What to Do If Your Wii Won’t Work After a Lightning Storm

We had a thunder storm the other day and when we went to play on the Nintendo Wii a couple days later, we couldn’t turn it on.  The red “standby” light was not on and no amount of fiddling with the remote or the machine made it turn on.

1.  The first thing I did was search online.  In most of the forums that I came across, people suggested getting the Wii replaced under the one year warranty.  Our warranty had already expired so that wasn’t an option.  At this point I was certain that we would have to replace it.

2.  Beyond that, people said that the Wii would need to be sent in for repairs.  I looked online for a local repairman and found someone who, after a little email correspondence, said it was likely a blown fuse that could be replaced for $20.

3.  Before taking it in for a repair, I decided to try unplugging it and letting it sit for an hour or so.  I plugged it back in 60 minutes later and the red light was on!

So, I went from a $300 replacement, to a $20 repair, and down to a free and effective unplugging.  Apparently, the Wii has a surge protector built into the cord, but in order to reset it, you have to unplug it and give it a little time away from the electrical current.

But just to be safe, make sure your Wii (and any other expensive electrical equipment) is plugged into a surge protector.  You never know what will happen next time.