PlayStation 3 RLOD

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DravidDavid

1907 posts

Uber Geek

#177653 10-Aug-2015 16:02

Hey guys,

Recently grabbed a faulty PS3 off of my colleague with the red light of death.

I took it apart, replaced the thermal paste on the RSX under the heat spreader and the thermal paste on the heatspreader itself. After re-flowing the board (without flux) and turning it on it works!

Trouble is, it works for about 5 minutes and then dies.

I used the dot method on the RSX directly with ArcticSilver 5 and the cross method on each heat spreader as the surface is so damn large, I figured a dot might not be enough and everyone else seems to be spreading. Not a fan of spreading as I've heard it can introduce bubbles. Before my in depth repair I simply replaced the thermal compound on the heat spreaders and it worked for a solid 2 or 3 hours no problem.

I have noticed that after I get the "system is hot" message and the Playstation freezes, the fan is doing practically nothing. The fan never kicks up it's RPM, but I can tell it's running. Is this a board issue? Or a fan issue?

If a fan issue? Does anyone have a spare fan?

I know it's probably dead but you never know! :)

Model Number: CECHG02 (Fat version)

Thanks!

DravidDavid

1907 posts

Uber Geek

#1362596 11-Aug-2015 09:19

UPDATE:

Nevermind. After several repair attempts (I think I was up to 11) I decided to use flux and try again.

I plugged it in about an hour after the repair and heard hissing and popping coming from within. Perhaps I missed some excess somewhere. I give up! I'm buying another one!

DravidDavid

1907 posts

Uber Geek

#1364703 12-Aug-2015 15:16

UPDATE 2: More for Google than anyone else. :P

I grabbed a PS3 from a random guy on Facebook for $70.00. Turns out it's the original 60GB 4 Port model that plays PS1,2 & 3 games! Pretty lucky considering working ones are becoming thin and expensive.

Turns out my other PS3 died a needless death. The fan was faulty and I had actually fixed it correctly after all. I just wasn't sure how the fan was supposed to behave and was ignorant to the fact it wasn't spinning fast enough (even though it was working).

Also, I've seen a lot of dangerous "repair" videos on YouTube instructing people on how to repair their PlayStation when they have NO idea what they are doing. Most use too much thermal compound, use too much force with components with some placing electronics on the carpet. Not a good idea. I've linked a good channel to look at. (https://www.youtube.com/user/UltraNSC)

Tips:

- Ground yourself
- If it's your first time, take pictures. Especially of what screws go where. It's fairly straight forward, but it's best to have a record just incase.
- I've found the "dot" method isn't really enough. Although I'm not a fan of the "CC" (creadit card spreading) method, it seems like it's required due to the surface area of both heat spreaders.
- Do the job properly and take the IHS (integrated heat spreaders) off the CELL and the RSX. Replace the thermal compound there too. Often it's not the compound on the heat spreaders that causes the overheating. It's what is underneath the IHS.
- Remember to replace your BIOS battery.
- Take care with the ribbon cables. Careful especially with the Blueray ribbon. The wireless card ribbon is also important. Make sure it's not trapped under the board's chassis mount. Your wireless/controllers won't work wirelessly if it's unplugged.

It has been said removing the cover from the power supply helps prevent trapped heat needlessly warming the console. Proceed with caution.

Good luck.

bazzer

3438 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1365258 13-Aug-2015 09:19

DravidDavid: UPDATE 2: More for Google than anyone else. :P

I grabbed a PS3 from a random guy on Facebook for $70.00. Turns out it's the original 60GB 4 Port model that plays PS1,2 & 3 games! Pretty lucky considering working ones are becoming thin and expensive.

Turns out my other PS3 died a needless death. The fan was faulty and I had actually fixed it correctly after all. I just wasn't sure how the fan was supposed to behave and was ignorant to the fact it wasn't spinning fast enough (even though it was working).

