Yellow Light Of Death, Finally!!! (PS3 60gig).

Awesome my PS3 just YLOD'd itself. It's a 1st gen 60gig model. It just had to do this with GT5 creeping around the corner.
 
I have a friend who fixed YLOD himself.

However, you need to find youtube movies that shows opening of PS3 and being managable enough to do it.

YLOD itself is a problem related to anti-heating paste somewhere on the PS3 motherboard - around CPU or GPU proessor if I'm right.

Paste have a tendency to dry-out after some time, becoming literally dust. Once "dusted" it does not do it's work, making processor overheat in matter of seconds. And it makes console going into service-safe mode, AKA YLOD.

He "just" had to open PS3, get his way to the motherboard, clean everything, put new paste and close the console back. It is working flawlessly since.

Of course, if you're going to do that notice you're braking the warranty (if you have one) and that PS3 is very complicated machine inside, so you'll have to make lots of precise work.
 
So Amar - are you saing that EVERY PS3 (or every 60GBPS3) will someday get YLOD ???
Or does it only happen to some production flawed PS3s ?
 
amar212
I have a friend who fixed YLOD himself.

However, you need to find youtube movies that shows opening of PS3 and being managable enough to do it.

YLOD itself is a problem related to anti-heating paste somewhere on the PS3 motherboard - around CPU or GPU proessor if I'm right.

Paste have a tendency to dry-out after some time, becoming literally dust. Once "dusted" it does not do it's work, making processor overheat in matter of seconds. And it makes console going into service-safe mode, AKA YLOD.

He "just" had to open PS3, get his way to the motherboard, clean everything, put new paste and close the console back. It is working flawlessly since.

Of course, if you're going to do that notice you're braking the warranty (if you have one) and that PS3 is very complicated machine inside, so you'll have to make lots of precise work.
Click to expand...

Along with the dry thermal grease you have to reflow the solder of the CPU and GPU with a heat gun (~700deg). When I did my repair two days ago the thermal grease between the heat sink and the CPU and GPU chip sets was completely dried out and just wiped off no alcohol needed. The heat generated from the two chip sets causes one of the two chips to basically separate from the motherboard causing the YLOD. The method is most likely due to the "break down" of the thermal grease causing excessive heat build up. Everything is running fine now and I have a "near" showroom clean PS3 inside and out!👍
 
I guess I should count my blessings. I have had no problems thus far with my 60GB model. I do like the fact that I have the option of fixing it myself if and when the YLOD occurs. I have to say being a member of GTP certainly has its privileges. 👍 However when I can come up with the loot to get the model with the bigger HDD(either 160GB or 180GB I don't remember) I will sell the 60GB, I never play PS2 games anymore. I will try to sell it here on GTP before I post it else-wear. Or you can shoot me a message if interested and I'll hit you up when I decide to do this.
 
amar212
I have a friend who fixed YLOD himself.

However, you need to find youtube movies that shows opening of PS3 and being managable enough to do it.

YLOD itself is a problem related to anti-heating paste somewhere on the PS3 motherboard - around CPU or GPU proessor if I'm right.

Paste have a tendency to dry-out after some time, becoming literally dust. Once "dusted" it does not do it's work, making processor overheat in matter of seconds. And it makes console going into service-safe mode, AKA YLOD.

He "just" had to open PS3, get his way to the motherboard, clean everything, put new paste and close the console back. It is working flawlessly since.

Of course, if you're going to do that notice you're braking the warranty (if you have one) and that PS3 is very complicated machine inside, so you'll have to make lots of precise work.
Click to expand...

I did the same,opened my one about a week before warranty expired
and replaced the paste and gave it a good cleaning.
Just replaced the paste with a synthetic oil that IBM use on their servers so i should never need to replace now,just give it a good cleaning every now and again.
So far 2yrs going strong.
 
I purchased a second hand PAL 60GB PS3 in August last year (the PS3 itself was already over a year old, purchased new in April 07). So far it has been rock solid, more so than the 40GB I had before it actually.

I will give it a good clean out this weekend, as all this talk of the YLoD it concerning. :)
 
Mine also just died from YLOD. :nervous:
Just a week before the Beatles Rock Band game....soooo lame.

Fortunately its my brothers birthday this month so Ill have to convince him to ask for a new one.
 
How do you guys feel the Slim will do with regards to the YLOD.

I understand the processors will give of less heat, hence the possibility of overheating should be greatly reduced.

Will the system with it's new design offer better airflow, will aftermarket intercoolers be on offer to protect the system ???

Feedback Please ......
 
I can say that nothing has happened with mine since i bought it on its release day. Paid full whack for it and getting every £'s worth. I've got just over a thousand songs on the hard drive and i only use my Ps3(60gig) for games. I dont watch blu-ray discs or normal dvd's.

We have to remember that its a Games console first, and then things like Blu-Ray and Music, and Pics were added. Sure it works but maybe the slim will be more reliable. I prefer the one i have because i can play Psone and Ps2 games on it but my only regret is that it burns a lot of electricity.
 
