Our Wii is a few years old, well used. Right after Santa left 2 new Wii games it started misbehaving, difficulty reading the disk, sometimes not starting the game, sometimes choking in the middle. I googled around and found some clues. My kids were chomping at the bit to play because...
First my daughter got a Dancing game that she has wanted for months, and her friends want to come over and play it too, and she wants to leverage the popularity points. You can imagine the "Is it fixed yet" factor...
... and my son, after trying for a year, finally was the winning 105th caller to the big pop radio station contest, and won a Wii game, which made him crazy with pride. The fun part for me was getting a tour of the 4 station facility from my friend Sol, the station's engineer, while I was picking up the prize. Talk about the great Oz behind the curtain, modern radio is amazing. All automated, all computerized, very complex. It raised my respect for Sol's knowledge to new heights, because he built those studios and fixes everything from the DJs mic to the 100kW tubes in the transmitter.
So my oldest son, the game winner is not so much of a fix-it type guy like his little bro, who programs virtual reality games online and makes his own iPod apps and fixes everyone's broken toys. So I decide to harness his excitement into a lesson, to get some hands on training in order to get his prize of playing his new Wii game. He was bouncing out of his skin with anticipation of fixing the Wii, but we had to order a special tri wing security screwdriver ($.01 plus 2.99 shipping
) Everyday after school he asked did it come yet?
Finally it comes, and he gathers up all the tools we'll need for the surgery. We watch an OCD Wii modder's youtube on how to disassemble a Wii, which my son executes while I pause and play the video for him. He takes it apart with me coaching him to avoid stripped heads, threads, losing parts, etc. He gets it all apart and I clean the laser lens with a Qtip and alcohol. He puts it back together while I give clues about what parts go next. He argues that I am wrong until he finally notices the big aluminum RF shield that fell on the floor, forgotten in 10 minutes. Overall it was pretty fun, and he was so proud of himself that he could take it apart and reassemble. It seemed to work for the first test, but same error again the next day.
So I try vacuuming through the disc slot and cooling vents, no change. More reading on google and I see a trend, the lasers are basically maintenance items. While other tricks sometimes work, replacing the laser seems to always work. So we ordered a laser from Amazon for $10 which arrived yesterday. Last night the "repair begging" began again. He is ready to dive in again, rip that thing open and cut out its heart! The kid is a genius, but he doesn't assume he can do things until he is forced to try. He has to be ridden hard then he excels. It was difficult lesson for us to learn because it is the exact opposite of what motivates me and my wife. I pity his poor wife. Ahhhh, but she won't be poor with his talent put to use, and she can be pure bitch and he will thrive on it. I'm looking forward to those Thanksgiving dinners already!
So tonight he will replace the laser assembly in the Wii all by himself. I will try not to offer any help except clearing my throat when the pending fuckup will cause serious damage like bleeding finger or bricked Wii. I like to think he is more excited about fixing it than he is about playing the game, but I know that is pure delusion. When he's done I will show him the website for the local Wii repair shop, who charges $75 to replace a Wii laser. Anyway, that's how we mold our children here on the farm. Harness their desires to the plough so they learn some skills and learn that life is not free and easy.
Last fall my 9yo daughter helped me flush the transmission fluid. She loved running the engine, pouring the fluids and getting greasy, and later told me that she was glad I finally asked her to help fix the van instead of always asking the boys. OUCH! Heart melter!
I just hope this laser finally fixes it or my name is MUDD!