Also, I've seen a lot of dangerous "repair" videos on YouTube instructing people on how to repair their PlayStation when they have NO idea what they are doing. Most use too much thermal compound, use too much force with components with some placing electronics on the carpet. Not a good idea. I've linked a good channel to look at. (https://www.youtube.com/user/UltraNSC)

Tips:

- Ground yourself
- If it's your first time, take pictures. Especially of what screws go where. It's fairly straight forward, but it's best to have a record just incase.
- I've found the "dot" method isn't really enough. Although I'm not a fan of the "CC" (creadit card spreading) method, it seems like it's required due to the surface area of both heat spreaders.
- Do the job properly and take the IHS (integrated heat spreaders) off the CELL and the RSX. Replace the thermal compound there too. Often it's not the compound on the heat spreaders that causes the overheating. It's what is underneath the IHS.
- Remember to replace your BIOS battery.
- Take care with the ribbon cables. Careful especially with the Blueray ribbon. The wireless card ribbon is also important. Make sure it's not trapped under the board's chassis mount. Your wireless/controllers won't work wirelessly if it's unplugged. It has been said removing the cover from the power supply helps prevent trapped heat needlessly warming the console. Proceed with caution.

Good luck.

Are you saying the original fat PS3s are becoming worth something? If I don't use the BC etc. anymore (what else does the old one do?), would it be worth trying to sell it before it breaks (and getting a new PS3 or PS4)?

Edit: Answered for myself... Flash card readers (meh) and SACD playback (hmm...)

DravidDavid

1907 posts

Uber Geek

#1365267 13-Aug-2015 09:28

bazzer:
DravidDavid: UPDATE 2: More for Google than anyone else. :P

I grabbed a PS3 from a random guy on Facebook for $70.00. Turns out it's the original 60GB 4 Port model that plays PS1,2 & 3 games! Pretty lucky considering working ones are becoming thin and expensive.

Turns out my other PS3 died a needless death. The fan was faulty and I had actually fixed it correctly after all. I just wasn't sure how the fan was supposed to behave and was ignorant to the fact it wasn't spinning fast enough (even though it was working).

Also, I've seen a lot of dangerous "repair" videos on YouTube instructing people on how to repair their PlayStation when they have NO idea what they are doing. Most use too much thermal compound, use too much force with components with some placing electronics on the carpet. Not a good idea. I've linked a good channel to look at. (https://www.youtube.com/user/UltraNSC)

Tips:

- Ground yourself
- If it's your first time, take pictures. Especially of what screws go where. It's fairly straight forward, but it's best to have a record just incase.
- I've found the "dot" method isn't really enough. Although I'm not a fan of the "CC" (creadit card spreading) method, it seems like it's required due to the surface area of both heat spreaders.
- Do the job properly and take the IHS (integrated heat spreaders) off the CELL and the RSX. Replace the thermal compound there too. Often it's not the compound on the heat spreaders that causes the overheating. It's what is underneath the IHS.
- Remember to replace your BIOS battery.
- Take care with the ribbon cables. Careful especially with the Blueray ribbon. The wireless card ribbon is also important. Make sure it's not trapped under the board's chassis mount. Your wireless/controllers won't work wirelessly if it's unplugged. It has been said removing the cover from the power supply helps prevent trapped heat needlessly warming the console. Proceed with caution.

Good luck.

Are you saying the original fat PS3s are becoming worth something? If I don't use the BC etc. anymore (what else does the old one do?), would it be worth trying to sell it before it breaks (and getting a new PS3 or PS4)?

The ORIGINAL 60GB Phat PS3 (specific CECHG02 models) are one of the most sought after second hand consoles in the world. They are harder to find in some places than others. There are whole businesses dedicated to fixing and reselling consoles (particularly phat PS3s) because there is a larger profit margin in them. If you've got a couple of controllers and all the cables, you can get 300+ dollars for a 60GB Phat. A few on TradeMe were around that price.

The attraction is that they are totally backwards compatible and pretty much have an integrated PS2. Because of this, they can play PS1, PS2 and PS3 games, making it the ultimate multi-platform Playstation console. They also have more USB ports than any other console released as well as a card reader unlike a lot of the others.

