Note: YLOD has many causes with a prominent one being failure of the NEC capacitors. There are some involved methods to further diagnose using syscon (check discussions on psx-place) but replacing the NEC capacitors is a generally safe option to start with, and I'd recommend it before resorting to the reflow process shown here. Reflow with a heat gun carries multiple risks due to inherent variation in people/method and the heating equipment itself--if not done carefully you can cause additional or new damage to the CPU or GPU. I may have gotten "lucky" with this one, in that it seems the caps are still okay, but there was some intermittent solder joints in either the CPU or GPU. My reason for thinking this is that the console in this video is still functioning 9+ months later, granted it is not seeing heavy use. If you're here, you've probably been exploring multiple avenues already, and I encourage researching other options before deciding what's right for your situation. Being real with you all, I didn’t do that much research before attempting this fix; I was excited by the outcome and wanted to share the process/result here. Everything I’ve learned since came from viewer comments, so thanks to you all for teaching me something new. Cheers -Joe
It’s 2024 I have a ps3 that has the red light of death. Watched your video and did the same thing and now I have a working ps3 that cost me 6 dollars in thermal paste. Thank you :)
I’ve found one of these models on the top of someone’s garbage pile years ago when they were still hot, it was soaking wet and missing the disk drive. Brought it home, dried it out and had the same ylod. I wrapped it in aluminum foil , put items to hold the chips in place and stuck it in the oven. Ran like a dream for years.
@@AlexanderLomouri I don’t remember exactly, but it was a little bit hotter than the melting point of the solder. If you are attempting this make sure to wrap the rest of the board in tinfoil to protect the chips and caps around the main chips. And make sure it’s perfectly level.
The reason why that worked is because you heated up the Nec Tokin Caps and temporally brought them back to life. Its reccomended that you replace those since there most likely gonna die again very soon.
@@wretchedsavedbygrace4499 at that point your replacing the entire system, not only that, you would need to make sure it's the proper revision too since some boards aren't properly compatible with the power supply the original ps3's use. Other fats also have different heat sinks.
btw, "warrantee void if removed" stickers are illegal to enforce in the US. The FTC had already sent out warnings to many companies back in 2018 about their use. I like to try and keep them as intact as possible, and have them reattached nearby (out of the way, so I can open the thing in the future if i need to) as an aesthetic thing.
This was my introduction video to your channel and I got to say you should get big! I love your dry humor presentation, and you've got a voice for radio (or UA-cam), my friend! Discovered your channel after acquiring a BC PS3 in a very lucky circumstance, so I've been studying many videos on what to do if the YLOD shows up. Keep making this great content, you make all your repairs seem pleasant and inviting!
Thank you for this great video, well explained and easy to understand. Our PS3 had the same issue and I followed the steps in the video. With a small addition that I heated first the whole motherboard with light temperature and remember to keep it leveled until it cools off. I had my doubts, but the fix worked. Our family is grateful.
I have a CECHG01 model system and I can confirm this method works. Though some of the components look different and some of the steps may not apply to that system, as long as you follow this video as close as possible you will have a working PS3 by the end of it.
It was decent but very dusty. I was cleaning it as I went but edited out most of that stuff. Except where I used a leaf blower at 2:53 which helped a ton to get a lot of dust out.
Thank you for the video! My NEC caps looked fine, so I decided to jump right to your solution of heating/reflowing them and the processors with a heat gun. Worked perfect and my PS3 is back in action! Thanks again!
Thank you so much man!! My stepson was so sad that his Ps3 (which he absolutly loves) broke down and would not start up again.. So with the help of your video, step by step WE managed to get it up and running again! You made a little kid very very happy sir!!!!! Thank you so absolut much!
This just happened to me tonight, playing a game and it froze and shut down, disc was stuck inside, couldn't eject it, but did the fan test, luckily that ejected the disc, thanks for the video, I will try do this to mine, all those screws, and disassembly/reassembly looks daunting!
@@FantasticQuack definitely will do this, my PS3 lasted 14 years, played it regularly, this will be my first ever time opening the system, will get the items you have in the video to try this repair, thanks again for the video tutorial 👍🏼
I actually fixed mine ps3 also like this years ago, and it still works like a charm! Also I did disassembled two ps3 fats and both had different internals. And watching your video I noticed also different internals. But best felling when you fix some old console, keep it going!
@Victor Hugo Alvarez Damasceno - #SINGER My take is that you tried this repair yourself and failed, or maybe had bad luck with a broken component. Please do not tell others here to "go lie in hell" or bring any other negativity. You were raised better than that.
@Victor Hugo Alvarez Damasceno - #SINGER Wait, I thought I had 3 months max? Now it's 1 month max? Either you're unreliable or each comment you post is killing my ps3 faster.
I am just heading out to pick up a working PS3 for 20€ and just wanted to educate myself on this thing. You sir deserve way more subscribers: the audio quality, the info, the the advice, the editing and the tip that you can use PS4 controllers (because those I just happen to have randomly). Thank you very much!
There’s also thermal paste under the IHS plates (the big metal plates that the thermal paste was on) it’s difficult to remove but replacing that paste would also exponentially help in keeping it even cooler too 😄
@@FantasticQuack haha I attempted to remove it once and ended up damaging the CPU on a PS3 Slim and now it’s just being used for parts. It’s very difficult so honestly be careful if you’re to attempt it lol. 😭
@@johny1220 If it fails again I will probably try it. In this video they heat it up with some hot bar solder device before prying it off, but a heat gun would do the job as well. ua-cam.com/video/bAiM9DX7e7E/v-deo.html
@@FantasticQuack haha I’ve seen that video actually, and yeah I did remove it on the console I messed up using lots of heat but it’s still pretty difficult, idk I wish I had a full reball station like in his video, so far I’m just doing some of the smaller soldering repairs and still learning the basics lol
Hey there try a thorough clean from the inside out and replacing the thermal paste. If yours doesn't YLOD on start up you're still in decent shape, and it may be just an overheating problem that a good cleanout and fresh paste could remedy. Cheers!
You got super lucky. I'm starting to find that there are so many reasons that you could get that specific error. It seems to be a general error sign for pretty much anything damaged on the motherboard. One missing capacitor can cause that to happen
Since this video I've repaired another unit using the same method. In both cases I re-heated the large (CPU/GPU?) chips and the NEC Token chips, so in the two cases I've worked on it was an issue in one of those components.
It's an unfortunate reality with some of these older systems. Things like OG xbox and game gear have e-lytic caps that fail or leak over time, and at this point today, almost all of them need work even if they were otherwise expertly cared for.
