^{Before starting the repair}

Hello, Habre! The other day I bought a “dead” Nintendo Switch Lite at the Spanish analogue “Avito” for 40 euros. I bought it with a diagnosis that it does not turn on and does not charge. Moreover, the seller claimed that the screen was intact, and the console was not flooded. Well, let’s see what can be done. Spoiler – I fixed the device, everything works perfectly, and the problem turned out not to be what I was wrong about at the very beginning.


I will immediately give a link to the video if you don’t want to read the whole article. Subscribe to the channel if repairs are an interesting topic for you, I teach all this regularly. Yes, the video is in English, because I am trying to attract an audience from all over the world.

Nintendo Switch won’t turn on or get infected, what could be the reason?

1.

The most dangerous thing is if the console is solidly filled with water, or even cola

. Since it is the Lite version that is often bought for children, flooding occurs more often than in the usual Switch. If you do not immediately remove the motherboard, do not turn off the battery, then soon it will look something like this.

The photo is not of the board itself, but of the Joy-Con, but it does not change these roles. Under the influence of current, it quickly oxidizes and corrodes. The mother can puff, with a corresponding smell.

2. Damage to the USB connector. The wire is pushed there by anyone and anything. There are very strong ones and not very smart users who try to “push in the non-push-in” and damage the connector as a result. There, either the internal contacts are deformed, or the connector loosens under the influence of brute force. In general, any is possible. The result is also there – the console either simply stops charging, but turns on before the battery runs out. Or something short-circuits and the device also stops turning on.

3. Capacitors or chips on the board are damaged. If we talk about the Nintendo Switch, of any version, then most often the microcircuit power controllers “fly”. Or SMD capacitors, which often cause failure to turn on in the case of laptops or other electronic devices. The capacitor shorted to “ground” and hey, the unit just won’t turn on.

4. Various types of specific breakdowns – chip dump due to the fall of the console, process failure (for various reasons, including flooding), battery failure (not so rare, but not that often).

Well, now – about my console

I bought it in August 2023, for only 40 euros, in more or less decent condition. When I received it, everything turned out to be approximately as the seller claimed. Only the body was still cracked in a couple of places, plus the body fasteners were broken off, due to which one side did not close tightly.

I immediately removed the cover so as not to break it further. I connected the laboratory power supply and nothing. Indeed, the consumption is only at the level of milliamps, there is none. First, I checked the battery – it turned out to be dead. The discharge is critical, apparently, the console was lying in someone’s box for a long time until they decided to sell it. Usually, batteries that show zero charge, even without milliamps, are considered dead by their own controller.

All that is needed to bring them back to life is to “push” them with a laboratory power source or a “smart” charge. Here’s how it’s done.

Pushed, charged to about the level where trying to turn on should show something on the screen. But no – the console continues to be “silent”.

Also took measurements with the power and battery connected to see if everything is fine with the USB connector or if the power is distributed across the board. It turned out that yes, it diverges, but partially. In addition, the battery does not charge, the test contact near it does not indicate the charging voltage, but the voltage of the battery itself. Accordingly, I began to disassemble the console, since the problem is clearly not on the surface.

After disassembling and disconnecting the board from the case, I examined the board under a microscope, more or less. Barely dirty, but after years of use, gadgets can look worse. I forgave a lot, believe me.

I measured the SMD capacitors around the main chips in the ringing mode of the multimeter, it turned out that several were shorted to “earth”. That is, we have a short circuit. In general, it is expected that this happens often – there can be two options. Either the chip failed, or the capacitor. Well, the third option is all together.

^{Failure of this chip often results in behavior similar to the situation I described}

I have already ordered a USB connector (just in case) and the two chips that fail most often. These are M92T36 and BQ24193. I packed the console in a box and put it on the shelf, waiting for the order. I thought that the order would come, I would change the chips and everything would be as it should be. But everything turned out to be simpler.

What if not chips?

For some reason, I decided to look at the payment again. Apparently, when I looked at it for the first time, the problem was in front of my eyes, remained in my subconscious, but I did not immediately realize it directly.

But when I took out the console motherboard and put it under the microscope again, the problem was immediately apparent. In a very small area of ​​space, where there are almost no details, I saw some kind of liquid filling. And immediately a tiny SMD capacitor with a burnt contact on one side caught my eye. Here’s what it looks like. The area covered is very small – it looks like a football field under a microscope. And in fact – no more than a centimeter, even less.

I measured the evidence – and it is definitely planted on the “ground”. Removed it with the help of an air station (although such a tiny capacitor could be removed with a soldering iron). Then he measured again and it turned out that all other problems disappeared together. And so the short circuit was recorded at once for about three chips — already listed above plus a wireless chip. And it was quite strange, because usually the shorting is near one, well, a couple of chips.

^{Let’s drink the culprit}

But I didn’t pay attention to it, deciding to replace the chips that could lead to a similar situation. And it turned out to be useless. In general, after I removed the capacitor, I tried to turn on the board (this capacitor does not play an important role, you can try without it, with the condition of replacing it before assembling the console). And sure enough, everything turned on. First, the console showed a low battery icon. And then after I charged it with a charger borrowed from my daughter (she has a Nintendo Switch, not a Lite), and it turned on.

Checked the buttons, touchscreen, D-pad, etc. – everything works. At first, analog sticks worked so-so, apparently they were not used for a long time. But then, after half an hour of tests, everything went back to normal. Surprisingly, both the slot for game cards and the slot for micro-SD cards work (on the back side of the latter there was flooding).

^{The culprit of the “brick” of the console is on the tip of the tweezers. It looks like a big dust}

There is only one conclusion – be sure to inspect the board in its entirety, and not only the places that are critically important, as you think. I myself have encountered problems several times due to inattention, and also heard many similar stories from acquaintances, plus read on forums.

Well, another instance of “electronic trash” came back to life, soon I will either give this console away or sell it. So far I’m testing, everything works fine, no problems.

PS In fact, I was hoping to be able to show in the article an example of detecting a defective chip, with its replacement (or even a couple of chips). Accordingly, I wanted to show how to solder and solder these chips so that everything works. But it turned out as it did. I would like to note that it is quite rare to be lucky like I am now. Usually, if pouring is a mountain of work for soldering and replacing chips, restoring tracks, etc. And here only the “earth” and this small unfortunate capacitor flooded and slightly oxidized.