Hardware Wii Replacement Housing

[Sportsmaniac1322]

I've been wanting a change from the Wii's iPod-like white for awhile now, and I think a replacement housing would be great. How hard is this to do? I have experience disassembling the Wii right up to the disc drive (for my modchip). Does it get more difficult from there? Also, it would be great if someone could link me to some good quality shells. I've seen the chrome one, but are there any alternatives?

 

[jimd1981]

The Chrome I-Case is nice, you can find other types from $35 to about $60 on ebay. You should have no problem installing the case, it should come with both a tri-wing and phillips screwdriver, and if you've pulled the drive before, it's a snap. The instructions at XCM (case) and XCM (Cover) are easy to follow, about 20 minutes, and it went very well for me.

I've got the crystal blue I-Case on one of the wiis, and it's very nice. The only issue I (and others) have had is with the front panel buttons, you'll want to use the ones from your old case. So my crystal blue case has three white buttons on the front. Doesn't bother me at all, seeing as I like to reliably eject the disk.

I've got the clear case with temperature display as well, but I haven't installed it on my other wii (it's always apart - my testing wii). Good luck!

 

[Sportsmaniac1322]

The Chrome I-Case is nice, you can find other types from $35 to about $60 on ebay. You should have no problem installing the case, it should come with both a tri-wing and phillips screwdriver, and if you've pulled the drive before, it's a snap. The instructions at XCM (case) and XCM (Cover) are easy to follow, about 20 minutes, and it went very well for me.

I've got the crystal blue I-Case on one of the wiis, and it's very nice. The only issue I (and others) have had is with the front panel buttons, you'll want to use the ones from your old case. So my crystal blue case has three white buttons on the front. Doesn't bother me at all, seeing as I like to reliably eject the disk.

I've got the clear case with temperature display as well, but I haven't installed it on my other wii (it's always apart - my testing wii). Good luck!

I kind of like the black Dark Knight casing I see on eBay. Is that supposed to be any good? Also, if I get a crystal blue case like yours, I see that it has some LED's on the side. Does installing those involve any soldering?

 

[jimd1981]

I haven't actually held/seen the black case, but it's an XCM I-Case, so I imagine the quality would be similar, if not identical, to the two I-Cases I have. In that respect, I think the I-Cases are well made. The only suboptimal item is the eject button, which seems molded slightly incorrectly. It just doesn't work right. Again, you can use your old eject button one (maybe paint it black, eh?). The front buttons are the only problem I've had with the case, and I have had no issues since I replaced them with the original, white, nintendo-issued buttons.

As for the LEDs, no soldering required at all. They plug into the fan outlet, then the fan plugs into the LED array. It's a pretty good system (the second link, above, shows the installation more clearly), and there is a small pushbutton switch that can turn the LED array off and on next to the fan. The fan itself is not affected at all. Note: I have an additional fan for the system, and recommend it, particularly if you keep the unit on standby (yellow) all day.

 

[gratefulbuddy]

I have the temp-display i case. It was easy to do with the XCM guide for help. Just try to keep all those damn little screws organized.
All the front buttons work great on mine. The only complaint I have is that if you open the sd door, the door gets loose in its tracks and to close it flush again requires reseating into the grooves. Only a very minor annoyance.

 

[Bladexdsl]

i've got the xcm II see through blue case with blue leds. it looks absolute awesum BUt it was tricky to put on. there is a guide though the only annoying thing i found with this case though is you have to really push the eject button in hard to eject a disc!

here it is in action!

 

[Sportsmaniac1322]

i've got the xcm II see through blue case with blue leds. it looks absolute awesum BUt it was tricky to put on. there is a guide though the only annoying thing i found with this case though is you have to really push the eject button in hard to eject a disc!

here it is in action!

That's a sweet looking case! I really thought the LEDs would be harder to install, but it looks like a breeze. If I can do a NDS case replacement, then this looks like it'd be a snap. Now the question is which one I should get. Are the i-case's basically the only options?
Side Note: TinyPic is a way better image host than imageshack.

 

[Tichinde925]

My disc slot light stays on all the time no matter what. No soldering required for that one either.

 

[Bladexdsl]

i've got the xcm II see through blue case with blue leds. it looks absolute awesum BUt it was tricky to put on. there is a guide though the only annoying thing i found with this case though is you have to really push the eject button in hard to eject a disc!

here it is in action!

Side Note: TinyPic is a way better image host than imageshack.

it's not the imagehost its my camera it just plain sux!

 

[Sportsmaniac1322]

Right now it's between that transparent blue case and the black Dark Knight case. Does anyone have any experiences with installation of the black one? Is it built well? Pictures would be great!

 

[Tichinde925]

Make sure to follow this tutorial on how to make your disc slot light always stay on.

No soldering required:

 

[ften]

My black Wii / Nunchuks / WiiMotes


Break down image of the parts;
Image of the parts disassembled


Wasn't to complicate to put together.

-FTen

 

[Bladexdsl]

i personally like the see through case myself. you can even get 1 where the leds rotate colours while the wii is on!

 

[Sportsmaniac1322]

Wow I really like that black case! I have 1 question though: do the Wiimote shells come with a black A button? Or is that your attempt at customization

 

[ften]

Wow I really like that black case! I have 1 question though: do the Wiimote shells come with a black A button? Or is that your attempt at customization

The Wiimote shells come with the clear A button, well at least the one I bought and the ones they sell on Divineo.

-FTen

Edit;
You know looking at the A button, it wouldn't be to hard to lightly sand/remove the white backround A and do you own custom black background A button.

 

[gratefulbuddy]

Wow I really like that black case! I have 1 question though: do the Wiimote shells come with a black A button? Or is that your attempt at customization

The Wiimote shells come with the clear A button, well at least the one I bought and the ones they sell on Divineo.

-FTen

Edit;
You know looking at the A button, it wouldn't be to hard to lightly sand/remove the white backround A and do you own custom black background A button.

The XE cases also come with a clear A button. So I just painted the back of the button black.

 

[Sportsmaniac1322]

Can you even see the A on the button? I have OCD for those kinds of things!

 

[gratefulbuddy]

Can you even see the A on the button? I have OCD for those kinds of things!

Yes. But only because the background is shiny and the A is matte.
You can barely make it out in this photo.

 

[Sportsmaniac1322]

Can you even see the A on the button? I have OCD for those kinds of things!

Yes. But only because the background is shiny and the A is matte.
You can barely make it out in this photo.

That still doesn't look very professional. I might just keep my Wii Remote's white.

 

[gratefulbuddy]

That still doesn't look very professional. I might just keep my Wii Remote's white.

Personally, I was looking for a completely blacked out wiimote. So it worked out perfect for me. But if you want something that looks like a wiimote in black (ie- all "official" markings) than the XE kit is not for you.