How To Fix A Playstation 3 YLOD ( Yellow Light Of Death )

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January 21, 2010 at 11:54 pm #15325
ecurry
Member
Hey guys I have fixed a number of Playstation 3 consoles suffering from the infamous YLOD. I am a qualified engineer, you can see my qualifications from profile page of my web site http://www.eric-curry.com/profile.html (ADMIN feel free to delete that link if it is not permitted to post personal links on APT)I am not boasting my qualifications, it is only so that you can believe me when i say anybody on this site could perform this repair. The most difficult parts of the process are:
- Taking apart your beloved PS3 – I call mine 'Me Pustre'.
- Sorting out the screws so as to not mix them up when putting the console back together.
- Getting an even thin coat of Thermal Compound on both cell processors.
- Hopefully this post tutorial will not be required but if it is I hope you may find it helpful.
Playstation 3 YLOD ( Yellow Light Of Death ) Fix

Only perform this fix if you are out of warranty, if you are still in warranty contact Sony for a replacement

REQUIREMENTS
- Heatgun with an operating temperature of approx 350 degrees celsius, something like this one: http://cgi.ebay.ie/HOT-AIR-HEA…..439ba2ad31
- Isopropyl Alcohol
- Cleaning cloth
- Philips head screwdriver
- Small flat head or torx bit screwdriver for removal of a torx bit
- Broken 40/60/80 GB Playstation 3
This tutorial can also be viewed in action as a flash video on my website I tried to make it as small as possible for you to optimize buffering:

http://www.eric-curry.com/PS3F…..S3Fix.html

STEP 1: remove the Playstation 3 casing

1. Remove the warranty label and rubber foot from the base of the console

2. Pop open the HDD bay and remove the HDD accordingly, there should be a blue screw holding it in place

3. With a torx bit screwdriver or a small flat head screwdriver remove the torx bit labelled ‘A’ on the picture

4. Slide off the PS3 cover

5. Remove the screws labelled ‘1-7’ on the image below, making note of the different screws types.

6. Remove the PS3 casing.

http://i50.tinypic.com/r8vw9c.jpg

STEP 2: Removing the BR drive PSU and Bluetooth board
1. Remove the power supply from the BR Drive and then lift drive to the right.

http://i47.tinypic.com/153nsq0.jpg

2. Connected to the BR Drive is a ribbon cable unlock the connection on the motherboard and slide the ribbon cable out.

http://i45.tinypic.com/2ly09kl.jpg

3. Lift the BR Drive up and remove.

4. Cut the tape on the sides of the PSU holding cables in place.

5. Remove the 6 screws (1 earth screw) from the PSU

6. Remove the connector from the PSU

7. Remove PSU

http://i45.tinypic.com/21b4s2f.jpg

8. Remove screws from board

9. Remove black wire connector from the board, it should just pop off using your fingers

10. Unlock and remove ribbon cable

11. Removes Bluetooth Board.

http://i50.tinypic.com/dvqyc7.jpg



STEP 3: Removing the motherboard from the base

http://i46.tinypic.com/1zwj6g6.jpg


1. Remove all screws in the above image, make note of different types of screws.

2. Lift the motherboard and rear panel of the PS3 out from the base, it should just pop out once the screws are removed.

STEP 4: Removing the back panel
1. There are 4 plastic tabs holding the back panel in place, pop one side of the board off first then the other

2. The panel should then detach.

STEP 5: Removing the motherboard from the fan and remaining casing

http://i49.tinypic.com/4gp4cw.jpg

1. Disconnect the Fan from the Motherboard, see the image above

http://i47.tinypic.com/2lkfd53.jpg

2. Unscrew the 4 screws on both the clamps and remove.

http://i49.tinypic.com/1tvkae.jpg

3. In the image above there are 3 hinges highlighted, unclick the hinge on the bottom of the image and lift metal casing up and out until it is removed from both the opposite hinges.



STEP 6: cleaning and heating the motherboard

http://i47.tinypic.com/21akbh0.jpg

1. Completely clean Thermal residue on both chips (1, 3 above) and on the pads of the disconnected Fan with cleaning wipes and Isopropyl Alcohol.
2. Preheat the Heat gun to approx 350° Celsius (not Fahrenheit!)
3. Starting with number 1 on the image above hold the heatgun approx 1 inch (2.5 cm) above the board, no closer than this or you may move a component accidentally, and keep moving the heatgun in a circular motion covering the entire chip. Do this for approx 20 seconds.
4. Repeat for numbers 2, 3 and finally 4 on the image above.
5. IMPORTANT after heating all components, you must not move the board at all for at least 20 minutes. You may hear some cracking sounds as the board begins to cool down, this is a good sign that you heated the board enough.

