Looking for help with Wii no signal issue.

[Wii-123]

Hello,


I am looking for some assistance in diagnosing a problem with my daughter’s Nintendo Wii (for her kids/my grandkids to use). I stumbled across this site, so I thought I would ask to see if anyone would be so kind as to offer any suggestions. Here’s some background.

First of all, the Wii has had very little use in its lifetime. It was only used occasionally after the initial purchase around 2008 or so. Around 2010, it was packed away in a box and stayed there until recently. A few months ago, it was hooked up and working for a short while before it stopped working.

Now, when you turn it on, the drive starts spinning like normal, but the Wii gets no signal (black/blue screen) on the TV using the standard AV (RCA) cable that comes with the Wii. We then purchased a Wii to HDMI converter to try using an HDMI input instead, but that did not fix the issue.

I then brought it back to my house to try on a couple of my TVs to see if any would work. One of the TVs was the older tube type and the other two are new-ish flat screens with multiple input options including composite, component and HDMI. I got the same results on all of my TVs also.

After doing a little research, I discovered that the Bluetooth module is one of the more common problems that cause the no signal/black screen issue. As a test, I tried to sync the Wii remote to the console but the remote would just time out and not connect. Since the console communicates with the remote via Bluetooth, I felt that this might confirm the issue was the Bluetooth module so I ordered one. I installed it, but that did not change anything.

I tested the power cable and the voltage output reads correct at ~12V. The power brick says it should output 3.7 amps, so I tested that on the amp setting on the multi-meter. The reading given was anywhere from 3 to 6 amps and was constantly jumping up and down in that range. (I don’t think this is the proper way to test for amps as I think it should be under a load so these results may not matter.)

I have also read that the a bad Wi-Fi module can cause this type of issue with the Wii but at this point, I don’t think it is worth throwing more money at this unless I have some way to confirm the actual problem.

If you have any thoughts or suggestions, I would appreciate it!

Thank you very much for your help!

 

[SaulFabre]

Hello,


I am looking for some assistance in diagnosing a problem with my daughter’s Nintendo Wii (for her kids/my grandkids to use). I stumbled across this site, so I thought I would ask to see if anyone would be so kind as to offer any suggestions. Here’s some background.

First of all, the Wii has had very little use in its lifetime. It was only used occasionally after the initial purchase around 2008 or so. Around 2010, it was packed away in a box and stayed there until recently. A few months ago, it was hooked up and working for a short while before it stopped working.

Now, when you turn it on, the drive starts spinning like normal, but the Wii gets no signal (black/blue screen) on the TV using the standard AV (RCA) cable that comes with the Wii. We then purchased a Wii to HDMI converter to try using an HDMI input instead, but that did not fix the issue.

I then brought it back to my house to try on a couple of my TVs to see if any would work. One of the TVs was the older tube type and the other two are new-ish flat screens with multiple input options including composite, component and HDMI. I got the same results on all of my TVs also.

After doing a little research, I discovered that the Bluetooth module is one of the more common problems that cause the no signal/black screen issue. As a test, I tried to sync the Wii remote to the console but the remote would just time out and not connect. Since the console communicates with the remote via Bluetooth, I felt that this might confirm the issue was the Bluetooth module so I ordered one. I installed it, but that did not change anything.

I tested the power cable and the voltage output reads correct at ~12V. The power brick says it should output 3.7 amps, so I tested that on the amp setting on the multi-meter. The reading given was anywhere from 3 to 6 amps and was constantly jumping up and down in that range. (I don’t think this is the proper way to test for amps as I think it should be under a load so these results may not matter.)

I have also read that the a bad Wi-Fi module can cause this type of issue with the Wii but at this point, I don’t think it is worth throwing more money at this unless I have some way to confirm the actual problem.

If you have any thoughts or suggestions, I would appreciate it!

Thank you very much for your help!

Hello there.

Maybe you want to take a look at these two videos of people restoring/repairing some common problems on the Wii...
And some of them have easy fixes :v




Take a look at these, maybe these have the solution for your problems without having to pay too much for new spares.

 

[KokiKitsune]

Hello,


I am looking for some assistance in diagnosing a problem with my daughter’s Nintendo Wii (for her kids/my grandkids to use). I stumbled across this site, so I thought I would ask to see if anyone would be so kind as to offer any suggestions. Here’s some background.

First of all, the Wii has had very little use in its lifetime. It was only used occasionally after the initial purchase around 2008 or so. Around 2010, it was packed away in a box and stayed there until recently. A few months ago, it was hooked up and working for a short while before it stopped working.