Blessings, this was an invaluable lesson in addressing the same issue I have now with my backwards compatible PS3, but I refuse to take it apart completely like u did for fear of not remembering the sequences. LOL, but at least I have an idea of what;s wrong.
Thanks for watching! Recording the process helped me a lot during reassembly because I could revisit earlier footage to make sure I was putting things back the way they came out.
I bought my friend’s PS3 FAT model the one with two usb slots sadly the fan is defective and really dirty it has not been used for more than 5 years now luckily it will still work and got me to the menu but whenever I play any game the red light blinks so with this review I manage to replace the fan and added new thermal paste after heating it to the cpu/gpu after putting all back together I was worried that there are two medium and small screws that I forgot where they were placed and I check all the arrows and rewind this video and all other screws are placed and intact with the right placement so I tried to play one game for more than 5 hours no more red blink thanks to this video still bothered about the two screws though 🥺
Glad it's working for you! Please update here again after a few months if it's still working; a lot of people are saying the repair doesn't last but it's still going strong for me.
@@FantasticQuack I have a new issue which is kinda weird I observe my PS3 for two days staying it on for more than 5 hours playing (God of War III) after playing then turning off the PS3 the next day I will do the same thing again play a game for more than 5 hours then the YLOD will start so I will cool down the PS3 for a few minutes sometimes leaving it in front of the air conditioner do the same play GOW III for 5 hours or more the YLOD is gone 😅 and if it’s a overheating issue I always play in a small room where the air conditioner is on for 11 hours even the TV and Monitor will moist it’s like playing in a cooler box 😂
Omg THANK YOU SO MUCH my son and I got my PS3 back from the Dead cause of your video. Now I can play WARHAWK Earth Worm Jim and all my old games thank you again
No apology needed. Other comments sharing their stories with this method back up what you say. I don't claim it to be a permanent fix. I will say mine (from this video) is still working but I have not been playing it a lot.
If you use alcohol with a plastic razor blade, you can successfully remove the security sticker and not have it show "VOID". I have the exact same PS3 model but it's working so far. I did use your video to take it apart and put it back together. Very east to follow along. It was super dusty in there and now the fan no longer kicks on to full speed after only a minute of idling. Thanks.
I just took mine completely apart, cleaned it out, cleaned all the dust off the fan, replaced the thermal paste and then put the whole entire thing back together. Tried to fire it up, same result: yellow light and 3 beeps. I feel really bummed that I couldn't get it back to life; it's a very nice console. I have a slim too, and it's a great console; it stays cooler and is not loud at all. I like it, but I really feel down that I can't play my PS2 games in it :/
@@FantasticQuack I forgot that step, so it all makes sense. I guess now it's too late. I think I saw a video where someone used a hot air gun and blew at it to warm it up.
@@FantasticQuack hey, I apologize for randomly asking, but even though I applied the new thermal paste, is it too late for me to heat the capacitors up? Do you think it would work?
@@autolife2785 I'd recommend removing the paste before heating. If it's still "fresh" you could scrape it off onto some wax paper or something temporarily and then put it back on afterwards.
Theirs a more simple method to fixing the YLOD as show in this video. You don't even need to take it apart, simply turn the ps3 over so it's facing bottom up. Get a hair dryer and run it on the hottest heat through the vents at the back of the playstation for around 15-20 minutes until the bottom of the playstation is hot. Leave it to stand and cool down for a further 15 minutes. Then you plug it back in and away you go. Trust me this method works also and avoids you ruining the warranty sticker and saves you opening it. I've done it myself many times before it works!!
Glad to hear that works. The thermal paste on mine was very dried out and probably not working well, I think getting new thermal paste on is important to keep it from happening again.
I’ve got my old fat ps3 in bedroom for Netflix and blue ray shit off tonight after years of use... I’m going to try the hair dryer good shout mate!! Hope it works... could I get another good ps3 and swap hardrive? Have music and pics on this one
@@FantasticQuack yeah thermal paste can cause issues especially dry but this method with the hair dryer just saves all the work taking apart the console that’s all
Pazzesco, ho smantellato tutta la mia PS3 per cambiare la pasta termica e dare una ripulita alla montagna di polvere che si era accumulata, ma dopo il rimontaggio, con tempi sempre più ridotti la play si spegneva di colpo, fino a quando ha cominciato a non accendersi più e dando l'errore dei 3 bip. Stavo per abbandonarla perché non volevo rismontarla e cercare l'errore, fino a che non ho visto questo video, cosi ho riaperto la PS3 ho provato a togliere e rimettere l'HHD dopo aver spruzzato del disossidante sul connettore..... ed è tornata in vita, non si spegne più. Era l'HDD collegato male oppure i contatti ossidati, adesso funziona tutto perfettamente. GRAZIE 1000 al canale FANTASTIC QUACK.
Now that the syscon has been figured out and error codes can be extracted, ylod repair is easier than ever before. In most cases it is the GPU failing due to bumpgate, but the NEC caps are another common failure point. A thing you can do is if you hold down the disc eject button while you turn on the power switch at the back of the console, the fan will ramp up to blow out any dust buildup in the heatsink.
Sadly this method is only a temporary fix. The permanent fix is to replace as many of the Nec capacitors with a better brand and to make sure the fan runs at a higher RPM. Sony made sure this thing was quiet instead of cooled properly and will only ramp the fans up to 33% once its getting to hot. Ideally you would run it at minimum 28% to 38% alongside replacing the capacitors and and thermal paste both under the chips and on them. If you don't care at all about noise and want a Jet Engine you can go higher and have it running under 60c easily with anything around 50% or higher. By default most of these launch models run from the 70s to 80s. Far to hot in my opinion. My personal fat that I jail breaked runs at 74c on the cell and 70c on the RSX with a 38% fan curve, I got unlucky and just have a PS3 that runs hot even with a better fan, Delid and replacement of paste and pads. Most will be 65c at 33% with a delit which is far better long term for the unit and the capacitors. If you're tight for time the Capacitors around the RSX are the most likely failure points.
No response from the power button at all? I would try a new power cord to start, but it could be a number of things: bad power supply, bad connection to the power switch, damage to the main board, etc. Hope you can get it figured out!
I did exactly what you did in this vid. And it fixed mine. I don't know if it's a permanent fix, but it has run long enough to get the DVD I borrowed from the library out lol. Thank you sir.
