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Forums - Sony Discussion - YLOD - Anyone tried the heat-gun method ?

Okay. It happened.

Last friday I was listening to music on my ps3 when the music suddenly stopped.. I noticed red blinking lights.. looked it up

Tried to turn it off and on and BOOM green light then yellow light then red light. Damnit.

 

I don't think it's the most serious hardware failure ... And I don't think it's the powersupply (If it was, would it even turn green ?.. ) Regardless.. I looked it up and on youtube (Yes okay.. Youtube. ) I found a method of fixing it involving heating it up with a heatgun, then let it cool, remove t he thermal-paste, re apply it  and voila. As good as new..

 

Yes I know how rediculous the method sounds but theoretically it would fix the problem that could possibly be the cause of my malfunctioning ps3. Aparently some of the solders have a tendency of lifting from the mobo, causing it to overheat.

 

Now I don't think my ps3 is completely dead.. And for now it seems like the best option.. Concidering my machine is 3 years old (so out of warrenty) and a 60gb euro (I dont want to send it to sony and then they send me another machine back.. especially if it's a different model.)

 

SO basically. Have any of you tried to fix your own YLOD ?... And more importently.. Did it work ?

 

Videos in question below:

 



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my ps3 Ylod last week, and my last backup is 3 moths old :(,

Anyways, i downloaded the board removal movies, removed the board, downloaded the heat gun tutorial, and sent the board with the Tutorial to an expert in fixing boards and stuff, in 2 days time i'll receive my board again,,, if it worked i'll tell you ASAP,,  but according to the web this method works 90 % of the cases, but there is a probability that the YLOD will happem 2-3 months later.



 

 

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Search for a tutorial by gilsky on youtube. He does the heat gun method the best.

It works. Oh yes it does. But its only a temporary fix. So you're best off trading it in and getting a slim after fixing it. It'll be worth it. 

I was ignorant and kept on using it until it got to a point that it can't be repaired any more. And I went PS3-less for 6 months.



My understanding of this method is that it in most cases it won't last that long and is at best a temp fix.

The best idea for fat ps3 owners who haven't experienced the YLOD is to apply new thermal paste to the cell and rsx as a preventative measure. 



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I tried it, and it works, but it's not permanant, first time lasted almost a month, the second time lasted a couple weeks and on the third time an EXMTREMELY important screw snapped off into the hole which completely f*cked the PS3.



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My 60GB YLOD and I just paid a dude 30 bucks to fix it for me :D



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First time it worked for a couple of months, second time a couple of weeks perhaps. So yeah, it works, especially if you want to save your saves or something, but don't count on it to magically fix the machine completely.



ow :( was hoping it would be a more permenent fix. Damnit.. I don't wanna downgrade my ps3.

 

Regardless. Appreciate the answers guys. Thanks :)



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The YLoD is a general hardware failure that is typically either fatal MoBo damage due to thermal cycling through repeated use (solder joint failure) or PSU failure (power supplies do die as well). If it's the latter, you have an easy and permanent fix. If it's the former, you get a temporary fix at best.

I've been through three YLoDs on three separate consoles, so I am familiar with the repair process.

The heat gun reflow repair does work, but it is and should be treated as a temporary fix. If you can successfully repair a PS3 this way, IMMEDIATELY copy and back up your data and treat anything on the repaired PS3 as disposable information.

I've had repairs last anywhere from a couple months to a couple weeks to a couple days to give you an idea of how unreliable repaired consoles can be.

Using higher quality TIM (thermal interface material) won't magically ward off future harware failures as even the best ones are only good for single digit temp drops. What they will do is provide the same level of thermal tranferance (or slightly better) as when the console rolled off the assembly lines. Over time, the stock TIM SCE used dries out, losing its effectiveness, leading to overheating.



Staude said:

ow :( was hoping it would be a more permenent fix. Damnit.. I don't wanna downgrade my ps3.

 

Regardless. Appreciate the answers guys. Thanks :)

You have the option of paying for a refurb.

I eventually sent my original 60GB SKU back to SCE (Jan 08) and it's currently working fine. I do have to point out that it's been a secondary PS3 that was not used regularly though.

I have no idea what the failure rates are on refurbed consoles, but I assume the unit you receive will have the CPU and GPU reballed at the service center.

I replaced the factory TIM with AS5, but when I removed the heatsink, the factory TIM was still wet, indicating it was still good.