Having Trouble With A Case Mod Need Advice Please

Short Version: How important is the internal cooling fan when using a rear cooling fan and fan stand? Air coming out is cool but warning lights go off should I be concerned? Is damage being done to my Wii and what should I do? (fix the fan and lose the case mod or stop being so paranoid and leave things the way they are)



PLEASE READ THIS IS IMPORTANT

Hey all I have an issue with a case mod I did on my second Wii. It is one of those clear cases that has the thermostat and sensor with digital readout and temperature controled color changing LEDs. Well the sensor for the thermostat sits right next to the heat sink and in order to make the case fit the plastic cover for the heat sink had to be taken out. (part of the mod case design not done rogue by me) Anyways in order to power all this the cooling fan's power source has to be used and the cooling fan is linked in into the power at the end. By the end it doesn't get enough power to run and therefor the unit has to have a rear turbo cooling fan and cooling fan stand. You can see a pic of this unit at [www.mymainbackup.com] it is obviously the top pic on the right.

Anyways, the problem is the thermostat constantly says it is overheating and the warning lights go to red. I am not sure if this is due to its proximity to the heat sink or due to the lack of a working internal cooling fan. HOWEVER, when I put my hand to the rear of the cooling fan on the exterior the air coming out is cool or luke warm at most. I am concerned though that it is still overheating inside and damage is being done or that if I were to go ahead and leave it on, which I have not had the guts to do, it would overheat and die. Should I go back in and unhook the sensor and LEDs and reconnect the fan or am I being paranoid and the rear and stand fans are enough and the air coming out that is cool is truely indicitive of the internal temperature inside the Wii and not just cool due to going through the cooling fan?

I wish I could put the sensor elsewhere and try this but it is fixed in place and is a design flaw in my opinion but then again maybe it is supposed to tell you the temperature of the heatsink and not the air temperature inside the Wii. I spent a decent amount of money on this case mod but I have put way more into DLC on this Wii and I really really do not want to lose this unit. I am not sure what to do and am unsure if I am being paranoid or not, and if I should just go ahead and let the unit run until the air coming out gets warm or if that would be too late. I really need some advice on this before any damage is done. I would like to keep the mod but would prefer to error on the side of caution if it is necessary.

What do you guys think I should do? I of course will not hold anyone to anything, I am just looking for advice, what happens is up to me and the mod was done by me so it is my fault so feel free to say what you really think I should do to fix this issue. Thank you all in advance for your help. To mods, I got permission from admin to post this topic before posting it, because it is not homebrew related, so please do not delete it or move it to the junkyard. Have a good evening all, thanks again for your advice. Talk to you later.

Sincerely,
Elmoreas



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2010 05:55PM by elmoreas.

My guess, would be turning the Wii on before you go to bed, and check it out when you wake up in the morning. If the air blowing is hot, then I'd say put the old case back on or something, if its still cool or lukewarm, I think you've got a faulty sensor.

Well, maybe you have hot air around the fan blowing towards the wii, it would just blow that hot air too the console: making it heat up faster.

@cactusjack901: Oh the warning lights go on after 30 mins or less, I get concerned and off it goes. I am not sure about leaving it on all night, I am afraid I would wake up to a fried Wii. That is if I could sleep at all that night. I might let it stay on past the warning lights but I would stay with it and play it and see if the air got warm or something. But my real concern is the fact the internal cooling fan is not functioning. Are the rear and base cooling fans sufficient and this warning issue just due to sensor location or is it really truely hot in there due to the internal fan not being on and the senor is accurate and I need to hook the fan back up and forget about the case mod. I guess it all really comes down to that internal cooling fan and if it is needed or if the add-on fan(s) are sufficient. Thanks for your help it is GREATLY appreaciated.

@huterm: The room is cool we keep the house at 65 F and the Wii is now in an open and well ventilated area in a wide open loft so there is no issue with airflow to it. What I really need advice on is whether or not the internal fan is that important vs having external fans and if not is it safe to run w/o damage being done to the Wii. Even though the warning light goes off the air is cool so my guess is it is safe but I could be wrong I would prefer about 10 opinions before I leave it on past the warning lights. Thanks all.

Sincerely,
Elmoreas



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2010 07:30AM by elmoreas.

If that is the case, it is probably since the Wii's internal fan is very small and weak, so you need to do one of these:

1. Replace the fan with a more powerful one.
2. Find a way to send more power to the fan.
3. Get more fans into the Wii.
4. Let your Wii burn into a blazing fire, killing your Wii and destroying your happyness. :-(
5. ????
6. PROFIT! :P

Your #'s 1 and 2 bring up good points, the internal fan also is a turbo, which requires more power to operate, pehaps if I put the standard one back in it will get enough power to operate. The second point of getting more power through to the fan is a good idea too, but how would I do that, anyone have any ideas? Thanks all. Have a good one. Talk to you later.

Sincerely,
Elmroeas

P.S. I added a short version to the first post so that people just coming into this thread can get up to speed real fast. Please let me know what you all think, I am still looking for answers and could still really use your advice. Thanks.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2010 06:01PM by elmoreas.