All other models can play PS1 games from memory, but they stopped PS2 games being played because they launched a lot of the classic titles for sale on PSN Store.

timbosan

2159 posts

Uber Geek

#1365277 13-Aug-2015 09:40

DravidDavid:
bazzer:
DravidDavid: UPDATE 2: More for Google than anyone else. :P

I grabbed a PS3 from a random guy on Facebook for $70.00. Turns out it's the original 60GB 4 Port model that plays PS1,2 & 3 games! Pretty lucky considering working ones are becoming thin and expensive.

Turns out my other PS3 died a needless death. The fan was faulty and I had actually fixed it correctly after all. I just wasn't sure how the fan was supposed to behave and was ignorant to the fact it wasn't spinning fast enough (even though it was working).

Also, I've seen a lot of dangerous "repair" videos on YouTube instructing people on how to repair their PlayStation when they have NO idea what they are doing. Most use too much thermal compound, use too much force with components with some placing electronics on the carpet. Not a good idea. I've linked a good channel to look at. (https://www.youtube.com/user/UltraNSC)

Tips:

- Ground yourself
- If it's your first time, take pictures. Especially of what screws go where. It's fairly straight forward, but it's best to have a record just incase.
- I've found the "dot" method isn't really enough. Although I'm not a fan of the "CC" (creadit card spreading) method, it seems like it's required due to the surface area of both heat spreaders.
- Do the job properly and take the IHS (integrated heat spreaders) off the CELL and the RSX. Replace the thermal compound there too. Often it's not the compound on the heat spreaders that causes the overheating. It's what is underneath the IHS.
- Remember to replace your BIOS battery.
- Take care with the ribbon cables. Careful especially with the Blueray ribbon. The wireless card ribbon is also important. Make sure it's not trapped under the board's chassis mount. Your wireless/controllers won't work wirelessly if it's unplugged. It has been said removing the cover from the power supply helps prevent trapped heat needlessly warming the console. Proceed with caution.

Good luck.

Are you saying the original fat PS3s are becoming worth something? If I don't use the BC etc. anymore (what else does the old one do?), would it be worth trying to sell it before it breaks (and getting a new PS3 or PS4)?

The ORIGINAL 60GB Phat PS3 (specific CECHG02 models) are one of the most sought after second hand consoles in the world. They are harder to find in some places than others. There are whole businesses dedicated to fixing and reselling consoles (particularly phat PS3s) because there is a larger profit margin in them. If you've got a couple of controllers and all the cables, you can get 300+ dollars for a 60GB Phat. A few on TradeMe were around that price.

The attraction is that they are totally backwards compatible and pretty much have an integrated PS2. Because of this, they can play PS1, PS2 and PS3 games, making it the ultimate multi-platform Playstation console. They also have more USB ports than any other console released as well as a card reader unlike a lot of the others.

All other models can play PS1 games from memory, but they stopped PS2 games being played because they launched a lot of the classic titles for sale on PSN Store.

That's one of the cool things about the original PS3 - I have one of these PS3's and was playing a PS2 game on it on the weekend. Plus the 4 USB port are great for things like Guitar Hero where you need lots of USB dongles. And it still works 100%. Might look into what I could get for it and upgrade to a PS4. Just a damn shame the PS4 cannot play any of the PS3 discs I have :-(

bazzer

3438 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1365283 13-Aug-2015 09:46

timbosan:
DravidDavid:
bazzer:
DravidDavid: UPDATE 2: More for Google than anyone else. :P

I grabbed a PS3 from a random guy on Facebook for $70.00. Turns out it's the original 60GB 4 Port model that plays PS1,2 & 3 games! Pretty lucky considering working ones are becoming thin and expensive.

Turns out my other PS3 died a needless death. The fan was faulty and I had actually fixed it correctly after all. I just wasn't sure how the fan was supposed to behave and was ignorant to the fact it wasn't spinning fast enough (even though it was working).

