Nintendo DS Lite Trigger Buttons Replacement

Written By: Matthew Newsom

Comments: 26

Nintendo DS Lite Trigger Buttons Replacement

Difficulty

Easy

Steps

Time Required

20 minutes

Introduction

Replace the trigger buttons on your Nintendo DS Lite and get back in the game!

Tools

Step 1

Unscrew the Phillips screw securing the battery cover to the lower case.
The screw remains captive to the battery cover.
Pry the battery cover upward with a spudger or fingernail, and lift out of the lower case.

A Phillips #000 (PH000) seems to give a more secure fit (no slipping) than the stated Phillips #00.

Ritchie -

This will be good for mods

Matthew Bevins - 29/07/15

I'm having a problem getting the screw to unscrew. I have the right Phillips ( it was included with all the stuff I got this) Any tips. it doesn't look like the screw is spinning but i haven't played my Nintendo DS Lite for 3 years.

whittlegirls - 08/12/15

bonjour j’ai une petite question pour vous fais trés longtemps que j’ai pas utiliser mon nintendo ds lite et quand je le branche il allume 1 fois orange après il s’enteint même s’il est brancher ça veux tu dire qu’il faut que je change de batterie ? Merci

Marie-Julie Richer - 15/04/20

Soit un changement de batterie, soit la carte-mère a peut-être un court-circuit :/

Polaris - 30/03/21

Step 2

Wedge the edge of a spudger in between the side of the battery and the lower case housing and pry upward to dislodge the battery.
Remove the battery from the DS Lite.

Step 3

Use the tip of a spudger to pry both rubber feet off the DS Lite.

Step 4

Remove the following screws securing the lower case to the body of the DS Lite:
Two 4.3 mm gold Phillips screws
One 3.9 mm black Tri-Wing screw
One 3.3 mm silver Phillips screw
Three 5.5 mm silver Tri-Wing screws

Not mentioned is to remove the jumper/connector below the word "SLOT-2". Case WILL NOT separate otherwise.

Kayla - 26/05/17

In the separation step below, the third picture show the case with the jumper/connector removed.

Kayla - 26/05/17

I cannot remove the tri-wing screws.

Zach Smith - 08/01/19

Same to me. I tried opening the case by force. Broke several parts of the motherboard…

Leon - 17/03/21

I can't remove the final tri wing screw in the battery section and it looks like I grinded the screw out too much for any screwdriver to work.Is there anything I can do?

Quintin Harbin - 24/03/21

From what I know, the only solution is to drill the screw out with a very small-headed drill :/

Polaris - 30/03/21

How to remove a stripped screw

Gena FM -

Step 5

Remove the cover from the Game Pak slot before continuing.
Insert the edge of a spudger in between the lower and upper case near the top right corner of the DS Lite.
Carefully run the spudger along the right edge of the DS Lite, creating an opening in the process.
Continue running the spudger along the backside of the DS Lite until the majority of the lower case has been separated from the upper case.

Don’t forget to remove the GBA cartridge placeholder before removing the backside

Cees Jan de Boer - 08/07/18

You forgot to mention to remove the battery compartment Phillips screw.

nathan lowe -

Step 6

Lift the lower case away from the rest of the DS Lite.
Pull carefully. Some units are sealed with adhesive, and pulling too hard can damage the power switch.
When re-assembling, make sure that power switch and volume sliders are properly aligned with the switches on the motherboard.

When you reassemble, make sure that you have the volume and power buttons in place, and make sure they are in the right position to line up with the switches on the motherboard. If they are not aligned, you risk snapping off the tiny switches on the motherboard (in which case, you are in for some soldering work).

Eric - 27/04/14

I should have read the comments first - broke off the power switch because I didn't know about aligning it. No way I can do soldering, guess it's for the dustbin :-(

Emma - 08/09/14

Whoops, remembered the power button but forgot the volume slider.

I'll do it later.

analbonghits - 06/03/15

There is no way that the fact you have to line up the volume and power switch toggles upon reassembly is not in this guide. I just carefully followed this guide to replace the shoulder buttons but ruined my DS lite because I didn’t read these (practically hidden comments due to the design of the website) comments and broke the power switch. Thankfully there are 150 million DS I can buy second hand but “repeat the steps backwards” wasn’t sufficient in this repair. And that’s what this website is for.

Ryan - 22/11/19

Step 7

Lift both trigger buttons out of the DS Lite.
The trigger buttons are held in very loosely by small metal pegs and springs. Don't lose track of these pieces.
The second picture shows the correct configuration of the trigger assembly for reassembly purposes.

Anything after step 7 is unnecessary if having to replace the left or right trigger button(s).

Nate River - 18/02/15

The second picture does not show the correct configuration of the button spring. It should be flipped. Look at the trigger on the left of the larger image; that is the correct configuration.

wrekone - 29/12/17

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Author

Matthew Newsom

Member since: 06/01/10

39452 Reputation

6 comments

no no no no no

seng - 08/01/20

Thank you this helped a lot I can finnaly play Zelda and Mario Cart now

MattTheGamer 49 - 27/08/20

Hi! I am attempting a trigger repair, but it seems the console was opened and worked on before I got my hands on it, and the switch for the trigger snapped off the board. I taped it to the board to test, and it still works. Is my best bet soldering the switch back to the motherboard? Or could I get away with superglue? (I've never soldered before, and this looks delicate)

Tamara Girodie - 05/02/21

I would definitely solder it, usually, these triggers are the ones that get the most stress and dirt around them so superglue might not last that much. If you have a problem with the trigger still. You might want to check the video I uploaded, it is in Spanish, though. https://youtu.be/7GRzZh9ZdNM

spinomagnus -

I dont get how removing them is supposed to fix it. it says you need no parts. someone explain

ur mom -

This gives you access to them and now you can clean them. There's some YouTube videos showing how, maybe some cleaning alcohol on a q-tip does the trick, or you have to take apart the buttons front and clean the contacts.

Moritz Bohlen -