Question Ashida Wii Attempt

[DullBoy]

Hi All, so I've been trying to figure out why my Ashida does not seem to boot. I've spent the better part of the last four days finally making the attempt to build this using multiple different resources on here, 4Layer and using Gingers build video. I can't seem to figure out why im getting no response. does it look like I have everything connected to the Wii and not missing any connections? ive looked over all documentation and can't seem to figure out what I am missing.

thanks for any help in advance!

 

[Stitches]

Hi All, so I've been trying to figure out why my Ashida does not seem to boot. I've spent the better part of the last four days finally making the attempt to build this using multiple different resources on here, 4Layer and using Gingers build video. I can't seem to figure out why im getting no response. does it look like I have everything connected to the Wii and not missing any connections? ive looked over all documentation and can't seem to figure out what I am missing.

thanks for any help in advance!

Do you have the PMS, or the PMS Lite?

 

[CrazyGadget]

Do you have the PMS, or the PMS Lite?

It's a PMS2

Just as a starting point, I see some trimmed-through components on the edge of the board. Those should be removed.

Did you check the resistances between your voltage lines on the wii prior to wiring it up to anything else? That's usually the first diagnostic tool for nonworking trims.

 

[DullBoy]

It's a PMS2

Just as a starting point, I see some trimmed-through components on the edge of the board. Those should be removed.

Did you check the resistances between your voltage lines on the wii prior to wiring it up to anything else? That's usually the first diagnostic tool for nonworking trims.

good point there, forgot about those. And no I haven’t tried testing those, I will look around on here to figure that out. I also realized I broke my screen when install the driver board too tight so that may also be the issue. I have a new one on the way already. If voltages are good (and new screen installed, assuming that doesn’t fix it) what may my next steps be?

 

[DullBoy]

So I’ve received my screen tested with it and still nothing so I unsoldered everything and tested resistances. Everything looks ok except for the 3.3v, when I check against ground I get 1.4k and then it drops to .04k right away. When using auto range, it shows 18, but doesn’t indicate a k/M. Does this mean there is a short?

 

[Retro95]

So I’ve received my screen tested with it and still nothing so I unsoldered everything and tested resistances. Everything looks ok except for the 3.3v, when I check against ground I get 1.4k and then it drops to .04k right away. When using auto range, it shows 18, but doesn’t indicate a k/M. Does this mean there is a short?

Hi Dullboy!

If all the wires are removed from the Wii, and you're getting 40ohms instead of ~7k. Then it seems like a short. Are you measuring at 1k, or 20k measurements?

At this point you can try scrubbing the board with a tooth brush and 99% IPA to remove any doubt that some flux is causing a short on some of the vias. If that doesn't resolve it I'd try sanding the edges of your board again with 600 grit to see if that removes the short.

 

[DullBoy]

Hi Dullboy!

If all the wires are removed from the Wii, and you're getting 40ohms instead of ~7k. Then it seems like a short. Are you measuring at 1k, or 20k measurements?

At this point you can try scrubbing the board with a tooth brush and 99% IPA to remove any doubt that some flux is causing a short on some of the vias. If that doesn't resolve it I'd try sanding the edges of your board again with 600 grit to see if that removes the short.

hey retro, I sanded everything and all my numbers looked good compared to other working wiis… finally. I wired everything up again and am still not getting any indication that the wii is powering on. I’m going to try and clean everything with a toothbrush and IPA and see if that fixes anything

 

[DullBoy]

Updated photo after cleaning with ipa

 

[Retro95]

Updated photo after cleaning with ipa

Can you test if there is a short between your H and V sync cables on the AVE chip? It's common for those to get shorted because they're quite difficult to solder.

The VGA output will not work if the H and V are not properly wired. Looks like you might have a blob that could cause that signal to short:

For troubleshooting video, I'd recommend you remove 3.3 volts from mode and wire in an AV cable. You can take the stranded wire and solder to ground, and the single wire and solder to pin 3 on the wii board.

This is what I did for bench testing my wii:

 

[DullBoy]

So I’ve checked the h and v cables, there is no short, I’ve also added the composite cable and can confirm no video output from there either.

 

[Retro95]

So I’ve checked the h and v cables, there is no short, I’ve also added the composite cable and can confirm no video output from there either.

Did you unsolder the 3.3v line to tp47? That forces VGA and disables component video.

 

[DullBoy]

Did you unsolder the 3.3v line to tp47? That forces VGA and disables component video.

Yes in the photo I took I hadn’t yet but I unsoldered it and it wasn’t working still

 

[Gman]

It's advised to test things as you go, and not just test if it works after everything is wired. When you test after soldering each wire, it makes it easier to troubleshoot when it is not working, because it will usually be the last wire you had soldered.

 

[Retro95]

At this point with no success I would recommend heeding Gmans advice.

When I built my first ashida I built the entire thing in one go. It didn't work. Then I spent a solid couple days troubleshooting it with no luck. I tore the whole thing down and tested it sequentially from start to finish.

I'd recommend testing it in the following sequence:

1.) Power to Wii board with AV video only:
--This will allow you to test voltage drops on each power rail. Any drop 5% or lower of the intended voltages will cause issues with booting
--If voltage is good then you can troubleshoot your U10 connection causing the boot to fail.

2.) Once it boots, add USB data and boot into RVLoader

3.) Add GameCube controller input
--navigate RVLoader UI. Check that the PMS board, and GC board are showing up.
--use button tester in RVLoader to test all buttons and ensure analog triggers are working.
--boot into a game and play for a little bit to make sure you don't experience any hang ups, or crashes due to noise on the USB wiring. (Common problem that will cause a lot of consistency issues)

4.) Add VGA output to the screen
--leave clamshell open, solder a wire with one end to GND on driver board, and tap the other end of the wire to menu, and ++++, and navigate to autoconfig to adjust your screen positioning.

5.) Add audio board wires
--boot into RVLoader and ensure that the audio board is showing up in RVLoader
--test speaker and headphone output during game play

6.) Button up and enjoy!

Good luck and god speed friend.

 

[DullBoy]

Ok so after many attempts due to my stubbornness I just attempted unsoldering and resoldering everything a million times to the wii board

I finally took everything apart and hooked up just the Rvl and the PD with composite and got it to boot, now that Ive hooked up everything again, I can’t seem to get vga to work, I know I patched vga (so I think, now I’m second guessing) I’m only getting “AV1” on my screen and then it goes to a black screen while still on. I’ve tried looking at others threads and can’t seem to figure out how this is possible. I think my next step will be booting with composite and running the install again if I must

min attaching photos for reference in case someone can see anything that is awry

 

[CrazyGadget]

You need to manually switch the screen to VGA by "pressing" K5 to ground on the driver board. You can do that with either a tact switch between the two, or by just soldering a wire to ground and physically tapping it against the K5 pad.

 

[DullBoy]

You need to manually switch the screen to VGA by "pressing" K5 to ground on the driver board. You can do that with either a tact switch between the two, or by just soldering a wire to ground and physically tapping it against the K5 pad.

Huzzah! I’ve figured it out thanks to you and Retro! Ground to menu and ++++ worked for changing source (somehow did it without having my ribbon cable plugged in, whoops) and she boots! Thank you all so much! I’m so pumped to get this thing running and then hopefully painted!