Bought this mouse more than a year ago due to its design. Wanted R.A.T.7 but i'm too poor to get one so i settle with R.A.T.3. Though it have no customiztion like R.A.T.5 and R.A.T.7 has, it still get the job done and its pretty comfortable too.
Few weeks back, my R.A.T.3 starts to behave erratically. The mice start to have double click on the right button and then the LED died. i got another mouse as replacement recently but that feel of the mouse is just different in feel so i tried to revive back my R.A.T.3 and thank god its back to its full glory after the repair.


First of all i would like to apologize if the image quality not that good as it was taken with my phone.

Tools Required:
1) 2.5mm Hex Key/Allen key
2) #0 phillip + screwdriver
3) #1 phillip + screwdriver
4) small Flat - screwdriver
5) Soldering Iron (optional if you just want to see whats inside)
6) Solder Sucker (optional if you just want to see whats inside)
7) Common sense (Must have, not optional )

Optional Part Required:
1) Microswitches
- Omron D2FC-F-7N (cheap and mostly used in all gaming mouse except this mouse and made in China for china market. It is duplicate of D2F microswitches for china market)
- Omron D2F-01F (Made in Japan. 0.74N to press)
- Omron D2F-01 (Made in Japan. 1.47N to press)
Where to get: D2FC can only found in Ebay while D2F can be found in Element14/RS Malaysia/Ebay website.


2) LED
- Minimum of 5000MCD of light intensity.
- 5mm or T-1 3/4 in size
- Wavelength 630nm
- Red lumination
Where to get: Element14 / RS malaysia/Ebay

Q: Can Use other colour LED?
A: Maybe. but using back the same spec led should not cause any performance hit. other colour have different wavelength so do it at your own risk!
If you do managed to get it to work on other colour without any performance hit, do share it with me!! i want orange colour LED or maybe white

This post has been edited by c2_lover: Jun 10 2016, 08:25 PM

1) Use 2.5mm Hex key and unscrew both screw on the side.


2) Using #1 + screwdriver, take out the screw holding the palm rest. Slide it out to detach it from the body.



3) Turn the mouse around and unscrew the bottom 3 screw. Top require #1 + screwdriver while the bottom 2 screw require #0 + Screwdriver

4) Turn the mouse back up and now slowly take the top cover up. Open it up from where you can notice the R.A.T.3 label is.


notice the notches in front of the mouse hence the reason to open it from the back!


And voila!


the dpi button can be taken out if needed.


Some Pic of the Internal of the mouse and a look at the cheapo switch.


This post has been edited by c2_lover: Apr 26 2014, 01:23 AM

Time to dug deep!

5) take out the screw as shown below using #1 + screwdriver and pull it out.


6) Disconnect the connector from the top layer board.


7) time to take out the dpi indicator. Use #0 + screwdriver and lift it up to take it out.


8) To take out the top layer board, unscrew the 3 screw on it.


Upclose pic of top board.


This post has been edited by c2_lover: Apr 26 2014, 01:18 AM

9) to take out the flex cable, use a tweezer and pull up the black flap on left/right of the connector.


10) Time to disconnect the USB/Power cable from the mainboard.


11) once set the cable aside, you need to take out 3 more screw as shown below using #1 + screwdriver

If it still hard to get it out, try to turn the mouse upside down and try again.

And Voila yet again!

Time for more photos!
Le Body/Case


The mainboard
Top View. IC with A3090 is the Avago ADNS-3090 sensor. take note of the left and right microswitches placement.


Bottom View


Sensor is one big pimple


With black tape taken off. Take note of the microswitch positioning!


The Lense. Dont touch the center with your finger as you might get dirt on it and get reduce performance.

Now that the mainboard is out, you free to
A) change new switch.


B) change dead LED


Reverse the steps to get everything back in order and enjoy your newly repaired mouse

Bro, my gaming mouse also got the same problem but haven't died yet, how did you determine whether it is an hardware issue cause my mouse sometimes got double click, sometimes not. It's a Roccat Pyra Wireless btw.

only way i know my mouse have double click issue on right click is when it show 2right click menu one after another when i move the mouse fast enough. or you can have a go at the mouse properties menu, switch the primary and secondary button then test it on the double click speed and see if it open/close the folder in one click...

hope this helps...

This post has been edited by c2_lover: May 19 2014, 09:38 AM

thx you, never thought of that. I'll test it when i found back my mouse..huhu

My Rat's Scroll Wheel died !
It's really loose, I wonder if there's anything I can do to fix that.

