Question Restoring GameCube compatibility to a Wii Family edition

[Lemoncake]

Hey everyone! I’ve heard that it is possible to take GameCube compatible Wii parts (controller ports and memory card slots) and solder them onto a Wii Family Edition to give it backwards compatibility (which it didn’t already have). Does anyone know where I could find a guide to do that?

 

[Stitches]

Yeah this is possible, the pads for all the contacts are still there and functional. There is no guide for it here, but transplanting the ports is basically a drop in operation. You will just need to clear the existing solder from the through-holes so you can get the ports in.

Couple of hitches tho.The disc drives that come with the family edition Wiis will not accept the Gamecube mini discs. You'll need to swap the disc drive for an older one if you want to play Gamecube discs. This is easy to do as all Wii disc drives are fully interchangeable. Also, the passive components for the Gamecube controller ports are mostly missing. I believe the P1 and P4 ports should have the filters for the controller data line present, but P2 and P3 don't have them, and the remainder of the passives are missing from all ports. You'll need to consult the Trimming Guide and bridge the connections where the missing passives would be in order to re-establish connection for controller data, 3.3v logic, and 5v for rumble. Afaik the memory card ports need no additional work

 

[Lemoncake]

Yeah this is possible, the pads for all the contacts are still there and functional. There is no guide for it here, but transplanting the ports is basically a drop in operation. You will just need to clear the existing solder from the through-holes so you can get the ports in.

Couple of hitches tho.The disc drives that come with the family edition Wiis will not accept the Gamecube mini discs. You'll need to swap the disc drive for an older one if you want to play Gamecube discs. This is easy to do as all Wii disc drives are fully interchangeable. Also, the passive components for the Gamecube controller ports are mostly missing. I believe the P1 and P4 ports should have the filters for the controller data line present, but P2 and P3 don't have them, and the remainder of the passives are missing from all ports. You'll need to consult the Trimming Guide and bridge the connections where the missing passives would be in order to re-establish connection for controller data, 3.3v logic, and 5v for rumble. Afaik the memory card ports need no additional work

That’s good to know. Thanks for the detailed response! I just found a copy of a GameCube game I’ve been wanting to play for a while, but had to make sure I would be able coax my Wii (with a little flux and solder) into being able to play it first

 

[Mrak408]

By itself, you'll need to transfer over the GC ports and the passive components (its like 7 per port). I think it'll be easier to just use magnet wire to bypass all that hassle and solder directly to the vias.

 

[Stitches]

By itself, you'll need to transfer over the GC ports and the passive components (its like 7 per port). I think it'll be easier to just use magnet wire to bypass all that hassle and solder directly to the vias.

That's more complicated than bridging the three passive footprints for each port. 3 solder blobs > 3 magnet wire relocations

 

[Lemoncake]

Do I need all of the ground pins or can I remove some? Also, any advice for attempting to desolder without a hot air station?

 

[Stitches]

The ground pins are all connected together on the PCB. I wouldn't remove pins from the port, but I guess you can.
As for removing the port, the only non-hot air method I know that doesn't completely destroy the port is to use a dremel to cut out the PCB area that the ports are attached to

 

[Lemoncake]

The ground pins are all connected together on the PCB. I wouldn't remove pins from the port, but I guess you can.
As for removing the port, the only non-hot air method I know that doesn't completely destroy the port is to use a dremel to cut out the PCB area that the ports are attached to

Got it. I already tried the dremel method, but accidentally took off a few pins on the controller ports. That’s why I asked. I plan to solder them on tomorrow so we’ll see what happens

 

[Lemoncake]

I have a problem. I let the Wii run for a little bit while testing the controller port, but when I went to turn it on again, nothing will appear on screen. However, disc drive still works and the fan runs as well. Did I overheat the CPU/GPU? I didn’t have any components except the heat sink.

 

[Stitches]

I have a problem. I let the Wii run for a little bit while testing the controller port, but when I went to turn it on again, nothing will appear on screen. However, disc drive still works and the fan runs as well. Did I overheat the CPU/GPU? I didn’t have any components except the heat sink.

How long is "a little bit"?

 

[Lemoncake]

Actually, we’re ok! The memory card port must have been causing a bunch of shorts because after I removed it, the Wii booted again! I’m not sure how I’m going to connect the memory card slot now though.

 

[Stitches]

Perhaps there was some conductive debris that was cleared in the process

 

[Lemoncake]

Perhaps there was some conductive debris that was cleared in the process

Probably. I’ll also say that that was the jankiest relocation of all time so I should’ve been expecting at least something to go wrong

 

[Lemoncake]

Oh boy, I really did it this time. Somehow, I managed to not only melt the power switch, but I also burnt off 3 of the pads. Can I fix this? I have replacement buttons.

 

[CrazyGadget]

Looks like the two support pads are still in tact, so you could just tack the button down to those, then manually wire the button back to the vias the traces go to.

 

[Lemoncake]

So, I burnt off another pad. Does pressing the power button on a Wii remote turn the console on?

 

[Stitches]

If the Wii is untrimmed and the BT module is attached, yes

 

[Lemoncake]

Ok, so we have a problem. Now whenever I plug the Wii into power, the red led will not come on. However, when I press eject, the led will turn green for a second then blink out again. I accidentally got some solder on the rim of the board which might be causing a short. Here are some pictures. How should I fix this?

 

[icy_system]

Ok, so we have a problem. Now whenever I plug the Wii into power, the red led will not come on. However, when I press eject, the led will turn green for a second then blink out again. I accidentally got some solder on the rim of the board which might be causing a short. Here are some pictures. How should I fix this?View attachment 28881

First, you should clean up the solder you put on with braid and clean it with isopropyl alcohol.

 

[Stitches]

The solder on the ground plane is fine, there's nothing there to short. Also if you're having trouble with the power switch, grounding pin 19 of the MX chip turns the system on. Any momentary tact switch will do