Savi's Workshop Lightsaber Chassis Disassembly and Reassembly

[@boiga13]

Thank you for this video! This Savi’s hilt was ~1.5 years old when the blade would just randomly deactivate and reactivate regardless of switch position. I tried a new switch, but that didnt help the problem. I was able to change out that flat cable thanks to this video and looks like its working. Thank you!!

[@debbieandree5074]

THANK YOU! You saved the day and we were able to fix our saber! Broken ribbon cable replaced. :-)

[@Ruthsarian]

Awesome! That's great to hear! :)

[@henningandree2719]

Great Video. Thank you. I was wondering if you know of a source where I can get the eight 2mm Hex screws that hold the upper middle and lower part of the hilt together. Thank you again.

[@AngelCruz-ed3bt]

incredible video 10/10 commenting for support

[@hendawgplayz211]

Thank you! Just fixed mine after being broken for over a year. Those pesky ribbon cables!

[@unfitarmory7417]

You are a bloody life saver mate, thank you

[@bbbricks3410]

Hey I’m on an unlisted video! How’s I get here?

[@scottmen7]

Thanks for the video. Very helpful.

[@reedputman8893]

Thank you soo much you stud! you saved me! though I do need help with my ribbon cable I think mine was pinched or ripped I think something is wrong with it could you explain if I should fold it in or explain how to put it in perfect place?

[@jarron8390]

Idk if u still respond or not but,the red cable came out of the white thing and it won’t go back in. As I was replacing my batteries and it wouldn’t turn on still then I opened it up to see what’s The problem and the orange strip and the red cable came out and I do not know what to do.

[@berossefinancialconsultant]

Hi, I wanted to ask if you could help me with buying the white, and the black-red wires at 9:46 minutes into to video, because mine have gotten damaged, so I wanted to ask you if could know the names of these wires and where could I get them, would really appreciate it because I don't know the name or where to find them

[@Ruthsarian]

The white cable can be bought here: www.amazon.com/dp/B07RWF3GQG/ The red and black wire cable can be bought here: www.amazon.com/dp/B09DYLPQPS/ Be aware that the colors of the black and red cable may be reversed from the cable in your lightsaber hilt. Compare them to confirm whether or not this is the case. If they are reversed, you can still use the cable, just be aware that where the red wire was soldered to, you must solder the black wire of the new cable (and old black to new red as well).

[@crookedlantern3810]

I need to replace my power cable, do you know of anything that will work for this or will I need to solder up something?

[@Ruthsarian]

i assume you mean the red and black power wires inside the chassis. the wire itself can be any gauge you want, but if you also need the connector, the connector is a 1.25mm pitch 'jst' or 'picoblade' connector. if you're replacing the entire wire, it's 150mm in length. something like this: www.amazon.com/dp/B081V3V9HT/ NOTE: the red and black wires may be swapped on the wires you order when compared to the power wires inside the chassis. please compare with the old power wires and make a note of whether or not the colors are swapped before you do any work! if swapped, you need to either swap the wires in the new connector (can be done by gently lifting on the tab in the connector that holds each wire in place and pulling the wires out of the connector, then reinserting them in their correct location) or, when soldering the new wires to the top side of the chassis, solder them backwards (red to where black was, black to where red was) in order to keep the connections correct when you plug the other end into the bottom half of the chassis.

[@crookedlantern3810]

@@Ruthsarian wonderful, thank you!

[@derekj2262]

My lightsaber is stuck together except the bottom grip but the pommel twist everything please help

[@charliemurphy6457]

Accidentally broke the clip to the top 8 pin clip, tried to find a replacement clip/full part but having trouble finding it

[@Ruthsarian]

something like this should do it www.ebay.com/itm/386202345449

[@charliemurphy6457]

@@Ruthsarian thank you!

[@n00bSimRacing21]

Is there a way to get extra wires or boards?

[@n00bSimRacing21]

My ribbon snapped BTW

[@karahorras9646]

Do you ever do repairs for other people’s light sabers from Savi’s? My son was trying to change the batteries and accidentally took the chassis apart. 🤦🏼‍♀️ We have watched this video a dozen times trying to fix it but have only made it worse. He’s devastated (and so am I due to the cost of this “toy”) I’m just wondering if you (or another person like you- i.e. technically savvy) would repair a broken chassis? You seem to know what you are doing and so we have decided we need a Jedi like you to help us. Just wondering. Thanks for sharing this video. 😊

[@Ruthsarian]

If it's just a matter of reassembly, that shouldn't be any problem at all. You can e-mail me at [e-mail] and we can talk about it. If you could include a picture of the current state of the chassis, that would help. I'd like to have an idea of where things are at.

