Wii has no signal and does not respond

[VictoriaValentine]

Hello! Pardon me if such a thread has been created before, but I've noticed that many have ended in dead-ends.

My problem goes as follows. Since 2019, my Wii has been acting odd. After a while of not using it, booting it would result in there being no signal. In the past, turning it on and off again, or waiting for a while while it is on, would cause a "POP" noise from my TV (Indicating the Wii sent power/a signal?) and it'd work perfectly fine again for a while. A month later, or even less, it'd go back to it having no signal again. Eventually, the on-off and waiting would no longer become a reliable wait to fix it. Fast forward to last week, and these "tricks" have stopped working entirely.

What I have tried:

- Holding RESET to access Priiloader (Which is installed), with no success.
- Put bootmii2 files on my SD card, with no success.
- Tried the SaveMiiFrii method (With official GameCube controller), with no success.
- Using 3 different video cables (Component, Composite, SCART) with no change.
- Disconnecting the power to the Wii for long amounts of time, with no change.
- Replacing the Bluetooth and Wifi Module (However, I did this back in 2020), with no change.
- Removed the SD card, with no change.
- Put in a Wii game at boot and before boot, no change.

Maybe important notes
- The Power LED works as expected, I can turn it on (making it green), hold the power button and turn it red.
- The DVD drive works fine. As I turn the system on, I hear the Drive bootup. Putting in a disc, while it is on, nothing happens, if I put in a disc before boot, it starts spinning.
- Wiimotes can turn on the Wii, but can not connect with them.
- It is a PAL Wii, I believe I got it around 2009. It runs on version 4.2
- No modifications have been made to the system around when the problem started, it started around 2019, and the last system modification was probably in 2012 excluding putting NIntendont on the SD card. The only modification I can remember is installing Priiloader on boot2 in 2020.
- It has GameCube backwards compatibility. It may be a coincidence, but I put Nintendon't on it in late 2018. Issues started appearing mid to late 2019? I am unsure.
- I made a NAND backup just to be safe in June of 2021, so if this is fixable, I'd be safe if I have to reset.
- When the Wii DID work, it worked perfectly. No crashes, no random shutdowns, no slowdowns, it worked perfectly.
- May also be a coincidence, but my sensorbar seems to be no longer powered by the Wii while it is on. (However it might just be broken, have not yet tested a different one)

Sorry for the gigantic dump of information, but I was wondering if anyone would know anything about why this issue happens, and why it used to be a gamble in the past. I assume it's a hardware failure, but why did it sometimes work and sometimes not?

 

[Alexander1970]

Good Morning.

Hello! Pardon me if such a thread has been created before, but I've noticed that many have ended in dead-ends.

My problem goes as follows. Since 2019, my Wii has been acting odd. After a while of not using it, booting it would result in there being no signal. In the past, turning it on and off again, or waiting for a while while it is on, would cause a "POP" noise from my TV (Indicating the Wii sent power/a signal?) and it'd work perfectly fine again for a while. A month later, or even less, it'd go back to it having no signal again. Eventually, the on-off and waiting would no longer become a reliable wait to fix it. Fast forward to last week, and these "tricks" have stopped working entirely.

What I have tried:

- Holding RESET to access Priiloader (Which is installed), with no success.
- Put bootmii2 files on my SD card, with no success.
- Tried the SaveMiiFrii method (With official GameCube controller), with no success.
- Using 3 different video cables (Component, Composite, SCART) with no change.
- Disconnecting the power to the Wii for long amounts of time, with no change.
- Replacing the Bluetooth and Wifi Module (However, I did this back in 2020), with no change.
- Removed the SD card, with no change.
- Put in a Wii game at boot and before boot, no change.

Maybe important notes
- The Power LED works as expected, I can turn it on (making it green), hold the power button and turn it red.
- The DVD drive works fine. As I turn the system on, I hear the Drive bootup. Putting in a disc, while it is on, nothing happens, if I put in a disc before boot, it starts spinning.
- Wiimotes can turn on the Wii, but can not connect with them.
- It is a PAL Wii, I believe I got it around 2009. It runs on version 4.2
- No modifications have been made to the system around when the problem started, it started around 2019, and the last system modification was probably in 2012 excluding putting NIntendont on the SD card. The only modification I can remember is installing Priiloader on boot2 in 2020.
- It has GameCube backwards compatibility. It may be a coincidence, but I put Nintendon't on it in late 2018. Issues started appearing mid to late 2019? I am unsure.
- I made a NAND backup just to be safe in June of 2021, so if this is fixable, I'd be safe if I have to reset.
- When the Wii DID work, it worked perfectly. No crashes, no random shutdowns, no slowdowns, it worked perfectly.
- May also be a coincidence, but my sensorbar seems to be no longer powered by the Wii while it is on. (However it might just be broken, have not yet tested a different one)

Sorry for the gigantic dump of information, but I was wondering if anyone would know anything about why this issue happens, and why it used to be a gamble in the past. I assume it's a hardware failure, but why did it sometimes work and sometimes not?

