Solar DS "Light" Redone and Improved

Step 11 Prepare the Battery

Take the battery out of the DS by taking off the battery cover and prying prying the battery out. Cut two medium pieces of wire (a little over 10cm) and strip both ends. Use one color for both of them, you will need the other color for something else. Clamp the battery into one arm of the helping hands tool and one of the wires into the other. Position the wire so that it touches one of the battery terminals. Solder (you heard me right, solder) the wire to the battery.

You guys are going to kill me in the comments for soldering directly to the battery, I just know it. But there was no other obvious way to do it, and it had to be done.

Repeat this with the other wire and the other battery terminal. Cover the terminals with a piece of electrical tape. Test your wiring with a multimeter by connecting it to the wires from the battery. DO NOT LET SOLDER SHORT OUT THE TERMINALS OR ALLOW THE WIRE ENDS TO TOUCH, THE BATTERY COULD EXPLODE!!!!!!

Comments

[ShadowAssassin]

I was wondering the same thing... if you just hooked it up to the end of a ds charger you'd be able to use solar power and normal wall charging... just a thought for ANOTHER redo :P

[dark sponge]

Actually, there is already an option for a charging base in step 17. Also, even with the panels on the DS , you can still continue to charge it with the charger if you need to.

[jeff.yeh]

Hey, I was looking at your build in an attempt to understand solar charging applications a little more in depth, and I absolutely love it. Unfortunately, I don't have a DSlite :(. But, I was wondering if the following would be possible. Instead of soldering directly to the battery, solder the B+ and B- terminals of the PCB chip to a charing jack (say, buy a DS charger and cut the end off or the like) and just plug that into the DS to charge the battery. Would this be possible, and what are the consequences of doing it and leaving the thing unplugged (a.k.a. the solar panels are generating voltage and current, but the jack is not plugged into anything)? Sorry for the questions, again, loved the intructable!

[jeff.yeh]

OK, just kidding, shame on me for not reading your first page thoroughly. However, I still have a question (of course). If you use the 5V regulator and a DS charging jack, then you would you still need the PCB chip? I assume you wouldn't, as you can leave a DS plugged in with no (serious) problems. If that's the case, I was wondering if you knew if there was a overcharge protection built in somewhere between the jack and the battery. Thanks!

[dark sponge]

If you did use a 5v regulator with the DS charging jack, you would not need the chip. Yes, the DS does have built in overcharge protection.

[stargazer418]

*shoots you for soldering to the battery*

[dark sponge]

*GASP!* I knew this would happen!...<br/>