480 screen wiring diagram

[THEBROSKI8]

Hey everyone, is there a diagram or a reference floating around for wiring up the Wii to the 480 screen. It seems to be quite a bit different than the screen in the bit built manual. I have power and ground to the screen just confused about wiring to the wii

 

[a red box]

The definitive wii trimming guide has a diagram for wiring video and more.

https://bitbuilt.net/forums/index.php?threads/the-definitive-wii-trimming-guide.198/

Just match the points on the wii to the silkscreen on the screen.

 

[THEBROSKI8]

The definitive wii trimming guide has a diagram for wiring video and more.

https://bitbuilt.net/forums/index.php?threads/the-definitive-wii-trimming-guide.198/

Just match the points on the wii to the silkscreen on the screen.

Update, I followed the Wii trimming guide and wired up r g b but no results so far. Several of the points of contact appeared to be on the back of the resistors so I soldered those there. The screen is still coming on in HDMI mode. Do I need to do something to change the screen source or should it do so automatically if a source is detected? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Here is what I'm using for reference

 

[Stitches]

Hey Stitches,
I had a quick question about the screen and you seem very knowledgeable and willing to help. I have two real questions, the first being do you know if the screen will automatically switch from HDMI to VGA when it detects a source and if it doesn't not switch how would I go about doing so? My second question being, when wiring up RGB to the Wii motherboard board is there a specific place that the + and - need to go? I'm using the Wii trimming guide for reference and while it has the vias to solder to it doesn't specify where R+ and R- should go, it may not matter but I wasn't totally sure. Any advice you give is greatly appreciated and I hope you have a great day. Thanks

Most of the screens we use don't support automatic source switching, and the few that do aren't well known to me. If your screen didn't come with a plug in remote control board, you'll have to solder a wire to a ground location and poke the screen control button pins with the ground wire to simulate pressing a button. The pins marked Source and + - should be all you need for that, but you could also try the Auto button.

As for the video signals, the RGB data signals from the Wii should be run to R+/B+/G+, and H-sync and V-sync should be run to HS and VS respectively. Those are the positive signal inputs. R-/G-/B- are ground locations for if you're using shielded or twisted wire. They're just there for convenience and can be ignored if you prefer.

Update, I followed the Wii trimming guide and wired up r g b but no results so far. Several of the points of contact appeared to be on the back of the resistors so I soldered those there. The screen is still coming on in HDMI mode. Do I need to do something to change the screen source or should it do so automatically if a source is detected? Any advice is greatly appreciated.View attachment 30463View attachment 30464

Here is what I'm using for reference
View attachment 30467

Two things. The first is that you haven't wired H-sync and V-sync. Those data lines are essential for VGA , and you won't get any picture without them. The second thing is that many people wire VGA incorrectly because they follow the colours on the diagram rather than the pinout in the top right legend. The colours are for YPbPr component video, not VGA. Pin 11 is marked in red because it carries red data for YPbPr, but for VGA it carries B data. You may need to rewire that

 

[THEBROSKI8]

Most of the screens we use don't support automatic source switching, and the few that do aren't well known to me. If your screen didn't come with a plug in remote control board, you'll have to solder a wire to a ground location and poke the screen control button pins with the ground wire to simulate pressing a button. The pins marked Source and + - should be all you need for that, but you could also try the Auto button.

As for the video signals, the RGB data signals from the Wii should be run to R+/B+/G+, and H-sync and V-sync should be run to HS and VS respectively. Those are the positive signal inputs. R-/G-/B- are ground locations for if you're using shielded or twisted wire. They're just there for convenience and can be ignored if you prefer.



Two things. The first is that you haven't wired H-sync and V-sync. Those data lines are essential for VGA , and you won't get any picture without them. The second thing is that many people wire VGA incorrectly because they follow the colours on the diagram rather than the pinout in the top right legend. The colours are for YPbPr component video, not VGA. Pin 11 is marked in red because it carries red data for YPbPr, but for VGA it carries B data. You may need to rewire that

Thanks for the response. That is incredibly helpful. I managed to get the screen to switch to VGA using the method you described above. Still working on wiring up the wii, so from my understanding above the R-,G-, and B- are all optional? If so what would be the purpose of them and use a braided 34 gauge wire when a single wire would work? Additionally if the R-,G-, and B- are not being used at all does the ground terminal from the screen need to be wired somewhere on the wii? I know a lot of these are noob questions but all my level of understanding electronics and circuitry up to this point has only been to do electric guitar mods. Appreciate the patience and all the help so far.

