Worklog Vest’s wii portable worklog

[vest]

Thanks man hope you get yours done as well.
My issue may have been overuse, but I really think it was the cardstock paper ring that came off from inserting it and taking it out so many times. If the paper casing of your batteries are fine I think you’re good.

 

[kolenot]

Kinda

 

[vest]

Yours is getting there, and I'd watch that. To keep the paper ring from rubbing off I'd insert the positive terminal of the battery first and the slide in the negative side so the positive side wears less.

 

[kolenot]

I usually allways insert it the same way, which is why only 1 side is loose

 

[Stitches]

Well guys, there's some good news, and there's some pretty bad news.

Good news:
I got VGA up and running. Wasn't too hard, just had to re-run the installer and wire it up. Booted up some Super Mario Bros. Wii and the video looked amazing. View attachment 41393


Bad News:
I was so close to finishing. Just had to take out the batteries so I could solder up the speaker wires, then put them back in and close it up. Too easy I guess. Unfortunately, when taking out one of the batteries, I got the dreaded magic smoke. I believe the issue to be: the paper ring separating the outer negative casing of the li-ion to the positive terminal came off and shorted together on the same line. The heat was so much that the wire connecting the battery tab to the pms came loose. View attachment 41394The console was off and I took it out as fast as I could. I didn't know what to do next, so I measured some resistances, and put the one leftover battery back in. I was freaking out trying to make sure nothing was fried. I wanted to see if it still booted. I figured the voltage wasn't high enough, so I also inserted the charger.

This is where the second problem came on. While trying discern what the issue was, the GC +2 area of the ashida started smoking. To be honest, I don't know if it was specifically the GC +2 or something around that area, but smoke was coming from there. So I quickly took out the battery and the charger. The Gnd wire connecting the Wii to the 4LT controller breakout board got so hot I believe it disconnected from both sides

View attachment 41395
I believe any of these three problems could've made the ashida smoke twice: Paper ring knocked loose and + and - shorting on the same line for the first issue, Measuring voltages while the charger is connected like a dummy(Cannot remember exactly if I did this, but this could've been the issue) for the second issue, or the simple high output of the charger Im using(for the second issue). It's a 96W Mac charger. I thought the PMS PD 3 was compatible with all chargers so Ive just been using USB C PD that Ive been using for my pinecil. And I have been charging the ashida like this for a while, while testing.

Troubleshooting:
I've measured the Resistances of every line, and the all read what they should normally read(3.3v is reading 1.3k but I figure this is high enough). However when 3.3v and gnd are connected to the 4LT controller breakout board, 3.3v and Gnd on the Wii are shorted together.
Voltages also read what they should, all within their normal readings.
Man, it’s hard going from such a high to such a low. I feel pretty dumb right about now. I’m at a loss of what to do next. I really hope this project is salvageable.

Bugger. I didn't think the spring force on those tabs was that strong....... I'll add that to the list of stuff what can go wrong

Will the system boot with the GC+ breakout disconnected? It's possible that 3.3v surged and fried a couple of the peripherals, but the Wii itself may have survived

 

[vest]

They're pretty tight, but I think the main issue was just how many times I put it in and took it out. It was enough that eventually it just slid off and the battery started smoking unfortunately :/

Im hopeful that's true. Ive ordered two new batteries to replace the ones I had, mostly because the last one I have the paper casing is really close to coming apart. I don't want to try gluing the paper ring on and hoping it stays together. Once those get delivered I'll try booting without the GC+ and troubleshoot from there. Is it reasonable to say that if there's a short on the GC breakout that the GC +2, the driver board, and the breakout are all fried? Or could any of them have survived? I don't know how I would test for that. Thanks for the help

 

[Stitches]

They're pretty tight, but I think the main issue was just how many times I put it in and took it out. It was enough that eventually it just slid off and the battery started smoking unfortunately :/

Im hopeful that's true. Ive ordered two new batteries to replace the ones I had, mostly because the last one I have the paper casing is really close to coming apart. I don't want to try gluing the paper ring on and hoping it stays together. Once those get delivered I'll try booting without the GC+ and troubleshoot from there. Is it reasonable to say that if there's a short on the GC breakout that the GC +2, the driver board, and the breakout are all fried? Or could any of them have survived? I don't know how I would test for that. Thanks for the help

The breakout board itself is probably fine. I don't think that short generated enough heat to melt the copper, but I'd continuity check every line just in case one did burn out. The GC+ is most likely to be the culprit, it probably fused into a short to GND. With any luck, only the GC+ and maybe the AMP will need to be removed and replaced

 

[vest]

Good news everyone!

Had some more time after school and just got the new batteries, so I sat down to do some troubleshooting. After a couple resistance checks, I’ve whittled it down to the driver board(the 3.3v and gnd lines have continuity).

Without the driver board connected, All the rails resistances sit right about where they should. And without the driver board connected, it boots into RVLoader! Considering how much worse it would have been had my wii or the pms gotten cooked, I count this as a win.
Right now I am waiting on a new driver board from 4 Layer Tech. Once that gets here, I’ll be able to see if any damage was done to the screen, and if not, hopefully I will be able to close it up!

 

[kolenot]

Got my new batteries today, they have a little bit of a different size, but they work and actually fit better. (easier to remove so the top is harder to get damaged)

 

[vest]

While waiting for the driver board to arrive, I decided I’d get the bluetooth and mx chip relocations done.

The MX relocation was pretty straightforward. I printed out @Senor Avocado’s custom bracket to mount the chip, and wired up everything according to the GBoy Rev 3 guide. I haven’t wired up all the data wires yet, because with the mount, it blocks access to the battery well. Once everything is put together though, I’ll wire it up

Next I wired up the bluetooth chip. I ended up attaching it to the top of the nand with a little hot glue, and after wiring up 3.3v and gnd, I passed the twisted data lines through a via to the other side. Using my tweezers, I carefully scraped away the solder mask to reveal the copper bluetooth lines. With many tries and a lot of flux, I successfully wired it up. I then put a dab of hot glue to hold it in place and inserted the battery to test if my relocation was successful. With luck, it booted into the home menu!

 

[vest]

After a lot of troubleshooting involving audio, button feel, and the bluetooth module, I am really happy to say that my first portable is finally completed! It’s been a ride trying to get this thing done, but it has been extremely rewarding. Thanks to everyone who helped me along the way, for bitbuilt and its resources, and special thanks to @Wesk for providing such a cool build. I look forward to playing my new portable, and I am especially looking forward to continue building new ones!
Completed pic:

Messy insides:

 

[kolenot]

Congrats

Still waiting on my new speakers to continue.

 

[vest]

Thanks!
Wishing you luck