How to Wire Solder your WiiKey

Ok. i have been reading this and other forums for about 3 days (I got my wiikey today in louisiana) trying to find out the best way to install this thing. I have never soldered anything in my life (insert your best n00b joke here). so I had some questions about what to do. I went to Radio Shack and purchased the usual items (30 awg wire, helping hands magnifying glass, 15w iron, .022dia 1.5oz silver-bearing solder, triwing screwdriver).

Now my question is once i get my wii open to the drive and get to the point how do i apply the solder. do i have to bring the wire, solder and iron together at one time or can i apply the solder to the iron then drip it to the wire on top of the solder pad.

I have read of different ways of doing it but not sure if what i am reading is accurate. also on the wii drive it seems that the solder pads have solder on them (i might be wrong) do i need to heat the pads on the drive then the wire then the solder. i guess im looking for a little strp by step here. i have a old dvd rom drive here i am going to practice on buit was looking for more clarification

Do yourself a favor and DO NOT try to solder the chip in yourself. For me, the wii is very easy to install chips for, but I have about 150 xbox's, a couple ps2s, ps1s, gamecubes, and other misc things under my belt. If you are not used to soldering VERY small points on pcbs, it is VERY difficult to do yourself. I commend you for wanting to do it yourself, but please do yourself a favor and have someone else do it who has experience.

Now, that being said, if you still want to do it yourself here are some guidelines:
1- Always practice on old boards you dont need anymore, and practice for at least 2 weeks until you feel you are confident to do the real thing
2- Make sure the iron is fully heated (radio shack iron should take 3-5 minutes before it is heated). I usually turn my iron on before taking the wii apart so when its apart, the iron is nice and hot.
3- Tin your iron with solder by applying solder directly to the iron, and shaking off the excess or wiping it on a wet sponge or rag. (btw I recommend rosin core solder, not silver bearing)
4- Tin all points you solder to first. My routine is first tape down the chip to the bench, then tin each point on the chip. To do this, heat the pad on the chip (flat part not the rounded part, it sticks out from the round part) with the iron for about 2 seconds and apply the solder onto the pad, not the iron. The heat from the iron will heat the pad to melt the solder and make a nice area to work with. When you tin the pad, apply the iron, apply solder to the pad, remove the solder spool, then remove heat, in that order. You will be left with a ball of solder on the pad, and it should be shiny. Next, I tin each point on the wii that needs to be soldered to in the same manor. Next I tape down the chip to the drive where I want to mount it. Now I strip the end of the wire and trim it as short as possible keeping it on the spool, do not precut lengths of wire. Next I heat the first pad on the chip that I tinned until the solder melts and attach the wire, then remove the iron keeping the wire as still as possible. You may want to tin the wire also, its not necessary but may help if you are unexperienced. Flux will also help, just apply on each point BEFORE tinning. Again, flux isn't necessary but will help the unexperienced. Next I measure out the wire and trim it a little longer than needed and strip more than I need and trim it short. Now I attach the wire to the point on the wii the same way as before. Repeat until the install is done. Finally, test and if its working tape down the chip and wires with electrical tape.

I hope this helps you, but I also hope you have someone else install it for you. If you don't practice for at least a week you will destroy your wii, guaranteed. Even with practice, you very well may still damage it. Good luck, and let us know how it went.

Almost forgot, when you do attempt the install, disconnect the ribbon cable and white power cable before installing, most noobs don't do this and the heat melts the cables and ruins them.

Thanks a lot. i have a few questions though

"To do this, heat the pad on the chip (flat part not the rounded part, it sticks out from the round part) with the iron for about 2 seconds and apply the solder onto the pad, not the iron. The heat from the iron will heat the pad to melt the solder and make a nice area to work with. When you tin the pad, apply the iron, apply solder to the pad, remove the solder spool, then remove heat, in that order"

What is the pad. you mean not the open circle but the oval on the PCB? i am not sure i know what you are talking about. also your telling me to get nice little balls of cooled down solder on all the points i want together then just heat them up and stick them together. sounds too easy?