@@lukedavis436 There is a very long discussion on these topics over at psx-place. A proper diagnostics must be made, GLODs can be different also. On BC boards, more often than not, RSX will need a replacement. It is a bad idea to state that a GLOD is always this and YLOD is always that. It has now been proven that there are various faults that show up as YLOD/GLOD/RLOD. But there is a lot of new information that can help diagnose the components with higher accuracy.
@@calyps0man ok fine yes the RSX needs replacing *Somtimes* but usually the first thing to allways do is the NEC tokin mod.. If that doesn't work... Then reflow!
@@calyps0man *i am aware of that* but usually... The first thing to allways check is those capacitors... If you just jump straight on the reball the system could suffer massively
Apparently, models CECHK01 and models after that have a smaller cpu and gpu at 65 nanometers, where as the original ps3s (models cecha to cechh) have the bigger 90 nanometer cpu and gpu. And somehow, my CECHK01 has the ylod.
A side benefit of making these vids is that filming it helps for just that reason. If I'm unsure of something in reassembly I just consult my own previous footage and voila there's my answer!
This is a great video! Love the fact that you included putting everything back together. Got my ps3 working again! Only problem now is that the power indicator isn't on and it ejects the disc right away. Wonder if I got a connection wrong.
@@johngiesbrecht8880 hey i am planning to buy a fat ps3 which has ylot . its cheap but should i buy it ?? can it be fixed or am i just wasting my money
@@niteshbudania9614 it's definitely fixable! I did everything this guy did in the video and it worked again! It played the ps3 games fine, as soon as I tried a ps2 game then it quit. But yes it worked for me!
@@michaelolayinka441 one way is just to use pressured air through the fans the open places you can put it through and get all the dust out it MIGHT work but its better if you take it apart its pretty easy
I don’t know if I’ll get an answer to this because most people don’t answer old videos like this, but I was curious. I’m still going to go to your playlist see if there’s any other videos after this one, but I was curious to see if after re-flowing the board, how much time you got with the PlayStation before the yellow light came back.
I always answer! It's been just under 1 and a half years and it's still working--yellow light has not came back. I play it very seldom though. I thought about doing a follow up video but I wouldn't have much to say/show other than that its still working, so feels like just a cheap plug to advertise this video which is why I haven't.
I wish that you would do a follow up. There are many people that have been searching the tubes here looking for any answer to this problem. I saw that someone named RIP FELIX made a video saying that most reflows don’t last more than a couple weeks. I want to get a syscon so that I can diagnose ps3s like some can do now with a pc.
People have been having varying results from 1 week to many months. Depends on how well the fix is implemented and how frequently you play PS3 afterwards, I imagine. Good luck with yours!
You got very lucky. Never, never, never touch anything on the board, or move it in any way while, or after heating it. You run a very high risk of shifting something and causing a solder bridge.
The only thing I touched during the heating portion was the large metal shield for a split second to judge how hot it was. I don't think it was luck but thanks for the comment.
What I dont understand is the battery connector on mine it has those 4 pins sticking off the motherboard but the white box thing has 2 holes, but only one of the pins is sticking through one of the holes. So idk if both pins are needed for the battery or not. I know a previous owner had it apart previously so maybe they put the white box on there wrong or something. On yours it looks like its centered in the backplate hole but mine is like in the corner barely fitting through that hole
Good job, man. This was and still is a problem with my PS3. I fixed it for $15, but after 3 months the problem returned again. I think it was because I played for 8 hours straight or because the atmosphere contained a lot of dust...
NEC and tokin caps should have been replaced before doing a full tear down and reflow. These caps are a known failure point since day one in laptops and other devices. The fix for the issue back then was to replace them with higher quality ones. These caps also react in a positive way to heat and come back to life temporarily
@@FantasticQuack yeah make sure to super heat the cpu and gpu and shorten their lifespan next time you do it too. This video isn't even that old, how did you not know that ylod happens because of the tokin caps?
@@FantasticQuack Maybe pin a comment saying if you get ylod, first replace the caps, and if that doesn't work do the reflow. People don't really read the description, including me.
Nice dude .. mines completely disassembled now so as soon as I get my neighbors heat gun I'm gonna try to get it running. Thanks for the upload Oh yeah it's an OG 80gb with backwards compatibility 🤟
@@FantasticQuack Hi. Thank you for all your sweet videos. I'm not too good at fixing consoles. do you think I'd be safe having a game store fix it for me maybe like if GameStop did it or another personal I mean small ma n Pop game store such as blue shell gaming in Fresno? Do you think theyd try to steal parts from it without telling me and replace it with cheaper parts or do you think I should be okay? Thank you. Anybody knowledgeable please reply soon.
@@smerk429 Thanks for the kind words! For any reputable repair shop it is unlikely they would try to take/replace parts that didn't need replacement. I would start with local retro game stores and use gamestop as a last resort. Every refurbished console I've seen from gamestop looks like they used actual sandpaper on the entire exterior--so who knows what other bad methods they implement.
I have an original launch PS3 with backwards compatibility…. It does something similar to this but it happens after 20 minutes or so of playing PS3 games.. It only does it with PS3 games though.. I can play PS1 and PS2 games all day long with no issues and all other functions work perfectly - but as soon as I play a PS3 game for 20 minutes or so it gives 3 beeps and cuts out.. Any idea what may be causing this ?
I think it's still related to overheating. It might not happen with PS1/PS2 games because those games are not as demanding on the CPU/GPU so the system can keep the temp at a manageable level for the condition of the system. That's my best guess anyway ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@@FantasticQuack oh wow never mind! Literally as soon as I typed this apparently Sony came out and is reversing the decision due to consumer backlash. Go consumers haha
I took my ps3 apart to clean it and apply new thermal paste which I initially thought would fix it but it continued to shut off and blink red 3 times. I didn’t use a heat gun or anything but I’m a little lost as to what exactly is making my ps3 do this.
It’s not always nec tokin failure reflowing them does not work and if it does it’s not permanent reflow cpu and gpu use flux and if that dosent work then replace nec tokin capacitor but most of the time due to the dried up thermal paste it will overheat causing the solder balls to loose connectivity with the board so just reflow cpu and gpu
Hello, have just rebuilt a ps3 off my friend,and it turns on, shows up on tv but then the fans start going REALLY fast and loud, it then has the infamous 3 beeps and the red light of death. It doesnt have a cd drive but has a fresh hdd with ps3 os on, aswell as new thermal paste. This is in abot 10 seconds only. Any help will be appriciated
It still sounds like a YLOD issue even if the start up behavior is slightly different. You can try the process in this vid but please also check my pinned comment for more info.
