Flashing Red Light Fix?

  • Thread starter JJstarr
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JJstarr

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JJstarr
GTP Community,

Last night I tried to turn on my PS3 and it didn't work; it gave me a flashing red light. According to what I have seen on the internet/youtube, this does not look good.

Does anyone have any advice or anything positive they can tell me about this?! Are my only options 1-Open it and fix is myself 2-Do the hairdryer in the box technique 3-Send it back to Sony???

Help! :nervous:
 
The Hair dryer technique is to re-bond the CPU to the motherboard? And maybe the thermal paste needs re-applying?

Anyhow, Sony are great, ask them for help; you may receive a replacement PS3! If not, you could try fixing it yourself like I did.
Good luck! Hopefully you've backed up some fairly recent data! 👍
 
I don't know of a hairdryer out there that gets even close to the heat temperature needed to actually reflow solder balls back on the PS3.

If possible, check the local computer shops in your area to see if they also do console repairs. If that doesn't work out, bite the bullet and send it back to Sony. Double if it's still under warranty.
 
Basically there is a video on youtube (I'd link it, but I cannot access it at the moment) where a guy unplugs the PS3, puts it back in the box with one end of the box opened, and uses a hair dryer to heat up the box/ps3 for 15 minutes then after a cool down period it works again. That's the hair dryer technique.
 
A heatgun works better. But I've used a hair dryer.

It will come on long enough to save your gamesave to USB. But it will keep happening.

I've never had a ps3 not turn on after I've done this, and I've fixed about a dozen. But none has ever lasted more than 3 months.

Start saving!
 
I've done this heaps, best to send it back to sony if its under warrenty, if not beware hairdryer trick melts and distorts the PS3, plastic case, I bought a YLOD kit for $25 on Ebay, includes a T10 torx screwdriver, arctic paste, copper shims & flux, beware you'll more than likely need a T8 TORX SECURITY SCREWDRIVER.
 
What kind of PS3 do you have? Fat, slim, superslim? If you have a fat one, try switching the power switch in the back to off, wait a while, then switch it back to on. My dad's 80gb fat PS3 had a flashing red light and was able to fix it by doing that. Although I'm not even sure what a flashing red light means, some people have told me it's a power supply malfunction? I dunno.
 
Eks
What kind of PS3 do you have? Fat, slim, superslim? If you have a fat one, try switching the power switch in the back to off, wait a while, then switch it back to on. My dad's 80gb fat PS3 had a flashing red light and was able to fix it by doing that. Although I'm not even sure what a flashing red light means, some people have told me it's a power supply malfunction? I dunno.
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You know ive been thinking that that might be the case since when it happens it turns it self off without warning, but im getting a new PS3 today anyway..
 
I had a problem with my old fat PS3 where it would do the flashing red light thing (not the same as a YLOD, which is what the heatgun/hairdryer fix is for), I looked it up and it's possibly a hard drive error. I knew my HDD had been going bad because it was making clicking sounds and the PS3 had been getting slower and slower, so I swapped the hard drive (losing plenty of data in the process) and it was fine after that until it YLOD'd a year later.
 
I found this:
You can do this fan test.



Turn the mains switch off, hold the eject button.

While holding it, turn the mains on, when the power light is green, release it, it will beep

The fan will operate at the highest speed possible and will eject any disc that is inside.

After about 15 seconds the fan will stop spinning and the ps3 will beep 3 times and blink a red light.

When this happens, turn the mains off and on then turn it on normally.


P.S. It will not harm your ps3
Click to expand...

Aaaaand this:
the prob could be 2 things. I work at a store and me and my buddy do 360 and ps3 repairs cheaper then sonys $150 dollar repair. First once u turn mon the console from standby the front should have a solid green light. (take all discs out). If the light keeps blinking and u cant get 2 your main menu ( the one with options like games movies etc.) Then that indicates that your system is experiencing a hardware failure. Turn the console off by holding the front for 10 seconnds. once the console is on standy by turn it off from the back.
disconnet all cords from the ps3. On the end with stickers there should be a little rectangle box to open and get your hard drive ( read the manual and remove the HDD). Once the Hdd is out reconnect all wires. turn the ps3 back on manualy and hold the on button(in front) until u here 2 beeps. If u still cant see your dashboard or menu then the ps3 console it self has a system failure. if u can see the dashboard then the hdd has a failure in it. If it is the hdd just replace it with a computer(laptop hdd) hdd. if it is the system then we got to fix it.
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Thanks to everyone for their support and thoughts. I ended up getting another PS3.

Dr. Slump - Your friends who do PS3 fixes will want to update (reduce) their price to fix the PS3. Sony wants $130 for a fix now (essentially a swap of your system for a 120GB slim version).

PS - To anyone still reading this thread: I'm having to restart everything with GT5 and I could use some help if anyone is willing. Specifically with Remote Races (for B-Spec driver experience and the Credits) and with getting my garage restocked with cars I can use.

PS2 - If anyone wants to teach me how to drift, please message me directly. That is a gap in my skillset I'd like to close.
 

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