The ground and power points have round parts and flat parts protruding from them, those are the pads you want to solder to, the flat parts. The other 4 are just pads that you can solder to directly in the same manor I described. I wish I took pics of one of the 3 wiikey installs I did over the past 2 days to show you what I mean.

my solder says high-tech rosin core. silver bearing solder. is that not good?

also how long do i need to leave the iron on the wii drive before it is hot enough. how do i know when it is hot enough

Originally Posted by tank27

also how long do i need to leave the iron on the wii drive before it is hot enough. how do i know when it is hot enough

The iron is hot enough when solder melts immediately. DO NOT leave the iron on the board for any long period of time, it should only take a second.

Originally Posted by tank27

my solder says high-tech rosin core. silver bearing solder. is that not good?

http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2062717

If that's the solder you got, that should be fine. A lot of people use the Radioshack solder. Four of the points you are to solder are small, so make sure you have thin solder. What I used was .015" diameter.

Also, It's a good idea to browse the forums for pictures of install jobs that other people did. That way, you know what good solder jobs look like and you can get ideas on where/how you want to place the chip and wires.

In the week I was waiting for my WiiKey to arrive in the mail, I browsed message boards and saved a lot of pictures. Give me your email address and i'll be happy to email some Wiikey install pictures to you.

That is what i have except is says rosin core on it also. i have been to a few forums to look at different mods. i just need to practice. i have a shift worker job so i wont be able to get into till wed night. i was shocked when i actually got the wiikey and saw how small it is. that is what scares me the most. shorting these contact points with solder. i got the 15w iron from the shack i hope the tip is small enough

i am just worrying about having to heat the contact point then let the point melt the solder. im worried about melting the pad. i bought 2 wiikey's just in case i mess up. hopefully i do it right the first time and can sell the others.

Hey tank,

I'm in the same situation as you, got my WiiKey almost a week ago now.
Doing preparation work in the evenings when I have time, will probably mod my Wii this weekend.

I tinned all the contact points of my WiiKey and also tinned all (6) the wires on each end.

Below is a picture of the tinned contact points of my wiikey (ignore the circles ) :

Note: I'm also a newbie in soldering. Did it once before with huge 100W iron, doesn't help for this kind of job.

Hope it helps you out a bit, the scale of it all is indeed extremely small.
Also a good tip:
Use a multimeter (set to audio mode) to check all points you soldered that they aren't connected together.

what do oyu have circled under the c2. actually above it

tell me more about the multimeter. how to use it and why

The circles was because those 2 points are connected, and I didn't know if that was correct.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multimeter
You use it to check if there is a connection between 2 points, if that's the case for any 2 of the points you solder that's not good.
Just a tool to check if you didn't screw up. Takes some more time, but if you're as afraid as me to screw up, it's worth it I guess.

OK.... i have been practicing. i am very suprised how easy it is to get the solder down. it took me a while to actually get the solder to flow because it keep drawing up onto the iron but after a while it was easy with the pencil point to get the solder in those very little pads on the old drive im practicing with.

What i am having problems with is tinning the wires. i cant seem to get the solder to hold on to the wires. also how did you get th wire to stay still. did you tape it down or something.

Originally Posted by tank27

What i am having problems with is tinning the wires. i cant seem to get the solder to hold on to the wires. also how did you get th wire to stay still. did you tape it down or something.

You don't want a big clump of solder on the wire. A layer of solder was probably put on the wire, but you just can't see it since the solder is silver like the wire.

so just coat the wire with solder. that is what i see. i coated about 1mm of wire with solder

Originally Posted by tank27

so just coat the wire with solder. that is what i see. i coated about 1mm of wire with solder

Yes you just coat the wire. heres a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jUaf394WIk

Originally Posted by AceMilo

Do yourself a favor and DO NOT try to solder the chip in yourself.

If you are not used to soldering VERY small points on pcbs, it is VERY difficult to do yourself. I commend you for wanting to do it yourself, but please do yourself a favor and have someone else do it who has experience.

Thats not necessarily true. I had never soldered a day in my entire life nor seen it being done. I had to solder 3 pads on the wiikey and a further 3 to the actual legs of the chip (points 4 5 and 6) and no i wasnt the one who lifted the points. On top of that points 4 and 6 are right next to each other, and even further on top of that, i was using a 40Watt iron. I managed to do it all and solder it to the wii and its been working flawlessly for the past week. I wouldnt say it was anywhere near easy but with enough patience and preparation it is possible.