Yeah it's a little convoluted and that's why I pointed out the model # at the start. I think there are 3 or more variations of the "fat" PS3. Easiest way to tell if yours is PS2 backwards compatible is to check if there's 4 USB ports on the front.
I just got my ps3 second-hand and it was working fine for a few hours, and then the red blinking light happened. I'm in no way able to preform what u did in this video, so now I have a ps3 for decorating :)
@@DidiRox_ It's already broken, can't break it more! That's my theory as I prepare to do this myself. Here's to hoping I get a round of Tenchu in tonight!
Well, that fix wasn't the one I needed for this system. I will say taking it apart was fun and not that difficult. I might need to do some motherboard work, which again it's already broke. Hands on has much inner peace and gratification if you can keep your cool! Good luck out there ❤️🌍
Sir, I have a ps3 fat case device. It works on green light. It doesn't display any images. It turns itself off without going into safe mode. I wonder what could be the problem.
Oh man that could be a number of problems such as a bad HDMI driver, open circuit on the board, or something else. Unfortunately very tricky to diagnose. You could try PSXplace to see if anyone had a similar issue and solved it. Good luck!
Will you let us know how long this repair lasts? It is well known that the NEC/TOKIN Capacitors need to be replaced. I wish there was somewhere I could get my done. I lack the skills to do this. I only play PS/2 games on my PS/3 after I got it repaired last year. I don't want this to happen again. I have a launch PS-3 and it means a lot to me.
I just went through the entire process and my console stayed powered up a little longer than before but still shut off and now, I can’t even get it to power back up. I was really careful with the entire process but I do fear I may have started it up too early without letting it cool off long enough. It was definitely dirty but the paste wasn’t dried out completely, replaced it anyway. I’m in shock at the thought of losing all my data. All in all, I do appreciate the video, just upset about the situation. Wondering if I can replace the cooling fan if that would help.
Update: i figured i had nothing to lose so I redid the process in your video from start to finish. My ps3 started up and stayed on long enough to do the system restore and reboot. I do not plan on using again until I get another ps3 to sync the data to. I’m very grateful for even the smallest chance at saving my data. I truly appreciate your video and explanations even if it is just a temporary solution
I heated mine up with a blow dryer, worked for at least a few hours then shut back off. Obviously need more heat. Got a heat gun on its way but this is a real clean video of how to....
Or replace the NEC and tokin caps because those react in a positive way to heat and come back to life temporarily. Applying heat also weakens surrounding solder joints and creates a larger problem
Hard to say, you could always try this method because it sounds like you have an intermittent solder joint somewhere, but I'd recommend checking my pinned comment for more info first.
Only applicable to the phat ps3: First, make sure it’s all clean of all dust and you aren’t running it in a hot environment. It is likely the RSX (GPU). You can try reapplying thermal paste first. (The actual chip is actually under the metal square IHS. You can find videos on how to reapply the thermal paste to the actual chip underneath. I would also replace the thermal pads being used. It might be worth making sure your power supply is good, some of the very first ones ran extremely hot. Best one for a Phat PS3 is an APS 231 I think. If that still doesn’t work, I would replace the NEC token capacitors. If that still doesn’t work… you could try a reflow If that doesn’t work you could try a reball of the GPU If that doesn’t work you can switch out the 90nm GPU for a newer GPU.
I have been playing my ps3 fat the one with compatible ps2 games and I was playing crash bandicoot the wrath of Cortex on my ps3 console the fan was so loud like a jet engine and then turned off automatically
Overheating for sure. You can clean out the system and replace the thermal paste like shown in this vid and I think you'd get more life out of it if YLOD hasn't already appeared.
Great video... But trying to find someone who knows how to turn off a microphone connected to UA-cam using a PS3 because it interferes with scrolling videos on UA-cam using a PS3. Any ideas please let me know. Thanks... I tried a lot of ways, but no success. I even tried resetting the manufacturer settings.
not even close. you need the heat cranked up to over 400o centigrade to melt the solder as illustrated in the video. a specific tool, a heat gun is required.
If you were able to insulate well enough around it and apply the heat for a loooong time (20 min as a guess) you might get there. I would recommend just using a heat gun.
@@FantasticQuack I’m gonna hit up Estarland for assessment. Hopefully it’s something small but I fear the worst. I want to keep all my old games. It’s worth fighting for.
Got a hold of a PS3 Slim model. Is it possible to wire & mount a mini stereo jack (headphones) so a pair of headphones can be plugged into the system? Also can the"PS3" logo on the top of the case/ lid be modded to light up (LEDs)? Thank you 🤓 my PS3 works but might need some cleaning and thermal paste refreshed. There is a better, more accurate way to do a reflow.
If you can dream it you can do it. I haven't worked on a slim model yet so can't give any specific advice there. Regarding reflow, the "proper" way to do it requires re-balling equipment which is expensive and doesn't make sense for most people to own given the specific/uncommon use scenarios. The method I show in this vid could also be done with a reflow station which is basically a miniature and more controlled heat gun. In general, the reflow might not be necessary depending on the problem, check my pinned comment for more info. Thanks for watching!
@@FantasticQuack a reball takes more time, skill, & patience! And it is possible to make a type of hot-air station for doing reflow or reball operations, but you are right! It's specialized, and may not get used very often. Thank you for the reply! 🤓
So I’m kind of new to all this, I took out the part which was held in with the blue screw ( I want to say hard drive but it looks too small to be that.) And I blew out a lot of dust, put it but together and tried to start it up didn’t work, turned it off and have it a few minutes then it started and it’s been on now for about 5 mins. But it won’t load past the opening screen it keeps freezing. Any idea what could be causing that? And my controllers just keep flashing red and never connect.
That would be the hard drive behind the blue screw. Beyond blowing out dust I would clean all the pins on the hard drive and receptacle with alcohol. Unfortunately I can't recommend anything more specific with this info without troubleshooting it myself.
hi can you help i got ps3 fat console giving to me the other day when i turn it on im only getting a red light it only turn green and white for a second when i try a disc then it turn off i hear 3 r 4 beeps then the red light start blinking is there anyway to fix it many thanks
I believe what you are starting to see is a symptom of a very near YLOD. A failed hard drive might also cause this. In any case there is no doubt the thermal paste could stand to be replaced. If you run out of options I'd try the method shown in this video if you feel you've got nothing to lose as it's already broken.. check my pinned comment for more info.
hi bro thanks for the advice the other day still can't get the ps3 to work i put new paste on the chips and a new hard drive in it i done the reflow when i press the power button its turn green for a second then it turn off red light blinking and 3 beeps i press the power button again to stop it i watch a youtube video cleaning the fan i just try it to see would it work it did green light stay on for about 15 r 20 seconds i could hear the fan spinning i hold down the eject button then power it back on have you got anymore advice i can try many thanks 👊
It's really just gut feel. If you have experience soldering that helps with the intuition. To give you an idea, mine was hot to the point that you couldn't have your finger on it for more than ~1/4 of a second without burning yourself. I believe in the video I mention temperature settings and duration I used as a reference.
