Replace DS lite touch screen

[alexh]

My mum has scratched the touch screen on her DS almost completely it is almost opaque due to scratches.

The LCD is fine, for the most part the touch screen is fine, it is the plastic coating on the screen which is scratched.

The replacements + tools are unbelievably cheap (£2.50) but does anyone know how hard they are to fit??

Has anyone done it?

[BippyM]

the touch screen is very simple to replace. I have done a few.

Plenty youtube videos

[jimbob005]

[ Show youtube player ]

here mate

james

[eLowar]

A few more things that some videos don't mention (too lazy to check jimbob's video ):

As plankton said, some of the connectors are tiny and rather fragile. You'll definitely want to have some tweezers ready to handle them, and watch out for the little lids and properly lift them before pulling out the connectors.

Also be careful with the L/R buttons, they're spring-loaded (same kind you'd find in a floppy disk) and not secured vertically in any way, so it's rather easy to lose the springs when taking the case apart.

If you need to remove the wifi module (it's in the way of some cables; I'm not sure if that's necessary to just replace the touchscreen surface, I've only replaced the actual lower LCD screen, not the touch surface), be aware that one half is glued (!) to the board, so yeah, you just have to apply force to remove it (it's not that bad, just for me, who's always very careful with small electrical parts, it was rather scary).

Also make sure you keep track of which of the screws go where. The plastic is very soft, and if you screw one of the longer screws into one of the places for shorter screws, you'll likely create ugly little bumps in the case (the plastic really is so soft that you'll barely even notice the resistance before it's too late).

Otherwise I can confirm that replacing an NDS screen is very easy in general. It's a little fiddly, but there's nothing really complicated in there. Just a few too many things are secured with glue for my taste.

[Kitty]

Don't do it! I tried this and when I put it back together it didn't work!
I ended up selling it on ebay for parts!
Maybe I'm just unlucky, but thats my 2 cents

[eLowar]

The same thing happened to me in my first attempt. I took the thing apart again and put it back together, taking better care to push the little connectors in all the way (as it was doing nothing and I suspected a bad connection somewhere), and then it was fine.

[alexh]

I replaced the stylus with a new one and recalibrated the touch and it is now usable.

I want to replace it soon as it is difficult to read and before she wears through to the LCD

Thanks for the feedback, I'll check everything out.

Edit: Separating the touch screen from the LCD with a scalpel looks fiddly not to mention re-attaching the new one. Do the replacements come with an adhesive? Is one required?

[gimbal]

might I suggest, when you do manage to replace the screen, to put a protective cover on the screens? I've manhandled my DS with one of those attached (damned Zelda!) and the screen is still flawless after 2 years. Cost something along the line of 2 euros I think for two covers.

[alexh]

Of course. Just wished I had read something about this two years ago