Inspired by this Nintendo Wii wiimote mod found here, this write up is to show you how to do it yourself. This is an simple yet innovative mod to replace the LEDs on the wiimote to correspond to the cursor colours used by the Nintendo Wii. For example pointing the player 2 controller at the screen gives a red cursor, this mod changes the corresponding LEDs on the wiimote to match that of the screen. A second part, to be written, will also show how to add additional LEDs under the A button to light up as well.

What you’ll need:
A Nintendo Wiimote
A Triwing Screwdriver
LEDs (surface mount 0603) in Red, Green and Yellow
Soldering Iron and Solder
Desoldering Braid
Tweezers

Tri-wing screw drivers are pretty hard to come by, but just happen to be dirt cheap from Play-Asia at $3.99, and if you are going to order I’d recommend their $9.99 component cables as well. The LEDs you’re looking for are 0603 (size meaning 0.006″x0.003″) surface mount LEDs in red, green and yellow with a 50-60mcd rating. You’ll be able to find these at any decent electronics distributor, but since some have minimum orders to deal with, I’ve put together simple kits containing LEDs of each colour along with desoldering braid and fine solder. Each kit is enough for all of your wiimotes, or spares if you don’t use them all at once. Soldering irons and tweezers can be found virtually everywhere so I won’t go into any detail with them.

Step 1:
Open the wiimote by unscrewing these 4 screws. You’ll notice that the wiimote is somewhat loose but will not completely open, open it by squeezing the bottom portion of the remote, as shown in the image, and pulling apart with a good deal of force.

Step 2:
Locate the three LEDs that will be removed on the Nintendo wiimote. Start by desoldering one end of the each LED using the wick. Try to be careful as you’ll need to reuse at least one to backlight the A button.

Step 3:
Next using a pair of tweezers hold the LED and apply heat to alternating sides of the LED. When the solder has melted, you should be gently moving the LED from side to side to work it off. Do not pull it straight up! If you do you’ll most likely damage the LED itself (bad), or lift the solder pad off of the PCB (worse). For more detailed instructions on removing the LEDs visit the SMD LED Removal guide.

Step 4:
Clean the pads with the desoldering braid, by placing the braid on top of the pad and heating it up. Once you feel it melt, move the braid around carefully to pick up the left over solder on the pad. You shouldn’t have to heat the pad up longer than 10 secs to remove the excess. This is optional but is recommended for a quality job.

Step 5:
Add a bit of new solder onto one of the pads and slide the replacement LED in while its still in liquid form. Add more to the remaining pad, and repeat for the rest of the LEDs.

Step 6:
Assemble the cover peices and screw everything back together.