HOW TO: 3DS XL Charge Port Replacement (Full Walkthrough)

We walk you through our way of changing out the charge port on 3DS XL unit for a customer's system. This is a long lasting repair using a regular 3DS charging port.

[@ZRowlo6]

I work for a local Disc Replay as repair tech, thank you so much! this video helped a lot!, I was able to replace the port in one try! Thanks for the help, using a 3DS port was a great tip, thank you!

[@tryfall5183]

Btw since he didn't say what he used first the paste he applied at first was flux used as a rosin for the solder and also helps when melting the solder the tool he used to remove the solder was a soldering wick

[@PowerUpGamingCanada]

If people are ever confused, I am more then happy to answer it. :) Never has anyone asked for any details.

[@michubern1444]

Gonna try this tomorrow..wish me and my ds luck ;)

[@box4689]

I know that this video is old but still good i couldn't fix i and gave up but i hope you can do a new video on this.

[@PowerUpGamingCanada]

The video may be old but it is an older console. :) Not sure a newer video would make much difference.

[@charlieking3302]

How much you usually charge for this service?

[@funnykid264]

Where can I buy that soldering braid you were talking about? The absorber of solder.

[@PowerUpGamingCanada]

You can find it all over amazon or ebay. The brand I buy is gootwick and the size is 3mm wide.

[@jesseeads]

what was the liquid you were brushing on?

[@PowerUpGamingCanada]

Just kingbo flux that I have here in a container. Any general purpose flux works well in this case to help the solder flow better.

[@jesseeads]

Thanks, I'll pick some up

[@woodysgeekchannel2204]

My y 3ds would not charge via direct plug, but would charge by the cradle which uses the outer charge pads. So I removed the charge port like you show here and soldered in a brand new one. I still have the same problem. Any thoughts?

[@PowerUpGamingCanada]

The outer charge pads are attached to the inner charge pads so no, it doesn't make any sense. Are you sure there isn't a problem with the charger making proper contact with the system? This can be a problem even if it works when attached to the cradle. What I would do is try a different charger.

[@woodysgeekchannel2204]

Yeah, I used the same charger on a different 3ds and no issues. I was hoping it was something obvious I was missing but I guess not. I wonder if a trace on the other side of the board is bad? BTW great videos!

[@PowerUpGamingCanada]

I am not sure that would still make any difference. Even if one of the pads were pulled, there are 4 and they are all connected to each other. Would love to check it out in person and figure it out. Let me know what you find out in the end. Thanks for the compliments on the videos. I finally got my microscope and camera setup so the videos will be a TON better with more detail very soon.

[@woodysgeekchannel2204]

I know you are the expert, but the plug itself, there is no continuity between the pads for the doc and the plug itself before you solder it in. Each one has a separate solder point. Nothing like a challenge,eh. lol

[@woodysgeekchannel2204]

Well I went back at it, and that was the problem, Trace was bad. I just jumped the pad for the dock to the plug socket and it is all good now.

[@LonelyCreap]

I dont have a 3DS XL but I do have the older version of it and the pins of the port came out and I was wondering if the 3DS XL is the same as the 3DS (old)?

[@PowerUpGamingCanada]

They are similar but different. The original 3DS's port is smaller with less pins connected to the board.

[@markstroot5978]

How much does this repair cost?

[@jessicakni3817]

I need my port fixed but I'm really bad at this type of stuff, I wish I could send it to you. ):

[@PowerUpGamingCanada]

You can but it is only cost effective if you live in Canada. If you live in Canada then you can find out our address and such by visiting our Facebook page at www.fb.com/pugcanada. Send us a message on there and we can arrange it with you.

[@BrokenGotWingz]

My charging port has burned out and was wondering if you could fix it for me of course i'd be willing to pay

[@PowerUpGamingCanada]

You can but it is only cost effective if you live in Canada. If you live in Canada then you can find out our address and such by visiting our Facebook page at www.fb.com/pugcanada. Send us a message on there and we can arrange it with you.

