Malfunctioning DS Lite LCD replaced with differently malfunctioning LCD?

[Aussie2B]

So apparently something strange has just happened to the DS Lite that me and my fiance share (more so him). Out of nowhere, a horizontal line of pixels near the bottom of the bottom screen has started acting screwy. They're not dead and they're not stuck on one particular color, but they are never the colors they're supposed to be. When the DS starts up and goes to the system menu, the line is pinkish. When playing various games, it's usually black, but sometimes it's other colors and sometimes the line isn't all one single color.

It's strange because we've taken very good care of it. We have the best looking bottom screen of anyone we know (and we know plenty of people with DS systems). There isn't a scratch on it. Probably the worst it's gone through is a couple very minor falls, and my fiance occasionally takes it in the bathroom and leaves it in there while showering which makes it a little moist from the steam when it comes out. This problem didn't occur remotely near those things happening, though.

It's too old to fall under the warranty, and according to him, Nintendo charges $75 for a repair, which seems absurd to me. So does anyone know what could've caused the problem and what we can possibly do about it?

[tpugmire]

It's actually a pretty easy fix from what I hear, although I've never done one myself. You can get replacement screens on eBay for around $10.00, and you'll need a tri-wing screwdriver (also easy to find on eBay). As for what caused it, it could be the moisture from sitting in the bathroom while someone is showering, or the couple of falls it took. Either thing isn't good for them, but would it cause the problem you have... who knows?

[Aussie2B]

Replacement LCDs for that little? How is the quality of them? Is there any way I could get an official Nintendo one?

[tpugmire]

I don't know about the quality or who makes the replacement screens. You could try contacting Nintendo and see if they can sell you a screen without doing the repair work themselves, but I doubt they would...

[Aussie2B]

I'm giving this topic a bump since my story of DS troubles didn't end there. Considering it was only a single line, we decided to just ignore it for the time being. Unfortunately, the problem got progressively worse. All of the lines below the initial one started acting screwy, and then later on the rows below that point would loop the screen, displaying the top few lines of pixels. And now, just the other day, the entire touch screen crapped out. It still displays and still shows the original screwed up line, in fact, but the rest of the screen is a snowy mess with streaks of vertical colors that shift depending on what the game is attempting to display (but there are no discernible graphics anymore).

So yeah... it's unusable in this state. We're really ticked at Nintendo considering we treated this thing better than I'd imagine 95% of DS owners, so it's gotta be a defective unit (and we're screwed doubly by it not revealing its defective nature within the warranty span). A new one still costs the same as back then, and we'd really rather not buy a DSi or XL right now either.

But my reason in posting this is because I'm wondering if replacing the screen would even be a viable solution given the description of this evolving issue? I can't claim to know a ton about this stuff, but my instinct would tell me that if there was some kind of trauma to the screen that caused a problem, that would be that. If it slowly gets worse over time, could there be a more serious problem with the hardware? I don't want to waste money to replace the screen only to get the exact same issue. And is there anyone/anywhere that's recommended for buying replacement parts?

[Compute]

Replacing screens in devices like this typically isn't that difficult, I am sure there is a good tutorial or video online documenting the procedure. Worst case scenario your ds is still broken.

[understatement]

And is there anyone/anywhere that's recommended for buying replacement parts?

One of my favorite sites Deal Extreme shipping is a bit slow now but its free.

[Aussie2B]

Replacing screens in devices like this typically isn't that difficult, I am sure there is a good tutorial or video online documenting the procedure. Worst case scenario your ds is still broken.

I know, I'm not worried about the difficulty. That's the exact scenario I'm trying to avoid here, though. Even if it's not a lot of money or effort, that's still time and cash I'd rather put towards a Nintendo repair or a new DS is if replacing the screen myself wouldn't make a difference.

Thanks for the link, understatement. The prices definitely seem fair. Is the quality of their stuff good? I saw that they're from Hong Kong, which always makes me a little wary. In fact, the first thing my fiance complained about when he saw that the entire screen died was that our DS is made in China rather than Japan. :P

[understatement]

I think I have ordered a whole PSP and DS piece by piece from DX and I have never had a major complaint tho some things have come that were defective or broken but DX has a good but slow RMA.

As for quality if it has "Genuine" in the title 98% of the time it is, but most of the stuff I get is the cheapest and it's for the most part good quality just make sure to read the reviews before you buy the people will say if its a lemon or not.

[Compute]

I would trust DX for replacement parts, they have not done me wrong yet. A while back we replaced the screen on my gf's digital camera which didn't fix the problem. We sold it on ebay (specify for parts or repair!) for enough to cover the cost of buying the screen. I imagine a broken ds in good cosmetic shape would grab the cost of a screen.

[Aussie2B]

Okay, so back in October I finally ordered the replacement bottom LCD screen I need, and after waiting almost a freakin' MONTH, the damn thing arrives. But now I'm even more frustrated than ever.

I watched a bunch of tutorials and went through the process very slowly and carefully, but the new screen isn't displaying right either. My fiance and I have redone the ribbon cables time and time again, but we keep getting the same results. However, it's not the same issue as with the original screen. This one does display images. We even tried the old screen a second time, which resulted in the same issue for it, so its problem is definitely coming from the screen itself, not the system. With the new screen, we get the image, but it's layered in green-ish discoloration with flickering, purple bands running both vertically and horizontally.

My fiance is convinced that the screen has been damaged. Not cracked or anything, but too much pressure. Can anyone confirm that this sounds like a problem with the LCD rather than how it's been hooked up or the system itself? Keep in mind that the very first time we hooked up the old screen, it look exactly the same as in the past, without any of the new screen's problems.

This situation really pisses me off like crazy because I'm already angry at DX over how ridiculously long it took the package to arrive, at least twice as long as their estimates. And when it did arrive, the tiny box the screen was packaged in was crushed a little, so maybe that pressure was the culprit. If I've ended up with a broken screen on top of all the frustration over the wait, then have to deal with a lengthy return process, and wait all eternity for a new one to arrive, I'm gonna flip out. >(

[Oldskool]

I don't think I'll ever order from Dealextreme again. Yeah their prices are great if you feel like waiting a month or two for something. But also, most of the stuff they sell is of cheaper quality then OEM stuff.

I know that LCD's are VERY pressure sensitive. I am not sure how it's mounted in there, but if things are too tight it can cause discoloration of the screen, especially on the corners/sides. If the screen is not a direct OEM manufactured replacement, I can see it maybe being a bit more "flexible" than the original screen.

Good luck to you, don't know really what to tell ya.