Nintendo Wii Fan Replacement

Written By: Andrew Bookholt
  • Comments: 87
Nintendo Wii Fan Replacement

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

17

Time Required

30 minutes - 1 hour

Introduction

Use this guide to replace a worn-out fan.

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    • Use a metal spudger to remove the white plastic screw covers stuck to the lower case near the front of the Wii.

    Die Abdeckungen sind geklebt, stecken also nicht.

    Ludger -

    Don’t mistakenly remove the rubber case feet

    Bob Trout -

    I just did. That picture could be better.

    B G -

    Thanks I almost removed the rubber feet

    Lushane -

    If you’re wondering what to use for this, the main blade of a pocket knife from the corner of the plastic works well.

    Cameron Holman -

    As you remove the hardware in each step, place them together on a sheet of paper and circle them with the step number.

    Tom J -

    Very helpful suggestion, thanks!

    Christopher Reese -

    Caution: Before you begin disassembly. If possible, power on your Wii, and attempt to eject whatever disk you may have in the drive.

    Steve -

    1:

    I'd recommend removing the RTC Battery before starting to completely remove all power. You can see how in step 15.

    2:

    When removing the screw covers I'd recommend inserting tweezers in the bottom corners facing away from the rubber feet.

    When the tweezers are inserted you should push them down to grab on to the cover and pull it off.

    Macro Man -

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    • Remove the two 8.3 mm Tri-Point screws hidden under the covers you just removed.

    Before you start, get a small plastic tray with at least 15 small bins in it, and put the screws you take out in each step in the bins in order. It makes reassembly a LOT easier.

    larry -

    NOTE: You need a Y1 screwdriver. Be careful when buying the little red screwdrivers on Amazon that claim to fit the Wii - they don’t!! From personal experience.

    Robotai -

    I have an ifixit kit and the Y1 didn't fit. I ended up using a Y0 and it worked.

    Macro Man -

    Just to add to Robotai’s comment, if you do get the little red/orange screwdrivers on Amazon, file off the tip. It if’s mostly blunt, it fits the tri-wing screws much better.

    jeff -

    1/16 x 1 craftsman Phillips mini screwdriver works for this if you don’t have the tri-wing driver

    grace nicosin -

    How do you make one ? If you don’t have the screwdriver

    Ethan -

    I am using a 18ct empty egg carton to hold the screws/parts removed in the steps.

    karenmparamore -

    Larry’s idea about the bins was great and helpful.

    Robots is right- you NEED a Y1. Just buy the thing with the drive. I didn’t, tried many other options, none worked. Had to order the thing separately with shipping. Mistake….

    David Ryan -

    My two screws hidden are on the backend of the Wii. This picture shows them on the front.

    Leah Wendleton -

    I had to hold the tri point driver in a vice-grip to get the leverage to get these screws out

    Bob Schwarz -

    These screws were really tough for me too. Amazon screw driver was stripping them. I attached a 7 mm socket to the end of the screwdriver and got enough force to get them out.

    NateB -

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    • Remove the single 5.9 mm Phillips screw under the controller port door nearest the faceplate.

    Pry the square rubber piece in the middle, not the hard plastic square frame.

    David Will -

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    • Use a metal spudger to remove the rubber foot stuck to the side of the Wii near the DVD drive opening.

    All of the rubber feet on my very old Wii had literally melted into a gooey mess and just needed to be scraper off and cleaned with alcohol.

    Bob Robins -

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    • Remove the single 5.9 mm Phillips screw hidden under the foot you just removed.

    please help! my lil sis got a disc stuck in my wii while it was off!!! please help fast!!!

    Leah Vegan -

    does it turn on?

    Giovanni Munoz -

    It won’t come out, it will turn and go up but it won’t go fully out

    Mmbb -

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    • Carefully pull the faceplate away from the front of the Wii.

    • Use a pair of tweezers to disconnect the LED cable's plastic connector from the motherboard.

    • Remove the faceplate.

    surprisingly, this was the trickiest step for me. I almost completely mangled the wires when my tweezers slipped as I was attempting to remove the connector.

    rbelknap -

    I removed it with a spudger, gently lift from each side until it pops out.

    For those reassembling

    line up the pins push it in with your spudger gently until it's in. Then line up the front plate, push gently, confirm everything is where it should be and push firmly, I found it needed a strong push to sit flush with the other body panels.

    James middleton -

    I ended up using needle nose pliars on this step.

    Awesome detailed guide made this very easy, thank you author!

    Glenn Woodard -

    Can someone direct me to what I need to do? My tweezers slipped and I cut one of the wires on the connector. Where can I find a new Y plug for the wii?

    jaredslaweski -

    I also broke my wire trying to use tweezers. I should have known better. I use (normally do) a spudger on one side and my fingernail on the other to gently pry these types of connectors out. I ended up buying a replacement faceplate on ebay.

    Tyler -

    This was the hardest part for me. I tried using my fingernails, two different tweezers, and needle nose pliers, but I ended up cutting both the wires. Anyway, I put some electric tape over the exposed wires and just reassembled the system. Funny thing is that the LED still works and I have not noticed any difference. I'm not sure what those wires did, but they seem to not be important.

