Lights Out
With no warning, my Microsoft brand Xbox 360 wireless adapter, for playing games on my PC, stopped working. The LED was no longer coming on, regardless of which USB port I tried. When I cracked it open, I found that a fuse had basically worn out.
Getting Inside
There are several guides about opening up the adapter, so I’ll share a couple of the better ones.
- Microsoft Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver, fuse replacement
- How to repair Microsoft Xbox 360™ Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows®
When reading through these guides, I was a little surprised by the solution and some of the warnings they had. My basic thought is that it’s dead, don’t worry about breaking it more. Also, it’s a straight-forward fix and you only need the most basic of soldering irons, a little solder, and a very small scrap of wire.
Simple Fix (hack)
Remove dead fuse (F1) and bridge gap.
You can try to scrape the fuse off and use a piece of wire to bridge the gap between the two pads. You may even be able to load up enough solder over the part.
Some of the other solutions online suggest soldering a wire from test point 8 (TP8) to the edge of another part. Electrically, this is fine, but you have the chance of damaging a functioning component. Best to avoid that usually.
Best of luck and happy gaming!