Hello bro, did it still in warranty ? If do, you can try send to fix it. Besides that, you can try call the Rat's mouse service centre in order to ask them how to fix the wheel scroll thingy. Hope this help, thank you

Nope, it's no longer in warranty.
The warranty is only 6 Months lol ? I thought it would be 1 year.
Wasted so much on a Rat 9 that it spoilt in less than a year.

Thanks for the advice though, I'll still contact them to see if they've any suggestions.

Ah i see, sorry bro can't help more.. Since it's mouse thingy, you can try to contact them it's the best way

if you feeling adventurous and wanna DIY,

problem is where to get the scroll wheel replacement...

How about order from Rats service centre, then DIY hehe ?

Thanks for the advice.
Will look it through !

no problemo. becareful on repair your mouse DIY

zOMG, thanks a lot for this guide! My left mouse button was becoming soft already! Mine is R.A.T 7 this guide is almost similar but with the assist of this youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XLzHzRB514) and your guide, it definitely simplifies this process!

Thanks!

lesson learnt from this thread.. R.A.T. is quite a fickle beast..

Hi,

this a really great guide for a great mouse Thank you. I disassembled my RAT 5 cause I have a problem with the middle mouse button (double and triple clicks) But unfortunately there is nothing on the small microswitch to identify it. I hope somebody here knows which type it is or better a good replacement. That would be great and helpful. thank you.

regards sam

Do you still recommend this mouse for gaming usage?

unfotunately i have no idea what type it is.


for this rat 3 not really. software kinda basic with not much customization. probably new one like Rat. T.E is better with much better software.

Hi,

a little late but fortunately I found the right type :-) . Maybe its interesting for others too. I bought these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/10pcs-2pin-mouse-m...1-/141097601808

These switches are working just fine (for the middle mouse button)

regards sam

i cant see the image wat happen??????

great review and tutor.. but these rat mouse look very cheap on the inside..

image works fine on my side. Probably refresh your browser or clear caches?

I know right but still the external looks cant be denied that it look awesome. Wish i have money for RAT7...

yeah.. i used to repair razer mouse.. its look very expensive and the board much much bigger and more complicated circuit..

At first, nice guide!
Is it possible to take out the USB-Cable to sleeve it?
Mine is affected and... It isn't looking great.

Thanks for your reply and sorry for my english...

-sori

the usb cable already come in sleeved.

Yes, but the sleeve is affected and uncovers the Cable...

from what i remember, you cant change the sleeving. You may require to separate out the bottom chassis with the middle chassis which i have no idea how. They dont seem to be screwed on.

Hi c2_lover,

Can you please confirm which Omron switch was used in your repair? Any idea on the Newton rating of the original switch? If you are unsure I'll order a set of each and report back

My R.A.T. 7 has a dead switch and I figured now was the time to get some decent replacement switches. Great guide and leg work on determining the correct replacement switches!

Thanks,

Jim

Unfortunately i ordered D2FC-F-7N before i knew about the japan version of D2F-01 switches. Thankfully the switches still working to date and im satisfied with it. I dont know the newton rating of the original switches though.

Thanks for the reply, I'll order both types and report back... I'll start with the -01F and if they seem too weak, I'll order the -01's

This post has been edited by krazed0451: Jul 16 2015, 01:35 AM

Well, I just soldered in the -01F's, they offer more resistance than the stock switch, I'll use them for a while and see if I can get used to them.

Good to know my guide manage to offer some help

sorry for revive this thread.....
my middle button broken, anybody know which omron switch is the replacement?

Sorry cant help with that as im not sure myself. however you can check post #24 above and check if its compatible with your mouse.

wow!! thanks!!

Not that easy for me to repair! Need to be extra careful.

Hello,
how much power do you need to detach the palm rest from body? I took out the screw holding the palm rest like you, but the rest holds still really tight.. Thx

Ive got the optical version of mouse

This post has been edited by Inantaris: Nov 12 2016, 07:43 PM

No power at all. It just slide back easily after the screw was off. I think all R.A.T.3 are optical mouse...

Its strange, my holds totally:( maybe the mechanism is broken. Thanks for post

There are laser and optical versions in Europe..

This post has been edited by Inantaris: Nov 15 2016, 03:45 AM

Didnt know there is a laser version of RAT 3 but then again my RAT3 is really old now.