Hardware Absolute fix to 160-1400 error

[Drakkar Blackblaze]

I decided to make this thread because there is so little information about this error and so many people with this problem
I had a white 8GB Wii U long ago which just a day it decided to throw this error, since there was no info about it i had to buy a new 32GB one, and a couple of days ago the 32GB one started having the same issue
After reading through a very small thread, with very little attention i decided to make one that maybe could get more attention and bring people with the error to know what they need to do to fix it
Thanks to @tqhoang for finding out the problem component and putting an end to the nightmare

IF YOU INTEND TO TRY ANYTHING IN THIS POST, IT IS UNDER YOUR OWN RISK

First off your drive is most likely NOT the problem, sadly, soldering skills are needed to fix it
The Wii U has a couple of Common Mode Filters on the drive data lines on the motherboard which are close to the drive connector
I still don't know the reason but these can break, which causes the Wii U to not detect the drive and start throwing that very error

(pic is tqhoang's courtesy)

The components marked with CM9 and CM10 will only give signal on one side
This is variable though, it may only be CM9 or only CM10 or both
I repaired my two Wii U and one of them only had a problem on CM9 while the other had the problem on both
The exact model of these filters is https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/667-EXC-24CG900U (according to tqhoang)
The ideal fix for this issue would be to get some spare of these filters and replace them
What i did WHICH IS STILL IN TESTING AND UNDER OBSERVATION was to bridge the lines with a small length of wire

Both of my Wii U managed to boot into the Wii U main menu, start games, formatted the old one without issues, etc.

But yeah, sadly its not a problem the average user can fix, but at least we now know the cause of this error

10/Dec/2020: since the day i made this post (30/Aug/2020) to this date, the white 8GB Wii U has been running without any issues, played through Bayonetta 2 with the liberties of doing some Halo farming and its still running good
today i also got to open the white 8GB one to take photos of my (probably ugly) solderwork as well as marking where these components are in a full motherboard view

 

[1vanchom]

a forgotten console that really needed this fix... I had a wii u with this issue for 3 years, now it is solved, thanks a lot

 

[porygon3000]

Hey thanks, was looking for this, any updates?

 

[Drakkar Blackblaze]

To give a heads up to people
I went through the process of softmodding my old 8GB Wii U and also played through Bayonetta 2 while taking some liberties to farming Halos and getting all the collectibles and so far the Wii U is still standing strong without any issue
i will post some photos of my (probably ugly) solderwork soon

 

[porygon3000]

A friend was able to fix one of two Wii U with this damn error message!

So thanks for the tip

 

[tqhoang]

Glad this is helping everyone. I burned up my pads and never got around to fixing it. I got a hot-air station and just need to find the time.

 

[wagonhelm]

Can confirm my CM10 did not have continuity and replacing with the part listed fixed it for me. Given how it's such a simple trace I'm surprised so many other threads / incomplete fixes exist regarding this. Thanks!

 

[Tm37]

Looking to perform this fix - can anyone send a closeup photo of the “bridged wire” version of this fix? I’m pretty sure Drakkar wasn’t suggesting I bridge CM9 and CM10…..or were they?

 

[Tm37]

Looking to perform this fix - can anyone send a closeup photo of the “bridged wire” version of this fix? I’m pretty sure Drakkar wasn’t suggesting I bridge CM9 and CM10…..or were they?

 

[Drakkar Blackblaze]

Looking to perform this fix - can anyone send a closeup photo of the “bridged wire” version of this fix? I’m pretty sure Drakkar wasn’t suggesting I bridge CM9 and CM10…..or were they?

There is a closeup photo of the bridged wire in my main post, the third photo to be more precise

The filters have 4 pins, and are basically 2 filters in 1 package, what you need to do is remove the filter, and put 2 bridges to complete the lines per filter, basically replacing the filter with direct lines, the consoles has shown no signs of having problems without the filters

Also, use a multimeter to check for continuity, to check which filter is failing

 

[tiger111]

got a 32 gb wii u deluxe model with in nice condition full set in only 30 dollars the guy sold it so cheap since same error was flashing on screen I took it after researching the issue and followed this tip of error 160 1400 and checked continuity of both 9 and 10 filters I found out filter 9 was faulty I bridged the filter with parallel lines and the console came back to normal!!! I checked the DVD drive even that was ok I played Nintendo land on it which got it from the guy I bought he claim it's DVD drive is dead hence showing error 160 1400 error he was non technical guy probably got the console from his lady boss her kids play it and since this error came they thought it is broken this guy might have got free and he sold me for 30 dollars thinking it's broken i fixed it and followed in to hack it with tiramisu and 500 gb hdd and bloopair with ps3 controllers to play wii u games using PS3 controllers i now have entire library in my hacked wii u 32 gb deluxe model I'm from India here these things like wii u are very rare it is sold for more than 200 dollars if some one sells it

 

[Elliander]

Thanks for this! A few weeks ago I encountered this error. I loaded up my Wii U, briefly saw the icons show up, then got a black screen with error 160-1400. I called Nintendo about it and their only advice was to buy a new console. When I asked about the games I purchased for the Wii and vWii they told me they could transfer the license to a new console, but only for the WiiU games and only if it's online. They made it sounds like this was a "dead console" kind of error and had absolutely no information to give me.