    Nick -

    For people still wondering after all these years, :), The connector is for the blue leds around the dvd when loading and unloading a disk.

    Niels -

    I also broke off the flimsy wires at the connector. To NOT break the wires, alternate pressing on the right and left sides of the connector with a small flathead screwdriver. Be patient, it will eventually work itself free. There isn't enough to grab onto with the tweezers and you'll only succeed in having them slip off, grab the wires, and yank the wires out.

    Good news is that if you do rip out the wires, no worries... I didn't reconnect them and the unit works just fine. I have no idea what those wires are even for. Power LED continues to work no problem.

    jasendorf -

    I used two small flat head screw drivers, one on each side to pry out the connector. This created less pressure from me and reduced my chance of cutting the wires.

    mulkey -

    This guide is really marvellous - works a treat. But I would definitely recommend needle nose pliers for this step rather than tweezers. It's really easy if you use pliers and potentially damaging if not, and you get it wrong. I had one sniff at it with tweezers then immediate nipped out to the garage for my pliers!

    thepitcanary -

    Definitely a tricky step with that connector. I also cut broke the wire accidentally and was going to just give up trying to fix the Wii. However, as others stated the Wii works just fine, including the lights. I do wonder what those wire are for.

    darcaesar -

    I also had a lot of trouble trying to get the connector off with tweezers. Ended up leaving it attached. It does not really get in the way of remaining steps.

    Ron Even -

    Needlenose pliers did the trick for us!

    Ron Cormier -

    Needlenose pliers did it for us!

    Ron Cormier -

    You can save yourself some trouble at this point and skip the rest of the disassembly: See that green tab to the left of the sd card slot? THAT’S the wifi board (and that green tab, in hindsight, seems designed to make it accessible without taking apart the whole device, don’t you think?) A little careful spudging, and you’ve got it out, ready to replace! (There’s a guy who shows the process on youtube, if you want to review first)

    Will -

    I got the connector out ok thanks to the suggestions here, but I couldn’t figure out how to reattach it. In the end, I just kind of threw it in and it worked fine.

    Christine Wittmer -

    Very clear instructions - thanks! Faceplate needed replacing after one of my son’s friends accidentally kicked it across the room. $10 bucks to fix, thanks to ebay and these instructions. I’d never heard of a “tri-wing” screw before.

    LInda Rawlins -

    I just left the connector alone and kept it connected while working on it. There is enough wire to allow you to do what you need if you are just careful not to snag it on anything.

    Michael Payne -

    I, too, left the connector attached and just took care that the loose faceplate did not stretch the (not crucial) wire when moving rest of the Wii.

    Matti Haveri -

    This was the trickiest part, I almost broke the wires using tweezers and pliers, so instead use a flat end screwdriver to pry it out, when putting it back in use needlenose pliers to start it then use your fingernail to go the rest of the way.

    grace nicosin -

    After I got the connector out I noticed the little locking flap on the top side of the connector. I think prying this first is the key to easier removal.

    Will B -

    Anyone know of a method to replace the connector if you end up breaking the wires? Bits of wire are stuck in the white plastic connector, so I'm wondering if I can buy a connector online somewhere without replacing the whole face plate. Thanks :)

    Bronze Owl -

    I severed both wires. If you want to avoid removing the connector, you can lengthen the two wires by unserpentining them from the wire holder that's in the cover.

    Griff Derryberry -

    Make sure there is no SD card in your unit before pulling this off, otherwise it'll get stuck and you could snap your sd card in half!

    carlosahiciano -

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    • Open the controller port cover until it is perpendicular to the black controller port bezel.

    • Pull the controller port cover straight up to release it from the outer case.

    • Repeat this procedure for the memory card port cover.

    I wasn't able to reassemble the socket covers when I reversed this step..

    While disassembling, I did as instructed pulling the covers upwards when they where perpendicular to the black cover plate but Nintendos instructions says to open the covers (so that they are perpendicular to the black cover plate) and then gently push the covers towards the console with your fingers on the outside of the cover opposite side of the hinges so that the cover hinges will pop out and then lift it up..

    I'm not sure, but I think ignoring Nintendos instructions caused the hinge sockets to break for me, so replacing the controller/memory card socket covers will not work.

    When reassembling, the cover can be placed perpendicular to the black cover plate and rest on the plastic hinge with a few millimeters between the cover and the console, and then they can be pushed down to click in place. But in my case they keep falling all the way down since there's no resistance and nothing to click into.

    Martin Johansson -

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    • Remove the two remaining 4.1 mm Phillips screws along the top edge of the black plastic controller port bezel.

    • Lift the bezel from the long edge furthest away from the controller ports and remove it from the Wii.

    The 3rd hole is in step 3.

    James middleton -

    The bezel is the flat black plate. Removing the three screws that secure it allows you to remove it. If your cube is like mine, this plate likes where it lives and, even with the screws removed, managed to stay in situ without anything holding it.

    Dennis Johnston -

    Beware. The edge of the bezel, opposite these screws, has clips. Lift the bezel from the top edge, where the the screws are, to avoid breaking these clips.

