ByteRot :: Nintendo 64 LED status light replacement

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Nintendo 64 LED status light replacement

Device	Nintendo 64
Difficulty	Moderate
Time	No estimate
Steps	6

This guide is by Benjamin Donnelly on iFixit and is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0. ByteRot mirrors it for non-commercial preservation: formatting changed and photos resized for old browsers; full-size photos and the text are on the FTP in /DOCS/REPAIR. Original guide >>

If the red LED light on the front of the console does not light up when the power is on (and you care about the cosmetics of your system), this guide will allow you to replace the bulb

Tools: Soldering Workstation; Large Needle Nose Pliers

Step 1

• After the top cover of the console has been removed, focus attention on the front of the motherboard. You will see the red LED bulb.

Step 2

• Coming out of the plastic bulb are two electrodes (they look like small pins). Locate these electrodes/pins. Each of these pins bends downward and sticks through the motherboard through two holes that are side by side.

Step 3

• To remove the light, start by heating up a soldering utensil. When it is hot, place the tip onto either one of the pin slots to soften the connection between the pin and the board. Repeat this process on the other pinhole.

Step 4

• Wedge a thin screwdriver underneath the LED light, and pull up so that the LED light is facing toward the ceiling. Use pliers on the pins to wiggle and loosen them until they can be removed from the motherboard.

Step 5

• You have now removed the light, and a new one is ready to be put into its place. With your new LED light bulb (it should only be rated at 3.4 volts at a maximum), you will stick its two pins through the motherboard, just as the original LED bulb was set up.

Step 6

• Once the pins are through, and you have positioned the new bulb as the old one was positioned, heat up the area surround the holes and the pins with the soldering iron. Then touch some soldering metal to this hot area. It will form a bond between the pin and the motherboard and allow for electricity to flow and power the bulb.

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Credit