Now, when you turn it on, the drive starts spinning like normal, but the Wii gets no signal (black/blue screen) on the TV using the standard AV (RCA) cable that comes with the Wii. We then purchased a Wii to HDMI converter to try using an HDMI input instead, but that did not fix the issue.

I then brought it back to my house to try on a couple of my TVs to see if any would work. One of the TVs was the older tube type and the other two are new-ish flat screens with multiple input options including composite, component and HDMI. I got the same results on all of my TVs also.

After doing a little research, I discovered that the Bluetooth module is one of the more common problems that cause the no signal/black screen issue. As a test, I tried to sync the Wii remote to the console but the remote would just time out and not connect. Since the console communicates with the remote via Bluetooth, I felt that this might confirm the issue was the Bluetooth module so I ordered one. I installed it, but that did not change anything.

I tested the power cable and the voltage output reads correct at ~12V. The power brick says it should output 3.7 amps, so I tested that on the amp setting on the multi-meter. The reading given was anywhere from 3 to 6 amps and was constantly jumping up and down in that range. (I don’t think this is the proper way to test for amps as I think it should be under a load so these results may not matter.)

I have also read that the a bad Wi-Fi module can cause this type of issue with the Wii but at this point, I don’t think it is worth throwing more money at this unless I have some way to confirm the actual problem.

If you have any thoughts or suggestions, I would appreciate it!

Thank you very much for your help!

Perhaps it could be either an issue with the Wii itself or the AV cable. Try and clean the av port on the Wii and the Wii av cable. If it doesn't work, try opening the Wii again and see if there's anything corroded on the inside. If it looks like it's in good condition, try and get a new Wii av cable and see if that fixes anything. If not, it could be a bad capacitor so check to voltage for each one.

 

[Wii-123]

Hello there.

Maybe you want to take a look at these two videos of people restoring/repairing some common problems on the Wii...
And some of them have easy fixes :v




Take a look at these, maybe these have the solution for your problems without having to pay too much for new spares.

Thank you for the video suggestions. I have watched several videos but I guess I have not seen these two. It looks like I should go ahead and check the connection on the WIFI board which means I will need to disassemble further than I have so far. I was trying to avoid that if possible as I doubt that will be the issue. My electronics knowledge is limited so unless it is something fairly simple, I doubt I will be able to fix it.

Thanks for the reply!

Post automatically merged: Feb 17, 2024

Perhaps it could be either an issue with the Wii itself or the AV cable. Try and clean the av port on the Wii and the Wii av cable. If it doesn't work, try opening the Wii again and see if there's anything corroded on the inside. If it looks like it's in good condition, try and get a new Wii av cable and see if that fixes anything. If not, it could be a bad capacitor so check to voltage for each one.

I think I ruled out the AV cable as the issue since I also tried an HDMI cable with Wii adapter and got the same results. The Wii is very clean as it hasn't been used much. I didn't see any visible dirt in the AV port but I will try to clean with alcohol or contact cleaner but I doubt that will help.

I do have the Wii open and about half disassembled. Again, it is very clean and I don't see any dust or corrosion of any kind. I am not sure which capacitors you are referring to. Is there a guide somewhere showing what the voltage for each should be?

Thank you

 

[KokiKitsune]

Thank you for the video suggestions. I have watched several videos but I guess I have not seen these two. It looks like I should go ahead and check the connection on the WIFI board which means I will need to disassemble further than I have so far. I was trying to avoid that if possible as I doubt that will be the issue. My electronics knowledge is limited so unless it is something fairly simple, I doubt I will be able to fix it.

Thanks for the reply!

Post automatically merged: Feb 17, 2024

I think I ruled out the AV cable as the issue since I also tried an HDMI cable with Wii adapter and got the same results. The Wii is very clean as it hasn't been used much. I didn't see any visible dirt in the AV port but I will try to clean with alcohol or contact cleaner but I doubt that will help.

I do have the Wii open and about half disassembled. Again, it is very clean and I don't see any dust or corrosion of any kind. I am not sure which capacitors you are referring to. Is there a guide somewhere showing what the voltage for each should be?

Thank you

The caps circled in blue are the av capacitors I think. Sorry, I'm not really good with circuitry related stuff. I only know this from other people. Good luck though! If I were to guess though, I think the av caps have a minimum voltage of 12v and the one near the GameCube memory card slot has a voltage of 16v

 

[Wii-123]

The caps circled in blue are the av capacitors I think. Sorry, I'm not really good with circuitry related stuff. I only know this from other people. Good luck though! If I were to guess though, I think the av caps have a minimum voltage of 12v and the one near the GameCube memory card slot has a voltage of 16v

Thanks for the photo. From what I read elsewhere, I think you are correct that those are the AV caps. It is my understanding that to test caps, they need to be removed from the circuit (de-solder from board) which I would rather not do, I have soldered parts to a circuit board a few times, but I am not very good at it so that is why I am hesitant to remove them to test. If you know a way to test them while still on the board, please let me know.

