Thrift store Xbox 360 Jasper 2 Red Lights

[TheGrandPubaa]

Hey, me again. Among some other finds secured from Habitat for Humanity was 3 Xbox 360 units in various conditions. Two are Xenons while one is a Jasper. I am disinclined to try and even test the Xenons because what's the point? I did scavenge the heat sinks from them and will hang onto them for spare parts should the need arise. The Jasper actually turns on and shows the NXE, but after a short amount of time, the display turns off, the fan speeds up, and it flashes two red lights on the left side(I believe it's 1 and 3) of the ring of light.

 

I have since cleaned out the Xbox, removed the heatsinks and cleaned/applied fresh thermal compound, and tried running the system again. Still turns off after a short time and flashes the error code. So I installed two copper heatsinks from the two Xenon motherboards since I have read they are a bit better for heat dissipation than the aluminum blocks that came with the Jasper. Same behavior. So I even went so far as to solder a wire on the underside of the board to pull additional power to run the fan at full speed all the time(single wire 12 v fan mod). This time the system ran for a few minutes this time before eventually doing the same thing.

 

I'm pretty much at my wits end as far as thinking of possible solutions. It does look like this system was previously tinkered with, possibly even recapped, and so who knows what might have happened to it for it to end up being sold to me for $3 as a parts machine. Short of trying to rig up some kind of water cooling system - which I have no experience doing and would quite probably be overkill for an xbox I would like to RGH - I don't know what else could be done to keep the processor cool or identify what the deeper problem is.

 

*edit: There is one other thing I could try, but I don't know if it would actually help, and would probably push me past the point of no return. One of the Xenons had a bunch of washers and bolts in lieu of the x-clamps, so I assume it was an RROD x-clamp fix/mod to apply more pressure from the heat sink to the chip. I kept the washers/bolts so it's something I could do, but I don't know if it would have an appreciable effect as far as providing a more secure connection from the heatsink to the chip, thus preventing overheating, or if it would simply damage the BGA.

Edited June 17, 2018 by TheGrandPubaa

[+wongojack]

If you can tell it has been recapped that is important info that can at least give you a starting point for what to try next. The behavior you are describing kinda sounds like a bad cap to me . . . like there is some place on the board where the volts aren't quite being maintained at the right level.

 

First, I would check all the caps and make sure they are secure and in place with no "cold joints." If you examine them closely, you might find something else, like some damage around a solder site or something that you can repair. I think I'd also have a meter to check voltage on various places to see if there were some weird floaty readings or something.

 

Second, I would just take all the caps off and test them. If you suspect re-capping has broken the thing, you might be right. Re-do the work and see what happens. Maybe they put the wrong cap in somewhere. I think that could cause what you are describing.

[TheGrandPubaa]

If you can tell it has been recapped that is important info that can at least give you a starting point for what to try next. The behavior you are describing kinda sounds like a bad cap to me . . . like there is some place on the board where the volts aren't quite being maintained at the right level.

 

First, I would check all the caps and make sure they are secure and in place with no "cold joints." If you examine them closely, you might find something else, like some damage around a solder site or something that you can repair. I think I'd also have a meter to check voltage on various places to see if there were some weird floaty readings or something.

 

Second, I would just take all the caps off and test them. If you suspect re-capping has broken the thing, you might be right. Re-do the work and see what happens. Maybe they put the wrong cap in somewhere. I think that could cause what you are describing.

That's an interesting idea. Checking on eBay, it looks like there are some cap replacement kits for the 5-10 dollar range, so that's possibly worth considering. I don't have a multimeter to do any proper testing with(though ironically, I have a pretty nice Hakko soldering station; I really should get testing equipment eventually...), so I would basically be recapping everything on the board and hoping it fixed the problem or improved the situation. For now, I rigged up a dual channel fan shroud using soda box cardboard and duct tape to see if improving the airflow helps at all(Edit: been running idle on the NXE screen for about an hour now, which is definitely an improvement). I really need to stress test with a game if I can get the DVD drive to read, but just idling will at least give me an idea if it has improved at all.

 

Among the recapping evidence, there also appears to have been some soldering to the jtag headers so I wonder if it's possible this used to be a JTAG/RGH hacked system. If I can get it running in a stable fashion, I want to install a Coolrunner like the one in my personal, trusty Jasper from back in 2008/2009 that's still going strong.

Edited June 17, 2018 by TheGrandPubaa

[TheGrandPubaa]

Slight followup. I didn't see any obvious cap swelling or leaking, though obviously I could have missed something. I took a spare low-profile heatsink and spent much longer and much more energy than is probably reasonable cutting little heatsinks to place on the four RAM chips that I noted were quite hot to the touch.

To recap, I have swapped the original Jasper GPU/CPU heatsinks with two Xenon CPU(I believe) heatsinks with the copper pipe through the center. I removed the plastic fan shroud and, at least temporarily, replaced it with a cardboard/duct tape DIY shroud that more effectively channels airflow and now limits one fan to the GPU and one fan to the CPU. I also applied thermal grease/paste and installed four little hand-cut aluminum heatsinks on the RAM chips. The system cover is completely off, and the DVD drive is sitting somewhat precariously on top of the metal shielding(with some insulation to prevent possible shorting) since there isn't room for it with the new tall GPU heatsink.

