Console causes interference in RF

[Alepss]

Hello everyone.
I recently bought a second-hand Wii U deluxe, and everything has been working perfectly. I am currently using HDMI, but I wanted to output the image through component cables. When I turn on the console and set the output to not be HDMI, the screen goes black. It works fine with HDMI, but my TV only has one HDMI port, which is currently occupied.
The strangest thing is that it works well with composite cable and the component cable works fine on my Wii and on the previous Wii U that I sold years ago.
Another thing I noticed is that having the Wii U connected causes interference on a radio I have at home, but strangely, this interference stops when I turn on the console or disconnect the HDMI. I don't know what the problem could be.
I tried it on another TV, and when connecting with component cables, the image looks terrible with occasional flickering.
I haven't experienced any other issues except for what I've described, neither on the gamepad nor on other screens connected with analog outputs. What could be the issue, and how could I solve this if possible?
Thanks for reading.

 

[tmnr1992]

It sounds like the issue might be related to this:
https://gbatemp.net/threads/absolute-fix-to-160-1400-error.572879/

The thread is about an error code due to a faulty disc drive filter, but the video chip also uses the same type of filters, and if any of them fail you will start having issues where you can only get a video signal from composite/component, or some aspect ratios don't work well, if at all.

Hello, here with another report
i had to open my 32 GB Wii U after long time of fixing it because it wasn't giving any display through the HDMI and i noticed something...pretty familiar down the HDMI port lines
They also have filters...labeled CM7 and CM8, 4-line filters, and guess what? one of them didn't had full continuity
So i did the same thing i did with the drive filters, except harder because these filters are 4 lines instead of 2 and now i have display back
It seems ALL of the filters in the console are really bad quality, so take that in count

 

[Captain_N]

there must be a faulty component in the composite output circuit. I bet if you had a crt you would see the interference on the screen.

 

[Alepss]

It sounds like the issue might be related to this:
https://gbatemp.net/threads/absolute-fix-to-160-1400-error.572879/

The thread is about an error code due to a faulty disc drive filter, but the video chip also uses the same type of filters, and if any of them fail you will start having issues where you can only get a video signal from composite/component, or some aspect ratios don't work well, if at all.

Thank you! I'll take a look at it. For now, it's not causing any major issues, so I'll get an HDMI switch. If it turns out to be a bigger problem, I'll see what I can do.

Post automatically merged: May 24, 2025

UPDATE: Today I tested a bit on another TV and the console with component cables... and it worked! I took my TV to that place and tested it, and it worked again! When I brought the console and the TV back to the place where they always are... it failed again.
I tried disconnecting the HDMI cable from my TV and leaving only the Wii U with the component cable, and it worked again. So basically, what causes those interferences is having something connected via HDMI to my TV. Literally resting the HDMI cable on the input starts to cause interference. I understand that HDMI interference is a fairly common problem for people working with mixers and sound consoles; I don't know if it's the same issue.