Nintendo DS Lite Lower Screen Replacement

Written By: justin chadwick

Comments: 7

Nintendo DS Lite Lower Screen Replacement

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Time Required

15 - 30 minutes

Introduction

This guide has been updated by iFixit staff! Read the new, official guide here.

This guide will show you how to remove the lower screen.

Tools

Parts

Nintendo DS Lite Touchscreen

Step 1

Place your device upside down and locate the battery compartment.
Find the Phillips head screw securing the battery cover in the bottom right hand corner of the device.
Loosen the screw enough to remove the battery cover but leave the screw in the cover for reassembly.
Use only a Phillips screwdriver to remove screw.

take out gameboy slot too!

pollytintop -

Step 2

Slowly remove the battery cover with the iFixit opening tool.
Make sure to remove the cover carefully to keep from losing Phillips screw in the cover. It will be needed for reassembly.

Step 3

Use the iFixit opening tool to carefully pry the battery out of the case.
After the old battery is removed replace it with a new battery facing the same direction as when the cover was opened.
For some devices, you may be able to remove the battery by flipping the DS over and letting the battery fall into your hand.

Step 4

Remove the following seven screws that secure the lower case to the DS Lite:
Three silver tri-wing screws (5mm long)
One black tri-wing screw (4mm)
Two gold Phillips screws (4mm)
One silver Phillips screw (3mm)
Do not remove the silver PH screw (3mm) in the battery compartment yet. It holds the main PCB in place.

Remove the Tri-Wing screws from the DS cartridge port area and the battery bay.

Matt -

They left out of the tool section the Triwing screwdriver, a security tool used on most Nintendo game systems. There are 4 Trihead screws holding the case together and 3 Phillips head screws.

ABCellars -

2 are not philip heads

roemio do carmo lobo -

I actually have Tri-Wing screws on mine!! You can't open the unit up unless you have the proper tools!

Jon Fukumoto -

why do they use tri-wing!?!

Bountofee -

Step 5

On the front edge of the Nintendo DS between the headphone jack plug and volume controls remove the plastic insert (or cartridge) from the lower slot (Slot 2).

Step 6

Flip the unit over so that it is facing right-side up.
Use a spudger to pry open the gap between the bottom case and the front panel. Work all the way around the case until the panel is free.
Avoid touching the L and R shoulder buttons, because they easily detach and are difficult to reassemble. Keep the bottom case flat against your workbench to help hold the shoulder buttons in place.

Step 7

Carefully separate the two pieces by hand.
The two shoulder buttons are made up of three pieces -- the plastic button, a pin, and a spring. If they accidentally pop out while you are working, study the picture and make sure you put the spring in the correct position.
When reassembling the cover, make sure that the power switch caver on the bottom case is in the off (down) position to avoid breakage.

Step 8

Remove the two screws holding the motherboard to the rest of the device using a Phillips #00 screwdriver.

Step 9

Locate the small ribbon cable that connects the touch screen to the motherboard. Do not pull on this cable.
Gently lift the hinged black cover on the connector.
The hinges are near where the ribbon is inserted.
After lifting the black cover, the ribbon cable will disconnect easily.

Maybe tell people to remove that big block blocking the ribbon cable and its hinge no..?

Jean-Sébastien Wiedemann -

Step 10

With a plastic opening tool, gently begin to separate the motherboard from the rest of the device.
The ribbon cable and two wires are still connected to the motherboard and the buttons tend to fall out.