[Help] Helping a wet DS Lite.

So, in a moment of carelessness, I managed to get my DS Lite soaked -- the water seeped into the battery compartment, unfortunately, so it won't turn back on again.

Now, I have one of those one-time replacement plan thingies, so I know I can get a brand new one tomorrow, for free -- however, I'd rather fix this one if I can. Is there a way to revive this guy, or am I just going to have to get a replacement?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I'd say just replace it. Once those things are soaked in water, I'd say it is almost entirely fucked. I wouldn't think that it would be a one-part replacement kinda repair. And if it was, you'd have to hope you could get ahold of that part with ease. I'd replace it and get an extended warranty on it or something.

Next time, take it out of your pants before hopping into the pool :O

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Let it dry thoroughly (let it sit for a couple days) and then try again. If it still doesn't work, then you're probably boned.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Gechmir

I'd say just replace it. Once those things are soaked in water, I'd say it is almost entirely fucked. I wouldn't think that it would be a one-part replacement kinda repair. And if it was, you'd have to hope you could get ahold of that part with ease. I'd replace it and get an extended warranty on it or something.

Next time, take it out of your pants before hopping into the pool :O

Lol, well, it's just a pity to have to use my extended warranty. I would rather have used it for something more interesting, say, if my DS Lite had snapped in two, or something.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I am pretty sure that warranties aren't one shot deals. Your original warranty should still cover the replacement unit.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I doubt the factory warranty will cover getting the unit wet. If he gets it wet, its his fault. Besides, getting a new one with your extended warranty isn't exactly a bad thing.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by galen

Let it dry thoroughly (let it sit for a couple days) and then try again. If it still doesn't work, then you're probably boned.

Ditto, try it again after a while. It may revive itself after it dries itself out. If not, then yeah, get a new one.

FELIPE NO

Quote:

so I know I can get a brand new one tomorrow, for free -- however, I'd rather fix this one if I can.

Where's the sense in fixing (assuming you'll be able to fix it in the first place) it when you're able to get a brand new one at no cost?

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I was so tempted to insert some stylus related joke regarding the thread title of 'helping' a wet DS.. but I won't, phew! Crisis over, we can all go home and eat scones with jam and cream.

I had beer spilt all over my DS Lite once. Nothing happened aside from losing the game of Space Invaders Revolution I was playing at the time which was cool. Not the game, the DS actually surviving.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Seeing that old gameboy's have withstood floods and hurricanes I wouldn't be surprised if you just took out the rechargable battery, dried the DS lite, dried the battery, and try again that it would work. In fact, I'm pretty positive that it would work. Just get the liquid stuffs out of it, man.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Thanks for the input, guys. As of today, after overnight drying, it still doesn't work. So, I'm either going to apply rubbing alcohol to it to dry it, or call it dead and exchange it, because if it's not working overnight, chances are, something vital's shorted out.

Elixir:

The reason I'd rather fix it is that I would rather not redo the process of getting and giving friend codes. It's a little bothersome, considering I have to do this for multiple games and for multiple people that all play with me.

Also, I was hoping to wait a little to get a brand new DS Lite -- mine is only 4 months old, and there are a couple of dead pixles in it, so I figured to wait until the year was almost up on the replacement plan, and then get a new one on account of the dead pixels in my current DS Lite.

Acerbandit:

I heard about how durable those old Game Boys were, which is why I was hoping the DS Lite inherited that standard of durability. I remember, during Operation Desert Storm, reading a Nintendo Power article about a soldier's Game Boy surviving a bombing.

Here's his Flicker album for that Game Boy.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I guess they just don't make 'em like they used'ta.

Well try whatever you want and if that doesn't work I guess you can call it a day and get it replaced. That's a real shame that it got defeated so easily by water.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Assuming that it was turned off when it was soaked, you should have immediately removed the battery and placed it somewhere warm so it can dry, preferably with the outer casing removed. You must leave it for at least 72 hours, or longer if you can't remove the case, before even attempting to switch it on. Water, or any other non-sweet beverage for that matter, doesn't kill electronics that are off; it will only do so when the device is powered. I think if you didn't try and turn the DS on after you spilled water on it, it would probably still be alive today.

