Official Wiikey Fusion to GC MOD troubleshooting thread!
- Thread starter Ashen
- Start date
LOL. Thanks anyway.Vansman said:
I'll swap the switch when I get time. I'm thinking it's something to do with having pin 29 float, and not tied to a voltage. I'll try pulling it low through a resistor, then using a normally open switch to pull it to 1.9v. this failing, would 3.3v on pin 29 break anything?
Switch has been replaced by a momentary NC, and it still refuses to work, just the same. Blue LED comes on once, dimly, after the button is pressed, followed by nothing. Can someone confirm if this could be a problem with the SD card itself or the cable leading to it? If you guys boot your WKF without any games on the SD card, does it still reach the Linux load screen?
Am I right in saying that at 0:25 in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMeXMlDtaGE , the momentary switch had not been pushed since boot? The first thing displayed by the Gamecube in the video is "reading disc", from where I think after a button press, the cube displays the linux menu. My cube boots right into "The disc could not be read" before the button has been pushed.
Can somebody work out what's going on?
I found this diagram useful, which I adapted from the image in the tutorial post, to show which wii pin, each pin on the GC header must connect to. The diagram may be taken with a grain of salt given my current record of success using it. I may kick myself in the teeth if someone points out a flaw this could have lead to.
Am I right in saying that at 0:25 in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMeXMlDtaGE , the momentary switch had not been pushed since boot? The first thing displayed by the Gamecube in the video is "reading disc", from where I think after a button press, the cube displays the linux menu. My cube boots right into "The disc could not be read" before the button has been pushed.
Can somebody work out what's going on?
I found this diagram useful, which I adapted from the image in the tutorial post, to show which wii pin, each pin on the GC header must connect to. The diagram may be taken with a grain of salt given my current record of success using it. I may kick myself in the teeth if someone points out a flaw this could have lead to.
Ashen
GameCube Révolutionary
I'm pretty baffled man, If you have everything connected as in your diagram it should be working.
Have you tried moving your bridged ground connections coming from the wiikey around on the GC MB at all? A poor ground connection is the only thing I can possibly think of at this point. Try putting a fat glob of solder on one of the spots where the heatsink screws go thru and connect your wiikey grounds there.
Yes, the linux menu should still load even if no SD card is inserted at all.
If all else fails then, find a Wii to test your Wiikey on to make sure its not fried.
Edit: also that video you linked to is the Wii DVD drive. The pin29 to gnd connection actually works like the Wii eject does, I don't need to push it before hand to get it to load a real game disc.
Have you tried moving your bridged ground connections coming from the wiikey around on the GC MB at all? A poor ground connection is the only thing I can possibly think of at this point. Try putting a fat glob of solder on one of the spots where the heatsink screws go thru and connect your wiikey grounds there.
Yes, the linux menu should still load even if no SD card is inserted at all.
If all else fails then, find a Wii to test your Wiikey on to make sure its not fried.
Edit: also that video you linked to is the Wii DVD drive. The pin29 to gnd connection actually works like the Wii eject does, I don't need to push it before hand to get it to load a real game disc.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8q-elxC6gU I am this happy.
Did a clean sweep, de-soldering the breakout and checking it for continuity - all fine. I think you were right, in that it was a grounding problem, as that makes sense with the me-touching-ground-and-pin-29 thing, and just the strange behavior. I think i'm lucky it didn't break!
Connected the NC to the ground on the PSU, and NO to 1.9v just to be safe, but that clearly wasn't needed.
If grounding wasn't the problem, the only other thing i can think of is a faulty wire or the wire lengths being ... different lengths, as I cut them all slightly longer and uniform this time and it all works. Thank you all for your patience and guidance, and especially thank you to Ashen for your work in the discovery and development, but mostly for helping me along the way with this marvelous adaptation. I feel proud already, to have been involved in a community that can follow-up and give-back 10-fold.
Did a clean sweep, de-soldering the breakout and checking it for continuity - all fine. I think you were right, in that it was a grounding problem, as that makes sense with the me-touching-ground-and-pin-29 thing, and just the strange behavior. I think i'm lucky it didn't break!
Connected the NC to the ground on the PSU, and NO to 1.9v just to be safe, but that clearly wasn't needed.
