Hardware [YLoD/RLoD] Yellow Light of Death/Red Light of Death

[Terminator02]

so... i just got the YLoD, or as some call it, the RLoD

i've done a crapton of research and would like to share it with u guys, so u dont have to go through all of this crap

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<!--sizeo:6--><span style="font-size:24pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><b>Do I have the YLoD?</b><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->

If your PS3 looks like this, you've got the YLoD (as far as I know only fat ps3s can get this):
<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/o6HzrOt4two&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/o6HzrOt4two&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>

If you do have the YLoD, start out trying this.

1 - Restart your console.
2 - Take out all cables, and plug them back in.
3 - Take out the hard-drive, and place it back in your PS3 console (if you don't know how just follow <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As55u2cBM0Y" target="_blank">this</a>, or if you have a slim, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sRkj89axOU" target="_blank">this</a>, except just taking out and putting back in your hard drive, ignore the backup steps)

if it doesn't work, you better send it back to sony if your under warranty, if you're not they will charge u $150 plus shipping and they will format ur hard drive (you will lose all of your game saves and downloads + anything else on your hard drive), so it's time to take off that warranty sticker and start messing around with your ps3's insides

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<!--sizeo:6--><span style="font-size:24pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><b>Going inside the PS3</b><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->

<b>DO NOT DO THE BLOW-DRIER "FIX" (aka fixing the YLoD without opening it), EVEN IF IT DOES WORK IT WILL NOT FOR LONG</b>

First of all, <a href="http://knightsgamingrepair.com/wordpress/2010/01/11/how-do-you-fix-systems-what-is-reflow-and-reball/" target="_blank">the difference between reballing and reflowing your ps3</a> (i wouldn't trust that site for repairs as i have heard a lot of bad things about them, but their info seems accurate).
<!--QuoteBegin-from a different page on their website+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(from a different page on their website)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Ok how about we discuss what goes wrong and some of the reason why.
1) Consumer
Why? They fail to keep their system clean, cause and effect, system overheats because there is not enough air flow and it YLOD (heat causes the board to flex and bend when you turn off on and your system daily), which means 95% of the time one or more balls of solder underneath the RSX (GPU chip) lifts off away from the motherboard or RSX chip and causes a disconnect which causes the YLOD. 4% of the time it’s the power supply going dead from a short caused usually by the consumer not using a surge protector. 1% of the time its other unknown issues or random issues.
2) Sony
Why? Listening to consumers and designing a system that can’t keep cool enough for the high demand on graphics that consumers demand these days. You’ll never see a Wii die from overheating or solder getting disconnected, unless the fan dies!
Now that technology is catching up and getting smaller you will see fewer failures because there is less heat. Making the slim might have not been a smart move for Sony, but time will tell. They should of put the smaller (slim) board in the bigger unit with more cooling, to help against YLOD other issues that may arrive.

Another reason why all the gaming consoles fail so quickly especially Xbox 360 and PS3 are because they are forced by the US and other countries governments force these system makers to us lead-free based solder, instead of the stronger lead solder (used in satellites and other high end equipment).

Also I do not know very many companies out there that want to make products last 10 + years. Why would you want to make a light bulb last 10 + years when you can make one last 1 to 2 years and make 5x the profit? Sony is going to design their product for sure to last past the 1 year warranty after that well you know the picture YLOD, Disc read errors (laser replacement) other issues. Microsoft and Nintendo all do this. TV’s, computer companies, and even phone companies!<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

<a href="http://playstationlifestyle.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2376#post23247" target="_blank">This</a> is a guide to reflowing your PS3 by Gilksy (Remember to use Arctic Silver 5 heatsink like gilksy shows in a later video, he also has a video to avoid voiding your warranty), he pretty much made this process understandable, and as you have to sign up to download his pdf, i've uploaded it <a href="http://ge.tt/6J5cgJT" target="_blank">here</a>

I've recently found a guide <a href="http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/Yellow-Light-of-Death-Repair/3654" target="_blank">at ifixit</a>, although I haven't tested it personally it seems to be good too.

From personal experience, <b>if it does not work the first time, you probably didn't apply enough heat</b>, so either turn up the heat, move the heater closer, or keep heating it for longer.