[@BrokenGotWingz]

+PowerUpGamingCanada if in im the states how much would it be to ship it and to replace? At this point its cheaper to repair it than to find a new one because my 3ds had gateway 3ds accessibility

[@PowerUpGamingCanada]

Shipping from the USA to Canada is not cheap. I have heard of customers spending around $25 to $35 to ship to us. Return shipping is charged at $15 for repairs.

[@redboi_rblx7434]

Dose it work on normal 3ds

[@PowerUpGamingCanada]

Yes, the repair on normal 3DS is easier then 3DS xl.

[@stevenzacharakis]

Hi there, i followed your steps, replace the port which in the end would of been much easier taking the board out. Too mucu fiddling around. Anyway now my 3ds wont boot up. The blue light turns on. The screens remain black. When i plug in the charger the orange light turns on. I may of touched the fuse near the port while soldering (3ds 2015) but unsure if this would of blown it from the heat of the iron. What do you think has gone wrong?

[@PowerUpGamingCanada]

It is VERY hard to tell you what may have happened without seeing it first hand so it is going to be next to impossible to tell you. But with that said, I can promise that taking the board out is NOT something you would want to do. The amount of ribbon connectors on the top AND bottom of the board are numerous.

[@stevenzacharakis]

PowerUpGamingCanada thanks for the swift reply. Have you experienced what the symptoms would be if the F1 fuse was blown near the charge port? Can that cause a failure to boot? I can have the board out in literally 2 minutes. Done it enough times. Can a an f1 fuse blow from touching it with an iron?

[@PowerUpGamingCanada]

That fuse handles the charging of the unit. The fact that your light comes on and stays on means you don't have a fuse issue.

[@arie1293]

I don't recall what my lights looked like but I had to fiddle with the ribbon cable connections because one of them wasn't seated properly and caused boot failure on mine.

[@jonyjunca]

Whats the iron or the iron power that you're using?

[@PowerUpGamingCanada]

Hakko FM-203 Dual Port Soldering System. Heat setting I would have to check on but not at the store until Monday. :)

[@richardbianco9674]

how do you fix when the pads have come up?

[@PowerUpGamingCanada]

Thats a bit harder since the pads are also what secures the charge port to the board properly. Ideally it would be perfect if you don't lift a bad at all. :) If you lift the bad slightly then just establish the connection in the right spot and hope that the other pads are enough to secure it in place. If the pad is lifted all the way then, again, hopefully it is just one. You would then need to figure out where the trace went to and bridge the connection to that location to reestablish it.

[@richardbianco9674]

it's the 3 on the left side, someone tried messing with it and pulled the pads up when they tried removing the old port.

[@PowerUpGamingCanada]

Three pads are a lot. What i would do is try to hot melt glue it into place a bit better once you have the traces reconnected. Thats about the best option but I am not confident that it won't shift after three pulled pads.

[@VGCollector67]

I'm getting a little frustrated with trying to find information about a couple 3DS XL store demo units that have completely different charge ports on them. The charge ports are completely different than the one in your video here, but so are the solder points. If you care to take a look, I've posted pictures here.... gbatemp.net/threads/help-identify-charge-port-on-store-demo-3ds-xl.446924/#post-6792858. Thanks.

[@PowerUpGamingCanada]

That charge port is completely different then anything I have ever seen and the only point in that port would be to transfer data also. The regular charge ports only have limited connections to them because they only have one purpose which is charging. The only reason I can see Nintendo making your configuration of system is if it was hard mounted in a kiosk and the games were transferred to the system via a combo charge/data transfer cable. I have even tried searching out for that charge port from one of my suppliers and I have failed to find one. If you DO end up finding one, soldering of it is going to be quite different but doesn't need to be too hard. What you are going to do is cut the pins using a pair of snips. From there you are going drag the soldering iron over the pads to lift up the legs that are left behind and prepare them. Desolder the side mounts and lift the old port off. Apply the port to the pads, secure it with the two side pads and then solder each pin to the board. Just look afterwards at the pins to make sure you have no bridges of solder.

[@timothyroehm4307]

I’ll subscribe if this idea works if not then no

[@PowerUpGamingCanada]

haha.. This almost sounds threatening. Honestly my friend, it doesn't bother me if you subscribe or not. These videos are just here to help people. I don't put them up to make money or anything.