LOG: PS3 YLOD Fix
- Thread starter trentlad
- Start date
I got a mail back from Retronix and they confirmed they reballed both chips again so I'm a bit miffed as to what the problem is
Just taken apart my ps3 for a reflow and noticed there are a few screws missing (including the torx one that holds the top in place) bit annoying but I guess its nothing major as its mostly there, still pretty damn unprofessional on Retronixs part!
Think I'm gonna go for a new slim one, least I know I'll get a good while out of it. Does anyone know if they ironed out these issues with the new machines?
EDIT: Just heatgunned the PCB and reassembled it all...still YLOD
it really is done for god knows whats up with it...guess its off to ebay for spares n repairs...
Just taken apart my ps3 for a reflow and noticed there are a few screws missing (including the torx one that holds the top in place) bit annoying but I guess its nothing major as its mostly there, still pretty damn unprofessional on Retronixs part!
Think I'm gonna go for a new slim one, least I know I'll get a good while out of it. Does anyone know if they ironed out these issues with the new machines?
EDIT: Just heatgunned the PCB and reassembled it all...still YLOD
it really is done for god knows whats up with it...guess its off to ebay for spares n repairs...
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And the result is...
Alas my repair was not successful either (it's still "ylod")
I'm fairly positive i put it back together spot on, the paste was a bit tricky to apply but got there in the end and i didn't kill myself flipping the power on, so all the componets/wires are correctly in place.
I'm beginning to think that the problem behind (my) ylod is more than just the solder issue or at the very least there are several different causes of it. Perhaps the overheating caused something else to fry, which now needs replacing but i wouldn't know where to begin on that front
I'm pretty much throwing in the towel now, i've wasted 4 months and about £100 with the same result i would have achieved having done naff all! I'll probably keep my console in case someone ever discovers the big answer but right now i admit defeat. You win Sony, you win...
@TheKeiron I'm with you mate, a new slim seems the way to go, plus the longest warrenty the shop has to offer. I've heard that some slims have died so i wouldn't assume the issue has been solved but i can tell you that internally they now use a smaller chip, which is said to produce less heat however there are no guarantees.
Whenever i get round to buying a new console, i will try different ways of cooling the air before it is sucked in by the fans, maybe a tray of ice cubes next to it or something? Hopefully i can catch a bargain during the january sales but the VAT rise is a slap in the face, like i can afford to lose more money now?!
Anyway Happy Christmas everyone, hope santa brings you what you asked for, such a shame that it's too late for me to ask for anything *sighs*
Alas my repair was not successful either
(it's still "ylod")I'm fairly positive i put it back together spot on, the paste was a bit tricky to apply but got there in the end and i didn't kill myself flipping the power on, so all the componets/wires are correctly in place.
I'm beginning to think that the problem behind (my) ylod is more than just the solder issue or at the very least there are several different causes of it. Perhaps the overheating caused something else to fry, which now needs replacing but i wouldn't know where to begin on that front
I'm pretty much throwing in the towel now, i've wasted 4 months and about £100 with the same result i would have achieved having done naff all! I'll probably keep my console in case someone ever discovers the big answer but right now i admit defeat. You win Sony, you win...
@TheKeiron I'm with you mate, a new slim seems the way to go, plus the longest warrenty the shop has to offer. I've heard that some slims have died so i wouldn't assume the issue has been solved but i can tell you that internally they now use a smaller chip, which is said to produce less heat however there are no guarantees.
Whenever i get round to buying a new console, i will try different ways of cooling the air before it is sucked in by the fans, maybe a tray of ice cubes next to it or something? Hopefully i can catch a bargain during the january sales but the VAT rise is a slap in the face, like i can afford to lose more money now?!
Anyway Happy Christmas everyone, hope santa brings you what you asked for, such a shame that it's too late for me to ask for anything *sighs*
Alas my repair was not successful either
I'm fairly positive i put it back together spot on, the paste was a bit tricky to apply but got there in the end and i didn't kill myself flipping the power on, so all the componets/wires are correctly in place.
I'm beginning to think that the problem behind (my) ylod is more than just the solder issue or at the very least there are several different causes of it. Perhaps the overheating caused something else to fry, which now needs replacing but i wouldn't know where to begin on that front
I'm pretty much throwing in the towel now, i've wasted 4 months and about £100 with the same result i would have achieved having done naff all! I'll probably keep my console in case someone ever discovers the big answer but right now i admit defeat. You win Sony, you win...
@TheKeiron I'm with you mate, a new slim seems the way to go, plus the longest warrenty the shop has to offer. I've heard that some slims have died so i wouldn't assume the issue has been solved but i can tell you that internally they now use a smaller chip, which is said to produce less heat however there are no guarantees.
