Worklog The s-WII-ch (my first Wii portable)
- Thread starter Lemoncake
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I'm still seeing a bunch of cut-through / sanded-through components on both sides of the board, along with a lot of flux residue and some stray solder balls here and there. Use your iron to desolder the cut/sanded-through components on the edges, then give the whole board a scrub with some IPA and a toothbrush. Might not immediately fix the issue, but then we can rule those out!
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What components specifically should I desolder? Can I just remove any that are outside the line of the image on the trimming guide? (btw, I cleaned the board but there's still nothing. However, when you set it to 200, it reads as 1 instead of 0 so at least I know they're connected somehow)
Anything on the edge that you trimmed through needs to go:
If you’re using 4Layertech pcbs the U10 isn’t necessaryI removed all those components, but still nothing. Could it have anything to do with the fact that I removed U10 without replacing it with anything?
I'd try giving the edges another go with some sandpaper. Start real low (around 80-120), then 220, 320, 400, 600, 800 and 1000. You should be expecting about 36 ohms on the 1v8 line... Then give it one more go around with some IPA...
If there's a dead short bewteen 1v8 and gnd, it will not boot. I have never seen a wii work with any of the main voltage lines shorted to ground.
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Update: I didn't have any 200 - 1000 grit sandpaper on hand, so I made due with what I had. I started with 80, then went to 180, used one of those really fine squishy block sanders, and finished it off with the soft fabric (maybe it's for buffing?) tip on my dremel. I went back over all the cut edges, but 1.8v is still shorted to GND. Maybe I didn't sand it enough, but is there any other possible issue? Does the fact that I desoldered u10 without having to really have nothing to do with it?
You really need to sand with the right grits, what you did likely is not sufficient. Have to rule out the basics before we can dive deeper into other potential issues.
Is that a solder blob there?
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I noticed that earlier, but I wasn't sure what it was. I'll take a closer look. Thanks!
If it is a blob, mind out that you don't lose the SMD component it's attached to when you try to remove it. It's likely required for the AVE to work correctly
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Thanks for the warning! I'll be careful.
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Hey everyone! I know it’s been a while since my last post. I just wanted to check something: I last said that my Wii trim was shorted between 1.8v and gnd, but I just realized that that isn’t completely true. When my multimeter is set to 200 in the Omega quadrant, I get a reading of 00.1 (not much but it is something). Does that mean anything to anyone? Could it point toward what the problem is? All the other resistances are what they should be.
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Looks like you've got your multimeter probes plugged in incorrectly. Your red probe needs to be in the port farthest to the right so both probes are plugged into your "CAT II" port which is for DC/AC voltage.
Use the 20k setting of resistance as well. The 20k resistance setting has a different range entirely.
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I gave that a try, but now it just stays at 1.0 whenever I test for resistance on 20k, even on the resistances that worked before. Maybe my multimeter isn’t as complex as the ones you use? Maybe it isn’t precise enough to get the readings?
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If the multimeter reads 1 or displays OL, it's overloaded. Or not in the proper range and need to go to a higher mode.
If the multimeter reads 0.00 or nearly zero, then you need to lower the mode.
at this point I would just cycle through the ranges until you get a reading other than OL, 0.1 or 1.0 then move your decimal over to the proper place depending on what range you're in
If the multimeter reads 0.00 or nearly zero, then you need to lower the mode.
at this point I would just cycle through the ranges until you get a reading other than OL, 0.1 or 1.0 then move your decimal over to the proper place depending on what range you're in
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Alright everyone, good news. I finally tracked down the right sandpaper grits for sanding my Wii, and am about halfway there (I went from 80 grit to 400). But before I continue, I need to confirm something: have I accidentally sanded through any necessary components on the boards? I know I've sanded the board down quite a bit from what it originally was after the trim, and need to know if I messed anything up by sanding in as far in as I have.
