Wii Power Brick Hates Power Surges

[NayusDante]

If there's a bad power surge, my Wii's power brick goes out. It stops powering the Wii until I unplug it from the wall for about a half hour. It can be like this for days until I notice that the red power light on my Wii is out, but it still returns to normal after I unplug it for a half hour. I've only seen this happen with my particular power brick, my parents have a Wii in the same house and it's never had a problem.

My Wii is about a year old, while theirs is the one I camped the launch for. Has anyone else had this problem? If so, approximately how old is your Wii? Is this something I should worry about?

[Dr. Dib]

I've never noticed any problems, but then again I usually have my Wii unplugged and packed away. My friends though always seem to have theirs plugged in though and I don't remember them having any problems. They've had their since launch.

I'd guess it would be something to worry about since it is not normal. Try plugging it into a surge protector or unplugging it while its not in use. Sure, you won't get the blue light telling you when an update comes, but it will save you in the long run.

[Game Freak]

I got my wii 10 days after launch and have not had problems (outside of faulty launched hardware, i was told that the WC24 chip was melting into the graphics card or something like that, giving me green lines up and down the screen.) My brothers got their wii christmas of 07 and they too have not had problems.

I suggest a surge protector

[NayusDante]

Thing is, it IS on a surge. I thought that was causing the problem, so I believe I had it direct to the wall for a while, but it still happened. It hasn't happened for a while, then I just noticed it a few hours ago.

[joshnickerson]

I'd be more worried about what's causing the power surges, and if it's faulty wiring in your house...

[Leo_A]

How do you even know your having power surges and that it's the cause of your problems, especially when your discovering it after who knows how many days its been out?

Sounds like a faulty power supply to me.

[BetaWolf47]

NayusDante: Nintendo systems since N64, I believe, have had internal surge-proofing. I've learned this from experience. When a power sure happens, the power adapter will disable itself for a brief period. Like you've said, it returns to normal in about half an hour.

If the only difference between your parents' Wii and your Wii is a surge protector, I suggest removing that variable. In other words, ditch the surge protector. Those things can go bad. I had one go bad and fry my DVD-R/VCR combo and my satellite receiver. The only other thing on the line, my Gamecube, did the same thing that your Wii is doing, simply due to the faulty surge protector. It was the only electronic out of the three to survive.

Now, I don't guarantee any of this. I'm just talking from experience.

[otaku]

the one I had was a year old when a power surge (during a t storm) killed it. paid nintendo 80 bucks they gave me a new wii and a 1 year warranty

[icbrkr]

... and this is the reason why every system I have in the house is hooked up to a UPS with line conditioning. We have too many thunderstorms/power surges around here to leave anything left to chance.

[chrisbid]

my power supply died last year, i just bought a new third party adapter for 20 bucks, no problems since