Barbados246_8
How do you guys feel the Slim will do with regards to the YLOD.

I understand the processors will give of less heat, hence the possibility of overheating should be greatly reduced.

Will the system with it's new design offer better airflow, will aftermarket intercoolers be on offer to protect the system ???

Feedback Please ......
Click to expand...

The problem with the Launch PS3 (60gb) was a breakdown of the thermal grease between the CPU, GPU and the two heat sinks. This breakdown caused a poor heat transfer from the chip sets to the heatsinks which caused the chips to lift from the motherboard. When I got my YLOD i noticed that the grease when I cleaned it was basically the consistancy of dry baking powder. When I did the reflow technique I bought a better thermal grease to re-apply after the repair was made. Hopefully the new slim model has increased airflow/cooling. I personally think the PS3 in its current state has sufficient cooling in its design as I saw when I performed the assembly and disassembly of the unit. I bought my PS3 in March of 2007 and its has got alot of miles on it. It has been about a month since I did the repair and it is working just fine. The biggest things to remember are provide sufficient space for plenty of air flow and keep the vents clear of dust build up.👍
 
My first batch 40gb unit had a lens assembly failure after the only one month or so from the end of warantee. although I only used it during the weekends and watched a handful of BD movies! what was more shocking it was a Japanese made unit! but the internal components were manufactured in China!
In the begining I thought that firmware 2.37 was to blame, so I formatted the drive then swapped a 60gb unit drive but to no avail.
I went on and void the warantee and got the lens for $90 USD. while I was dismantling the unit I snapped the disc sensor wire! went to the retailer and told him of what happened. he shocked me by telling me that the failure rate for this batch was over 30% and Sony was replacing the units with refurbished ones provided you pay around $210.

it was too late to act, and I end up fixing the unit by myself and given it up to my nephues, then wasted another $625 USD for 80gb MGS4 bundle, which is still new in box awaiting GT5.

I believe Sony lost its reputation of being a high quality product line manufacturer compared to other products from the 70's, 80's and even early 90's. I had playstation and PS2 that used to work flawlessly.

Very disgraceful indeed.
 
Yep, my 60GB launch PS3 has died YLOD. This is the 3rd time it has had to go back to Sony Australia for repair! First it was the GPU which had died, then the Blu-Ray payer, and now only 2 - 3 months after getting it back it has YLOD.
I was once a very big proponent of Sony products and have numerously told my friends the benefits of PS over XBOX, but now im the one with egg on my face.:ouch:

So back in it goes, and next time i'll just buy a bloody Slim and be done with it!
 
capt_aaa
I believe Sony lost its reputation of being a high quality product line manufacturer compared to other products from the 70's, 80's and even early 90's. I had playstation and PS2 that used to work flawlessly.
Click to expand...

So did I. But there were way more failures on the PS2 due to DRE than YLODs on the PS3 and even RRODs on the 360 - and the PS2 was considerably less complex.
 
I got my second YLOD yesterday, Looks like the first repair only lasted a month since I posted back in #30. After a 1hr repair (Solder Reflow) looks like I have resurrected my 60gb from the dead yet again.
 
capt_aaa
My first batch 40gb unit had a lens assembly failure after the only one month or so from the end of warantee. although I only used it during the weekends and watched a handful of BD movies! what was more shocking it was a Japanese made unit! but the internal components were manufactured in China!
In the begining I thought that firmware 2.37 was to blame, so I formatted the drive then swapped a 60gb unit drive but to no avail.
I went on and void the warantee and got the lens for $90 USD. while I was dismantling the unit I snapped the disc sensor wire! went to the retailer and told him of what happened. he shocked me by telling me that the failure rate for this batch was over 30% and Sony was replacing the units with refurbished ones provided you pay around $210.

it was too late to act, and I end up fixing the unit by myself and given it up to my nephues, then wasted another $625 USD for 80gb MGS4 bundle, which is still new in box awaiting GT5.

I believe Sony lost its reputation of being a high quality product line manufacturer compared to other products from the 70's, 80's and even early 90's. I had playstation and PS2 that used to work flawlessly.

Very disgraceful indeed.
Click to expand...


This post is full of fail.

C.
 
capt_aaa
My first batch 40gb unit had a lens assembly failure after the only one month or so from the end of warantee. although I only used it during the weekends and watched a handful of BD movies! what was more shocking it was a Japanese made unit! but the internal components were manufactured in China!
In the begining I thought that firmware 2.37 was to blame, so I formatted the drive then swapped a 60gb unit drive but to no avail.
I went on and void the warantee and got the lens for $90 USD. while I was dismantling the unit I snapped the disc sensor wire! went to the retailer and told him of what happened. he shocked me by telling me that the failure rate for this batch was over 30% and Sony was replacing the units with refurbished ones provided you pay around $210.

it was too late to act, and I end up fixing the unit by myself and given it up to my nephues, then wasted another $625 USD for 80gb MGS4 bundle, which is still new in box awaiting GT5.

I believe Sony lost its reputation of being a high quality product line manufacturer compared to other products from the 70's, 80's and even early 90's. I had playstation and PS2 that used to work flawlessly.