@@FantasticQuack Need help Regarding Fat PAL PS3 60GB model, So I have a Problem I hadn’t used my PS3 fat in 3 months but today I booted it up(meanwhile this darn AC was turned on in the same room in the background) and was playing for 1 hour and a half and turned it off for about 10 minutes before turning it back on 3 seconds into the boot up screen and I turned off my AC At this Exact moment my Ps3 shutdown for some reason and I panicked and it started doing this exact red light of death and won’t turn on anymore come to think of it in the past also it would randomly shut off between gameplay 2 or three times making a red light but then it would turn on fine so I didn't pay much attention to it. So I’m guessing this might be a power supply issue or capacitor issue🤔if not then I’ll be really depressed. “Retro” games and old games are really rare in my country and eBay died 2 years ago here so There really is no one trustworthy enough here to be handed this old console.I found this PS3 Fat a year ago on my local craigslist by a stroke of luck! And bought it for $130. It’s always really dusty inside(and it was at the time of purchase too) although I had CFW installed on it So I turned up the fan speed so the temps don’t go higher than 61C. I hope my PS3 isn’t dead. 💀
This dude is the Christian Bale of PS3 fixes. All I could think about in my head while he was talking was Patrick Bateman explaining his morning routine LOL.
This is the exact same thing I just did and I thought the method in the video would be different but it Still didn't help got any other solution? Please?
Very possible the components just didn't get hot enough with the heat gun, in which case you could just try again with higher temp/longer heat exposure. There are more considerations here, so please check my pinned comment for additional detail.
But did you know what you just did by heating up the chips, doing the flux and putting new thermal paste is not actually the real fix for the problem it's just only temporary not actually fixing it even though after you do it it might seem that the console can turn on normally
Tried your method yesterday. Managed to revive my ps3. Thought of start to play today. Unfortunately it went back to YLOD. Was thinking should I give it a try again with higher temperature.
This is the first account I've heard of it working then failing, which intrigues me. Many are saying that exactly this would happen. Fortunately mine is still working but I haven't been playing it heavily/stress testing. I'm curious to hear what your next steps/results were.
The yellow light + flashing red light is ylod, but there's a variety of issues that can cause it. Usually it prevents the console from turning on at all so yours might be a different problem than this one.
@@FantasticQuack it happens sometimes i tried clearing what little dust i could without opening it and it stopped shutting off but 2 days later it did the ylod thing but the 2nd time i tried to turn it on it worked then it crashed ac brotherhood a few seconds after i loaded my save and when i turned it on again to my horror my ac save was deleted so i asked my cousin to take it to a professional (dont have the screwdriver to open it up) but im sure its just a near symptom of ylod and a nice clean will hopefully fix it since i put it in a rather dusty area
Bringing it in.. as in to a shop? I'm a little surprised that shops would still be willing to do this fix. Hopefully you can get it working and keep your saves!
Love your go get it attitude! Son got a old original ps3 and has this problem. I used to fix Xbox’s with red ring of death. But that time has gone probably gonna look online for a cheap old ps3 slim. Thanks for the info my fellow OG gamer. 👍🏽
Does anyone know of a repair person or business that can resurrect my PS3 that I purchased on EBay 3 months ago? Smh. Locally a cellphone/laptop place said it’s my GPU is bad? And googling said repair, I sent email to a place in LA. but never heard back. Symptoms are lights come on, yellow light seems to be caught in a suspended order, n nothing gets projected to the screen. Thanks for any suggestions for repair service as I don’t work on them. Cheers
Changing the paste alone is not enough, those components needs to be heated to achieve some degree of solder reflow thereby reestablishing any bad connections. There are many different potential issues though and yours may not be the same.
I'm not sure if you can get to the lens without taking apart the disc drive. Are you sure it's just dirty? Many consoles have a potentiometer to adjust the laser power which can drift out of calibration over time. I've fixed a lot of Gamecube's and ps1's not reading discs this way. Never ran into the issue on a PS3 so not much experience there, but I imagine it is similar.
@@FantasticQuack I'm sure i s dirty, I've watched more tutorial videos, they taken part, then clean the lens disc, its not easy many screws and ribbon cables has to be disconnected, specially lens its really tricky places,.
my PS3 got YLOD with 3 beeps and red light flashing like yours, and it happen after a couple of power outage. is it possible that my PS3 just have a dead drive/PSU after that couple power outage?
I highly doubt it is the power supply, but won't say it isn't possible. Most commonly the issues is related to the NEC caps going bad and/or overheating causing the internal solder to melt leading to missing/intermittent connections.
@@FantasticQuack ohh okay. i see a lot of youtube video with this problem is changing the NEC caps with the tantalum caps for this kinda problem, and i might try to do it and hopefully it'll work.. Thanks!!!
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Note: YLOD has many causes with a prominent one being failure of the NEC capacitors. There are some involved methods to further diagnose using syscon (check discussions on psx-place) but replacing the NEC capacitors is a generally safe option to start with, and I'd recommend it before resorting to the reflow process shown here.
Reflow with a heat gun carries multiple risks due to inherent variation in people/method and the heating equipment itself--if not done carefully you can cause additional or new damage to the CPU or GPU. I may have gotten "lucky" with this one, in that it seems the caps are still okay, but there was some intermittent solder joints in either the CPU or GPU. My reason for thinking this is that the console in this video is still functioning 9+ months later, granted it is not seeing heavy use. If you're here, you've probably been exploring multiple avenues already, and I encourage researching other options before deciding what's right for your situation. Being real with you all, I didn’t do that much research before attempting this fix; I was excited by the outcome and wanted to share the process/result here. Everything I’ve learned since came from viewer comments, so thanks to you all for teaching me something new. Cheers -Joe
Hi fantastic quack
Muito bom amigo
Vou fazer no meu pra ver se resolve
Muito bom amigo Vou fazer no meu pra ver se resolve
my friend ❤️
Can help me fix my ps3 it extacly the same problem am from nigeria
It’s 2024
I have a ps3 that has the red light of death. Watched your video and did the same thing and now I have a working ps3 that cost me 6 dollars in thermal paste. Thank you :)
Love to hear it, cheers!
if your consoles stops working again i would suggest watch rip felix video on the ylod it can explain alot about ps3 errors
Just curious: How long did it last? :) wanna try this myself too :)
I’ve found one of these models on the top of someone’s garbage pile years ago when they were still hot, it was soaking wet and missing the disk drive. Brought it home, dried it out and had the same ylod. I wrapped it in aluminum foil , put items to hold the chips in place and stuck it in the oven. Ran like a dream for years.
