Solved Getting a Trim to Output Video

[abbell]

I recently started work on an OMGWTF trim for my Ashida, and this is my first trim. I have done some wiring (i cannot confirm if it is all correct) and I am not seeing any video. I didn't know where I should go with this post so I put it here.

 

[abbell]

Also I sanded the edges of the wii down to 1000 grit. For the wires I am using 34 gauge magnet wire for U10, 24 gauge stranded wire for everything else, and some random shielded video cable for the video out.

 

[Stitches]

That looks like a PMS non-lite. If it is, you need to remove either the LDO or the 1.8v wire to prevent conflict.

Also, have you done a full resistance table check?

 

[abbell]

Is it possible that I can just disconnect the 5 connections on the side of the 1.8v voltage regulator? Would this work instead of removing the entire unit? I could remove the whole thing I guess but I have always wondered if disconnecting those 5 pins would have the same result. But you are definitely more of an expert than I am.

Also I did a full resistance check and my numbers seemed okay. I am using a K01 board and none of the resistances were exact but they all seemed to be within the right range.

 

[Brenjamin]

I just barely got my first trim working last week and I’m very much a newbie so take this with a grain of salt, but the difference for me in getting video output was cutting my shielded wire down as short as I could while still reaching the pms chip ok, and following @GingerOfOz YouTube video of his Wii-trimming guide. He solders his vid out shielded wire to the same side as the cpu. On the capacitor on the top right of the trimmed board. You’ll have to watch the video to see exactly where, but I found it much easier to solder to and it finally gave me a video signal.

 

[Stitches]

Is it possible that I can just disconnect the 5 connections on the side of the 1.8v voltage regulator? Would this work instead of removing the entire unit? I could remove the whole thing I guess but I have always wondered if disconnecting those 5 pins would have the same result. But you are definitely more of an expert than I am.

Also I did a full resistance check and my numbers seemed okay. I am using a K01 board and none of the resistances were exact but they all seemed to be within the right range.

Yeah you absolutely can just lift/cut the legs off. All you need to do is ensure the legs don't touch each other, else you might create a short.

One thing to note about the resistances: to be accurate, they need to be measured when the Wii isn't connected to anything else. Otherwise the PMS will influence the readings. And yeah the exact values will be different on every system, but if your readings match the small/big/very big pattern and you don't get any single digit readings then you're probably all good.

 

[abbell]

I did measure the resistances with everything detached and I had no single digit readings. I couldn't find a diagram with resistances from a working K01 OMGWTF trim but I compared to a CPU-40 and a CPU-50 trim and they seemed alright. I will try to disconnect the pins now. The reason I would prefer to disconnect the pins is because I don't have a heat station and I feel more comfortable with desoldering.

What exactly do you mean by the small/big/very big pattern? Also I did not get any single digit readings. The lowest was 28 ohms.

 

[abbell]

I removed the 1.8v regulator completely and made sure there were no shorts between the pads. I am still getting no video.

 

[abbell]

Yeah you absolutely can just lift/cut the legs off. All you need to do is ensure the legs don't touch each other, else you might create a short.

One thing to note about the resistances: to be accurate, they need to be measured when the Wii isn't connected to anything else. Otherwise the PMS will influence the readings. And yeah the exact values will be different on every system, but if your readings match the small/big/very big pattern and you don't get any single digit readings then you're probably all good.

I did another resistance check after removing the 1.8v regulator. Some of these seemed surprisingly low.

 

[Stitches]

Yeah that certainly is an odd spread. I'm not sure if that indicates an issue or not

 

[abbell]

Are there any places where shorts are commonly found besides the edges of the board? I could go and look for imperfections on the side of the trim with a microscope again but other than that I'm not sure of any other places I haven't looked as I am newer to trimming.

Also I checked and I am getting no voltage anywhere on my wii when I turn it on. The U10 is not showing 3.3 volts and none of my other solder points are showing voltage when I measure them to ground.

 

[Stitches]

Edges, components on the edges that got nicked, burnt flux around components/vias, and conductive debris under the CPU/GPU. The latter can sometimes be cleared by blasting compressed air under the chips.

If you're getting no voltage on any rail from the PMS when it's connected to the Wii, that's a significant problem. They shouldn't all fail simultaneously like that. Does your PMS output the correct voltages when disconnected from the Wii?

 

[abbell]

Edges, components on the edges that got nicked, burnt flux around components/vias, and conductive debris under the CPU/GPU. The latter can sometimes be cleared by blasting compressed air under the chips.

If you're getting no voltage on any rail from the PMS when it's connected to the Wii, that's a significant problem. They shouldn't all fail simultaneously like that. Does your PMS output the correct voltages when disconnected from the Wii?

I didn't think to check the voltages on the PMS while disconnected, so thanks for that idea. When measuring from the voltage points to ground, I see no voltage. Does this mean something is wrong with the PMS?

 

[Jonny]

I didn't think to check the voltages on the PMS while disconnected, so thanks for that idea. When measuring from the voltage points to ground, I see no voltage. Does this mean something is wrong with the PMS?

Generally, when the device meant to output voltages is not outputting voltages, one could say the device is not working as intended.
My PMS knowledge is slightly dated, but do you not need to press the power button on the PMS before it engages the regulators? Do you have an RGB LED connected, and if so is it lighting up?
It seems odd that all 4 regulators would go faulty at the same time... not entirely impossible though.

And all that assumes that you had a battery connected to the PMS when attempting to measure voltages. I figured I'd mention it for posterity.

 

[Stitches]

I didn't think to check the voltages on the PMS while disconnected, so thanks for that idea. When measuring from the voltage points to ground, I see no voltage. Does this mean something is wrong with the PMS?

Can you provide a photo of your multimeter with the dial set to whatever you're using to measure the voltage? Your meter might be funky

 

[abbell]

oh yeah

So I did a few things to get this to work. #1 was spend 90 more dollars on a new PMS because my other one was not working. I tested the voltages from it when nothing was connected and it came up lifeless, but I was able get accurate voltage readings on multiple batteries so I figured it wasn't the multimeter that was the issue.
#2 was use 22 gauge wire instead of 24 for the batteries and the ground to the PMS.
#3 was make my own shielded cable using 30 gauge wire wrapping wire instead of a shielded composite video cable. The wire wrapping wire was so much easier to use and my composite video cable really sucked for soldering.

Is there still any chance that my funky resistances will be an issue?

Also thank you to everyone for your help. This made me very happy

 

[Stitches]

Since the trim boots it's unlikely that the resistances will be a problem