Post edited 10:56 pm – 01/21/2010 by gnilsia
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