Nice job doing what needs to be done to enjoy some sweet sweet ps3
On what temperature?
@@AlexanderLomouri I don’t remember exactly, but it was a little bit hotter than the melting point of the solder. If you are attempting this make sure to wrap the rest of the board in tinfoil to protect the chips and caps around the main chips. And make sure it’s perfectly level.
Did it taste good tho?
@@SHUT-UP_MEG bro🤣
The reason why that worked is because you heated up the Nec Tokin Caps and temporally brought them back to life. Its reccomended that you replace those since there most likely gonna die again very soon.
@@za-se4jv nope dead rsx will get gold no picture
yup, it’s the Nec Tonkins. Not worth the time and money to reball the RSX / GPU for a temporary fix.
That's most likely not the Tokins, there's a high chance it's RSX Issues. It's possible to diagnose it now.
Why not just replace the mother board? Instead all that soldering and heating the components
. ?
@@wretchedsavedbygrace4499 at that point your replacing the entire system, not only that, you would need to make sure it's the proper revision too since some boards aren't properly compatible with the power supply the original ps3's use. Other fats also have different heat sinks.
btw, "warrantee void if removed" stickers are illegal to enforce in the US. The FTC had already sent out warnings to many companies back in 2018 about their use. I like to try and keep them as intact as possible, and have them reattached nearby (out of the way, so I can open the thing in the future if i need to) as an aesthetic thing.
All about the aesthetics for me as well!
Bro ps3 came out in 2007
This was my introduction video to your channel and I got to say you should get big! I love your dry humor presentation, and you've got a voice for radio (or UA-cam), my friend! Discovered your channel after acquiring a BC PS3 in a very lucky circumstance, so I've been studying many videos on what to do if the YLOD shows up. Keep making this great content, you make all your repairs seem pleasant and inviting!
Thank you for the kind words, I'm happy to hear you enjoy the videos! Stuff like this inspires me to make more!
Yeh this really helped
Thank you for this great video, well explained and easy to understand. Our PS3 had the same issue and I followed the steps in the video. With a small addition that I heated first the whole motherboard with light temperature and remember to keep it leveled until it cools off. I had my doubts, but the fix worked. Our family is grateful.
Glad to hear this helped you out!
Still working after heavy use.
@@rombergjalle4570 now ?
@@windowstips1430 working
@@davidsucesso2419 probably not
I have a CECHG01 model system and I can confirm this method works. Though some of the components look different and some of the steps may not apply to that system, as long as you follow this video as close as possible you will have a working PS3 by the end of it.
Glad this worked for you!
That’s the cleanest inside of an 18 year old ps3 I’ve ever seen in my life
It was decent but very dusty. I was cleaning it as I went but edited out most of that stuff. Except where I used a leaf blower at 2:53 which helped a ton to get a lot of dust out.
Thank you for the video! My NEC caps looked fine, so I decided to jump right to your solution of heating/reflowing them and the processors with a heat gun. Worked perfect and my PS3 is back in action! Thanks again!
Glad to hear it worked for you!
Does it still work today?
Unfortunately it was patched on the most recent update@@solidfixes
Thank you so much man!!
My stepson was so sad that his Ps3 (which he absolutly loves) broke down and would not start up again..
So with the help of your video, step by step WE managed to get it up and running again! You made a little kid very very happy sir!!!!!
Thank you so absolut much!
This warmed my heart, love to hear stories like this :) thanks for watching!
Still remember having a 60gig phat backwards compatible PS3. Was playing dark souls when I got the ylod. Was punching the air for days.
Some would punch the PS3 hoping that'd fix it. lol
For me i starting bo2 after the intro the ps3 shutting down with 3pips
Sad that these older beloved systems are showing their age. Hope you can get it fixed up!
This just happened to me tonight, playing a game and it froze and shut down, disc was stuck inside, couldn't eject it, but did the fan test, luckily that ejected the disc, thanks for the video, I will try do this to mine, all those screws, and disassembly/reassembly looks daunting!
It can seem that way at first but if you keep track of your screws and pieces it starts to make sense. I wouldn't call it a beginner repair though.
@@FantasticQuack definitely will do this, my PS3 lasted 14 years, played it regularly, this will be my first ever time opening the system, will get the items you have in the video to try this repair, thanks again for the video tutorial 👍🏼
@@20alpha20 hey, how did it go ?
@@peterbearfr it didn't go for me, I had to get another PS3 console
I actually fixed mine ps3 also like this years ago, and it still works like a charm! Also I did disassembled two ps3 fats and both had different internals. And watching your video I noticed also different internals. But best felling when you fix some old console, keep it going!
Agreed! Thanks for the comment, I think there were 3 primary iterations of the phat PS3 so I guess now you've seen them all :)
@Victor Hugo Alvarez Damasceno - #SINGER My take is that you tried this repair yourself and failed, or maybe had bad luck with a broken component. Please do not tell others here to "go lie in hell" or bring any other negativity. You were raised better than that.
@Victor Hugo Alvarez Damasceno - #SINGER Wait, I thought I had 3 months max? Now it's 1 month max? Either you're unreliable or each comment you post is killing my ps3 faster.
Hey man can i talk to u
I am just heading out to pick up a working PS3 for 20€ and just wanted to educate myself on this thing. You sir deserve way more subscribers: the audio quality, the info, the the advice, the editing and the tip that you can use PS4 controllers (because those I just happen to have randomly). Thank you very much!
Much appreciated! Enjoy the PS3!
@@FantasticQuack I guess I shouldn't be that surprised about the excellent video. It's right there in the name. Fantastic Quack!
This worked thank you so much I hadn’t turned this on for 6 years and now I can enjoy my favourite games again
Glad to hear it!
There’s also thermal paste under the IHS plates (the big metal plates that the thermal paste was on) it’s difficult to remove but replacing that paste would also exponentially help in keeping it even cooler too 😄
Good to know! I don't know the best method to remove those plates and haven't attempted it yet.
