SoundGammon Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 I have a original PS3 that is compatible with the older games and a while back it went to the dreaded red ring light. Anyone repair these? No, I didn't try to work on it, I just put it away and got a newer one. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jblenkle Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 I have fixed mine twice by using a hair dryer on it...yes, it works...I found a video on youTube that outlined how to do it. Can't guarantee anything, but I wrapped it in a towel, put it in a cardboard box and turned the hair dryer on the back vents for I think 20 minutes, giving it a minute rest every five minutes. Then let it cool down for about an hour. The first time I did it, it lasted for about six months before I had to do it again. Then I just decided to get a later model PS3 that didn't have the overheating problem that the originals did. We have a local shop that repairs consoles, but they wouldn't touch the original PS3. So I figured I'd try the hair dryer trick as I had nothing to lose. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 This place looks kind of interesting, although the web site's definitely got a Best Electronics feel to it: https://ps3specialist.com/playstation-3-reballing-repair-service-one-year-warranty/ I watched the video; I guess the parlance of our times is that this is "reballing" the PS3, but to me it's almost like a rebuild. They are taking the console apart, removing the CPU, cleaning up the old, cracked solder and re-mounting it. Note that they have a long section on the site about how other sites claim to do this but actually don't, which is actually more suspicious to me than if they hadn't said that. But if they are really "reballing" and not just "reflowing", then $80 doesn't seem like a terrible price. Watch the video; that is a lot of work. I had this happen to my 80GB, backward compatible launch PS3 and there was no service like this at the time. I sold it for $50 as "for parts/repair"; now I wish I'd kept it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+chue Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 My experience with PS3 Specialist: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 I'd still like to get my PS3 fat repaired, but it's not something I'm willing to pay an arm and a leg for. I have a slim and it works wonderfully, but it still bothers me that my original PS3 with the PS2 backwards compatibility doesn't work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepfb Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 14 hours ago, spacecadet said: I watched the video; I guess the parlance of our times is that this is "reballing" the PS3, but to me it's almost like a rebuild. They are taking the console apart, removing the CPU, cleaning up the old, cracked solder and re-mounting it. Note that they have a long section on the site about how other sites claim to do this but actually don't, which is actually more suspicious to me than if they hadn't said that. But if they are really "reballing" and not just "reflowing", then $80 doesn't seem like a terrible price. Watch the video; that is a lot of work. This is the point. Reballing is the proper repair, just "reflowing" the ICs is a short-term fix that won't last too much. And that's the reasong why I would not do the trick with the hair dryer and the towel, or the oven and the towel, or the cardboard box and the oven/hair dryer. The PCB of the PS3 is firmly attached to the heat sink by four screws. If you heat the board *without* dismantling the board from the metal chassis (ie, without taking the heat sink apart), the pressure of those four screws will probably bend the board slightly, avoiding further repairs on it ? (once the board gets warped, it's almost impossible to do a proper BGA soldering again). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamchevy Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 I’m thinking about buying a 60gb model. But after reading through this I may go for a slim instead. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamchevy Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 I'd still like to get my PS3 fat repaired, but it's not something I'm willing to pay an arm and a leg for. I have a slim and it works wonderfully, but it still bothers me that my original PS3 with the PS2 backwards compatibility doesn't work. This is the main reason I’m going to purchase a slim. I would be ticked if I paid $200-$250 for a nice 60gb backwards compatible and it died. Maybe buy a pristine one and redo the thermal paste first thing? It seems strange to pay so much for a backwards compatible system when PS2’s are dirt cheap. And all PS3s are ps1 backwards compatible. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Stamos Mullet Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 My original 60Gb Backwards compatible PS3 did the same. I used the heatgun trick on it. First time it worked for like 4 months. Then the next time it lasted like 2 weeks. Then it just died. Got a slim with original firmware of 3.50 and hacked it. Never looked back. Then later, I pulled my old PS2 out of storage and FMCB'ed it and use Open PS2 Loader on it with Network sharing and all the PS1 and PS2 games in the world work on it streaming form my media server PC. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamchevy Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 My original 60Gb Backwards compatible PS3 did the same. I used the heatgun trick on it. First time it worked for like 4 months. Then the next time it lasted like 2 weeks. Then it just died. Got a slim with original firmware of 3.50 and hacked it. Never looked back. Then later, I pulled my old PS2 out of storage and FMCB'ed it and use Open PS2 Loader on it with Network sharing and all the PS1 and PS2 games in the world work on it streaming form my media server PC.That’s what I’m afraid of, especially since these consoles are now 13 years old. I think I need to go the same way with an OG PS2, and go with a slim for my PS3 games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punisher5.0 Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 Don't throw away your broken phat's just yet guys. A few weeks ago I came across some info that the capacitors for the CPU and GPU might be to blame for most of the YLOD cases. Sony used the same ones that also went bad in laptops