of the DSL and while grabbing it, make sure the power button is all the way down. Also, slide the volume all the way to one direction and make sure the volume control on the board is also slid all the way to the corresponding direction of the case so they match up. Line up the bottom cover, place in on the rest of the DSL, and snap it back to place.

You should now grab the three medium length tri-wing screws. Two of these go on the top and bottom holes on the left side of the bottom with the third going below the hole for the battery. The small black screw now needs to be screwed back in place by the game slot up top. The small gold screws should be reinserted to the left and right of the underside of the triggers which is on the edge near the game slot. By this point you should only have one screw left, it being a small Phillips’ which should be inserted back in its hole in the battery tray. Now reinstall the rubber covers for the screws by the game slot, put the battery back in, and stick the battery cover back on and whola! Give the old DSL a try and enjoy your good as new machine which you just fixed yourself. Hope these instructions helped and as always please check out www.NintendoRepairShop.com for all your gaming needs. Until next time…Thanks.