    Dennis Johnston -

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    • Remove the two 5 mm Phillips screws above the controller ports.

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    • Use a metal spudger to remove the three highlighted screw covers stuck to the side of the Wii.

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    • Remove the following screws:

    • Two 5 mm Phillips screws

    • One 8.2 mm Tri-Point screw

    Instead of the Phillips screw on the left I had a very small one under a cover to the left of that!

    Donna Vought -

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    • Use a metal spudger to remove the two rubber feet stuck to the bottom face of the Wii near the rear ports.

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    • Remove the two 8.2 mm Tri-Point screws hidden under the feet you just removed.

    • You may use a 4 mm hex driver to extend your bit into the recesses and reach the screws.

    had a little trouble with theses screws. they were just barely too deep for my 54pies bit driver kit to reach. I ended up inserting a small wad of paper into the shaft of my driver so the tri-wing bit stuck out far enough to engage the screw. (I used the tweezers to remove the paper when I was done) :)

    rbelknap -

    I can confirm, this works fantasticly!

    Thank you

    James middleton -

    When putting the screws back in hold the tip still with the screw and carefully drop it in.

    James middleton -

    When i tried it didn't work. But i did get it to work with blu tack instead as it holds better. It was alot harder to remove though.

    Macro Man -

    Thank you rbelknap, this is excellent advice for those using the ifixit branded driver.

    George Squires -

    You could also use the 4mm nut driver in the iFixit kit to turn the tri-wing driver. This will give you a little more reach.

    Edward Tucker -

    How is no one talking about the included 4mm nut driver trick at Edward Tucker mentioned?! That is genius! Thanks mate!

    Zabuza -

    That's the idea that I needed. Agree with Zabuza.

    cwdick -

    Bingo. All of the other comments were unnecessary.

    Tony Shannon -

    Because it doesn't come with the screw driver in the kit. Only has the tri wing and the cross tips.

    Craig Goodsell -

    This paper wad trick totally worked for me too!

    anonymous 779 -

    Standard Tri-Wing bits will NOT fit into the holes. Make sure that you get one of the tool kits from iFixit (I just ordered the Mako Driver/Bit kit with 64 bits ) - the Tri-Wing bits in this kit have a narrow shaft that allows it to reach deep into narrow holes like these on the Wii . (Disclaimer - I have no association with iFixit).

    dave whale -

    I just sawed off a bit of the shank holder from the iFixit tool, in order for the bit to go deep enough into the case.

    The tool still works fine.

    Alan Walker -

    Thanks for the paper wad trick advice! Worked perfectly with my Wii

    Finder352 -

    The 4mm driver was the exact fix for this problem, no mods necessary

    Tony Shannon -

    I just realized that my ifixit kit never came with the 4mm driver! Instead they sent me two 3.5mm ones.

    gawift -

    put a little gorilla tap around the shaft of the driver, that was the trick for me to get it to reach down

    SmokeyBare -

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    • Lift the outer case straight up off the body of the Wii.

    This step could use at least another picture from the backside so it's clearer what comes up and what stays down.

    Jose Vazquez -

    I used a spudger around the edges of the outer case to gently ease it upward since I could not lift it out with my fingers. Then it came right out.

    Marko -

    Good tip. Having, in the past, broken pieces that required a little persuasion, I attempted to "lift" the outer case, but it wouldn't budge. Using the spudger to persuade it worked like a charm. Also added this suggestion to Step 18 "Lift the drive shield."

    Dennis Johnston -

    hey marko that really helped me thanks\. als if you need help figuring which side is up, its the one with the nintendo engraving on it

    Aryan Garg -

    A fan filter fell out at this step how do you put it back?

    Edit: I figured it out it was from the side intake vent. Just line up the two notches with the pegs in the case to hold it in place

    Darren Jones -

    This is an awful guide

    Alexander D Schaefer -

    Yeah. I don't know why most of the official ifixit guides suck.

    Macro Man -

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    • Grab the fan connector with a pair of tweezers and lift it straight up and out of its socket on the motherboard.

    • Be sure your tweezers are clamped down on the fan connector, not the socket attached to the motherboard.

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    • Remove the two 10 mm Phillips screws securing the fan to the fan shroud.

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    • Remove the fan from the Wii.

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Author

Andrew Bookholt

592004 Reputation

9 comments

Awesome guide, just replaced faulty fan unit in my 9 year old wii. Should hopefully keep it going for another 9 years :)

Finlay Macrae -

Super easy and great instructions! I feel a little guilty that my Wii sat in the garage for 4 years! Now it'll be a great birthday present for my 2 boys.

e_gayheart -

Does anyone have a diagram for the Wii’s airflow? I’m looking to install a booster fan at the bottom to help blow air in but I want to make sure it is effective.

Jessica Parnelli Fawkes -

nice¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡

RIGO NOLASCO -

Thanks! Wii Quarantine’n in 2021!

Daniel Thomas -

Beautiful instructions. Thank you. A++. Would disassemble my Wii again.

Henry -

Pls help my Wii fan came off the motherboard!

Dantendo -

Muito obrigado!

Wackson Wel -

Much appreciated

Hazzer -