After reading this thread I purchased 8 of the filters from the exact page linked to (just in case any were bad or go bad in the future) and they were way tinier than I expected from these pictures. I then reached out to a local repair place about it. I sent them this page so they could see what I wanted them to try to do. They ended up charging me $70 for the microsoldering, cleaning, and to test continuity. It worked right afterwards no problem.

The only problems my console currently gets is that, if I play a Wii game in the vWii and then without restarting the console go to play the SNES emulator the console can freeze up, but I don't think that's related to this problem.

I called Nintendo to give them feedback about the "support" I received from them because they really should be giving people proper information. With no backup options for this console and with this problem apparently being due to aging hardware it seems like they should be giving people accurate information.

got a 32 gb wii u deluxe model with in nice condition full set in only 30 dollars the guy sold it so cheap since same error was flashing on screen I took it after researching the issue and followed this tip of error 160 1400 and checked continuity of both 9 and 10 filters I found out filter 9 was faulty I bridged the filter with parallel lines and the console came back to normal!!!

Given my experience it's likely that he called Nintendo and they told him that it was a broken DVD drive and that they don't do repairs. It's really sad actually because the real value of a console to people are the saved games and history on them. This guy probably thought it was broken, didn't do the extra checks that I did afterwards, and then they made the mistake of selling it.

I expect this problem will happen far more often. Might be a good idea to keep an eye on WiiU auctions that mention a broken drive.

 

[ILovetheWiiU]

My Wii U recently has given me a 160-1400 error. And now it's giving me 160-1402 error after all these steps.
Wii U is on 5.5.3 and is a 32GB Deluxe Wii U.

I've tried these solutions, but it still doesn't want to work.

1. I ordered and replaced CM9/CM10*.
2. I ordered a "new" disk drive and swapped the logic boards.

There are no missing screws or reversed cables. I have tried it without the HDMI plugged in. The new CM9/CM10 work fine.

Any ideas for what to do now?

 

[Drakkar Blackblaze]

My Wii U recently has given me a 160-1400 error. And now it's giving me 160-1402 error after all these steps.
Wii U is on 5.5.3 and is a 32GB Deluxe Wii U.

I've tried these solutions, but it still doesn't want to work.

1. I ordered and replaced CM9/CM10*.
2. I ordered a "new" disk drive and swapped the logic boards.

There are no missing screws or reversed cables. I have tried it without the HDMI plugged in. The new CM9/CM10 work fine.

Any ideas for what to do now?

Post pics of how you did the soldering to replace the CM9/CM10 components?
After soldering them did you made sure they worked fine with a multimeter? the only continuity you should get is between the parallel lines, anything else is a short

 

[ILovetheWiiU]

Post pics of how you did the soldering to replace the CM9/CM10 components?
After soldering them did you made sure they worked fine with a multimeter? the only continuity you should get is between the parallel lines, anything else is a short

Got it done at a local shop. I've checked the continuity and it's running just fine, the continuity does not cross lines.

 

[Drakkar Blackblaze]

Got it done at a local shop. I've checked the continuity and it's running just fine, the continuity does not cross lines.

i can see some heat damage on the electrolytic cap and the drive connector, let's hope it isn't anything too bad

it may be just me, but it looks like some pads aren't properly soldered, can you measure continuity between the following points?

 

[ILovetheWiiU]

i can see some heat damage on the electrolytic cap and the drive connector, let's hope it isn't anything too bad

it may be just me, but it looks like some pads aren't properly soldered, can you measure continuity between the following points?

There is continuity. On the 2k ohm setting they both read 10

 

[tqhoang]

There is continuity. On the 2k ohm setting they both read 10

Check for continuity further down each way. Also test the drive flex cable too.

 

[ILovetheWiiU]

Check for continuity further down each way. Also test the drive flex cable too.

The flex cable connecting the disk drive and board works, all pins have continuity. The other two paths are also working fine with similar results. I just can't seem to read any continuity on C157-C160, could you try it on your Wii U and see if it works.

 

[tiger111]

The flex cable connecting the disk drive and board works, all pins have continuity. The other two paths are also working fine with similar results. I just can't seem to read any continuity on C157-C160, could you try it on your Wii U and see if it works.

My Wii U recently has given me a 160-1400 error. And now it's giving me 160-1402 error after all these steps.
Wii U is on 5.5.3 and is a 32GB Deluxe Wii U.

I've tried these solutions, but it still doesn't want to work.

1. I ordered and replaced CM9/CM10*.
2. I ordered a "new" disk drive and swapped the logic boards.

There are no missing screws or reversed cables. I have tried it without the HDMI plugged in. The new CM9/CM10 work fine.

Any ideas for what to do now?

there was no need of ordering new disk drive and swapping logic boards i think your disc drive might not be faulty the console comes back to normal only after changing one of those filters which ever is faulty obviously after checking continuity..you shall have after replacing filter shall have checked its drive when booting its possibility your disc drive might have not been broken since that error is related to those filters..im not sure but while changing drive you did some mistake or might have shorted anything..i myself faced this issue from a semi broken cheap console i purchased i didnt even changed the filters instead i after checking continuity which one is broken..i removed that filter and on its place i bridged the filter with simple soldering wire my console is working perfectly since even drive is working nice more that one year havent faced any issue its my primary system in my enrertainment centre due to amount of content it have post modding entire wii u library on external hdd ...all virtual console games and around 100 gb retro arch image with thousands of games