 

[Stitches]

Thanks for the response. That is incredibly helpful. I managed to get the screen to switch to VGA using the method you described above. Still working on wiring up the wii, so from my understanding above the R-,G-, and B- are all optional? If so what would be the purpose of them and use a braided 34 gauge wire when a single wire would work? Additionally if the R-,G-, and B- are not being used at all does the ground terminal from the screen need to be wired somewhere on the wii? I know a lot of these are noob questions but all my level of understanding electronics and circuitry up to this point has only been to do electric guitar mods. Appreciate the patience and all the help so far.
View attachment 30504

The purpose of the - pins is to have a ground location next to every data pin so that in a commercial VGA cable, the shielding for the data lines has convenient grounding points. Shielding the data wires reduces electromagnetic interference, which results in a better picture quality. It's less of an issue when the wires are short (5-10cm), but it is best practice to shield the wires. You don't expressly need to have a ground wire going to the Wii for the video data lines, but it does help the signal ratio a little even if the ground wire is just floating on its own.

Also, your RGB markings are correct.

 

[THEBROSKI8]

The purpose of the - pins is to have a ground location next to every data pin so that in a commercial VGA cable, the shielding for the data lines has convenient grounding points. Shielding the data wires reduces electromagnetic interference, which results in a better picture quality. It's less of an issue when the wires are short (5-10cm), but it is best practice to shield the wires. You don't expressly need to have a ground wire going to the Wii for the video data lines, but it does help the signal ratio a little even if the ground wire is just floating on its own.

Also, your RGB markings are correct.

Thanks for the response. I wired everything up according to what I have above and I'm still not seeing video. The Wii seems to be coming on as I can feel the CPU heating up. I just am not sure what's hooked up wrong. I included pics of everything and can include more if needed. I had gotten solder on a few of the pins but using a desoldering gun and some flux I think I got it all off it is somewhat difficult to tell though. Where should my troubleshooting process begin from here? Also I haven't wired up USB file transfer yet? Is that needed for picture? I figured I'd get an error on screen saying that a USB drive cold not be detected.

 

[CrazyGadget]

A few things:

• It looks like you do not have mode tied to 3v3. That needs to be connected for the Wii to output VGA
• H and V are swapped on the silkscreen of that driver board - you might have to swap your lines for it to work
• Those H and V joints on the AVE look pretty janky, I would go back and reflow them with plenty of flux
• Did you try composite on this trim yet? This driver board won't accept composite (it's on the board but not enabled in the firmware), so you would need to hook it up to another screen (or your TV) to check. It's best to check this before trying VGA, as it's only 2 easy-to-solder wires and will make sure your Wii is actually booting.
  • Those board edges look a bit rough, did you check your resistances between your voltage lines prior to wiring everything up and applying power?

I would go over the latter point before trying VGA again.

 

[THEBROSKI8]

A few things:

• It looks like you do not have mode tied to 3v3. That needs to be connected for the Wii to output VGA
• H and V are swapped on the silkscreen of that driver board - you might have to swap your lines for it to work
• Those H and V joints on the AVE look pretty janky, I would go back and reflow them with plenty of flux
• Did you try composite on this trim yet? This driver board won't accept composite (it's on the board but not enabled in the firmware), so you would need to hook it up to another screen (or your TV) to check. It's best to check this before trying VGA, as it's only 2 easy-to-solder wires and will make sure your Wii is actually booting.
  • Those board edges look a bit rough, did you check your resistances between your voltage lines prior to wiring everything up and applying power?

I would go over the latter point before trying VGA again.

Thanks for all the advice here. I followed this line of logic and went back to testing everything. Couldn't get composite so I pulled the board to re test resistance. Everything was perfect except the 3.3v terminal had 0 resistance. Either I tested wrong the first time or something has happened but the board must be fried. I've got another wii coming and I'm going to give it another go. It's been a great learning experience so far and I think second time will be the charm. In the meantime I'm going to clean up everything as my soldering skills have gotten much better since starting the project and I could've had better wire management. Appreciate everyone's help so far. I'll be back when I have a new wii.

 

[CrazyGadget]

There is hope yet! Wiis are very hard to fully kill, there's likely just a strat solder ball or poor sanding somewhere, it's better to diagnose this one than grab a new one (better for learning diagnostic skills, at least).

 

[THEBROSKI8]

There is hope yet! Wiis are very hard to fully kill, there's likely just a strat solder ball or poor sanding somewhere, it's better to diagnose this one than grab a new one (better for learning diagnostic skills, at least).

That's great news. I would love it if this Wii still had some life left. I took out the sand paper and I'll hit it again and see if I can clean up the edges. I can't see any solder blobs but thought I'd put pictures here in case someone sees a problematic spot I'm missing

Update: I did a lot of sanding and still this is what I'm seeing when checking resistance on the 3.3v terminal. I also was worried about the legs on this chip on the back that v/h sync is soldered too. I had previously made a mess with it and got solder on the legs but I've cleaned it off and as far as I can tell I've straightened out all the legs and they're touching the correct pads but I'm including a pic in case I'm missing something. Thanks

Here's this as well if it helps at all: