Article: Complete Guide to Reflowing the PS3

[tthousand]

You can view the page at http://psx-scene.com/forums/content....lowing-the-PS3

[cawthorne]

I fix consoles. I've fixed a few Ylods and I reflow as well. I have this little trick, which involves adding washers. It is similar to the RROD X-Clamp fix. Never had problems after doing that!

[dionatangg]

Nice job, that's the kindest gesture in the scene!

[barelynotlegal]

ThanX

[brandogg]

Once I read "heat gun" I knew that this was going to be a bad guide. First, the Cell isn't involved in the YLOD to begin with (you get the "green light of death" when the Cell has a cold solder joint), so there's no need to even go near it. Second, to properly reflow any console (or laptop motherboard, etc) you need to warm up the entire board, not just the chip that needs reflowing. Third, Arctic Silver 5 is actually a bad choice for the thermal paste that goes on top of the heat spreaders (though it's perfectly fine for going between the die of the GPU and the heat spreader), a grease-like paste is a better option. I personally use the cheap Dynex stuff from Best Buy. I repair game consoles for a living, and out of about 55 successful repairs in the past 4 moths, only 2 have ever come back - also keep in mind that YLOD does not always mean there's something wrong with the GPU (though usually it is). It's nice if this worked for him on a console or two (just like you may get your Xbox up and running just by throwing some pennies under the board...another horrible idea), but this is by no means a proper way to reflow a PS3.

[kprz24]

Once I read "heat gun" I knew that this was going to be a bad guide. First, the Cell isn't involved in the YLOD to begin with (you get the "green light of death" when the Cell has a cold solder joint), so there's no need to even go near it. Second, to properly reflow any console (or laptop motherboard, etc) you need to warm up the entire board, not just the chip that needs reflowing. Third, Arctic Silver 5 is actually a bad choice for the thermal paste that goes on top of the heat spreaders (though it's perfectly fine for going between the die of the GPU and the heat spreader), a grease-like paste is a better option. I personally use the cheap Dynex stuff from Best Buy. I repair game consoles for a living, and out of about 55 successful repairs in the past 4 moths, only 2 have ever come back - also keep in mind that YLOD does not always mean there's something wrong with the GPU (though usually it is). It's nice if this worked for him on a console or two (just like you may get your Xbox up and running just by throwing some pennies under the board...another horrible idea), but this is by no means a proper way to reflow a PS3.

So then would you mind making a proper guide? is there a true permanent fix? What would you say is wrong when i dont get ylod but pretty much rlod it turns green then red? I used the stupid blow dryer through the back vent method a few times but it never lasted too long but it did work i just did it to avoid voiding my warranty just in case but would you say its worth opening it up for the other possible damage i did with the blow dryer?

[brandogg]

So then would you mind making a proper guide? is there a true permanent fix? What would you say is wrong when i dont get ylod but pretty much rlod it turns green then red? I used the stupid blow dryer through the back vent method a few times but it never lasted too long but it did work i just did it to avoid voiding my warranty just in case but would you say its worth opening it up for the other possible damage i did with the blow dryer?

I'm not going to write up a guide - it all depends on the hardware that you're using to to the actual work anyway, but here's a hint - there should be no heat gun involved (or a hair dryer) unless you're trying to remove the warranty sticker without leaving any residue. YLOD is when the system starts to boot (green light), then it flashes yellow (it may flicker blue if there's a disc in the tray), then beeps three times and turns red, blinks, and turns off, so you probably do have the YLOD. Running a hair dryer through the vents will do absolutely nothing. The first step in a "real guide" would involve purchasing around (at least) $300 in equipment as a bare minimum. I use an AOYUE 968 and the T-8280 (and a modified stand) for Xbox 360 consoles and PS3 consoles. I've done about 300 consoles in total, with probably a 90% success rate. I'd love to say I had a 95+% success rate, but Xbox 360 consoles that have been worked on by other people (like X-Clamp replacement, penny trick, etc) have a much lower chance of being successfully repaired because of the damage and warping done to the motherboard by all of the "tricks".

[mycopa]

Reflow sux. Reball rulez

[wmb88]

a proper reflow along with cooling fan mod fixes most of the YLOD problem and would last long. for some units, it will need re-balling , just depends on how bad the cracks of balls are.a proper re-flow means, you'll need to bring up the temperature to the point where the solder balls under the RSX evenly liquifying then hold the temp.for at least 20 seconds. no heatguns can achieve this but a BGA rework station can.re-balling surely fixes the problem that reflow can't do, but it would still fail sooner or late if you do not do cooling fan mod.

[miihackwii]

Reflow sux. Reball rulez

Yea deffo the way to go. I do this to fix ps3's.