@@FantasticQuack haha I attempted to remove it once and ended up damaging the CPU on a PS3 Slim and now it’s just being used for parts. It’s very difficult so honestly be careful if you’re to attempt it lol. 😭
@@johny1220 If it fails again I will probably try it. In this video they heat it up with some hot bar solder device before prying it off, but a heat gun would do the job as well.
ua-cam.com/video/bAiM9DX7e7E/v-deo.html
@@FantasticQuack haha I’ve seen that video actually, and yeah I did remove it on the console I messed up using lots of heat but it’s still pretty difficult, idk I wish I had a full reball station like in his video, so far I’m just doing some of the smaller soldering repairs and still learning the basics lol
@@johny1220 same here man but mine was a backwards compatible ps3, it sucks that happened.
My PS3 does that while I'm in a middle of a game. I've been using it for 10 years so it must be really old now.
Hey there try a thorough clean from the inside out and replacing the thermal paste. If yours doesn't YLOD on start up you're still in decent shape, and it may be just an overheating problem that a good cleanout and fresh paste could remedy. Cheers!
You got super lucky. I'm starting to find that there are so many reasons that you could get that specific error. It seems to be a general error sign for pretty much anything damaged on the motherboard. One missing capacitor can cause that to happen
Since this video I've repaired another unit using the same method. In both cases I re-heated the large (CPU/GPU?) chips and the NEC Token chips, so in the two cases I've worked on it was an issue in one of those components.
@@FantasticQuack are both of them still working because i heard it's only temporary fix.
@@iqkingdomofiraq4963 I sold one of them. The one I still have is still working, but I have not been playing it heavily for any real stress test.
Watching this and knowing it has to be done makes me want to throw anything I can get my hands on
It's an unfortunate reality with some of these older systems. Things like OG xbox and game gear have e-lytic caps that fail or leak over time, and at this point today, almost all of them need work even if they were otherwise expertly cared for.
@@FantasticQuack This is happening to our new system rn bruh
Blessings, this was an invaluable lesson in addressing the same issue I have now with my backwards compatible PS3, but I refuse to take it apart completely like u did for fear of not remembering the sequences. LOL, but at least I have an idea of what;s wrong.
Thanks for watching! Recording the process helped me a lot during reassembly because I could revisit earlier footage to make sure I was putting things back the way they came out.
Idk but every time i open up a PS3 console I end up with one that doesn’t turn on, idk maybe I just suck at fixing ps3s
Just forgot to plug something back in maybe?
Hey man can i talk to you
I bought my friend’s PS3 FAT model the one with two usb slots sadly the fan is defective and really dirty it has not been used for more than 5 years now luckily it will still work and got me to the menu but whenever I play any game the red light blinks so with this review I manage to replace the fan and added new thermal paste after heating it to the cpu/gpu after putting all back together I was worried that there are two medium and small screws that I forgot where they were placed and I check all the arrows and rewind this video and all other screws are placed and intact with the right placement so I tried to play one game for more than 5 hours no more red blink thanks to this video still bothered about the two screws though 🥺
Glad it's working for you! Please update here again after a few months if it's still working; a lot of people are saying the repair doesn't last but it's still going strong for me.
@@FantasticQuack I have a new issue which is kinda weird I observe my PS3 for two days staying it on for more than 5 hours playing (God of War III) after playing then turning off the PS3 the next day I will do the same thing again play a game for more than 5 hours then the YLOD will start so I will cool down the PS3 for a few minutes sometimes leaving it in front of the air conditioner do the same play GOW III for 5 hours or more the YLOD is gone 😅 and if it’s a overheating issue I always play in a small room where the air conditioner is on for 11 hours even the TV and Monitor will moist it’s like playing in a cooler box 😂
if its working now, those screws werent that important. You should be ok.
Omg THANK YOU SO MUCH my son and I got my PS3 back from the Dead cause of your video. Now I can play WARHAWK Earth Worm Jim and all my old games thank you again
Happy to hear this and glad I could help, cheers!
Sorry but that was a temporary fix i use to fix them as a job and they re overheated from 30-100 days
No apology needed. Other comments sharing their stories with this method back up what you say. I don't claim it to be a permanent fix. I will say mine (from this video) is still working but I have not been playing it a lot.
If you use alcohol with a plastic razor blade, you can successfully remove the security sticker and not have it show "VOID". I have the exact same PS3 model but it's working so far. I did use your video to take it apart and put it back together. Very east to follow along. It was super dusty in there and now the fan no longer kicks on to full speed after only a minute of idling. Thanks.
Glad to hear, thanks for the comment!
I just took mine completely apart, cleaned it out, cleaned all the dust off the fan, replaced the thermal paste and then put the whole entire thing back together. Tried to fire it up, same result: yellow light and 3 beeps. I feel really bummed that I couldn't get it back to life; it's a very nice console. I have a slim too, and it's a great console; it stays cooler and is not loud at all. I like it, but I really feel down that I can't play my PS2 games in it :/
That's a bummer. Unfortunately the clean up/paste is not enough-- need to reheat it before new paste to repair the bad connections.
@@FantasticQuack I forgot that step, so it all makes sense. I guess now it's too late. I think I saw a video where someone used a hot air gun and blew at it to warm it up.
@@FantasticQuack hey, I apologize for randomly asking, but even though I applied the new thermal paste, is it too late for me to heat the capacitors up? Do you think it would work?
@@autolife2785 I'd recommend removing the paste before heating. If it's still "fresh" you could scrape it off onto some wax paper or something temporarily and then put it back on afterwards.
@@FantasticQuack ohh okay. About how long you think it'll last before dying again? (If it does die)
Great job! good tear down as well!
Thanks!
Theirs a more simple method to fixing the YLOD as show in this video. You don't even need to take it apart, simply turn the ps3 over so it's facing bottom up. Get a hair dryer and run it on the hottest heat through the vents at the back of the playstation for around 15-20 minutes until the bottom of the playstation is hot. Leave it to stand and cool down for a further 15 minutes. Then you plug it back in and away you go. Trust me this method works also and avoids you ruining the warranty sticker and saves you opening it. I've done it myself many times before it works!!
Glad to hear that works. The thermal paste on mine was very dried out and probably not working well, I think getting new thermal paste on is important to keep it from happening again.
I’ve got my old fat ps3 in bedroom for Netflix and blue ray shit off tonight after years of use... I’m going to try the hair dryer good shout mate!! Hope it works... could I get another good ps3 and swap hardrive? Have music and pics on this one
@@VIVAPSESCE so how was it?
