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Nintendo's upgraded version of the Nintendo 3DS. It features bigger screens, longer battery life, better pixel density, and a better design.

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Lower LCD is now black after replacing top screen

Hey everyone, so this is my first electronics project and I have to say I definitely learned a lot. I bought a 3DS XL for $35 because the top screen was cracked and needed to be replaced. So I followed along with YouTube videos to replace the screen. Unfortunately, I ran into a little trouble:

  1. I broke the ribbon cable for the camera. I didn’t realize it needed to be oriented the correct direction while being inserted back into the hinge so I was trying to gently twist it the direction I needed it to go to plug it into the connector but it ended up ripping
  2. The tiny white hinge piece came off for the wide ribbon cable connector for the lower LCD screen. It’s way too small for me to put it back on, unless there’s some trick I don’t know about.

So here’s my situation: after getting everything back together, when I press the power button, the blue light comes on, both screens light up, but only the top screen has signal (and looks beautiful by the way so at least that part worked). The bottom screen stays backlight but black. After doing a bunch of reason, it seems to the the black screen of death? I’ve heard it could be because of the missing hinge piece not pressing the connector down, so I rolled up some TP and covered it in electrical tape to try to press it down. I’ve also heard it could be because the camera no longer functions. I’ve also heard it could be because the magnets are stuck in sleep mode for the lower screen. I’m not really sure what to do at this point and need help. Which ribbon cable for the lower LCD contains the signal? How do I fix this problem?

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i take it TP is toilet paper? I don't think this will solve the problem of applying pressure to the connector (I’ve used folded copy paper on top of cable). I've had a few connector hinges fall off and it hasn't made any big difference. You might like to try taking that ribbon cable out again and then reseating it.. you may not have inserted it far enough, there's a hard plastic tab with notches on. It needs to be right in or you won't have display.

check out step 20/ 21 to see how far that cable needs to be in.

Nintendo 3DS Lower LCD Replacement

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