If grounding wasn't the problem, the only other thing i can think of is a faulty wire or the wire lengths being ... different lengths, as I cut them all slightly longer and uniform this time and it all works. Thank you all for your patience and guidance, and especially thank you to Ashen for your work in the discovery and development, but mostly for helping me along the way with this marvelous adaptation. I feel proud already, to have been involved in a community that can follow-up and give-back 10-fold.
Tchay
Frequent Poster
I got my new switch. Its not the same one as Ashens and Hailrazers, but it works the same way and looks the same.
Wired it up. When I push the switch, the blue lights up, the goes out. I have to try it a couple times before the blue stays on and the menu appears. Usually it takes 6-7 seconds of pushing it to get it to work.
Does this mean my GC IPL is a bad one??? I still havent tested gameplay yet.
Wired it up. When I push the switch, the blue lights up, the goes out. I have to try it a couple times before the blue stays on and the menu appears. Usually it takes 6-7 seconds of pushing it to get it to work.
Does this mean my GC IPL is a bad one??? I still havent tested gameplay yet.
Tchay
Frequent Poster
Ashen said:
No i did not. I'll play with the grounding. Let you guys know what happens. thx!
EDIT: I tried giving it more ground. Problem persists. If I don't toggle the switch, after a while, I get the "error" screen. I have to push the switch for the right amount of time for it to work. And even then, it only works ever couple tries. And the orange light will come on for a little bit.
EDIT!!!!!!!!!!!
I decided to put my SD card into the reader and then try it. Now it works. On its own
The blue light flickers and everything, all by itself. I didnt push the switch or do ANYTHING and the menu comes on all on its own.......
Tchay
Frequent Poster
Okay, I've got some really interesting findings to tell (double post worthy 
)
After I ran the 1.5v Wiikey fusion update. All problems appeared to go away. Now, the orange LED flicker still happens (I am starting to wonder if that is normal and that most people just haven't noticed it since it is really difficult see).
Now, when I press the switch, the blue LED flickers, and the boot menu shows up. I tested Zelda TP, Mario 2, Mario 64, and Zelda CE. They all have worked flawlessly.
So to recap, your wiikey may not function without an SD card inserted. And until you do the 1.5v update, it may not work right. So I guess this is a case closed for me
for now..........dun dun dun
)After I ran the 1.5v Wiikey fusion update. All problems appeared to go away. Now, the orange LED flicker still happens (I am starting to wonder if that is normal and that most people just haven't noticed it since it is really difficult see).
Now, when I press the switch, the blue LED flickers, and the boot menu shows up. I tested Zelda TP, Mario 2, Mario 64, and Zelda CE. They all have worked flawlessly.
So to recap, your wiikey may not function without an SD card inserted. And until you do the 1.5v update, it may not work right. So I guess this is a case closed for me
for now..........dun dun dun
Ashen
GameCube Révolutionary
That's awesome man. I'm glad its working for you now. I would still check that grounding though. There really should be no red led flashing at all and in my experience that's what causes it to flash red (its how I killed my first wiikey). In those video's you showed me to help you troubleshoot, to me it looked like most of the ground in that are had been cut away. Even just take a fat wire from another ground spot on the board and solder it to where you have your wiikey grounds going. Better safe than sorry.
Tchay
Frequent Poster
Ashen said:
Oh I have 3 fat wires of ground going from the wiikey. Along with the IDE cable ground wires. XD
I think I have overkill on the ground. The red flashing is extremely subtle. Like, it is nearly invisible, so maybe perhaps it happens on all wiikeys? I don't know. But I can say that it is working properly now
Oh, more good news: The wiikey that I said I had fried? Its not actually fried. In fact, it also works just fine. So I got myself a wiikey fusion for free
bentomo
Frequent Poster
I've got an issue too, I have it wired up, I'm 99% sure that it's wired correctly. (accounting for .09% chance of counting wrong, and a .01 chance of gremlins)
What happens is that it loads up and flashes back and forth between please insert disc and reading disc, the button doesn't effect it.
Tested it with a multimeter too, switch is fine.
I have a feeling that it is latency, measuring from the header through the adapter, through the ffc cable it's approximately 6 inches.
EDIT: There's a very faint blue flicker on the led on the wiikey when the reading disc message pops up. I also looked at some pics of other peoples wiikey setups and it looks like their wires are way longer than mine, so it's probably not latency.