[@Rathause]

Can you do a teardown of the bottom half of the chassis? I want to see if it's possible to remove the single LED that lights up the crystal when it is inside the chamber and redirect that power somewhere else.

[@Ruthsarian]

I will. In the meantime, I have a google docs spreadsheet with a bunch of information and photos including some images of the activation switch PCB which includes a surface mount LED that lights up the bottom of the crystal (it's labeled 'RGB' and is in the center of the circular PCB). Look at the 'Savi's Workshop Chassis Hardware and Operation' tab here: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13P_GE6tNYpGvoVUTEQvA3SQzMqpZ-SoiWaTNoJoTV9Q/edit#gid=1187173987

[@Rathause]

@@Ruthsarian Thank you. Based on this image, I don't think my idea will work. Are you familiar with wireless LEDs? I'm making a crystal right now with wireless LEDs embedded inside that light up whenever they are near a coil of copper wire outputting a 5 volt weak magnetic charge. My plan was to disconnect the LEDs inside the hilt and insert one of those wireless power transmitters so my crystal would light up from the inside whenever it was in the hilt. Does that sound feasible to you? If not, is there perhaps another place where in the hilt where I could solder some wires to siphon power? I'm only just getting into hobby electronics so I don't know how easy or difficult it is to insert a new device into an existing one.

[@Rathause]

@@Ruthsarian I actually discovered last night that the RFID reader already inside the hilt can activate my wireless LEDs. But they only go on for a second since I guess the hilt sends out one pulse to try and connect with a crystal. But do you think there might be a way to switch that pulse on permanently?

[@Ruthsarian]

@@Rathause not really. the RFID reader in the hilt is controlled by the microcontroller. the microcontroller knows to scan for an RFID tag when the switch at the top of the crystal chamber is pressed. it'll attempt a few scans and then give up. to keep it going longer you'd have to keep pressing that button. but if you release the button, the hilt will shut the blade off, so keeping those LEDs blinking wouldn't work if you also want to have an active blade. so, ultimately, i think the answer to you question is no.

[@Rathause]

@@Ruthsarian Darn. Well thank you for the help. I might need to build my own lightsaber.

[@codylee9266]

Link to replacement ribbon cable?

[@Ruthsarian]

This is the cable: www.amazon.com/dp/B07RT6XGY3/ It's out of stock right now. This is an alternative that would work and is in stock: www.amazon.com/dp/B07RWF3GQG/ Or you can search elsewhere. The cable specs are: 8pin 150mm 0.5mm pitch FFC type B

[@dakotabowman9697]

My light saber turns off and on over and over again I looked to see if I could figure out what it it is. Could it be the ribbon cable by any chance?

[@Ruthsarian]

remove the battery pack. wait about 5 minutes. then plug it back in and see if that fixes it.

[@Theengalu]

How does the button system work?

[@Theengalu]

So does the magnet complete the circuit? when the button is lifted.

[@Ruthsarian]

there is a hall effect sensor in the hilt which detects the presence of a magnetic field. the switch mechanism has a permanent magnet that moves into and out of range of the hall effect sensor. the microcontroller in the hilt receives the signal from the hall effect sensor and turns the lightsaber on.

[@Theengalu]

@@Ruthsarian Thank you for the information. I did my own slight deconstruction, and found that out about how the magnet moves. I am guessing these hall effect switches are on the market? think it would be cool to use this type of swtich vs just a button.

[@jonathanleung6427]

My lightsaber stopped lighting up and after disassembling and reassembling a few times I was able to get it to work, but only if i dont put the black cylinder/“sleeve” on where the blade is attached. Any ideas on what could be the issue?

[@Ruthsarian]

There is a piece at the base of that black cylinder that has 3 pins on it which are used to make a connection to the blade. It can be put in backwards. I've done it myself, several times. That's probably what's happened. With the sleeve on, the blade only fits in one orientation and that orientation isn't matching up with the pins. Remove the sleeve and the blade isn't being held in place so you can make it fit the backwards orientation of that connector. If you rotate that connector 180 degrees and reassemble it, it'll probably work.

[@thatoneultramarine208]

That's great and all but what if the hex screws won't actually screw back in?

[@Ruthsarian]

do they screw in, but keep turning? or do they not go in at all? if the latter, the holes of the gray outer sleeve are probably not aligned with the holes on the inner, black plastic core.

[@thatoneultramarine208]

@@Ruthsarian They go in and keep turning like they aren't seating properly. It's kinda like when a bolt's head is stripped, and you try to use the right side wrench to turn it.

[@Ruthsarian]

you could try wrapping a small piece of electrical tape or teflon tape around the threads. the extra thickness might help the threads grip.

