Month: November 2011

Posted on

Frugal Fix Friday: Shattered PSP Screen

This is not my PSP, but it sure looks like how mine did.

I got my PSP for free BECAUSE it looked like the one above.

What happened is that it got sat on, dropped or something like that. I saved it from the trash can, spent $25 on a new screen, and became the owner of a PSP. Yay!

I’ll explain exactly how to fix it. It’s easier than you think!

You will need a set of small screwdrivers, and the ability to remove 4 screws in total.
First thing you need to do is remove the battery, and flip the PSP over. Then remove the 4 screws (marked by red circles).
Now that the screws have been removed and were put somewhere SAFE, flip the PSP over again and pull gently on the faceplate to remove it.
Next, we need to remove the button assembly from the bottom of the screen. I found this to be easiest with a small, flat-tipped screwdriver to gently pry on the left side (Red circle).
With the button bar assembly detached from the screen, we must unhook it’s ribbon cable. to do this, use a small flat tipped screw driver to gently lift up on the dark piece of the connector. You should be prying on the top part of the connector (Red Arrow), the hinge is at the bottom where the dark attaches to the light.
Once the connector is up, the cable will slide right out.
Next, remove the screen. There are 4 little tabs holding it in, grab your flat-tipped screwdriver once again, and release the tabs/pry the screen out at the 4 points (there are 2 on both the left and right sides of the screen, Red arrows).
Once the screen has released, flip it forward. Be gentle! We do not want to hurt the ribbon cable connectors.

Now you can unhook both ribbon cables the same way we did the first one. The only difference is that on this large one, you will want to carefully pry all the way along it or use something wide to pry it up, like a debit card.

Time to unwrap the new screen and connect it. Then re-assemble the PSP by following the previous steps in reverse order.

Once the PSP is all assembled except for the faceplate, I like to clean it. I used a can of compressed air, lens cleaner, and a lens cleaning cloth.

First I cleaned the clear part of the faceplate inside and out using the lens cleaner and cloth. Make sure to clean the inside really well. Any dust or fingerprints in there will be visible on your screen, but you will not be able to clean it without removing the faceplate again.

I removed the left and right bumper buttons and cleaned those off because they get grimy.

Once cleaning is done, then replace the buttons, and the front cover followed by the 4 screws in the back.

Grab your favorite game and pick up where you left off.
Posted on

Frugal Fix Friday: The Car Window

I broke my car window a couple years ago. Well, first the button to make it go up and down broke. I didn’t know that at the time. So, I brought it to my local Ford dealership and asked if they’d look at it. They said “Sure, it’ll be $180 to diagnose it and at least $200 to fix.” I replied with “I don’t need to roll down my window that badly.”
Later I figured out that it was the switch that was broken and it costs $150 from Ford. I bought a new one for $60 online. That was EASY to replace, and only took about 10 minutes of my time. The video below IS NOT accurate for an 02 Explorer. It’s similar, but there is an additional step before this. Skipping that first step will break a plastic clip. I’ll add pictures of this later. I just wanted to post this video clip to show how easy the switch is to replace.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kkQq3mH8dM]

A couple months later, that switch died. I got a dud, but it had a lifetime warranty! The bad part was that my car was outside, and it had started raining with my window down when the switch died.

What did I do? I broke the whole power window assembly. I took off the door panel, ripped out the regulator/motor, and put the window up manually. This was a stupid idea (now I have to pay to fix another thing) but I was frustrated and getting rained on. I left it like that for about 2 years because I didn’t really need to roll down my window. Plus, if they were going to charge me $400 for a bad switch… how much would this cost!?

Finally, after 3 or 4 people were nice enough to roll down my window for me and get it stuck down again and again, I decided to fix it.

I went to an auto parts store, got a new regulator assembly (paid $70, was $150 from Ford), and put it in myself. Since I was learning along the way it took me a little longer to do this. Probably 2 hours or so. The videos below cover the general process pretty well. When it comes time to attach the new regulator to the glass, you will need bolts to replace the rivets that you bored out. Try to find some bolts that are as short as possible while still making it through both pieces with room for a nut. Also, you’ll want them to be as close to the thickness of the hole as possible to prevent rattling. I got 2 small bolts/nuts from the local hardware store for $1.90.

Another important thing to note is that depending on the wiring paths on your vehicle, they could be very close to where you are drilling when you bore out the rivets. They were in my case. Be super careful, and maybe put something over the wiring to protect it while drilling. You don’t want to sever the wires, or else you’ll have another project on your hands!

Have fun. Save money. Gain new skills.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8UfSotzIiA]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgzblTEVb0U]