I run a used video game shop with my uncle so we get in lots of broken systems. so today im going to show you how to fix multiple problems with a ds lite.

system will not turn on this is mostly caused by a bad fuse i will show you how to replace the fuse.
system will not read games this is caused by the card slot going bad .
system no longer responds to touch commands this is caused by a bad digitizer/touchscreen.
the bottom screen has cracks or dark spots/missing pixels this is a bad lcd.
top screen has cracks or dark spots/missing pixels this is a bad lcd.
the system has a broken hinge /cracked case or you just want to put on a new case we will go over the full tear down and reassembly.

Step 1: Parts Needed

DS LITE
IFIXIT MAGNETIC WORK PAD /not needed but very helpful
SOLDERING IRON
SOLDER
FLUX PASTE
TRYWING SCREWDRIVER
PRECISION DRIVER KIT /not needed but very helpful
FLUSH CUTTERS
TWEEZERS
SPUDGER SET / not needed but very helpful
DS LITE SLOT 1 CARD READER
DS LITE DIGITIZER/TOUCHSCREEN
DS LITE LOWER LCD SCREEN
DS LITE SHELL/ HOUSING
DS LITE UPPER LCD SCREEN
multimeter
alcohol

Step 2: REMOVING THE BOTTOM PART OF THE CASE

the first thing you need to do is get a Phillips screwdriver to remove the battery cover
after removing the battery cover remove the battery by inserting a pry tool in the slot shown in the picture to gain access to all the screws
now remove the 4 trywing screws and the 3 phillips screws
if you dont have a magnetic mat find a way of keeping track of your screws so they dont roll of the bench or get lost
the area closest to the hinge can be pulled open with just your fingers as shown in the picture
the area away from the hinge is a little harder to just pull open but if you have a pry tool just slide it around the case as shown and it should open up.

Step 3: FIXING THE F1 FUSE

first you need to find the fuse its right under the charging port check picture for reference
now that you have located the fuse you want to check it with your meter by setting your meter to ohms to test this touch your 2 test leads together and you should here a beap
now touch your leads to each side of the fuse if you hear a beep your fuse is good but if you get nothing your fuse is blown and is most likely causing your system not to turn on
to fix the fuse were goin to start by adding flux paste to both sides of the fuse
now take a thin piece of wire and strip a little off the end and place to cover both sides of the fuse
now solder the wire to both sides of the fuse to create a jumper across
these parts can be hard to solder make sure you have good contact on both sides of the fuse you can see in picture 8 i only have one side of the fuse soldered
now that your done soldering you have some left over wire take your flush cutters and cut the wire as close to the fuse as you can so you do not have wire hanging around that could short something out
now all you have to do is clean the area up and clean up all the flux paste from the board add some rubbing alcohol and wipe with a rag or q tip

Step 4: Replacing the Slot 1 Card Reader

If your system dosent read games anymore it is probably because your card reader went bad this can happen because of bent pins condensation causing rust or anything else that might damage the pins.

there is a black wire that runs under the game slot you will need to remove this before you try to desolder the card reader off of the board.
you will want to add flux paste to the 4 legs of the card reader and all the pins on the back side of the card reader
this is were a good pry tool comes in handy you want something flat and slim to slide under the front of the card reader and apply slight upwards pressure as you desolder the 2 front legs.
keep a upwards pressure as you desolder the back 2 legs and this should allow you to bend it straight back
now grab the card reader with your hand and work it side to side all the pins should start to pull out of the card reader leaving all the pins attached to the board
now grab a few pins at a time and drag your soldering iron across the pins were they attach to the board and they should pull right off
grab your alcohol and clean off all the flux paste
get your new card reader realign it to the board and solder the front to feet down first to help seat the chip and keep it from moving
now that the chip is in place and not moving solder all the pins on the back of card reader. take your time and dont rush this part you dont want to have a solder bridge hear cause it can be hard to remove

Step 5: Removing the Bottom Board to Access the Lower Lcd and Digitizer

the first step is to unscrew the 2 phillips screws holding the board to the case
now we need to find the white wire running underneath the board and unhook that wire
you should be able to pull the board up and roll it over so you can see the connection for the top screen to the board lift the tab up and pull the ribbon cable away to detach the bottom board.
to remove the digitizer and lcd find the small tab next to the card slot as shown in the picture come from behind it and lift up and the cable should come free.
now flip the board back over and lift the tab connecting the bottom lcd screen and pull the screen away
to remove the digitizer from the lcd take a thin pry tool and slide it between the lcd and digitizer and slowly pry up.
IF YOU ARE NOT REPLACING THE CASE MAKE SURE YOU KEEP THE PINK TRIM RING TO ADD TO YOUR NEW DIGITIZER.

Step 6: REMOVING THE HINGE AND TOP PART OF THE CASE

take out all of the buttons and put them aside you will need the soft rubber tabs for the new case
there are 2 philips screws holding the hinge in place remove those and the top screen should come loose
once the top is loose feed the ribbon cable and black and white wire through the hole
remove the hinge by pulling it straight out make sure you keep this you will need it for your new case
roll the ribbon cable up untill it will fit through the metal ring and feed it through
THE RIBBON CABLE IS A LOT STRONGER THEN YOU THINK YOU CAN TWIST IT UP PRETTY TIGHT WITHOUT DAMAGING IT.