STEP 6: continued

http://i50.tinypic.com/29nxhdi.jpg

6. When the motherboard is cool enough, turn it over .Repeat the process of step 6 starting with number 1 through to 4 for approx 20 seconds each.
7. Allow to cool down for 20 minutes. You are now ready to apply the Akasa Thermal Compund.

STEP 7: Applying thermal compound

http://i48.tinypic.com/294jg2e.jpg

1. Apply a line of thermal compound along one side of one of the processors. Enough to spread and completely cover the processor but not too much. Needs to be a thin layer
2. Get out the spreader that would have came with the compound and spread, again making sure it is completely covered in a thin coat.
3. If you have not put on enough don’t be afraid to dab the area missing compound with excess from the spreader or squeeze a few drops at a time.
4. Repeat the process for the second processor.



STEP 8: Putting the Playstation back together

1. Reverse the process of dismantling the playstation to put it back together correctly. Make sure to reconnect the fan to the motherboard and battery (in the case of the original 60 GB model only) these are very easy to forget!!!

Differences involving the 60 GB model of the Playstation 3

STEP 1 :
- After removing the outer casing with the playstation logo, upon unscrewing the casing you will notice 2 extra machine screws located above numbers 2 and 3 in the image in Step 1.
- After all screws are removed lift the cover carefully and to the left, you will notice a slender ribbon cable attached and locked to the memory card bay remove cover slowly, release the locking clip (on the cover) and remove ribbon cable, the lid should now detach.
STEP 2 :

http://i45.tinypic.com/28tdtvr.gif
- The image above represents the power on / standby and eject touch sensitive buttons that came with the original 60 GB version of the PS3.
- Located in front of the BR Drive and to the right of the Bluetooth card
- Remove locked in ribbon cable
- Unscrew all connected screws
- Safely put away, making note of the screws and the ribbon cable that needs to be fed through the metal casing later on.
STEP 3 :
- There are extra screws holding down the motherboard.
- Make a note of the screws positions for the different sizes.
STEP 4 : No differences

Step 5 :
- Remove the Fan connector from the motherboard
- Remove battery connector from the motherboard
- After removing the clamps, you need to physically remove the fan before attempting to take out the motherboard from the metal casing. With no screws involved the fan should lift straight off.
- The HDD casing has 2 screws connected to the motherboard, these need to be removed.
STEP 6 : No differences
STEP 7 : No differences

STEP 8 :
- Make sure of different screws, extra ribbon cables, HDD casing, BATTERY (same use as in PC motherboards, time and date)Double checking each step as you reverse the order.
File downloads:

http://www.eric-curry.com/PS3F…..xPart1.f4v

http://www.eric-curry.com/PS3F…..xPart2.f4v

http://www.eric-curry.com/PS3F…..xPart2.f4v

http://www.eric-curry.com/PS3F…..lParts.zip

http://www.eric-curry.com/PS3F…..LODFix.doc

Hope no one on APT need's this tutorial but just in case it is now at your disposal. Good luck hope everything works out for you guys and if you have any questions regarding this tutorial or if i made a mistake somewhere please let me know. Happy Gaming
January 21, 2010 at 11:57 pm #56019

ecurry
Member

Apologies for the lack of images i am going to PM PS3Trophies and ask him to try and display them for me, for whatever reason i cannot get the plugins to work!

The above tutorial is based on the 40 GB model, the 60 GB model was not documented photographically when it was being performed but i can assure you that it does work! The changes required for the 60GB repair are outlined at the base of the tutorial

January 22, 2010 at 3:08 am #56068

tdsoil2
Member

hopefully this never happens to me but if it does i know what to look at. good job

January 22, 2010 at 3:39 am #56074

gow2rules
Member

good job

hope itt never happens to me 2years and still going strong

January 22, 2010 at 4:00 am #56078

dgaustin1
Member

gnilsia said:

Post edited 11:56 pm – 01/21/2010 by gnilsia

infamous

I love that game!

January 22, 2010 at 6:09 pm #56089

ecurry
Member

@dgaustin1

I loved the demo and have the game but haven't played it yet looks pretty class though.