Thank you for all your Afford....
But....I am afraid,it seems,as you already "feared"...

I assume it's a hardware failure, but why did it sometimes work and sometimes not?

And that maybe confirms your Presumptions...I am very sorry...
The only Thing you have not tried,is an other TV Device.
Maybe...*crossed Fingers*

Good Luck.

 

[VictoriaValentine]

Good Morning.



Thank you for all your Afford....
But....I am afraid,it seems,as you already "feared"...


And that maybe confirms your Presumptions...I am very sorry...
The only Thing you have not tried,is an other TV Device.
Maybe...*crossed Fingers*

Good Luck.

I don't think a different TV would help, considering I can't connect a Wiimote during the "no-signal", making me assume it's not even going into the booting process/starting the Wii Menu
Thanks for your input, it's going to be sad to have to replace this Wii, but I'll keep hope, perhaps open it up again and see if there's anything strange there.

As for this thread, if anyone has any idea, please tell me! I don't mind experimenting

 

[Alexander1970]

As for this thread, if anyone has any idea, please tell me! I don't mind experimenting

Thank you.

For the "Phenomenon" you have,there is maybe an Explanation:

A Solder Joint/Conductor Track on the Mainboard could no longer "conduct" properly under Load/Heat or similar....
(By the Way,did you have checked the FAN ?)
This is a tedious Search, and it could possibly involve the GPU and/or the A/V Port.

 

[VictoriaValentine]

Thank you.

For the "Phenomenon" you have,there is maybe an Explanation:

A Solder Joint/Conductor Track on the Mainboard could no longer "conduct" properly under Load/Heat or similar....
(By the Way,did you have checked the FAN ?)
This is a tedious Search, and it could possibly involve the GPU and/or the A/V Port.

The fans seem to work correctly, I think I'll open my Wii up, and see if I can see anything out of the ordinary. I'm no hardware expert, so, should I post pictures of the motherboard here?

 

[Alexander1970]

Good Morning.

The fans seem to work correctly, I think I'll open my Wii up, and see if I can see anything out of the ordinary. I'm no hardware expert, so, should I post pictures of the motherboard here?

Thank you.

If you be so kind,please,maybe the Focus on the A/V Connector and the GPU/Enviroment please.
You maybe can remove the Heatsink ?

Maybe you should check the GREEN Area first ?

Look at this if you have a different Wii Revision please:
https://forums.modretro.com/index.php?threads/wii-board-revisions-guide.14059/


Good Luck.

 

[KleinesSinchen]

Please check the voltage regulator like in this thread:
https://gbatemp.net/threads/transfer-broken-wii-content-to-another-wii.604111/

I'd like to know if this special fault occurs more often.

- It has GameCube backwards compatibility. It may be a coincidence, but I put Nintendon't on it in late 2018. Issues started appearing mid to late 2019? I am unsure.

If hardware related, I would doubt Nintendont can cause this. More likely hardware aging.

 

[VictoriaValentine]

Good Morning.



Thank you.

If you be so kind,please,maybe the Focus on the A/V Connector and the GPU/Enviroment please.
You maybe can remove the Heatsink ?

Hello again! It took me a while (Thousands of screws later), but I've opened the Wii up, and took a few pictures of the motherboard which appears to be a RVL-CPU-20. Everything seems fine, it is a little dirty but not to the point of killing or hampering hardware. Then again, I am no hardware expert. Are these pictures fine?

Please check the voltage regulator like in this thread:


I'd like to know if this special fault occurs more often.



If hardware related, I would doubt Nintendont can cause this. More likely hardware aging.

I have no experience of how to do this, but I do know someone who can likely does, I will ask them later in the day. I have found U4 (That is the one I should check, right?), and will see what I can do.

 

[pedro702]

mine gave a light but didnt turn on and it was the power adapter that was bad, odered a new chinese one from ebay and still works until this day xD

 

[VictoriaValentine]

mine gave a light but didnt turn on and it was the power adapter that was bad, odered a new chinese one from ebay and still works until this day xD

Which light did it give? Red or green light? I can turn on mine just fine, it's just that the Wii does not boot to the menu (or Priiloader if I hold RESET), even though the light is green.

 

[pedro702]

Which light did it give? Red or green light? I can turn on mine just fine, it's just that the Wii does not boot to the menu (or Priiloader if I hold RESET), even though the light is green.

mine would turn on and then loose power and go back to the red light. but again it wouldnt hurt to try even borrowing a diferent one and testing if you know someone.

