Flickering pixels

[Kiryllos]

Man, this topic is a bummer. I just bought a Wii. I don't want to disable standby mode because I like the news channel and "Wiimail" notification.

Is this problem only happening to older Wiis or is it happening to brand new ones too?

The Wii is the last thing on Earth I would have expected to have heat-related failures.

Mine was exactly two weeks old (I bought it February 1st) when I called Nintendo for a repair. I actually noticed the problem three days earlier, but it wasn't consistent and thought it was just the game I was playing.

I bought myself one of those Intec radiators for my Wii when it comes back from repair so I can leave Connect24 on but still have a fan pulling air through it.

 

[duke_fan13]

Im just going to play throught it and hope it doesn't get much worse...I don't want to send mine in so I probably won't. I haven't seen reports on anything worse happening from letting it continue, so we shall see.

 

[Kryten]

Mine was exactly two weeks old

Thanks for the info. Got mine on death watch now.

I bought myself one of those Intec radiators

That sounds like a great idea but I would hope that Nintendo is making some sort of improvement so that the problem doesn't keep recurring.

What are we going to call this? Flickering Pixels of Death (FPoD)? That's probably a bit of an overstatement since the console doesn't actually die like the 360.

 

[Kiryllos]

Thanks for the info. Got mine on death watch now.

That sounds like a great idea but I would hope that Nintendo is making some sort of improvement so that the problem doesn't keep recurring.

What are we going to call this? Flickering Pixels of Death (FPoD)? That's probably a bit of an overstatement since the console doesn't actually die like the 360.

Heh I think it just comes down to a design that relies heavily on proper cooling, but due to the method of production (factory workers, basically, who are probably paid higher wages for the more Wiis they put through the door), improper or lazy application of cooling grease etc... are used. For me, the Radiator is actually quite noisy, but it's a small price to pay to keep my 'hopefully soon' to be repaired Wii in working order.

I know mine is beyond simple cooling, though, since even at cold temps it shows bad textures now. Had I known when I first bought it, though, I would have slapped the radiator on as soon as I hooked it up or risked my warranty and gone inside to provide a higher level of cooling.

**EDIT**

Okay, I don't want to count my chickens before they've hatched, but I just went to look at my Wii (which I haven't touched in a couple days due to not wanting to exacerbate the problem) and the pixels aren't there. I played an entire round of golf and they didn't show up.

The only thing that's changed is I moved it to a different place (it was sitting on a warm spot on top of my PVR) and I turned it horizontal because I noticed that the air intake is on the bottom, and rather than suck the hotter air from below where the PVR was, I thought I would suck cooler air in from the side instead.

Oddly, though, I had tried cooling the damn thing and it didn't seem to make a difference, which is why I think my bad pixels will probably show up again, but it does seem to suggest a heat problem. If the Intec radiator can keep it cool, maybe I won't have to ship it. And if I get the balls, I might pull it apart (though my wife will kill me if she finds out I did).

**EDIT 2**

Okay, so they were back just now, but with the cooler in while playing, the pixels actually faded over time as opposed to getting worse. I'm getting very (probably too) interested in pulling the Wii apart and checking the heat sink. If only I could be sure I could take it apart and not tip Nintendo off that I've been mucking around inside.

 

[Bentendo]

I'm a Canuck as well, but I haven't received my shipping label yet, so I'm not sure what the actual turnaround is - but the website says we should expect 14-21 days return from the time they receive it. Depending on what province you're in, of course. I think they do all the repairs in Burnaby BC.

I wonder if after the repairs are done if they make sure the heatsink is better attached to the graphics chip? My theory (though only a theory) is that the thermal goo isn't very good or well placed and the chip overheats.

Turns out the repairs are done in Richmond, and I live down town Vancouver. According to the Nintendo rep, I can drive up to this place, and hand them my Wii and they should have it back to me in about an hour. I'm pretty excited about that. I'm hoping this won't be something that has me taking the Wii back in for repairs in another couple months. I use the news channel and the weather channel all the time so I don't like the idea of having to turn off Wii Connect 24. Has any one heard about how wide spread this problem might be? Could this be a single batch issue?