My son has a DS Lite and lately when he puts in a game cartridge, the console says no cartridge has been inserted or it freezes mid game. Then he'll take out the game and blow hard into the cartridge slot a few times and sometimes after he puts the game back in it works. I ordered a bogus cleaning kit from Nintendo for $4.95 which turned out to be a white peice of plastic that you're supposed to insert repeatedly for about 10 times, and that basically does nothing. Any suggestions? When it works, everything is fine and he's able to do DS download w/ other players with no problems. I think if it's possible to somehow clean the game slot, this would resolve the problem, but I have no idea how to do that. Please help.
Thanks, Mark M.
The problem is that over time the console pins that contact the game catridge gold contacts bend and no longer contact the catridge. DSi has solved this problem by adding a spring that will push the catridge firmly against the pins. So Nintendo must have recognized the problem (a serious design flaw worthy of a class law suit since 4 DS lite at home had a similar problem. I fix the problem in one of the old "broken" consoles by adding a "bumper" made of folded paper on the catridge, opposite to the contacts. This rudimentary added pressure on the pins fixes the game freezing and all the games work now. I feel chated by Nintendo after spending over $600 to replace broken consoles. They usually break after about a year.
Well, I had the same problem than these guys: some of the games works but others definitively don't. I looked into the slot and, like "solution #2" I noticed a broken pin. I found a forum where some tech guy explained that not all the games use the same pins, that would explain why some of them still work.
Anyways, a new game slot cost around U$16 + shipping, and if you are lucky you can get a broken Nintendo from eBay from +U$30 + shipping. With the first alternative you need to have good soldering skills to remove the old and install the new slot. With the second, depending what is the issue with the broken unit, most of the time is a broken screen or broken case... in cases like those just combine the good pieces to create a new working "Frankenstain".
The hinges in these Nintendo systems are easily breakable and they can also be repair very easy if you have the right guides.
Nintendo Repair Shop
www.nintendorepairshop.com
My son also had a nintendo ds which afer a while did not recognise the games or would freeze. It turned out that the slot where you put the games one of the pins had broken off so it would not recognise the game or would work when it wanted.. i have been told that it would cost the same amount to fix as it would to buy a new Ds.
Never blow into a cartridge. It just worsens the problem. The same solutions that work for NES cartridges should work for the newer DS ones and GBA ones. But I'm not sure that the problem is the cleanliness of the cartridge/slot. One place for cartridge cleaning info is here: http://techforums.nintendo.com/nins/board/message?board.id=other_older&thread.id=1249
The standard ideas are:
blow into it
wipe it with a Q-tip with rubbing alcohol
wipe it with a Q-tip
use an eraser on it
one random idea was to use Brasso on it...
I'm pretty sure that the only reason blowing works is because the moisture from your breath causes the cartridge to connect better with the slot. So, it seems like your real problem is the slot, which I have no experience with taking apart, so I don't know how it works.
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my son game won't play when it's inside
when i put the game in it works but when you press a button on the screen that you need it just frezzes
Same problem with some games freezing some games not working so we bought a new ds system and the same problems happened in the brand new unit, old unit ruined the games by scratching the gold looking connections inside the game. nintendo should realize and fix this problem.
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