EDIT 2: Yea just checked for the 4th time and the connections are good, a properly formatted wbfs sd card with swiss and 1.5 software on the wiikey, and the wiikey works with a normal wii no sweat. Still a small blue flicker on the wiikey light.
EDIT 3: opened a dol-11 cube and tried it, same error
What happens is that it loads up and flashes back and forth between please insert disc and reading disc, the button doesn't effect it.
Tested it with a multimeter too, switch is fine.
I have a feeling that it is latency, measuring from the header through the adapter, through the ffc cable it's approximately 6 inches.
EDIT: There's a very faint blue flicker on the led on the wiikey when the reading disc message pops up. I also looked at some pics of other peoples wiikey setups and it looks like their wires are way longer than mine, so it's probably not latency.
EDIT 2: Yea just checked for the 4th time and the connections are good, a properly formatted wbfs sd card with swiss and 1.5 software on the wiikey, and the wiikey works with a normal wii no sweat. Still a small blue flicker on the wiikey light.
EDIT 3: opened a dol-11 cube and tried it, same error
Ashen
GameCube Révolutionary
Try taking that ground wire that comes from your pin 29 switch that you have tied in to the bridged dataline grounds and plop a big fat ball of solder on the outside edge grounding of the mainboard and hook it up there... see what happens. I know it shouldn't matter. But just try it 
Edit: also, easily overlooked I know its dumb but. Is the lidswitch you have wired up "closed"?
Edit: also, easily overlooked I know its dumb but. Is the lidswitch you have wired up "closed"?
I used the same switch and the NC is and C are on opposite sides, so I'd say that that much is wired up correctly.
This may also sound silly but perhaps the problem is because of the 36 pin adapter board, maybe not contacting correctly or something? I was concerned before I re-did mine that it may have been the wires being messy or causing interference with each other, regardless of their lengths. It may be superstition, but stuff like that purple-striped wire going right under the other leads where they attach to the header could be the problem.
It may be having the line from pin 29 going under the power wire there..
Check the grounding first though. Do the same thing for the 3.3v line too.
This may also sound silly but perhaps the problem is because of the 36 pin adapter board, maybe not contacting correctly or something? I was concerned before I re-did mine that it may have been the wires being messy or causing interference with each other, regardless of their lengths. It may be superstition, but stuff like that purple-striped wire going right under the other leads where they attach to the header could be the problem.
It may be having the line from pin 29 going under the power wire there..
Check the grounding first though. Do the same thing for the 3.3v line too.
bentomo
Frequent Poster
I can't believe I didn't check this earlier, yea I adjusted the 32 pin ribbon cable in the connecter and it works like a charm!
Loading games from the sd card is just amazing.
Now that I'm actually using flux though I'll take another crack at the little adapter. Saves a lot of space.
I'll just save this adapter for when I get other wiikeys to test them so I don't have to strip a wii down.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLgu3KEJa4s
Loading games from the sd card is just amazing.
Now that I'm actually using flux though I'll take another crack at the little adapter. Saves a lot of space.
I'll just save this adapter for when I get other wiikeys to test them so I don't have to strip a wii down.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLgu3KEJa4s
Tchay
Frequent Poster
Okay, I have a new problem and it is REALLY annoying.
Whenever I try to scroll down on my games list on the wiikey fusion, it acts like I selected the first game and resets the gamecube starting the first game on the list.
Sometimes it lets me get to the 3rd game, occasionally i can scroll down to my last game on the menu. But usually it just resets on the first game.
I can only use the d-pad to scroll up or down. Pushing "up" or "down" causes the wiikey to act like i am selecting the game.
Note? d-pad and controls work fine in normal gamecube menu and gameplay so I know its not the controller.
thx in advance for the help!
Whenever I try to scroll down on my games list on the wiikey fusion, it acts like I selected the first game and resets the gamecube starting the first game on the list.
Sometimes it lets me get to the 3rd game, occasionally i can scroll down to my last game on the menu. But usually it just resets on the first game.
I can only use the d-pad to scroll up or down. Pushing "up" or "down" causes the wiikey to act like i am selecting the game.
Note? d-pad and controls work fine in normal gamecube menu and gameplay so I know its not the controller.
thx in advance for the help!