Whenever i get round to buying a new console, i will try different ways of cooling the air before it is sucked in by the fans, maybe a tray of ice cubes next to it or something? Hopefully i can catch a bargain during the january sales but the VAT rise is a slap in the face, like i can afford to lose more money now?!
Anyway Happy Christmas everyone, hope santa brings you what you asked for, such a shame that it's too late for me to ask for anything *sighs*
Oh man that sucks your repair was also unsuccessful
I feel for you, we put good money into fixing our consoles the correct (supposedly permanent) way and in the end we're worse off than originally! I'd have hoped at least one of us would've been successful, lets hope trentlads reball is a winner cuz my faith in reballing as a fix is dwindling...My ps3 is up on ebay right now, and I was too eager and bought a slim off eBay already
lol the deal was too good to pass up! PS3 Slim 160GB model with PS Move starter pack, it was Buy It Now £280, but it was running a bid too and I won it for £227
! Considering I've seen the console without the PS Move around £230+ I think it was a bargain! I have to say I'd be a little gutted if something in the Jan sales is cheaper lolSorry to hear that these repairs were unsuccessful There are situations in which a faulty blu-ray drive can cause YLOD I believe; however this is not a straightforward fix because due to copy-protection, the PCB on the disc drive is 'mated' to the main board; so the PCB must be separated from the drive before replacing it. Besides this I can only suggest being absolutely sure that all cables and connections are seated snugly... There may be a handful of other reasons for YLOD besides the chips themselves not being in contact with the board, but this is not exactly a well documented thing.
At the end of the day, you can feel a lot more confident about having a slim console in that it does throw out less heat by design, and should run quieter as well as make a small saving on the electricity bill.
I'd also like to express my thanks for the feedback on these reball services.. of course to be conclusive, the consoles would have to go off to a third party that specialise in YLOD repair who should give a definitive answer - http://www.ps-pros.co.uk/ will only charge £15 (the return postage) if a repair fails. I would be interested in seeing their comment on these consoles, but agree that some hope is lost.
In any case I hope everyone has a working PS3 for Christmas, and hope that mine doesn't fail with its now quite noisy fan! If it does I'll be sure to post here.
Alex
There are situations in which a faulty blu-ray drive can cause YLOD I believe; however this is not a straightforward fix because due to copy-protection, the PCB on the disc drive is 'mated' to the main board; so the PCB must be separated from the drive before replacing it. Besides this I can only suggest being absolutely sure that all cables and connections are seated snugly... There may be a handful of other reasons for YLOD besides the chips themselves not being in contact with the board, but this is not exactly a well documented thing.At the end of the day, you can feel a lot more confident about having a slim console in that it does throw out less heat by design, and should run quieter as well as make a small saving on the electricity bill.
I'd also like to express my thanks for the feedback on these reball services.. of course to be conclusive, the consoles would have to go off to a third party that specialise in YLOD repair who should give a definitive answer - http://www.ps-pros.co.uk/ will only charge £15 (the return postage) if a repair fails. I would be interested in seeing their comment on these consoles, but agree that some hope is lost.
In any case I hope everyone has a working PS3 for Christmas, and hope that mine doesn't fail with its now quite noisy fan! If it does I'll be sure to post here.
Alex
Good luck!
Fixed my third successful PS3 last week
Cheers!
This will be my first.
So far I have:
-Non clean flux
-All the screwdrivers required
-Heatgun
Just waiting on the PS3 now.
Some thoughts...
I sent a message to my russian contact
p) about my still ylod PS3 after a reball and he reckons the reason why it isn't working might be down to the fact the (RSX) chip itself could be dead. Logically this is a valid reason, i mean graphics chips do die from excessive and/or heavy duty use. Most of the latest PS3 title releases are quite graphic intense which probably doesn't help when combined with crappy solder and possibly poor thermal compound.
It's a shame i didn't give this much thought before sending my pcb off for a reball but having said that i wouldn't imagine obtaining a new RSX chip to be cheap or easy. Thus leading me to my next point, if a console dies from (what appears to be) ylod then to me there is only really one feasible long term solution; buy a new console from the off and hope it lasts! Not cheap or really practical but it's either that or defect to the dark side...
As for HDD data and content i can only propose weekly back ups and keeping as many files as possible on a passport HDD or similar, at least then if the worst happens you won't lose everything (like me). Perhaps in the future Sony will allow the PS3 HDDs to be accessed from different machines even if it's just for game saves but from their reactions (or lack thereof) to the ylod issue i kinda doubt it.