Thanks guys hope it is not made to sound over complicated because it isn't. A very do-able job that can save your game saves (most important!) and money

January 22, 2010 at 10:06 pm #56110

parnakas
Member

Really hope this never happens to me.. if it does, i'll be sure to use this!

January 22, 2010 at 10:21 pm #56116

BigWoopMagazine
Member

so… a small story with a question. A coworker and I both had ps3's get the YLOD on the same day. frickin wierd, right? they're both old systems, and I play mine to death so I'm not that surprised. Anyway, point is we both have discs stuck in them, and neither of us can get them out. Mine's a simpsons DVD, no big deal, but his is a brand new copy of MW2 (his first cod game, so hes pissed). We've tried holding the eject button as you turn it on multiple times, but it doesn't work for either of us. Is there another way without opening it up? If not, is there a way to open it up and get it without destroying anything? We both bought new systems, and I might try to fix both the old ones eventually, but in the mean time it'd be nice to have the discs.

January 22, 2010 at 10:34 pm #56120

ecurry
Member

What model PS3 do you have?

If it is the 60 GB model i would say the casing could possibly be taken off to reveal the disc sitting inside. It is not something I have tried to do because i have gotten it out when i fixed the console. I will check it out later on when i get home to verify but i can't imagine there would be a mechanical automatic release switch. So unless you perform the YLOD fix I would think your best bet would be taking the cover off the BR Drive.

I wouldn't recommend sticking anything into the slot or shaking the console, it could damage the disc.

EDIT

Ok i had a quick look at a 60 GB PS3 BRDrive and to be honest it is not something i would be willing to take apart and risk not putting it back together again. There doesn't seem to be any release switch, as i first thought, and when i took off the casing around the drive there were a few springs and mechanical arms needing to be removed from the drive in order to get the disc out. My advice would be to perform the YLOD fix

January 23, 2010 at 9:55 pm #56157

Finch_92
Member

BigWoopMagazine said:

so… a small story with a question. A coworker and I both had ps3's get the YLOD on the same day. frickin wierd, right? they're both old systems, and I play mine to death so I'm not that surprised. Anyway, point is we both have discs stuck in them, and neither of us can get them out. Mine's a simpsons DVD, no big deal, but his is a brand new copy of MW2 (his first cod game, so hes pissed). We've tried holding the eject button as you turn it on multiple times, but it doesn't work for either of us. Is there another way without opening it up? If not, is there a way to open it up and get it without destroying anything? We both bought new systems, and I might try to fix both the old ones eventually, but in the mean time it'd be nice to have the discs.

same thing happened to me 3 weeks ago i couldnt get it out until i tryed this way which worked…. hold the eject button for 20 seconds while the ps3 is switched off hit the switch at the back to get it on and push the power button on the front while still holding eject the fan should kick in and sound like a turbo jet then let go of eject the ps3 should stay on then push eject and the disc should come out it worked 1st time for me hope it works for you

January 23, 2010 at 11:26 pm #56158

ecurry
Member

Thanks for that its good to know just in case 🙂

January 24, 2010 at 4:56 am #56164

d4h8a15r16m23a42
Member

This is awesome, thanks for posting it, and i hope i never have to use it. 🙂
As for getting a disc stuck that happened to my AC2 when my power went out. I jjst turned on the system held eject and pushed a dvd in until AC2 caught. Took about 20 seconds and no damage to AC2!

January 24, 2010 at 1:49 pm #56171

ecurry
Member

If you ever find your resolution is not supported on your tv when you have changed tv's without changing your Video settings on the xmb, you can hold the power on button on the front until it beeps and keep holding it down until the lights turn off when you turn it back on again it will reset the video display and prompt on the tv to change settings. Just another trick a friend showed me!

January 27, 2010 at 5:00 am #56296

pobert06
Member

oh man my PS3 just went YLOD on me this morning. I'm gonna try this fix thanks.

What's the lifespan of a repaired YLOD PS3?

January 27, 2010 at 2:32 pm #56314

Doc-B
Member

This is a bit underhand and depending on your conscious you might not want to do this, but…

I'd fix it, sell it then buy another one with the money you make of the Ps3 you sold. I'd reckon you'd get a few months from your fixed unit and by that time it won't be your prob if id does break again. I've had 6 Ps3's all with something diff wrong with them, woop, and SONY were still dishing out free exchanges when i got the YLOD. So it wasn't a prob.

There are numerous company's that'll fix your Ps3 now and there also that continuous play insurance you can apply for…
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