Hardware Concern About Overheating After Case Mod

[elmoreas]

I did a case mod that to my Wii that converts the case to a clear one and adds a thermostat with sensor and digital readout as well as temperature based color changing LEDs. In order to power all of this the cooling fan's power port had to be used and it added back in at the end of the line. The problem is two fold. The internal fan does not get enough power by the end to run so I had to add a Turbo Rear cooling fan and a dual fan (one in one out) cooling fan stand. The second issue is that the sensor sits right next to the heat sink so it is constantly reading the temperature as maxed out and the lights go to flashing red. The thing is when I put my hand over the vent where the air is coming out, it is not even luke warm, it is cold. Yet I have never left it on past the warning lights which go off after about 30 minutes of use, for fear of damage to the Wii. If I could move the sensor to get a true reading I would but it is fixed, a design flaw IMO, so I have no way of knowing what is really going on in there as it could actually be hot but the air is cooled by the fans before it reaches my hand. I could really use some advice on what to do. Should I just forget the case mod and go back in and reconnect the internal fan, or am I being paranoid due to the design flaw of the sensor location and the liklihood that I am getting false warnings, or possibly not and the warnings are real? Anyways advice on what to do or not to do would be appreciated, especially if anyone has done a similar mod before. Thanks in advance for your advice. Have a good one.

Sincerely,
Elmoreas

P.S. If more information is needed please ask and I will do my best to provide it.

 

[lightyear]

it seems to me that if your fan were running your wii would not be overheating. I think this is a chain-reaction, not so much two-fold. If you really have that big of a problem getting your fan to run, then either disconnect the extra BS that's hooked up (your wii obviously never overheated in the first place) or find another power source on the mainboard for either the case extras or your fan.

Are you using an external hard drive? If so is it a desktop or notebook drive? Does the HDD have its own external power supply?

 

[elmoreas]

No I am not using an external hard drive and unfortunately on the Wii mainboard there is only one port that the case mods power unit will plug into, the fan, another design flaw. I am probably going to just disconnect the extras and reconnect the fan but I paid a decent amount for the case mod and I don't really want to do it unless needed. I will if I have to as obviously the Wii is by far more important, but if it is just me being paranoid and it is really not overheating then I would like to keep the case mod. I guess I should really be asking just that, Do you think it is really overheating given the explained situation or is it just a flaw in the design and I am being paranoid about the warning lights and temperature readout from a poorly located sensor? Thanks for your help. I appreciate it.

Sincerely,
Elmoreas

 

[lightyear]

Well it sounds to me like it never overheated before you did this.....wii has a great reputation for staying within a good temperature zone, and I personally think that case mod is a great idea for 360, given its history....wii, however, never has needed any temperature control.

In short, I think by disconnecting the fan, you have caused it to start overheating. That fan absolutely has to stay hooked up one way or another. Whether there is a plug for it or not is not the question....you may have to run an extra wire to solder it on the board in a spot where you can access a 9v power supply.

However, if you want my honest opinion, that case is totally unnecessary for Wii. Its whole job is to tell you when your Wii is overheating....which a properly assembled & operating Wii will never do....I'd trade it in for a case that stays lit up one color or something similar if you want it to look all pimped out...you can even get the cases that will show the disk spinning inside. I think those ones are really cool looking!!

 

[elmoreas]

So you do think it is actually overheating then and it is not due to the sensors proximity to the heat sink? Well that is what I thought too so it is good to have a confirming second opinion. I don't really feel like doing a whole new case mod and I don't feel comfortable using a soldering iron to connect another power supply so I will just disconnect the case extras and plug the fan back in by itself. At least I will still have a cool clear case that lets you see the internals of the case and I save the Wii, which is the most important thing. Thanks for the advice, I appreciate your time. Have a good one.

Sincerely,
Elmoreas

 

[afnuke]

the guy who said the wii's dont over heat.......well, if you clean the port on the bottom everyday and suspend it in mid air in front of the air cond. then he's right. I did my own case mod and have a led fan mounted in a sqare box, with hole on the top where the wii sits. This pushes the air through the wii and it never gets the least bit warm, never. The fan on the wii is crap, its too small and the port on the bottom for intake was misplaced. My fan cost 2.19 on ebay and I had an old 12V power supply for it.
You have it right, HEAT is a killer. I have two wii's with fans, and my x2 atlon 6000 has four of these led fans plus one 9 inch led for it. As far as the sensor, nothing on the wii could be accurate, you could only get ambient case temp and the case is so small. If the bottom left corner(where the GPU is) gets hot, then it needs more air, thats the only thing that needs a sensor. Nothing else gets hot enough to worry about.....GPU will burn up first and puts out most of the heat. Good luck

 

[elmoreas]

So if I understand you correctly you also agree that it is actually overheating and that the best fix is too do what I plan to do and disconnect the case mod extras and reconnect the internal fan. BTW I plan to leave the Turbo external rear fan on it as well as the cooling fan stand. This stand is different than others it is elevated and has a fan the goes right into the vent on the bottom of the Wii and another fan in the front for air intake to help force more air through. Anyways with the internal fan reconnected and these two sets of external fans it should be okay from now on right? I never left it on more than 30-60 seconds past the warning light, so no damage should have occured.

I knew the GPU was the hottest part but I thought the sensor was to measure ambient air temp not GPU temp but I guess I could be wrong in that, if so then it definately needs to be mod put back to the way it was, fan wise, so thank you for another confirmation. I feel better with each one as it makes me feel less bad about the money I put into the case mod.

One last question, if I have one of those Turbo internal Wii fans, are they any better than the standards that come OEM. I ask because I have both the OEM and a Turbo internal fan that I can reconnect and am wondering which to use in the repair?

Thanks for the info, have a good one. later.

Sincerely,
Elmoreas

 

[uberbdon]

Just curious, where'd you get the case from? I would love to use a clear case

 

[elmoreas]

I don't think we are allowed to post links or give out names of sites on here, but you can find the clear case mods without all the extras I paid for at any of the sites that sell modchips as they usually carry case mods too. Just don't waste your money on this one. Live and learn but I wish I had never bought/made this mod.