that people have been repairing just by replacing them. I recently bought a backward compatible model that had the YLOD to do some testing on. I was able to bring it back to life with heat so I know everything else is ok. Im going to order some new capacitors and see how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 2 minutes ago, Punisher5.0 said: Don't throw away your broken phat's just yet guys. A few weeks ago I came across some info that the capacitors for the CPU and GPU might be to blame for most of the YLOD cases. Sony used the same ones that also went bad in laptops that people have been repairing just by replacing them. I recently bought a backward compatible model that had the YLOD to do some testing on. I was able to bring it back to life with heat so I know everything else is ok. Im going to order some new capacitors and see how it goes. Interesting. I'm really curious to hear how this goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punisher5.0 Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 On 1/27/2020 at 1:39 PM, Tempest said: Interesting. I'm really curious to hear how this goes. The heat trick only lasted one day. Thankfully it didnt die while I was jailbreaking it! I just ordered the capacitors tonight. I bought enough to do 8 systems. Ill let you guys know how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 35 minutes ago, Punisher5.0 said: The heat trick only lasted one day. Thankfully it didnt die while I was jailbreaking it! I just ordered the capacitors tonight. I bought enough to do 8 systems. Ill let you guys know how it goes. Please do. If this works maybe I can hire you to do my system. yeah the heat trick worked on mine for about a day as well. It was enough to get my saved game transferred off (FF X-2 at 50+ hours!) but the next day it was yellow again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punisher5.0 Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 49 minutes ago, Tempest said: Please do. If this works maybe I can hire you to do my system. yeah the heat trick worked on mine for about a day as well. It was enough to get my saved game transferred off (FF X-2 at 50+ hours!) but the next day it was yellow again. Im sure we could work something out when you go to Milwaukee to avoid shipping. Id imagine these cost a lot to ship. Plus the chance of them getting damaged in transit. I bought enough to maybe do some AA members systems but shipping would put a damper on it unless they are the more valuable full BC units (CECHA01). Otherwise you are better off just getting a slim. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxpressed Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 Ooh, I'd be in for a recap if you're offering that service. I'm in WI, so shipping wouldn't be horrible. I'm scared to use my CECHA but love it so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 10 hours ago, Punisher5.0 said: Im sure we could work something out when you go to Milwaukee to avoid shipping. Id imagine these cost a lot to ship. Plus the chance of them getting damaged in transit. I bought enough to maybe do some AA members systems but shipping would put a damper on it unless they are the more valuable full BC units (CECHA01). Otherwise you are better off just getting a slim. I did end up getting a slim to replace my original unit (60GB BC launch unit). I'd love to get it working again though, even if it's just a backup unit now. BTW how could the caps in these units die so fast? It's not like we're talking 10 years later or something, these units died within a few years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punisher5.0 Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 3 hours ago, Tempest said: I did end up getting a slim to replace my original unit (60GB BC launch unit). I'd love to get it working again though, even if it's just a backup unit now. BTW how could the caps in these units die so fast? It's not like we're talking 10 years later or something, these units died within a few years! Im not sure why. Maybe they weren't very good quality parts to start with. It also doesn't help that the scorching hot PSU is right on top of a lot of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 21 minutes ago, Punisher5.0 said: Im not sure why. Maybe they weren't very good quality parts to start with. It also doesn't help that the scorching hot PSU is right on top of a lot of them. That might have something to do with it. Mine died after I left it on all day playing FF X-2 HD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punisher5.0 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 On 1/29/2020 at 12:00 AM, boxpressed said: Ooh, I'd be in for a recap if you're offering that service. I'm in WI, so shipping wouldn't be horrible. I'm scared to use my CECHA but love it so much. Ill keep you in mind. It currently still works fine? Where in Wisconsin are you? I go up to Kenosha a couple of times a month. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxpressed Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 56 minutes ago, Punisher5.0 said: Ill keep you in mind. It currently still works fine? Where in Wisconsin are you? I go up to Kenosha a couple of times a month. I'm on the other side of the state -- Eau Claire. Yes, I have a few CECHAs that work fine but am afraid to use them. I took apart a CECHE to learn how to replace the thermal paste but couldn't get the heat spreader off the die. So no rush -- whenever you have the time and inclination, let me know. Thanks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punisher5.0 Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 Just updating that I finally got the capacitors in the mail today. You would be surprised at how much these little guys cost. I plan on doing the job sometime this week and Ill post the results. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 Please let us know the results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punisher5.0 Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 Got it! Just did the GPU tonight and its back to life. Ill run some tests to see how it holds up but so far so good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 I really hope that's all it is. I'd love to have my PS3 Fat running again. I do worry that this will just happen again though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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