Swap board from a GC2-DMS drive to a D2C drive? Swap lens units?

CZroe · #1 (**permalink**) 07-01-2008, 09:33 PM

The lens in my nephew's GC2 Wii was broken (near-contant DREs, even on original discs). The GPU and GC memory card slots are bad in my GC2-DMS Wii. Because my nephew was visiting from out of state last week and I had already arranged to RMA mine, I swapped my modded drive for his bad one. The problem is, I had already purchased a Wii to swap in a D2C before doing the RMA (didn't want to risk my GC2-DMS). I'd still like to send a D2C with my RMA (paid, out-of-warranty; Nintendo already fixes DRE drives for free so it's not fraud). Before I do that, I need to know: will a D2C drive's assembly work fine with the board removed from a GC2-DMS drive and vice-versa? If the answer to that is "no," then can I swap laser/lens assemblies without adjusting anything?

CZroe · #2 (**permalink**) 08-28-2008, 01:19 AM

I still need to know: can I swap optical drive PCBs between a D2C and a GC2-DMS drive?

HybridKid · #3 (**permalink**) 08-28-2008, 08:59 AM

Yes, you will have no issues swapping out the boards

CZroe · #4 (**permalink**) 08-29-2008, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HybridKid

Yes, you will have no issues swapping out the boards

That's what I needed to know. Thanks! I hope there are no "secret calibrations" tuned for one or the other optical assemblies, but that is a risk I am willing to take.

CZroe · #5 (**permalink**) 08-29-2008, 04:05 PM

Looks like you were wrong. There were a couple motors complicating the board swap. I unsoldered the two motors taking careful note of the orientation (six wires total). I swapped both boards and soldered the motors back on. It was simple and it went smoothly.

Unfortunately, neither drive works.

The original GC2-DMS drive, having had the GC2-DMS board replaced with a stock D2C board, now spins and results in a "?" on the disc channel. Of course, this drive didn't read discs in the first place, but at least it tried longer.

The original D2C drive having had the D2C board replaced with a GC2-DMS + WiiKey now spits discs back out immediately. Bah!

HybridKid · #6 (**permalink**) 08-29-2008, 08:35 PM

You made sure all the ribbon cables were seated well, and that the optical PCB was screwed down correct?

catogtp · #7 (**permalink**) 08-29-2008, 09:10 PM

I swapped a D2C board and a D2B board and they both worked fine. I think you did something wrong.

CZroe · #8 (**permalink**) 08-31-2008, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HybridKid

You made sure all the ribbon cables were seated well, and that the optical PCB was screwed down correct?

Yes, of course. I didn't have time to "try again" at that point, but I took pains to make sure it was all properly seated.

Though I'm not sure what the problem is, it looks like they do work after all. Well, the faulty drive still DREs but at least it can load the splash banner. The only thing I did was remove the D2CKey + WiiClip that I had tested it with just berfore performing the PCB swap. When if failed, I had left it attached and was careful not to tug or bump it so that I could compare before & after without wondering if the clip is attached correctly (confirmed before I started the PCB swap).

The WiiKey GC2-DMS PCB with the D2C drive's assembly now works perfectly, though I can't say why. It was the first I tested and it was connected properly. I always did full power cycles (unplug and press power to drain) before connecting or disconnecting anything. I also always made sure to start with a same-region original before trying anything else (not that it mattes when it spits it right out). I removed and reinserted the screws, but I don't see how that would make a difference (it's not like they maintain some electrical connection).

You guys were right after all, but I still wonder why the D2CKey didn't work after the swap. I'll have to try it again later.