[@thatoneultramarine208]

@@Ruthsarian Okay thanks, do you have a solution for putting the top half of the hilt back in? I know where to put it but I can't get the cables put back the right way

[@thatoneultramarine208]

@@Ruthsarian If you have discord I can send you pictures of it in it's current state.

[@briandillingham890]

Thanks for the great video. I was wondering if you knew where I could find a replacement socket for the black/red power cable shown around 2:30 in your video? It broke off when I was try to plug it back in and am trying to find a replacement.

[@Ruthsarian]

The connector you are looking for is a 2-pin 1.25mm "jst" or "picoblade" connector that is at a right angle. There are a few sellers online where you can buy these such as from these eBay and Amazon listings: www.ebay.com/itm/171740181198 www.ebay.com/itm/164241683690 www.amazon.com/dp/B014ZGBWWO/ You may be able to find other sellers if you search a little more than I did. The ones I found are coming from China so expect it to take a few weeks to get to you after you order them.

[@briandillingham890]

@@Ruthsarian Thank you!

[@ranchel]

Thank you!!!!

[@smokeybadger7758]

Do you know where I can buy a chassis online

[@Ruthsarian]

ebay is the only place i can think of

[@okidmaster]

@@Ruthsarian Do you have a link? I cant seem to find one.😭

[@Ruthsarian]

@@okidmaster www.ebay.com search for 'savi lightsaber'

[@jediweaponmasterliam9]

I'm having a problem with the blade locking in noise. When I try to put in the blade, it doesn't lock up. What do I do? Edit: I tried to lock the blade on permanently, now the crystal won't glow, any advice??

[@Ruthsarian]

pull the battery pack and leave it out for 5 minutes. then plug the battery pack back in and try again. have you tried replacing the batteries? what did you do to lock the blade on permanently?

[@jediweaponmasterliam9]

@@Ruthsarian Well, I didn't actually permanently lock the blade in, I just made sure it wouldn't get out. Also I actually have fresh batteries, but I think the ribbon cable is the problem.

[@Ruthsarian]

@@jediweaponmasterliam9 have you opened the hilt at all? if not, it's probably not the ribbon cable. it would more likely be either the power or data wires attached to the point inside the hilt that the blade connects with. if it is that, it's possible to resolder the wires, but it's not a simple job. before you take the hilt apart, you should contact disney's merchandise guest services. e-mail them at [e-mail] or call [phone] and tell them about the problem and see if they can replace the hilt.

[@jediweaponmasterliam9]

@@Ruthsarian I did open the chassis and I actually found out that the ribbon cable is bad bents all over it. I may need a new ribbon cable.

[@tylerflynn8746]

Is it possible to speak to you about a project I'm trying to do with the Savi's lightsaber?

[@Ruthsarian]

you can email me at [e-mail]

[@marcantoniomurillo3124]

Can you buy a replacement of one of these?

[@Ruthsarian]

a full chassis? there's no official means to buy a replacement. if yours is broken, you can contact Disney at [e-mail] and they may be able to send you a replacement. people sell them on eBay as well, but they tend to go for $150 or more. i expect those prices will eventually drop once both parks are open at full capacity.

[@jizmirlian]

Does any one know where to get a replacement battery pack? I left mine out when the batteries died and my dog chewed it up :( Disney was zero help.

[@portereaglin-mccabe6305]

Does the 8pin really matter or could we get a 9 pin?

[@Ruthsarian]

it matters. a 9 pin ribbon cable it would not fit the connectors. if that's all you had i suppose you could try to trim the ends of the cable so their are only 8 pins.

[@portereaglin-mccabe6305]

I got some ribbons cables and I am trying to replace the original one. The bottom side where the ribbon cable sits won’t go in all the way. Any suggestions?

[@Ruthsarian]

@@portereaglin-mccabe6305 it could be it is going in all the way, it just doesn't look it. close the clip and tug on it to see if it stays in the connector, if it does it's probably okay. there could be debris inside the connector, try blowing into it and see if it clears the debris. get in close to look at it and see if there's anything obvious as to why it's not going in all the way. the plastic clip or the housing could be damaged and it's getting caught on a sharp corner. maybe the cable is damaged and frayed and therefore isn't able to fit inside the narrow opening of the connector. if you have a spare, try that one, or reverse the cable and see if the other end is able to go into the connector (confirming it's the cable).

[@portereaglin-mccabe6305]

Ruthsarian ok I’ll give it a try

[@Rathause]

Will you eventually do a video about how to hack a blade so it can display teal and orange from a hacked crystal?

[@Ruthsarian]

Probably not. It basically requires all the internals of the blade be replaced with new LEDs and a new microcontroller with custom code. Dad Bothans Society did this a few months ago and provide the code on their patreon. You can see a video of their work here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZqXciYOArLiYbpI