My DS has a semi-broken button...

brandotheninjamaster

Hello fellow forumgoers! As the title states my NDS has a semi-broken button; more specifically the "R" button. I have to mash the button down to get a response and when I do manage to get a response it doesn't hold. Its pissing me off because I just started playing Mario Kart and Lunar Knights. Both of these games make heavy use of the "R" button, and its getting past the point of annoying.

So my question to PA is:
Is there anything that I can do to try and resolve this problem?

I figure that this problem may be common because the same thing happened to my other DS. The only thing that I can think of is that somehow (note: ask 6 year old son) some kind of goop got under the button and is preventing it from making a proper connection, other then that I'm all out of ideas.


Thanks in advance!

Edit: I forgot to mention that the DS in question is in fact a DS LITE.

brandotheninjamaster

So I found this on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH16gO3Ry4A

I'm going to give it a try when I get home and let you all know if this works or not. Meanwhile I'm open to other suggestions.

Deathwing

I've tried the whole blowing on the button (same problem, DS Lite, R button), and blasting out with compressed air underneath - seems to work for a while, then goes back to the same habit, especially if it's carried in a pocket for a while.

If anyone knows of a (semi-)permanent fix, i'd love to have it also

DeathPrawn

I used to blow in my button (form a seal around it with your lips, blow). It would only fix the problem temporarily, but then I would blow again and it would work fine. After a couple of months, the problem went away.

proXimity

You could order this http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.13264 and replace the switch if you have soldering skills. I'm looking to do it for my own DSL with a asstastic L button.

Mmmm... Cocks...

From the sounds of it I'd assume there was simply somthing stuck as blowing it moves it back out from the buttons way. Eventually of course it finds its way back from being moved constantly.
I'd just blast the sucker with canned air, like, a whole can and see where that gets you.

brandotheninjamaster

Thanks for the replies all. Last night I took a Q-tip and swabbed around the button with rubbing alcohol, then unloaded with a can of compressed air. The button is noticeably better, but still not 100%. I'll probably do the same tonight just to see where it gets me.

Chaotic Descent

I usually find that cleaning the contact area of the button fixes MOST of these problems. Usually when buttons have been pressed too many times, they wear out. I don't know if it's dirt and/or oil getting in the way of the contact, or possibly the contact material slowly disintegrating and making small permanent connections.
I think that last one is less likely, although I did have a problem with a game controller registering button hits when I wasn't touching it. the gamepad settings under Windows showed that the button was NOT being pressed either, which was strange, so it was probably that the game I was playing was reading a... an analog signal? (ie: not fully on, but sending a [not fully off] signal.)

Open it up (if the screws are standard. I've never seen these new consoles, but old gameboys and SNES systems had specialized screws) and use rubbing alcohol on a q-tip to clean both the black contact area on the circuit board as well as the black rubber pad on the underside of the button. Don't scrub too hard or too long. You'll notice that black stuff comes off. That's actually the contact material, so I imagine if you keep going and going, you'll just take it right off. then again, they're pretty thick on both ends.

alternative: use an eraser. yes, an eraser. you'll have to rub very lightly, and keep moving the eraser and/or wiping off the black areas onto paper, because it quickly covers the eraser part you use. I suspect a q-tip and rubbing alcohol is safer since it probably won't take quite as much off. Erasers are probably much more efficient for cleaning harder metallic contact surfaces. (like really old electronics. I have an alarm clock that uses metal on both parts instead of that black stuff)