There are some good comments on his videos <a href="http://www.ultratech.us/ultra/?p=610" target="_blank">here</a>, I've highlighted a few.
<p align=" " class="none">I have run across several people on the Internet who have stated that this is only a temporary fix. The two I have done are still working just fine. I have a feeling some people are not applying the heat long enough, remember, a second is “one thousand one, one thousand two, etc”. When I repaired mine I applied the heat gun for something like 20 seconds as opposed to 15 as stated in the video. Another consideration is the thermal heat compound. No, they are not all the same. I highly recommend the Arctic Silver paste, and apply it extremely thin. The idea is to create a thin layer keeping the metal heat sink off of the the processor. Too much will reduce the heat transfer from one to the other. When re-assembling your broken (now fixed) PlayStation 3 (PS3) be extremely careful not to flex your motherboard. If you flex the board even the slightest bit you may create the same problem you’re trying to fix with the re-flow process. When you apply the heat to these areas of the motherboard you’re trying to melt the solder that has crack, re-establishing the connection(s).</p><p align=" " class="none">the battery as you can see from the image toward the top of this page has been removed. If you look closely, you can see it will slide one way (against springs) and pop out. You insert it the same way by placing one side in and pushing it a little until the other side drops down. I know this sounds vague, but look really closely and you should be able to see which way the battery will move. Use a small flat head screwdriver or something similar... I think it’s best to remove the battery as you don’t want any power to the board while heating it. If you’re going to try the repair again, I would suggest sort of warming the the entire board on both sides with your heat gun. As Gilksy shows, heat each section, but try going a few seconds longer on each area. The idea is to actually melt the solder without toasting any components. I assume many people are being cautious with their heat process or maybe people are applying too much heat compound. Too much compound can actually create resistance in the heat transfer. When assembling the PS3, but sure not to flex the board also, or this could undo your hard work in the reflow process.</p><p align=" " class="none">Some things I did differently, due to past circuit board experience:
1) I ran the heat slightly higher than 350C, probably 400C.
2) I kept the heat on and moving about twenty seconds per area (see video) then when over all areas again for another 20 seconds total.
3) I used Arctic Silver heat sink past from Radio Shack and left it abit thicker than almost see through. You want enough to make solid contact with no voids, excess with cause stress on the chip when it heats up while running and potentially crack a solder joint.</p><p align=" " class="none">The YLOD problem will reappear again after the first fix (could be days, weeks or months). I have a 60GB original, and i used to fix it more than i think is healthy, also reflowed it.

I think a major design flaw is having the fan UNDER the motherboard, relying on the airmovement and heat conductor to take the heat away from the chips (Where Heat rises!). After the last YLOD almost 14 months ago, i flipped the PS3 upside down after fixing it, and it has been worked PERFECTLY since then.</p>

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<!--sizeo:6--><span style="font-size:24pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><b>Paying a professional</b><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->

If you feel you aren't capable of the above and want professionals to do it for you i've heard good things about <a href="http://www.gophermods.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=5" target="_blank">GopherMods</a>, however they don't reball, they only reflow, which you could do yourself. Remember if you send it in to sony they will format your hard drive and possibly give a refurbished ps3.

I don't yet know a good place to get your ps3 reballed, and i've been searching for a while, but as far as I can tell if you reflow it good it should last quite a while.

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Do not trust these methods to ultimately fix you console, it will not last forever, it will YLoD again. I recommend getting a new ps3 as soon as you can and backing up your data and moving it to the new console (details on how transfer data with an ethernet cable <a href="http://community.us.playstation.com/message/28301009#28301009" target="_blank">here</a>, or you could try to do it using an external HDD (formatted to fat 32 with <a href="http://gparted.sourceforge.net/livecd.php" target="_blank">gparted</a>) or usb stick with the backup feature in the system settings)

 

[Terminator02]

this is a work in progress, i badly need to find a trustworthy place to get a ps3 reballed

 

[Deleted_171835]

Good guide.
You got to fix the formatting, though. I can barely read it.
Use

[P= ][/P]

instead of quotes.

You should also use

[center][/center]

tags.

 

[Terminator02]

yeah i noticed it looked not good, didn't really know what to do

 

[raulpica]

The gilksy method works, I'm on my second try, and it's still going strong. The first time it failed again after a few months. Well, works wonders till I decide to buy a PS3 Slim

 

[Terminator02]

well i think it looks alot better now, all those quotes packed together looked disgusting

@raulpica you should check out this video, although i don't know where to get the clamps or what they're called

 

[raulpica]

@raulpica you should check out this video, although i don't know where to get the clamps or what they're called

Already saw that one. Sadly I don't have a non-corrosive flux, so I just went the usual way. As for the clamps, they're already in your PS3.

 

[Terminator02]

@raulpica you should check out this video, although i don't know where to get the clamps or what they're called

Already saw that one. Sadly I don't have a non-corrosive flux, so I just went the usual way. As for the clamps, they're already in your PS3.

derp, thanks for pointing that out, i thought u had to buy that piece and bend it

 

[diddy81]

ive tried this and im seeing no difference in my ps3

however it is a second hand repaired one and on opening it i found some of the heat pads are missing
so i think ill get some replacements and give it another try

 

[jalaneme]

If you do have the YLoD, start out trying this.

1 - Restart your console.
2 - Take out all cables, and plug them back in.
3 - Take out the hard-drive, and place it back in your PS3 console (if you don't know how just follow this, or if you have a slim, this, except just taking out and putting back in your hard drive, ignore the backup steps)

don't that is pointless, trust me i know i've had ylod, the only way to fix ylod is to reapply the thermal paste as it's a manufacturing error that sony have yet to fix (and will never admit) what angers me the most is at least microsoft admit to thier fault and sorted out the problem, but sony continue to keep playing the end user all the time.

