No video with component, low quality video with composite...

[ThaKarra]

Hi all,

I recently purchased 3 used Wii consoles from Japan. -- They were all marked as untested.

Two of them work completely fine and I've managed to update and softmod them. However the third has a strange issue and I'm not really sure where to begin in terms of diagnosing it..

So I have the original Wii component cables that I use for better output picture (I know the cables definitely work because I've been using them with the previous 2 Wii consoles). However when I plug them into this third Wii console, I get a black screen with no signal. BUT I can however hear the sound of the Wii coming through my speakers. So I unplugged the component cables and switched over to the composite AV cables that came with the console. Then *BAM* I managed to get video appearing on my screen, however it was EXTREMELY dark, glitchy and low quality (even for AV standards).

I tried messing around with the screen settings in the Wii menu but I haven't had any luck getting it to work. I'm really lost here with trying to diagnose the problem. I have a feeling it might be an internal problem with the Wii, which is fine, I have experience with repairing consoles.. I'm just not very good at fault finding etc. -- My guess is that a fuse responsible for outputting picture has maybe blown?

Does anyone have any ideas?

P.S just for fun.. I tried plugging the green plug of the composite cable, into the yellow AV port on my TV and it produced a black and white image.

EDIT: I doubt this is related but might also be worth a mention. When I turn the Wii on, the disc drive does make a strange loud noise for a few seconds.

 

[master801]

Sounds like a hardware issue.

Probably the AV encoder or GPU or both. Might even be the connector itself. I'm not a Wii expert, so I might be wrong.

https://wiibrew.org/wiki/Video_output

https://wiibrew.org/wiki/Hardware/AV_Encoder#Chip_Picture

 

[PalindromicBreadLoaf]

There's a video by MattKC on youtube about this exact problem and how he fixed it. I believe it is something to do with the capacitors for the output signal going bad, but don't quote me on that.
Here is the video if you want to watch:

 

[CoolMe]

The results between the composite and component (when you connected the green cable to the yellow) is inconsistent, i mean the glitching should appear on both instances. You sure the composite cable works (tho doesn't explain the result the component)?

 

[ThaKarra]

There's a video by MattKC on youtube about this exact problem and how he fixed it. I believe it is something to do with the capacitors for the output signal going bad, but don't quote me on that.
Here is the video if you want to watch:

This is EXACTLY my problem... Literally identical symptoms. Might have to order up some cap replacements. Funnily enough I am a HUGE fan of MattKC and watched this exact video last year hahaha.. Thank you for posting it!

The results between the composite and component (when you connected the green cable to the yellow) is inconsistent, i mean the glitching should appear on both instances. You sure the composite cable works (tho doesn't explain the result the component)?

Oh sorry for the confusion. Although it was in black and white, the picture was still glitching.

 

[elk1007]

This may not help, but I want to point out that component and composite use different pins.
The AV console port may have damaged pins (7,9,11) for component.
Also, pins 8 and 10 must be shorted to output Component Video.
Damage to pin 8 and/or 10 would prevent this, outputting RGB or S-Video signal instead.

 

[ThaKarra]

This may not help, but I want to point out that component and composite use different pins.
The AV console port may have damaged pins (7,9,11) for component.
Also, pins 8 and 10 must be shorted to output Component Video.
Damage to pin 8 and/or 10 would prevent this, outputting RGB or S-Video signal instead.

I did take this into consideration, but after inspecting the pins they all look to be in perfect condition. I even whipped out the ipa to give it a nice clean. --

I definitely am leaning towards faulty caps. The more I'm reading into it now, the more I'm seeing the same symptoms.

However I appreciate the reply!

 

[RiezDanz]

Hey guys, i think i might have a similar problem with my wii too. It's just that when I tried to use av cable, it worked but my display on the tv had a visual noise and was glitchy. Still playable aside from the distracting problems.


Also another thing to note, when i tried to use the component cable with my wii, my tv displays no signal. The same thing also happened when I tried to use a component to hdmi converter with the tv / my pc monitor.


Lastly i tried to do this exact workaround from the gamefaq (sorry I couldn't give the links due to anti spam error) :


"Do you still have access to the SDTV or does your HDTV have composite inputs?"

Try this:

- turn off wii

- connect component cables to wii

- connect GREEN component cable end to COMPOSITE video input

- turn on wii, you should see the menu in black and white

- go to wii setup menu and now you can select EDTV/HDTV mode, as soon as you do, the screen will go blank.

- unplug from COMPOSITE video input and plug into appropriate COMPONENT and audio inputs on your HDTV.

- you should now see your wii menu in 480p

-enjoy!


I managed to do that, but the same error of "no signal" is showing for me only for the component cables.


P/S : sorry for my broken english because i'm not a native English speaker