I've managed to submerge a mobile phone under water, and fortunately it wasn't on; it still lives on today.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Spikeh:

Good to know! Unfortunately, I did turn it on while it was wet..


But, there's some good news --

I just plugged it into my wall, and it came back to life. However, it acts as though there was no charge left in the battery. Now, I just plugged it in 2 minutes ago, so I want to leave it in for the full 3 hours, and see if it can hold a charge afterwards. If it does, and nothing else goes wrong, I'm going to assume that some miracle occurred to give my DS Lite a new lease of life.

What's weird, though, is that all of my system settings are gone. I had to reenter my systems settings, so I'm wondering what that means.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I'm guessing any charge the battery held to keep your system settings saved was lost. I figured that stuff was stored on flash memory or something to prevent that but I guess not.

Tell us how it runs when it's fully charged again.

FELIPE NO

Well, she's dead, Jim. It died after 30 minutes of being unplugged from the charger, and now, it's not even charging any more. I talked to my local Gamestop, who told me that they -would- swap my dead unit for a new one under the replacement plan, if they had any, but the holiday rushed wiped out their stock of DS Lites. So, it'll be the end of the month before they can give me a new one.

Thanks for your help, though, folks -- it was really appreciated! =)

Acerbandit:

What's truly bizarre is that I found out (while it was still alive), that the wireless settings info was retained even though eveything else (presumably) had been wiped. Weird.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Well the wireless settings if they're for a game like Mario Kart are in the game cartridge itself and not the DS. You might not be talking about that though.

I do wonder if it's the battery that is dead or the system. I'd be curious to see if a replacement battery fixed it. I just want to know if a new battery would fix a DS that got wet. You know, for science.

Hope you can get a replacement DS lite soon, dude. You should check all Gamestops and EBs around your area. Phone all within a 25 mile radius as I'm sure the replacement policy is good at all of them. You should at least call and make sure with them if it is. Perhaps you should talk to the manager at your local Gamestop and have them set aside a replacement DS lite for you. Getting to know the employees at these places is always a good thing.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I remember as a child I was playing F-Zero and the buttons my controller were sticky for some reason so I deliberately poured a cup of water over it hoping it would cause them to unstick.

Well, at least they unstuck...

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Important: Don't try turning it on now! The chances of ruining your DS completely are very high!

A method someone from Infineon told me after I fell into a river with my mobile phone: Put it into an oven at 200°C over night.
I didn't have the heart to do so, so I put it in at 180° for about three hours, checking it from time to time. I waited another day or so before using it and voilà - good as new.
Important yet again: Put your batteries out before putting it into the oven...

Originally Posted by Ginko

What's truly bizarre is that I found out (while it was still alive), that the wireless settings info was retained even though eveything else (presumably) had been wiped. Weird.

DS wireless settings are eternal. It's like selling your soul.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Prime Blue

I didn't have the heart to do so, so I put it in at 180° for about three hours, checking it from time to time. I waited another day or so before using it and voilà - good as new.

This is such a dumb idea. I mean, it'll destroy the circuitry. If there's an internal battery for it as well, I can't imagine what good would come of this. 200 degrees celcius is fucking high.

But yeah, getting a new one by replacing it is usually your only option. I know if something happened to my DS Lite (I probably wouldn't do something deliberate to it like PsychoJosh did though) I'd try returning it to the store, then Nintendo, then resorting to other alternatives.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

You're most probably screwed. Get a new one, You should have dropped it down the stairs insted. I did and it still works.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Alrighty, I got me a new one. There was a store here that had a unit left, so I swapped it, and to make it better, they even issued me a new product replacement plan for free!

The old one never came back to life. Still, I learnt a lot from the posts here, so thanks! =)

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

What are you going to do with it? If it's just going to sit there, send it to me. I'll play with it.

FELIPE NO

Hah, sorry. It's a swap, so I had surrender the old unit to get the new one.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Ginko

Acerbandit:

I heard about how durable those old Game Boys were, which is why I was hoping the DS Lite inherited that standard of durability. I remember, during Operation Desert Storm, reading a Nintendo Power article about a soldier's Game Boy surviving a bombing.

Here's his Flicker album for that Game Boy.

I've actually seen the desert storm gameboy, it's at the Nintendo store in NY. I've got a movie of it running original Tetris i should upload one of these days.

Jam it back in, in the dark.