Repairing Your PlayStation 3 (PS3 YLOD Repair)
Tea Playstation 3 (also know as PS3) is one of the most powerful and popular game consoles on the market right now. Unfortunately, fame doesn’t come without a few flaws. The PS3 was designed to be sleek and beautiful, but it seems that the same kind of engineering attention was not paid to the cooling capabilities of the Playstation 3. One of the most prominent problems with modern game consoles like the Playstation 3 it is the inability to stay cool. Once overheated, the Playstation 3 will no longer turn on. Symptoms of this problem include the system “beeping” 3 times and a flashing yellow light near the power button. This PS3 problem is often referred to as the “Yellow Light of Death” or YLOD. Let’s see what we can do to revive this expensive paperweight especially if your warranty no longer applies.
Good news, there is a solution for PS3! In fact, there is a solution for almost every problem that your Playstation may encounter in the future. In this article we will specifically look at the PS3 YLOD issue which greatly affects first to third generation Playstation 3s (also known as Fat PS3 models).
Why does the PS3 YLOD happen?
A main reason (99% of the time) why your Playstaion 3 would experience a YLOD is if it had overheated. Overheating a PS3 would cause the solder balls under the system’s CPU and GPU to become brittle and cracked. This is due to a design flaw in the Playstation 3 because the console cannot eliminate the heat it is generating.
Do It Yourself: PS3 YLOD Fix
Tools needed-
1x Playstation 3 with YLOD
1x 1500W Industrial Heat Gun
1x bottle of unclean flux
1x roll of masking tape
1x Tamper Proof T-screwdriver
1x Phillips screwdriver
1x heat resistant surface
1x pack of cotton balls
1x bottle of acetone and rubbing alcohol
1x tube of thermal paste
Steps summary
1) Turn off your Playstation 3 and make sure all power cables are unplugged (safety first!).
2) Remove the warranty seal on the hard drive compartment. Next, use the tamper-proof T-screwdriver to remove the screw that secures the top cover to the PS3.
3) Using your Philips screwdriver, remove all the screws that hold the upper case of the PS3.
4) Carefully disassemble the removable parts (power supply, blue-ray drive, blue tooth plate with wireless antenna, capacitance power switch, and hard drive).]
5) Remove the screws that hold the motherboard to the PS3. Remove the fan and heat sink and heat sink cover attached to the motherboard.
6) Using acetone soaked cotton balls, wipe the thermal paste off the CPU and heat sink surfaces.
7) Tape the motherboard on a heat resistant surface to make it flat (play with one corner of the surface to find a good position for the motherboard). Taping the PS3 motherboard will prevent it from deforming under the heat of the heat gun.
8) On the low heat gun setting, heat the entire motherboard (~ 3 minutes). Then liberally apply the no-clean flow under the CPU and GPU.
9) Use the high setting of the heat gun to warm up the CPU and GPU. Keep the heat gun 1-2 “away from the surface of the PS3 motherboard, but move the heat gun around the chips constantly to avoid burn damage (persist for ~ 8-10 minutes).
10) Let the motherboard cool down for 20-30 minutes.
11) Reassemble the Playstation 3 to its original state (be careful to put all the screws and plugs back in their proper places).
12) Plug the power cord back in and turn on the PS3.
If done correctly, the Playstation 3 YLOD problem should go away. This PS3 solution should take 1 to 2 hours depending on your electronics skills. If you need an even more detailed step-by-step repair tutorial with pictures and all, look towards the bottom of the article for a great guide that I use as well.
tip
– Make sure your Playstation 3 is in a position where it is well ventilated.
– Try not to leave your PS3 on for long periods of time (even idle).
– Do not place the Playstation near sources of dust (i.e. carpets, floors, beds, etc.)
