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 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, such as the Playstation 3, is the inability to keep 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 issue is often cited 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 your Playstation may encounter in the future. In this article, we will specifically look at the PS3 YLOD issue that greatly affects first to third generation Playstation 3s (also known as Fat PS3 models).
Why does PS3 YLOD happen?
One main reason (99% of the time) that 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 crack. This is due to a design flaw in the Playstation 3 because the console cannot remove the heat it generates.
Do It Yourself: PS3 YLOD Fix
Tools needed-
1x Playstation 3 with YLOD
1x 1500W industrial hot air gun
1x Bottle of no-clean flux
1x Roll of adhesive tape
1x Tamper Evident T-Screwdriver
1x Phillips screwdriver
1x heat resistant surface
1x Pack of cotton balls
1x bottle of acetone and isopropyl alcohol
1x tube of thermal paste
Summary of steps-
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. Then, use the tamper-evident T-driver to remove the screw holding the top cover to the PS3.
3) Using the Philips screwdriver, remove all the screws that hold the top cover of the PS3.
4) Carefully disassemble the removable parts (power supply, blue-ray unit, blue-tooth board with wireless antenna, capacitance power switch, and HDD).]
5) Remove the screws that hold the motherboard of the PS3. Remove the fan, heat sink, and heat sink shroud that are attached to the motherboard.
6) Using the acetone-soaked cotton balls, clean the thermal grease from the CPU and heat sink surfaces.
7) Tape the base plate to a heat resistant surface so that it is flat (play around with a corner of the surface to find a good position for the base plate). Tapeing the motherboard of the PS3 will prevent it from warping under the heat of the heat gun.
8) Using the low setting of the heat gun, heat the entire motherboard (~3 minutes). Next, liberally apply the no-clean flux under the CPU and GPU.
9) Use the high setting of the heat gun to heat up the CPU and GPU. Keep the heat gun 1-2 inches 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 in its original state (be careful to put each screw and plug back in its proper place).
12) Plug the power cord back in and turn on the PS3.
If done correctly, your Playstation 3 YLOD problem should be gone. This PS3 repair should take 1-2 hours depending on your electronic 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 also use.
Advice
– 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 (ie carpets, floors, beds, etc.)