 

I have been playing Crackdown on the system for perhaps 45 minutes straight at this point without it shutting down with a flashing error code. I will have to wait until I can get the proper hardware to RGH it and check the sensor temperature readings, but this gives me hope that the system might yet be viable.

I am wondering what kind of material would be best if I were to rig up a slightly more durable/slightly less potentially flammable fan shroud. I know my local Lowes sells Lexan polycarbonate sheets. Perhaps that and some epoxy could work. I'll have to do a bit of research and see how epoxy/Lexan handle heat exposure.

[TheGrandPubaa]

*Edit: It looks like my original store bought Jasper actually came with one of the older, higher wattage power supplies that is compatible with a Falcon motherboard. So I was using the correct PS after all. What a strange turn of events...*

The plot thickens, or "I really should pay closer attention when identifying Xbox 360 models". When I got what I thought was a Jasper from Habitat, it was half taken apart and the sticker on the separate but included case top on the back indicates 12.1A and a 2009 manufacture date. I've also been testing it with the power supply from my original Jasper arcade. However, I just had J-Runner run a check to identify the NAND chip on the motherboard and it registers as a Falcon/Opus. A look at the power connector on the back of the console further indicates a Falcon because of the single black plastic bar across the top of the connector.

By all accounts, a Falcon shouldn't work with a Jasper power supply because it requires 14.5A whereas the Jasper supply only puts out 12.1A, right? I guess this could explain the difficult time i've had getting the system to stay cool and not shut itself down during gameplay. I ordered an RGH glitch chip already, so if it is indeed a Falcon(the system has an HDMI port, I should mention), it should still be worth pursuing for my modding purposes. Is there any other way to confirm on the motherboard that this is not a Jasper?

Edited June 22, 2018 by TheGrandPubaa

[Taijigamer]

Check the power connector at the back of the console, the plastic housing will tell u what revision it is (check online). A jasper psu won't connect to a Falcon board because of the connector housing. If u are having to throw so much cooling at it then there is something more going on. What heatsink paste did u use, are the heat sinks making good contact? Are the x-clamps still in situ?

[TheGrandPubaa]

Check the power connector at the back of the console, the plastic housing will tell u what revision it is (check online). A jasper psu won't connect to a Falcon board because of the connector housing. If u are having to throw so much cooling at it then there is something more going on. What heatsink paste did u use, are the heat sinks making good contact? Are the x-clamps still in situ?

Short version:

-power connector on mobo indicates Falcon

-my power supply borrowed from a legit Jasper is a Falcon-compatible higher wattage power supply

-12v fan mod, to possibly be removed once I have RGH'd the system and up the fan speed in software

-thermal grease is Thermaltake TG-7(some brand that Best Buy sells; I can't speak to it's efficacy compared to more mainstream thermal compounds except that it has helped lower the temps on my -original Jasper and seems to be working with this Falcon)

-x-clamps are attached to a pair of Xenon CPU heatsinks(rectangular, finned, with copper pipe running through the middle) for both the CPU and the GPU

-I cut smaller heatsinks from an old Xenon GPU heatsink and placed them onto the ram chips on the topside of the board.

-hacked together two fan shrouds into one piece to more effectively split the air between the two fans and give the GPU much more airflow, seems to help keep the pipe much cooler

 

With all this said, I stress tested the system for over an hour earlier today running Crackdown with no problems. Once my glitch chip arrives and I get it installed, I will be able to get some actual temperature measurements and compare them to what I see with my original(actual) Jasper.

Edited June 22, 2018 by TheGrandPubaa

[TheGrandPubaa]

Minor update: I haven't had any success with my RGH attempts so far, having tried 1.0, 1.2, and 2.0. This is odd, but I suspect it may have to do with how old the firmware is. The dash is, in fact, so old that the system is still able to use the JTAG hack that predates RGH. With that in mind, I ordered some resistors and diodes and I plan to try that method since it would have the benefit of being simpler and booting instantly without having to glitch.

[Taijigamer]

If it's on dash 7371 then definitely jtag it. Instaboot every time.

[TheGrandPubaa]

Right, it was running the - I guess - first NXE update, which I initially assumed meant it was way past the JTAG hack, but I was wrong. CB number is low enough as well, 5761. My parts from Digikey should be coming in today so hopefully it won't give me any issues. I'm not sure why I couldn't get the RGH hack to successfully glitch as I checked my soldering numerous times, but whatever. I'll take the JTAG hack if I can make it work.

[TheGrandPubaa]

At the moment, the JTAG hack appears to have been successful as I currently have Aurora Dash running. The temps displayed in the guide menu/mini blades are: CPU 37.8c, GPU 39.5c, Memory 1.0c(I assume I messed this particular sensor up somehow by adding little heatsinks to the RAM chips), and Chassis 29.1c. These temps are even better than my Jasper. It was a lot of work installing the two copper heatsinks, rigging up my crappy fan shroud, and soldering the 12v fan mod wire, but the results certainly speak for themselves. Thanks for all the advice, folks.