6 3DS black screen of death, common fixes not working
Hi, I recently bought a broken original 3DS on eBay to practice electronics work. The power light turns on, and the charging light too when plugged in, but the screens remain black. I know this is a common issue, but so far none of the solutions I've found have worked.
- I unplugged the wi-fi chip and plugged it back in a couple times, no dice.
- Held the power button for ~10 seconds until the system shut off.
- The 3DS won't boot into Safe Mode, even if I hold L+R+A+Up (on the pad) and power for like 30 seconds.
- There's no SD card, but I tried to clean out the slot anyway and that didn't work.
- I tried the method of taking out the battery, trying to turn it on, plugging in the charger, trying to turn it on, then putting the battery back in and turning it on. Didn't work.
- Kept the system on for ~10 minutes to see if it would slowly come on.
Are there any other potential fixes out there that I haven't been able to find in my search?
crwdns2934109:0crwdne2934109:0
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crwdns2944067:039crwdne2944067:0
Hi!
Wondering if this is hardware or software related! Just to be sure, I would like to ask @darthmango first to check if it is software related. Do you have any ideas?
crwdns2934271:0crwdnd2934271:0 koppie007 crwdne2934271:0
@dan0 This doesn't sound like a software issue, but there are a few simple checks we can do.
@aleclom Let's try these:
1) Turn the console on, let it load whatever it's going to, then press L + D-Pad Down + SELECT together and see if the Rosalina menu opens. If not, turn it off again and try #2
2) Hold SELECT, then turn the console on and keep holding SELECT for ~30 seconds or until a menu opens
3) Just to be sure since I've made this mistake before. When you tried booting safe mode, you held up on the d-pad, not the circle pad, right?
crwdns2934271:0crwdnd2934271:0 darth mango crwdne2934271:0
@darthmango Thanks for the response! Yeah I was doing up on the d-pad. Unfortunately, methods 1 and 2 didn't work. I just tested the wireless switch and the power light for that doesn't work at all. I flipped it a few times but nothing changed. Not sure if that might be related or not.
crwdns2934271:0crwdnd2934271:0 Alec crwdne2934271:0
Check all the ribbon cables. I’ve heard that the speaker ribbon cable and wifi chip can cause this. You might want to check them both!
crwdns2934271:0crwdnd2934271:0 koppie007 crwdne2934271:0
@aleclom Hmm. Paired with the safe mode issue, that sounds like it's hanging VERY early into boot. This is the point where I start suspecting chip damage, and hoping it's something else. Take a magnifying glass and see if you can find any broken solder joints on the board. You can also gently nudge chip legs to see if they move.
@dan0 Any other ideas? With any luck, there's an easy fix here I've overlooked
crwdns2934271:0crwdnd2934271:0 darth mango crwdne2934271:0
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