Psyclone Wii Recharge Stations Break Wii-Motes
by Josh Pankratz on December 31, 2007
Complaints have started to hit the internet en mass regarding the Psyclone Wii-Mote charger. Claims range from the unit simply not working, to reports of the remote actually melting onto the charger. Amazon.com’s review page runs rampant with warnings regarding the battery charger; out of 27 reviews, 25 of them ended up being negative. Psyclone chargers can be found at most major retailers ranging from Target to Circuit City.
After looking at the product description on Psyclone Essentials’ website, we noticed a very lengthy warning regarding their Recharge Station:
WARNING - Rechargeable batteries left unattended in the recharge unit for an extended period of time may cause the batteries and/or unit to overheat. If the Wii (TM) remote doesn’t charge properly or begins to heat up, please stop the charge process and contact our customer service line to prevent further damage. If you feel that your batteries are heating up, please do not use those batteries any more. We are happy to help you and replace your product: Psyclone Customer Service #1-800-315-0795
How many times have you left your cell phone or iPod on a charger all night? You simply don’t expect that the charger will keep charging after it’s finished, it should go without saying. So instead of owning up to the problem and issuing a recall, Psyclone Essentials takes the easy way out and tries to gloss over manufacturing laziness with a warning on their website. The summation of the story can be described no better than by someone who got duped by this faulty product:
Do not buy this charger. After using mine one time it fried my remote. The controller was very warm when I took it off the charger and the rechargeable battery pack had melted in the Wii remote. This product is a fire hazard and it does not work. Save yourself money by replacing the batteries rather than replacing the remotes after they get destroyed by this terrible product.
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on December 31, 2007 1:14 pm
Hmmm… thats interesting. I have been using this product for several months, and have not had any problems. I leave my ‘motes in there 24/7 except for several times a week when I am actually playing my Wii.
on January 1, 2008 6:55 pm
I had a Psyclone Wii Charger destroy two WiiMotes!!! Target will exchange the Psyclone Charger, but not the WiiMotes. I’m very angry about this!!! Somehow, I’m going to get Psyclone or Target (where I bought the Charging Station) to replace my two damaged WiiMotes.
on January 1, 2008 8:29 pm
Here’s a message I sent to the manufacturer. I’m pissed.
I received the recharge station for my Wii remotes for Christmas and there was no warning on the package regarding not leaving the remotes in the charging station for long periods of time. I have another charging station for my other two remotes from Nyko products and there is no problem with leaving the remotes in the charing station just like leaving an iPod or cell phone plugged in for long periods of time. Your product ruined one of my remotes. I tried putting in fresh batteries hoping that your station just wasn’t charging the batteries correctly and I had no such luck with my remote turning on. What do you intend to do to take care of my loss? Most people don’t check the website to find out detailed info on there products until something goes wrong. Just cause there’s a warning on your website doesn’t make it right. I expect to hear something good from you soon.
on January 6, 2008 8:06 pm
I lost a Wii Remote as well, i got mine for christmas as well, just opened the box and took the stuff out, brought it home got them all setup the later that night the lights went out like it was charged. I took one remote out it was fine, the other was hot to the touch. now I have no box no paperwork, I go to the website see the warning WTF! I am glad to find out that their is no warning in the book that I may have missed, I also sent a message today to psyclone about what happend I will respond back here and let you know what happens.
on January 9, 2008 11:21 pm
The product description on Psyclone’s website starts out with “Why burn through expensive batteries when you can keep your Wii-motes fully charged at all times.” What it should say is “Why burn through expensive batteries when you can burn through expensive Wii-motes.” This product is a disaster.
on January 20, 2008 4:06 pm
Honestly I just had a remote get burned out because of this issue. I am sure they’re going to get sued for this, how can they not? I sitting here with two of these chargers that I paid about 60.00 dollars for, and a controller that cost 40.00 dollars. If you figure everyone has minimum of 70 in damage x lets say 100,000 people, that’s big enough for some lawyer to get into
T
on January 24, 2008 6:39 pm
2 of my remotes were destroyed by the same charger in under 8 hours. I never left them in the charger for long periods of time just because I didnt want to lessen the battery life. Last night my remotes would turn on and off randomly so I put them in the charger and went to bed. The next morning neither remote worked with any batteries. They werent even hot or anything they were just broken. I’m very angry, i just lost 100$ because of psyclone
on January 29, 2008 12:46 am
I just took my psyclone charger back to Target after one of my remotes was burnt!! I was able to get my money back only for the charger and I gave a formal complaint to the store manager. I also called Nintendo about the problem. They said it was not their product. One question I do have… I tried putting batteries in the remote that was burnt and after about five minutes the two batteries started to get very hot. Could this issue be the remote itself!! Has anyone tried putting regular batteries in their remote after using the charger and gotten the same hot to the touch remote. Is it the charging station or the remote itself?????
on February 10, 2008 4:18 pm
The same thing happened to my remotes. It is the charge station not the remotes. I didn’t get the hot touch but my remotes just don’t work. They were fine before I used the psyclone recharge station.
on March 1, 2008 8:32 pm
I gave a recharge station to my husband for christmas. Within a few short hours of recharging, our remotes were fried. We contacted the company and they told us to sent the recharger, and the two fried remotes to them. If they determined it was their fault, they would send us a new recharging station and a gift card to replace the remotes. The new charger came back with a nice note saying IF any items had been damaged by thier product to let them know and they would send a gift card for $50. After doxens of unreturned calls (they claim to get back to you in two days) and several un-answered emails I am at a loss as to how to get my gift card. Meanwhile, we haven’t even been able to play our wii unless we borrow remotes. It’s rediculous. What a sham company! Don’t use their products.
on March 10, 2008 5:34 pm
Ok so that is why my wii remote is distroid and melted down. I lost two remotes and I have tried to contact the company with no results.
Any one have any advise? I am looking at contacting legal staff to proceed if I can not get them to respond.
on March 12, 2008 11:05 pm
I got an Essentials pack for Christmas & just got around to plugging in the recharger (cable that links thru the Wii A/C adapter, not a stand-alone recharging station). Now I see all these problems & wonder if the recharging cable has the same issue as the recharging station. Anyone know about that?
Also, has anyone filed their complaints with the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission)? Seems like this overheating issue would be a fire hazard that should be made more public.
on April 26, 2008 5:08 pm
Thanks for the heads up on this product. We get our Wii tomorrow and will be sure not to get this for our recharging solution.