Obviously these are just my musings and i have no hard evidence of the definitive cause of ylod but i thought you guys might be interested anyway
I sent a message to my russian contact
p) about my still ylod PS3 after a reball and he reckons the reason why it isn't working might be down to the fact the (RSX) chip itself could be dead. Logically this is a valid reason, i mean graphics chips do die from excessive and/or heavy duty use. Most of the latest PS3 title releases are quite graphic intense which probably doesn't help when combined with crappy solder and possibly poor thermal compound.It's a shame i didn't give this much thought before sending my pcb off for a reball but having said that i wouldn't imagine obtaining a new RSX chip to be cheap or easy. Thus leading me to my next point, if a console dies from (what appears to be) ylod then to me there is only really one feasible long term solution; buy a new console from the off and hope it lasts! Not cheap or really practical but it's either that or defect to the dark side...
As for HDD data and content i can only propose weekly back ups and keeping as many files as possible on a passport HDD or similar, at least then if the worst happens you won't lose everything (like me
). Perhaps in the future Sony will allow the PS3 HDDs to be accessed from different machines even if it's just for game saves but from their reactions (or lack thereof) to the ylod issue i kinda doubt it.Obviously these are just my musings and i have no hard evidence of the definitive cause of ylod but i thought you guys might be interested anyway
a cheap fix is buying one with a faulty laser and swapping yours over, as long as they havent bodged a ylod console then you'll be fine
I have thought about that a little and yes it would be a cheaper alternative to buying another console but if i'm honest i'd feel more comfortable with a completely new machine. That way i know that it hasn't been mistreated or excessively used and should, at least one would expect it to last a good many years.
If i hadn't sent my pcb off for a reball, then i would probably consider purchasing a faulty laser machine but i've wasted enough money and would be safer off starting a fresh. However if i do catch a cheap one going someplace i might just take a small gamble on it...
While we're on the topic of faulty lasers, can someone tell me if they are common (as say ylod) and what exactly is it/caused by? Cheers.
It's usually caused by one (or more) of three things:
Damage/wear to the plastic cradle that holds the lens in place
When this is the case, the lens either sits slightly off center, or too low/high, making reading data of high density media difficult, this explains how in some cases the drive can still read cd's and dvd's but not bluray.
Failure of the laser itself
Obvious when it happens because the disk inserted will not even spin up, because when the drive attempts to initialize the laser and it fails, it gets stuck in a loop attempting to initialize it.
Failure of the coils
This is quite rare, but in some cases the electromagnetic coils that handle the positioning of the lens can fail
In all of the above cases though, you can fix the issue by simply replacing the lens unit, theres a really nice how to posted here :
http://sony.nyleveia.com/2010/09/25/playstation-3-laser-replacement-guide/
I've been hanging out over at their chat room channel and the owner of nyleveia.com was telling me that they're currently working something out with Retronix to provide reballing services to PS3/360 customers, with a discount if Nyleveia is mentioned while arranging the repair.
From what i understand, they've had Retronix reball (with lead solder) one of their YLOD review units and are currently stress testing the repaired unit (it's been working fine so far).
If you wanna know more the guy is called Nevada, their irc channel is #nyleveia over at irc.dark-alex.org
Peace guys and happy new year!
So I attempted this...without a heat gun ( i know...) and it worked for 5 minutes until the ylod came back. Something I noticed was that when i turned the thing on, the fans are super quiet - is this normal? Also the BR drive made a weird noise when turning on.
so i attempted this again with a heatgun and it's running now - another problem though, the drive doesnt seem to accept any discs? tried to eject, but nothing happens. Previous owner stated they manually removed a disc from the drive. Any ideas?
will have to give that a shot then, cheers - when i hit the eject button it just makes 3 beeps, also on startup of the ps3 there is a weird buzz/crunch that comes from the drive for a second.
sound like it need realining, first time i did it it took me a couple of hours to get it running right, found it best to reset the alinment then screw the board on without the metal case put the system back together unscrew the left hand side and gently lift it while putting in a crap cd. this is probably not safe and dont recomend you try it
Just attempted to re-align the drive using
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mazLcOleH3g&feature=related
I opened up the drive and moved the white cog until the two grey flaps at the front were down then closed it up..
I put a CD in and it accepted it, but i cant eject it..
and it took the disk in, problem is now it doesnt eject?
tried to follow this as well but it's not very good:
http://www.wikihow.com/Realign-Your-Ps3's-Blu-Ray-So-That-a-Disc-Can-Load-and-Eject
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mazLcOleH3g&feature=related
I opened up the drive and moved the white cog until the two grey flaps at the front were down then closed it up..
I put a CD in and it accepted it, but i cant eject it..
and it took the disk in, problem is now it doesnt eject?
tried to follow this as well but it's not very good:
http://www.wikihow.com/Realign-Your-Ps3's-Blu-Ray-So-That-a-Disc-Can-Load-and-Eject
this is why i built it up without the casing and then lifted the left side up slightly as i put a cd in, it seamed to get the top bits into the correct places
its good practice, but i wouldnt waste to much time as the console will fail again! best looking at ps3's with broken bluray lasers
its good practice, but i wouldnt waste to much time as the console will fail again! best looking at ps3's with broken bluray lasers
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