Also, I've seen a lot of dangerous "repair" videos on YouTube instructing people on how to repair their PlayStation when they have NO idea what they are doing. Most use too much thermal compound, use too much force with components with some placing electronics on the carpet. Not a good idea. I've linked a good channel to look at. (https://www.youtube.com/user/UltraNSC)

Tips:

- Ground yourself
- If it's your first time, take pictures. Especially of what screws go where. It's fairly straight forward, but it's best to have a record just incase.
- I've found the "dot" method isn't really enough. Although I'm not a fan of the "CC" (creadit card spreading) method, it seems like it's required due to the surface area of both heat spreaders.
- Do the job properly and take the IHS (integrated heat spreaders) off the CELL and the RSX. Replace the thermal compound there too. Often it's not the compound on the heat spreaders that causes the overheating. It's what is underneath the IHS.
- Remember to replace your BIOS battery.
- Take care with the ribbon cables. Careful especially with the Blueray ribbon. The wireless card ribbon is also important. Make sure it's not trapped under the board's chassis mount. Your wireless/controllers won't work wirelessly if it's unplugged. It has been said removing the cover from the power supply helps prevent trapped heat needlessly warming the console. Proceed with caution.

Good luck.

Are you saying the original fat PS3s are becoming worth something? If I don't use the BC etc. anymore (what else does the old one do?), would it be worth trying to sell it before it breaks (and getting a new PS3 or PS4)?

The ORIGINAL 60GB Phat PS3 (specific CECHG02 models) are one of the most sought after second hand consoles in the world. They are harder to find in some places than others. There are whole businesses dedicated to fixing and reselling consoles (particularly phat PS3s) because there is a larger profit margin in them. If you've got a couple of controllers and all the cables, you can get 300+ dollars for a 60GB Phat. A few on TradeMe were around that price.

The attraction is that they are totally backwards compatible and pretty much have an integrated PS2. Because of this, they can play PS1, PS2 and PS3 games, making it the ultimate multi-platform Playstation console. They also have more USB ports than any other console released as well as a card reader unlike a lot of the others.

All other models can play PS1 games from memory, but they stopped PS2 games being played because they launched a lot of the classic titles for sale on PSN Store.

That's one of the cool things about the original PS3 - I have one of these PS3's and was playing a PS2 game on it on the weekend. Plus the 4 USB port are great for things like Guitar Hero where you need lots of USB dongles. And it still works 100%. Might look into what I could get for it and upgrade to a PS4. Just a damn shame the PS4 cannot play any of the PS3 discs I have :-(

That's what I'm thinking. I'm just worried that one day (soon?) it will give up the ghost and I'll be stuffed. Better to shift that problem to someone else!

Now I have to decide if I should go PS3 (and be able to play my existing library) or move to PS4. I just don't think it gives me anything I really need.

DravidDavid

1907 posts

Uber Geek

#1365285 13-Aug-2015 09:47

timbosan: Just a damn shame the PS4 cannot play any of the PS3 discs I have :-(

And the reason I haven't purchased a PlaySation unit brand new since the original PlayStation 2.

The whole idea of a console is that you throw the disk in, type in your name and play. Now they want you to have a constant internet connection, pay for online gameplay, install content, spy on you and update every 10 seconds.

I tried playing Ratchet & Clank last night and it took an hour for it to install before I could even get to the main menu! Luckily I could simply push the source button on my monitor and play CounterStrike for a while on my PC.

Sony is simply forgoing backwards compatibility so they get more subscribers on their paid service. I understand they're a business, but they won't be getting mine!

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timbosan

2159 posts

Uber Geek

#1365293 13-Aug-2015 09:55

DravidDavid:
timbosan: Just a damn shame the PS4 cannot play any of the PS3 discs I have :-(

And the reason I haven't purchased a PlaySation until brand new since the original PlayStation 2.

The whole idea of a console is that you throw the disk in, type in your name and play. Now they want you to have a constant internet connection, pay for online gameplay, install content, spy on you and update every 10 seconds.

I tried playing Ratchet & Clank last night and it took an hour for it to install before I could even get to the main menu! Luckily I could simply push the source button on my monitor and play CounterStrike for a while on my PC.

Sony is simply forgoing backwards compatibility so they get more subscribers on their paid service. I understand they're a business, but they won't be getting mine!

So very true. And the increment in games 'quality' (take that how you want) to me isn't so great from the PS3 to the PS4 as it has been in the past. And yes, the constant connection requirement is a step backwards. Next they will start introducing in-app purchases, which will just take the enjoyment from the " throw the disk in, type in your name and play" scenario you noted.