 

[VictoriaValentine]

mine would turn on and then loose power and go back to the red light. but again it wouldnt hurt to try even borrowing a diferent one and testing if you know someone.

Sounds different from the issue I'm having, but you're right, it's worth a try, I don't know anyone who has a Wii these days sadly, let alone a power supply. First I'll try to measure the voltages, see if that could be the issue.

 

[KleinesSinchen]

mine would turn on and then loose power and go back to the red light. but again it wouldnt hurt to try even borrowing a diferent one and testing if you know someone.

Yes, that sounds like the power adapter doesn't deliver enough power for fully turning on everything (for much older things than the Wii I would think of replacing the capacitors inside the power supply – bad caps can be the reason for such a problem).

Sounds different from the issue I'm having, but you're right, it's worth a try, I don't know anyone who has a Wii these days sadly, let alone a power supply. First I'll try to measure the voltages, see if that could be the issue.

Please check voltage on U4. I'm really interested if the issue with that voltage converter was an unlucky, isolated case – or if it will happen to more Wiis.

 

[VictoriaValentine]

Yes, that sounds like the power adapter doesn't deliver enough power for fully turning on everything (for much older things than the Wii I would think of replacing the capacitors inside the power supply – bad caps can be the reason for such a problem).


Please check voltage on U4. I'm really interested if the issue with that voltage converter was an unlucky, isolated case – or if it will happen to more Wiis.

Hello again! I have some good news, and bad news.

I'll start with the good news.

We did 2 tests.
1: The Power Supply
We measured its voltage, 12V as expected. I think that rules out the power supply?

2: The U4.
With the same multimeter as before, we put the minus (Black tip) to the golden shielding of the Wii (For ground), and tested Pin 1 and 3.
Pin 1 showed almost 3,4V. To be more exact, I remember it being something like 3,36V or so?
Pin 3, had exactly 1,76V. So almost 1,8V.

I think that rules out the U4 chip and power supply?

The bad news.

If the power supply isn't the issue... And neither is the U4.... I assume I am back at square one, I have no clue what could be causing the issue. Any ideas on what to do next?

 

[VictoriaValentine]

Update:
HOW

 

[KleinesSinchen]

We did 2 tests.
1: The Power Supply
We measured its voltage, 12V as expected. I think that rules out the power supply?

Not fully ruled out: A bad power supply might have the correct voltage idle and can't keep it under load (or did you measure under load?). But I don't think the power supply is the culprit here; would be too easy.

If the power supply isn't the issue... And neither is the U4.... I assume I am back at square one, I have no clue what could be causing the issue. Any ideas on what to do next?

Dang it! "Any ideas?" Not really. There are more voltage converters – but I don't have any clue about their target state. That is something for experts. Maybe the modretro forum contains further information since they trim the motherboard for creating portable Wii – they surely have to rearrange and/or replace voltage converters with custom solutions.

It would in my opinion require an expert in electronics to discern the issue. Which part(s) on the board behave(s) unreliably?


===============
A bad (worst?) thing that could also be the reason here:
Loose CPU/GPU (haircrack in the solder balls below the chips) → Can be temperature and movement dependent

Update:
HOW

Those pictures show there is NO software problem at all and things like Priiloader, SaveMiiFrii… won't go anywhere.

 

[VictoriaValentine]

Not fully ruled out: A bad power supply might have the correct voltage idle and can't keep it under load (or did you measure under load?). But I don't think the power supply is the culprit here; would be too easy.


Dang it! "Any ideas?" Not really. There are more voltage converters – but I don't have any clue about their target state. That is something for experts. Maybe the modretro forum contains further information since they trim the motherboard for creating portable Wii – they surely have to rearrange and/or replace voltage converters with custom solutions.

It would in my opinion require an expert in electronics to discern the issue. Which part(s) on the board behave(s) unreliably?


===============
A bad (worst?) thing that could also be the reason here:
Loose CPU/GPU (haircrack in the solder balls below the chips) → Can be temperature and movement dependent




Those pictures show there is NO software problem at all and things like Priiloader, SaveMiiFrii… won't go anywhere.

My bad, let me explain, the Wii suddenly works again perfectly after a whole day of testing and it being non functional, and I have no clue why and so I am extremely confused. It works perfectly now. (No clue for how long, so it's time for me to make a NAND backup)

 

[VictoriaValentine]

Is there anything I can do software side to check for abnormalities in the hardware?

 

[Alexander1970]

What was that Thing with the Wii Sensor Bar again ?
On your last Pictures with your working Wii,I see none is attached.

 

[VictoriaValentine]

What was that Thing with the Wii Sensor Bar again ?
On your last Pictures with your working Wii,I see none is attached.

That is correct, it didn't work when it had a black screen, it works now though! The Wii suddenly working again really confuses me.