Very disgraceful indeed.
Click to expand...

Seriously!?!?!? Everyone is dissing Sony when MS has had one the biggest failures in console history when it comes to hardware reliability. 54% failure and alot of people in this thread are badmouthing sony? Electronics fail, people. It happens. Sony's console is the most reliable of this generation. There was an article about a year ago about a kid who went through 14 360's in about two years and people are saying Sony is a disgrace? Just because you got one of the few ps3's that faulted out doesnt mean the PS3 in general is garbage. I have a 60gig launch system and it still works just fine.

PS2's had problems also. At first, DVD movies wouldnt work, then DVD games wouldnt work and then the console wouldnt read anything at all. Happened to many of my friends and would happen in that order. Electronics are not bulletproof. Im pretty sure the PS2 and the PS3 are around the same failure rate right now, so saying Ps2 was more reliable is not a fact.
 
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My 60GB has died again....3 months after being repaired.
Think i might try the re-paste myself - did a trial run dismantling it this morning and it seemed pretty straight forward.

My concern is with the reflowing of the solder - will that amount of heat directed on to the chip cause bigger problems?
 
Let's face it in terms of re-repairing, you can either end up breaking it completley and pay 200 for a new slim, or pay for it to be fixed for £150 not like you have much to loose
 
GTP_joeninety
My 60GB has died again....3 months after being repaired.
Think i might try the re-paste myself - did a trial run dismantling it this morning and it seemed pretty straight forward.

My concern is with the reflowing of the solder - will that amount of heat directed on to the chip cause bigger problems?
Click to expand...

I am on my second repair, This time I was a little more aggressive with the heat on the CPU/GPU. The key is not to do direct heat on the chips, just keep moving the heat gun in a circular/figure 8 pattern over the CPU/GPU. I did mine for about two minutes of heating before letting the board cool. From what I have learned about the repair of the board is that it can last 2 minutes to 2 years it just depends.
 
Seriously!?!?!? Everyone is dissing Sony when MS has had one the biggest failures in console history when it comes to hardware reliability. 54% failure and alot of people in this thread are badmouthing sony? Electronics fail, people. It happens. Sony's console is the most reliable of this generation. There was an article about a year ago about a kid who went through 14 360's in about two years and people are saying Sony is a disgrace? Just because you got one of the few ps3's that faulted out doesnt mean the PS3 in general is garbage. I have a 60gig launch system and it still works just fine.
Click to expand...

Seriously!?!?!? Don't you think that might have something to do with the fact that this is a forum dedicated to a PlayStation game, not an Xbox game, and that this particular thread is about a fault with said PlayStations?

None of us are dissing the PS3. We all love it. Problems do happen and it really helps to share our problems and solutions in order to make life easier for ourselves, there is no need to get so defensive because somebody had a problem with something you like. Just chill.

On a more relevant note, my 40GB PS3 just got the YLOD today, it worked twice, so I was able to back up my save game data, but now it won't boot at all :( so I'm gonna ask Sony what they can do, then try Currys, then go at it with my heat gun :crazy:
Whatever happens there is no way I'm not going to have a PS3 for GT5!
 
My 60 GB launch PS3 YLOD on Thursday. 2 months away from GT5. :(

This is NOT fair. I will man up and try to fix it myself, though... I've no experience with electronics, but I've worked with computers and have done the repasting process. All I have to get is Arctic Silver and a heat gun.
 
Coxis
My 60 GB launch PS3 YLOD on Thursday. 2 months away from GT5. :(

This is NOT fair. I will man up and try to fix it myself, though... I've no experience with electronics, but I've worked with computers and have done the repasting process. All I have to get is Arctic Silver and a heat gun.
Click to expand...

My suggestion, from personal experience with YLOD of a LD60GBPS3 and the several repairs I've made to it, is this:

1. Buy a new Slim PS3 (You're going to need to no matter what)
2. Buy a new larger HDD for it
3. Do the reflow and thermal paste to the LD PS3
4. If you get the LD PS3 fixed, copy the game saves first to a flash drive
5. After copying the game saves, connect the Old PS3 to the New PS3 and transfer all the data
6. Deactivate your old PS3
7. Activate new PS3
8. Store or sell Old PS3
 
Solid Lifters
My suggestion, from personal experience with YLOD of a LD60GBPS3 and the several repairs I've made to it, is this:

1. Buy a new Slim PS3 (You're going to need to no matter what)
2. Buy a new larger HDD for it
3. Do the reflow and thermal paste to the LD PS3
4. If you get the LD PS3 fixed, copy the game saves first to a flash drive
5. After copying the game saves, connect the Old PS3 to the New PS3 and transfer all the data
6. Deactivate your old PS3
7. Activate new PS3
8. Store or sell Old PS3
Click to expand...

Yesyes. I will NOT reflow my unit until I get an extra hard drive to do a full back up. I'll back the info and buy a slim, but I don't think I'll sell this one. If I'm lucky enough to get it working again, I'll use it until it breaks again.
 

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