[SOLVED] My Wii is broken

[NickStone]

I let my older brother borrow my wii console for his son to play on it. He kept it for a few months and then out of the blue he phones me up and tells me that as his son no longer plays with the wii I can have it back.

Upon returning home and connecting it up to the TV I discover that the wii remote does not work properly. Some of the buttons work on the remote but there is no cursor on the screen to allow me to select the different options. After searching online for a possible cause it is possible that the sensor bar, which sits on top of or below the TV, is faulty. Searching Amazon.co.uk have found I can get a replacement sensor bar for around £5 (pound sterling),

What is really annoying me is not the fact that it got damaged but that my brother didn't tell me it was broken. Relatives, who'd have 'em!

[sithlord48]

to be sure its the sensor bar you can use any IR light source to test the wiimote. i've used candles they don't work great but its will work enuff so you can test, be sure the sensor bar its the problem and not a problem w/ the wiimote (were all the hardware is)

good luck

[GreyGeek]

A common observation one makes after loaning stuff to friends and relatives is that since they didn't feel the pinch at the cash register they don't show any respect for the equipment. Sometimes it comes back whole, most of the time it doesn't. Sometimes it is "lost".
Now, I either do NOT loan stuff out, or I give it to them to keep, with the condition that if it breaks don't call me.

That said, my grandson came over with a Wii game & steering wheel controller. After he left my wife tried to use the excercise platform but it wouldn't connect. The blue light would briefly flash and then go out. Replaced the batteries and tried the resync buttons but it didn't help.

Doing the Google search I found what allowed us to resync. Press the recync button on the excercise platform. Then press AND HOLD the recync button on the Wii for precisely SEVEN second and then let it up. If you hold for less than seven seconds it won't sync. (IF you hold for ten seconds you will unsync everything.) That allowed it to resync.

[NickStone]

Its interesting to read that you have to press and hold the resync button for 7 seconds. I found online that you should press and hold it for 15 seconds.

Do you think I should put the wii in its box and forget about it?

[sithlord48]

its the button on the wii and the button on the wiimote (under the battery door). you should know its up cause one of the lower lights should turn on. you should also be able to work around the system menu by pluging a game cube controller in to the wii (if you happen to have one).

[oshunluvr]

You can test the remote by using candles. They give off enough IR light to allow the wii remote to work. Simply put a candle at either end of the sensor bar and try out your remote. If it behaves the same, it's the remote. If it works better than before, it's the sensor bar. BTW, the sensor bar is nothing than a few IR LED's. I built one of my own from scratch to fit my 50" TV because the standard bar was too small to work properly.

[NickStone]

I just bought some candles today and have just used them to test the wii remote and I can confirm that it is the "sensor" (IR light) bar thats faulty not the remote.

[SteveRiley]

You can test the remote by using candles.

Will incense work?

[Snowhog]

Will incense work?

ONLY if it's Santalum album, or Indian sandalwood. You will however, be arrested 'on scent'!

[oshunluvr]

Awww, are you guys threatened by such a low-tech solution? I promise I won't advocate the return of the abacus!

@nickstonefan: Depending on the cause of the failure of your "sensor" bar, you might be able to repair it. You can see which IR LED's are working (if any) with a digital camera. Simply turn on the camera and look at the LEDs through the camera's display. They will obviously look lit-up through the camera. If all are dead, I'd suspect the power source, if many are dead but not all, the LEDs or internal wiring is the issue.

If you have a multi-voltage tester and soldering iron you can suss it out yourself and attempt a repair or order some IR LEDs (they're cheap) and build a new one yourself.

[Detonate]

As I never play any of the Wii games, I ditched it and got a Roku box for watching Netflix and MLB.com. It is a lot easier to setup and the remote is a lot easier to use than the Wii. Biggest problem I have lately is that my remote for my second TV, which is actually a PVR card in my computer quit working after I got a new Vizio TV. I have Dish Network and one HDTV DVR receiver services both TV's. The second remote communicates with the Dish receiver via UHF. As it was working perfectly before I got the new TV, I deduced the new TV was putting out some kind of UHF signal that was interfering. The antenna for the remote attaches to the back of the receiver with a standard UHF cable connection, so I found a cable and used it to relocate the antenna several feet from the receiver and TV. Now it's working fine.