Replacement DS Shells

Lindsey Lohan

So - last night the most terrible thing ever happened - my DS Lite hinge snapped. Of course, it happened less than 2 weeks from PAX.

I don't want to pay Nintendo to fix it because A.) I believe it will cost $75 and B.) It's signed by Gabe, Tycho and Wil Wheaton from PAXEast2010. I'm thinking about replacing the shell - that way I can keep the original and maybe put the lid in a frame in some way.

Has anybody ever done this? I've been told it's pretty nitpicky work and can easily result in a broken system. Anybody done it? How long did it take?

LBD_Nytetrayn

I was going to say something about driving through a ? block to get a new shell, but wow, that really sucks.

Unfortunately, I don't think I've heard anything about replacing the shell.

It's too bad that PAX East is happening before the 3DS launch, or else I'd say preserve the old and jump on in to that party...

Anyway, hope someone here has better knowledge than I do about this.

Lindsey Lohan

Thanks anyways. Fortunately I can bring my wife's DS Phat if need be. Seems extremely nuts to me that Nintendo charges $75 + $10 shipping to fix a piece of plastic on a $129 system. I've tried to wrap my head around that one but just can't seem to get there...

Ferquin

Well, what I would do is buy a new DS. Use your wife's classic DS for now and just save up for the 3DS.

Are the autographs on the top lid? You know those little rubber squares around the top screen of your DS Lite? Pick those off. There are small phillips-head screws there. Unscrew those, then pry off the lid. You can frame that if you wish.

Or, you can just put the DS in a bag and store it somewhere as a sentimental trinket. It still works, right? Just the hinges are broke. Use it as an emergency backup.

But yeah, just buy a 3DS. It comes out at the end of the month anyway.

DWD

Import places like DealExtreme have replacement shells you can buy for around $8. Here

I can't vouch for the quality of the shell, but they were the only place where i found a replacement AC adapter for my GB Micro. It smells like used motor oil and hums when plugged in - but it hasn't burned the house down.

Yet.

Also, with international shipping you may not have the case in time for PAX.

mntorankusu

I've disassembled and reassembled my DS Lite completely, and it is pretty fiddly, but not super hard. If you use the right tools and follow a guide, you probably won't break anything.

The most important part is to make sure you fully understand what the disassembly guide is telling you to do before you try to do it. There are some pitfalls, but you can avoid them easily as long as you fully understand what you're doing.

I've heard stories of some of the third party replacement shells not fitting together as well as the original parts, but it seems like most of them are fine. You can get some really cool colors.

Lindsey Lohan

Thanks. My plan at this point is to order a shell next month (we move the last weekend in March and I've ordered from Dealextreme and had it take weeks to arive). If it works, great, I'm set until this summer and I'll get a 3DS then. If it doesn't, I'll steal the wife's system.

Either way I'll then be able to frame the lid (yes, the signatures are on the top of the lid).

I just watched 30 minutes of the process on Youtube - seems fairly doable.

mntorankusu

I actually just ordered one too (green!), since my DS Lite is about to start falling apart. The final straw, though, was that the top screen has stopped working properly. Incidentally, both of these problems are caused by the shitty hinge design!

Anyway, I figured if I'm going to replace the screen, I might as well go ahead and replace everything that needs replacing. So I'm going to use a green shell and a set of extra black buttons from a broken DS someone gave me, and make it look like this:

Spoiler:

Vegan

I recently attempted this exact fix. I totally tore the infamous ribbon cable. Luckily, replacement parts for THAT (a completely new top screen with cable) are only $11. So now I'm waiting for my fix for my fix.

Lorahalo

Yeah I tried replacing mine (The hinge was pretty much gone so it was either try it or break it) and I snapped the power switch off. That and the ribbon cable are to two biggest problems, plus the fucking shoulder buttons are assholes to do.

mntorankusu

Lorahalo wrote: »

Yeah I tried replacing mine (The hinge was pretty much gone so it was either try it or break it) and I snapped the power switch off. That and the ribbon cable are to two biggest problems, plus the fucking shoulder buttons are assholes to do.

Yeah, the power switch got me once. But I did it correctly several times before it finally happened. It's not hard to do it right if you're careful, it's just that it only takes doing it wrong once...

The shoulder buttons are assholes, but the only danger there is losing the parts. They have a tendency to fly across the room when you first open it up.

Vegan: How did you tear the cable? Getting it out of the hinge, or unplugging it? Getting it out of the hinge made me want to pull my hair out, but I didn't feel like I was in danger of breaking it. The first time I tried to unplug the cable, though, I didn't know you had to flip up the little black clamp thing, and it was probably just luck that I didn't ruin it then.

Vegan

I tore it getting it out of the hinge. The irony is that it tore because I was being TOO CAREFUL. After hearing so much about that step, I didn't want to go yanking the hinge tube thing out willy nilly so I'd give it a tug, get scared when it met resistance, and then let go. Well, letting that hinge piece go made the tension from the cable pull it back and actually dig into the ribbon cable. Yeah, it's that fragile. But once you start tugging, it's advisable to not stop.