Step 7: TAKING APART THE TOP OF THE CASE

there are 4 screws hidden under plastic caps take off the caps to gain access to the screws
remove the 4 philips screws
there are to plastic tap on the top right and top left of the case remove those
after all screws have been removed pull the front of the case down and the back of the case up and it will separate enough to get a pry tool in
run your pry tool around the edge until the top of the case comes loose

Step 8: Taking Apart the Upper Case and Removing the Lcd

you need to remove the mic and the wifi cables first these are the white and black cables its difficult to get the screen out with these still there so just lift up and pull the wires through the hole
your going to want to get a pry tool to lift the top edge of the screen up and slowly pry around the bottom of the screen is held to the case with double sided sticky tape so just lift up with steady pressure
now that you have the lcd out you want to remove the lcd cover this is just like removing the digitizer use a small pry tool to slide under the cover and slide it around making sure not to scratch the screen
IF YOU ARE NOT REPLACING THE CASE MAKE SURE TO KEEP THE SCREEN COVER AND ADD IT TO YOUR NEW LCD SCREEN
BEFORE WE START TO REASSEMBLE THE DS LITE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ALL SCREWS AND PARTS YOUR GOING TO NEED.

Step 9: PUTTING THE TOP CASE BACK TOGETHER

you need to get all the parts for the top of the case together you will need the upper case, top lcd, lcd cover, mic/white wire, wifi/black wire

you need to take your top lcd and roll the ribbon cable up and slide it through the hole once through the hold add the metal ring and slide it into place
now that the ribbon cable is through the hole go ahead and slide your mic/white wire and wifi/black wire through the hole and put them back into place
take your lcd cover and lay it in place
before you put your lcd in place this is a good time to wipe down your screen and lcd cover with a micro fiber cloth to remove any lint or finger prints that may have got on the screen while you were removing it
lay your screen down in its slot ontop of the lcd cover and press down so that the adhesive will stick to the screen

Step 10: Adding Your Hinge and Bottom Case to the Top Case

take your back cover for the top screen and slide it into place
grab your 4 phillips screws for the top case and screw those into place
find your hinge and line it up with the grooves in the case and slide it all the way down
now grab your bottom case and feed your ribbon cable for the top lcd and your white and black wires through the bottom case there is a slit in the case that you can slide the ribbon cable through and pull it into place
find your hinge cover and slide it onto your hinge then flip the ds over and screw in your 2 long phillips screws make sure its flush and sits tight
open and close the ds a few times to make sure your hinge is sitting properly

Step 11: Aligning Your Digitizer to the Bottom Lcd

you can try to align your digitizer by eye to the lcd but its very difficult to get it to align correctly this is the easiest way ive found to do it

lay your digitizer/touchscreen into the ds as shown in the picture
this is a good time to clean your screen of any dust or finger prints if you got finger prints on the digitizer i would go ahead and wipe that down to
lay your bottom lcd screen ontop of the digitizer and press down
i like to add a little weight ontop of the screen just to make sure the adhesive has a good bond ive found that a roll of solder works perfect just set it ontop and leave it for a few minutes

Step 12: Attaching Top Lcd to Main Board

this is probably the most difficult part of this entire repair and can be very frustrating many times ive had to stop and just walk away from a repair for a few minutes trying to attach the top lcd to the board they dont give you much cable to work with and if its not seated completely your ds will flash the bottom screen then turn off then you have to open it back up and make sure your top screen is seated properly.

grab the top part of your case and your main board and align the ribbon cable with the slot
just take your time and try to make sure its sitting even and all the way in the slot then close the latch ontop of the slot

IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS AT THIS POINT SEND ME A MESSAGE AND ILL DO THE BEST I CAN TO HELP YOU GET PAST THIS PART

Step 13: PUTTING THE BOTTOM BOARD BACK IN PLACE

grab your lower lcd with digitizer attached and hook your bottom lcd back into its plug as shown in the first picture
find all of your buttons then put them in place they are all cut out so they will only fit in there proper hole so you cant mix them up
after the buttons are in place take the rubber pads that cover the buttons and put them back in place
now you are going to take your white cable and lay it down in the grooves in the case refer to picture to see how it should look
now take your black cable and feed it underneath the game slot this can be frustrating if you end up having problems here ive found that if you tie a piece of 30awg wire around it you can easily pull it through.
now that all of the cables are were they need to be reconnect them as shown in the picture
after all cables are hooked up go ahead and screw the board down with the 2 phillips screws

Step 14: Adding the LB RB Buttons

take the metal post for the 2 buttons and insert them into the hole on the board as shown in the picture
now take the spring and slide it between the button align the holes with the post and set the button down into place
take a pair of tweezers grab the part of the spring thats sticking out and turn it until it sits in place as shown in the picture
when finished it should look like the last picture

Step 15: Finishing Your Repair

take your power and volume tabs and align them with the case as shown in the picture
take the bottom part of the case and slide it back into place this part is alot easier if you make sure the slide buttons for power and volume are aligned properly with the buttons on the board ive actually broken a power switch before by pressing the case down and not having the power switch aligned properly
now that your case is back together put all your screws back in
slide the battery back into place
add the battery cover and tighten it down
now add all your rubber feet
and the last step take your trim piece for the bottom screen and press it into place

Step 16: Your Done

congratulations you just repaired your DS LITE

thank you for reading my instuctable i hope you enjoyed it and if you had a broken system i hope its working now.

if there was any part you had trouble with or did not understand please let me know and i will do the best to help you out.

this guide shows the most common issues with the DS LITE if you have a problem not listed here let me know and i will see if i can help.

these fixes work with most DS systems so if you have a DSI or DSI-XL this guide should help solve those issues too.

as i do a lot of repair work i plan on doing a few more i repair ps3, xbox 360, psp, all DS series handhelds, ps2, and hopefully soon i will get my hands on a ps4 and xboxone

if there is a system you would like to see me do add it to the comments and i will get to it as soon as i can if you have a system that is broke and you need some troublshooting or repair tips send me a message and ill see if i can give you a hand

once again thank you for reading my instructable i hope you enjoyed any and all feedback is welcome