Recommendations - replacement housing shells for Nintendo DS Lite?

[miravisu]

I unforetunately got to experience the hinge problem firsthand the other day with daughter's NDSL (ironically after having read about others having had issues with it :/). The shell in question had already some slight marks and scuffs here and there on it already though, as it was a used NDSL her father got for her (at a discount price), so we

Comments

[silverjojo08]

I ordered a housing from Deal Extreme(a $20 replacement, not an official one) and it worked great. Make sure you get the triwing screwdriver, but that and a small regular one is pretty much all you'll need. I kept my original buttons(so now my DS is kind of cool with the half pink and half black theme) and everything. The only problem I had with stuff not fitting together is with the original top(with the two screen DS logo) and a new top to the inner part of the top screen(where the speakers are). I didn't want to use the new one because it was just shiny plastic rather than a plastic shell over the color as with my original one(coral pink). And getting the L and R buttons back is a bit of a pain.

I used this guide(http://www.flickr.com/photos/62647765@N00/sets/72157594277451148/) and watched a set of youtube videos before I did anything. It's not as hard as you might think but it does take a bit of time. And keeping track of the screws and the mechanism for the L and R buttons is pretty important. The new screws seemed kind of cheap and there's no replacement for the L and R stuff.

I didn't have any troubles with the power switch, but I made extra sure that I put it back in the exact same place. Same with the volume. I had to take it apart a few times to get it exactly right, though. Just make sure you don't force anything together and it should be ok.

Whatever you decide to do, I wish you luck. If something goes terribly wrong, you might want to call Nintendo. When I called about my problem, they said that since my DS was out of warranty, they'd repair it for $70 or sell me a new one for $90. I didn't do it since switching the case was cheaper and easier, but a discount is better than nothing, I guess.

[miravisu]

So there might be hope for someone like me in other words. I always manage to mess something up when assembling techy stuff though ;) Hmm, so then why those all new NDSL consoles are so cheap on that site, isn't a wonder if they too are not original?

Although, that guide has one error though, the speakers are placed backwards? I think I read someone warning about that at least on GBAtemp.net when I poked around there for advice. And eep, judging by comments overall to that set, one best be careful with those flat wires too!

Thank you for well wishes :)