Ok how about we discuss what goes wrong and some of the reason why.
1) Consumer
Why? They fail to keep their system clean, cause and effect, system overheats because there is not enough air flow and it YLOD (heat causes the board to flex and bend when you turn off on and your system daily), which means 95% of the time one or more balls of solder underneath the RSX (GPU chip) lifts off away from the motherboard or RSX chip and causes a disconnect which causes the YLOD. 4% of the time it’s the power supply going dead from a short caused usually by the consumer not using a surge protector. 1% of the time its other unknown issues or random issues.

VERY WRONG! the ylod thermal paste cracking is a manufacturing fault that sony will not fix and blames it on the end users and tells them to keep it in a "well ventilated place" which is a load of BS as it makes no difference, your ps3 dies when it wants to die. (in most cases 2 years)

QUOTE

Also I do not know very many companies out there that want to make products last 10 + years. Why would you want to make a light bulb last 10 + years when you can make one last 1 to 2 years and make 5x the profit? Sony is going to design their product for sure to last past the 1 year warranty after that well you know the picture YLOD, Disc read errors (laser replacement) other issues. Microsoft and Nintendo all do this. TV’s, computer companies, and even phone companies!

yep that is why in 20 plus years you won't see a working ps3 because they will all be DEAD they don't build them like they used to, you can still get a working NES console and that is 20 years old! another reason why sony won't admit the manufacturing fault is because they make $$ out of their own mistakes, everytime a console breaks down that person has to pay to get it fixed by sony, times that by 12k and sony are making bucketloads, why should they solve the problem when it's making them money?

has anyone noticed that when a ps3 console dies it dies in exactly 2 years? the ps2 died in the same time frame aswell with the disc read error, they do it intentionally so you will buy another console and it will be out of warranty so they will not have to give you another one, just like it has been quoted above, the only time sony ever admitted there was a problem when consumers took them to court over the disc read error on the ps2, after that they had to fix the problem, i really hope they get taken to court over the ylod, sony think they can get away with it now, they can;t get away with robbing people forever.

 

[Terminator02]

If you do have the YLoD, start out trying this.

1 - Restart your console.
2 - Take out all cables, and plug them back in.
3 - Take out the hard-drive, and place it back in your PS3 console (if you don't know how just follow this, or if you have a slim, this, except just taking out and putting back in your hard drive, ignore the backup steps)

don't that is pointless, trust me i know i've had ylod, the only way to fix ylod is to reapply the thermal paste as it's a manufacturing error that sony have yet to fix (and will never admit) what angers me the most is at least microsoft admit to thier fault and sorted out the problem, but sony continue to keep playing the end user all the time.

yeah i figured it was a load of bs, but i included it just incase, they are easy steps

Ok how about we discuss what goes wrong and some of the reason why.
1) Consumer
Why? They fail to keep their system clean, cause and effect, system overheats because there is not enough air flow and it YLOD (heat causes the board to flex and bend when you turn off on and your system daily), which means 95% of the time one or more balls of solder underneath the RSX (GPU chip) lifts off away from the motherboard or RSX chip and causes a disconnect which causes the YLOD. 4% of the time it’s the power supply going dead from a short caused usually by the consumer not using a surge protector. 1% of the time its other unknown issues or random issues.

VERY WRONG! the ylod thermal paste cracking is a manufacturing fault that sony will not fix and blames it on the end users and tells them to keep it in a "well ventilated place" which is a load of BS as it makes no difference, your ps3 dies when it wants to die. (in most cases 2 years)

did u read #2?

QUOTE

Also I do not know very many companies out there that want to make products last 10 + years. Why would you want to make a light bulb last 10 + years when you can make one last 1 to 2 years and make 5x the profit? Sony is going to design their product for sure to last past the 1 year warranty after that well you know the picture YLOD, Disc read errors (laser replacement) other issues. Microsoft and Nintendo all do this. TV’s, computer companies, and even phone companies!

yep that is why in 20 plus years you won't see a working ps3 because they will all be DEAD they don't build them like they used to, you can still get a working NES console and that is 20 years old! another reason why sony won't admit the manufacturing fault is because they make $$ out of their own mistakes, everytime a console breaks down that person has to pay to get it fixed by sony, times that by 12k and sony are making bucketloads, why should they solve the problem when it's making them money?

has anyone noticed that when a ps3 console dies it dies in exactly 2 years? the ps2 died in the same time frame aswell with the disc read error, they do it intentionally so you will buy another console and it will be out of warranty so they will not have to give you another one, just like it has been quoted above, the only time sony ever admitted there was a problem when consumers took them to court over the disc read error on the ps2, after that they had to fix the problem, i really hope they get taken to court over the ylod, sony think they can get away with it now, they can;t get away with robbing people forever.

no, it's not at all in exactly 2 years, please keep your conspiracy theories to yourself

 

[Terminator02]

well i'm just bumping this trying to figure out which section it went to

Edit: apparently it's stuck under the ps1/2 section...

k, now it's good