Earlier today, I did disassemble the rest of the Wii. I reseated the WiFi module but that didn't help. I did notice that the two chips under the heat sink got warm when the power was on which I assume is a good thing. ?? The Wii didn't have any type of corrosion, dust/debris, any visible damage of any kind. It looks brand new at least to my eyes.

I suppose it is possible that the WiFi module is bad, but I hate to keep buying parts unless I know that is the issue. I bought a 2 pack of the Bluetooth modules and neither of those fixed the issue. (I assume they are good but have no way to verify.)

If you have any other thoughts, let me know.

Thank you

 

[master801]

Thanks for the photo. From what I read elsewhere, I think you are correct that those are the AV caps. It is my understanding that to test caps, they need to be removed from the circuit (de-solder from board) which I would rather not do, I have soldered parts to a circuit board a few times, but I am not very good at it so that is why I am hesitant to remove them to test. If you know a way to test them while still on the board, please let me know.

You'd need an in-circuit ESR meter.

Something like the DE-5000 (expensive) or the MESR-100 (less expensive-ish) would work.

If you feel uncomfortable with soldering, do NOT attempt desoldering the SMD capacitors. It is VERY easy to pull pads and traces.

 

[KokiKitsune]

Thanks for the photo. From what I read elsewhere, I think you are correct that those are the AV caps. It is my understanding that to test caps, they need to be removed from the circuit (de-solder from board) which I would rather not do, I have soldered parts to a circuit board a few times, but I am not very good at it so that is why I am hesitant to remove them to test. If you know a way to test them while still on the board, please let me know.

Earlier today, I did disassemble the rest of the Wii. I reseated the WiFi module but that didn't help. I did notice that the two chips under the heat sink got warm when the power was on which I assume is a good thing. ?? The Wii didn't have any type of corrosion, dust/debris, any visible damage of any kind. It looks brand new at least to my eyes.

I suppose it is possible that the WiFi module is bad, but I hate to keep buying parts unless I know that is the issue. I bought a 2 pack of the Bluetooth modules and neither of those fixed the issue. (I assume they are good but have no way to verify.)

If you have any other thoughts, let me know.

Thank you

One more thing, where did you store the Wii all those years ago?

 

[Wii-123]

You'd need an in-circuit ESR meter.

Something like the DE-5000 (expensive) or the MESR-100 (less expensive-ish) would work.

If you feel uncomfortable with soldering, do NOT attempt desoldering the SMD capacitors. It is VERY easy to pull pads and traces.

Well even the less expensive ESR meters appear to cost as much as a used Wii, so that wouldn't make much financial sense I guess. If they were just regular capacitors, I think I could handle that ok as I have done a few before. I watched a video where a guy had trouble de-soldering those capacitors, but he indicated you could just twist them off instead. Apparently, there is controversy in doing it that way though. (like with everything else I guess...lol)

Thanks for the input!

Post automatically merged: Feb 18, 2024

One more thing, where did you store the Wii all those years ago?

The Wii was put away in it's original box and stored in the basement on a shelf.

Also, I did a quick test today. My phone recognizes the old and new Bluetooth modules as a device with name N64F2 when each are plugged into the board. I would think that would mean that my original Bluetooth module is working as well as the new one. Correct? However, when I try to connect the remote, it still won't connect using either module. ??

I also wanted to point out a couple of more clues for what it's worth. When the unit is powered on and I plug in AV cable into the back of the Wii, the audio on the TV speaker makes a pop noise. This TV has the word LINE in the display when it doesn't have anything connected. When I plug the AV cable in the Wii when it is powered on, sometimes (not always) I see the letters flicker upwards on the screen an inch or so and then back to the original position. It seems it is seeing something coming from the Wii. When I unplug the AV cable from the Wii, nothing happens.

Yet another question. During all of my testing, the disc drive has not been connected to the board. From some videos I've seen, it seems you only need the mother board with the wifi and bluetooth modules connected in order to test the AV output. I just read another article that says the drive DOES need to be connected to boot if it is a stock Wii (non-modified) which mine is. Do you know if I should be able to see the AV output without the drive connected on a non-modified Wii? I really don't want to put the drive in and out with each thing I try if I don't have to.