@@FantasticQuack yeah thermal paste can cause issues especially dry but this method with the hair dryer just saves all the work taking apart the console that’s all
@@VIVAPSESCE yeah you could get a ps3 and change the hard drive, that can work too
Pazzesco, ho smantellato tutta la mia PS3 per cambiare la pasta termica e dare una ripulita alla montagna di polvere che si era accumulata, ma dopo il rimontaggio, con tempi sempre più ridotti la play si spegneva di colpo, fino a quando ha cominciato a non accendersi più e dando l'errore dei 3 bip.
Stavo per abbandonarla perché non volevo rismontarla e cercare l'errore, fino a che non ho visto questo video, cosi ho riaperto la PS3 ho provato a togliere e rimettere l'HHD dopo aver spruzzato del disossidante sul connettore..... ed è tornata in vita, non si spegne più.
Era l'HDD collegato male oppure i contatti ossidati, adesso funziona tutto perfettamente.
GRAZIE 1000 al canale FANTASTIC QUACK.
Glad to hear this helped you out, cheers!
I recently opened up my PS3 and gave it a deep clean and I replaced the thermal paste but I'm still having this issue. Any idea what else it could be?
Replacing the thermal past is not enough. You need to repair some solder joints with heat first. See the 7:00 mark in the vid.
You might need to replace the NEC capacitors
@@upyoursenator would be a good long term upgrade but it's working well for now.
Should replace the capacitor dude
@@FantasticQuack i did that and am still having this problem, deep cleaning and heating the solder appeared to do nothing
Now that the syscon has been figured out and error codes can be extracted, ylod repair is easier than ever before. In most cases it is the GPU failing due to bumpgate, but the NEC caps are another common failure point.
A thing you can do is if you hold down the disc eject button while you turn on the power switch at the back of the console, the fan will ramp up to blow out any dust buildup in the heatsink.
I tried the fan thing and it didn't help anything on this one
Sadly this method is only a temporary fix. The permanent fix is to replace as many of the Nec capacitors with a better brand and to make sure the fan runs at a higher RPM. Sony made sure this thing was quiet instead of cooled properly and will only ramp the fans up to 33% once its getting to hot. Ideally you would run it at minimum 28% to 38% alongside replacing the capacitors and and thermal paste both under the chips and on them. If you don't care at all about noise and want a Jet Engine you can go higher and have it running under 60c easily with anything around 50% or higher. By default most of these launch models run from the 70s to 80s. Far to hot in my opinion. My personal fat that I jail breaked runs at 74c on the cell and 70c on the RSX with a 38% fan curve, I got unlucky and just have a PS3 that runs hot even with a better fan, Delid and replacement of paste and pads. Most will be 65c at 33% with a delit which is far better long term for the unit and the capacitors. If you're tight for time the Capacitors around the RSX are the most likely failure points.
I pinned a comment which partially addresses this, but I appreciate the extra context for your situation in that it may help others. Cheers m8
0:05 لدي مشكله اخرى و هي انني اضغط على الزر لكن لا يتغير اللون الى الاخضر هل يوجد حل؟
No response from the power button at all? I would try a new power cord to start, but it could be a number of things: bad power supply, bad connection to the power switch, damage to the main board, etc. Hope you can get it figured out!
Thanks a lot man ! You have my sub keep the great content !
Thanks for the sub and glad I could help!
I did exactly what you did in this vid. And it fixed mine. I don't know if it's a permanent fix, but it has run long enough to get the DVD I borrowed from the library out lol. Thank you sir.
Glad I could help, cheers!
This is *Not* how you fix a YLOD, you need to replace the NEC/TOKIN capacitors... Reflowing the RSX or CELL will dramatically reduce its lifespan!!!
Noope. RSX is the one that needs replacement.
@@calyps0man the RSX *sometimes* needs replacement, the GLOD is a symptom of that the NEC/Tokins cause the YLOD *every time*
@@lukedavis436 There is a very long discussion on these topics over at psx-place. A proper diagnostics must be made, GLODs can be different also. On BC boards, more often than not, RSX will need a replacement. It is a bad idea to state that a GLOD is always this and YLOD is always that. It has now been proven that there are various faults that show up as YLOD/GLOD/RLOD. But there is a lot of new information that can help diagnose the components with higher accuracy.
@@calyps0man ok fine yes the RSX needs replacing *Somtimes* but usually the first thing to allways do is the NEC tokin mod.. If that doesn't work... Then reflow!
@@calyps0man *i am aware of that* but usually... The first thing to allways check is those capacitors... If you just jump straight on the reball the system could suffer massively
Apparently, models CECHK01 and models after that have a smaller cpu and gpu at 65 nanometers, where as the original ps3s (models cecha to cechh) have the bigger 90 nanometer cpu and gpu. And somehow, my CECHK01 has the ylod.
Have you ever tried working on the top half of a Nintendo 3DS? haha
Oh man lol. If I took mine apart to this extent I'd never be able to put it back together 😅
A side benefit of making these vids is that filming it helps for just that reason. If I'm unsure of something in reassembly I just consult my own previous footage and voila there's my answer!
Mine has had a YLoD for a couple of years now. Sucks because it was my only dvd / Blu-ray player. This looks a bit too complicated for me though.
Sorry to hear that, I wonder if there's a game shop in your area willing to repair it?
This is a great video! Love the fact that you included putting everything back together. Got my ps3 working again! Only problem now is that the power indicator isn't on and it ejects the disc right away. Wonder if I got a connection wrong.
And now it's working again! The ribbon for the power and eject was finicky.
Thanks! Glad you got it working!
Update. I tried playing a ps2 game on the ps3, worked for a minute or 2 then ylod came on again. Ps3 game worked fine though.
@@johngiesbrecht8880 hey i am planning to buy a fat ps3 which has ylot . its cheap but should i buy it ?? can it be fixed or am i just wasting my money
@@niteshbudania9614 it's definitely fixable! I did everything this guy did in the video and it worked again! It played the ps3 games fine, as soon as I tried a ps2 game then it quit. But yes it worked for me!
I found my old PS3 recently and have been playing it a lot. This happened. First time experiencing a dead console ever. I’ll give this a try!
Hope you can get it working again!
Great video man I realize I won’t be taking mine apart after watching hahahah
Cmon if you try it you'll like it! Thanks for the kind words :)
So how did you fix it without taking it apart
Please help
@@michaelolayinka441 one way is just to use pressured air through the fans the open places you can put it through and get all the dust out it MIGHT work but its better if you take it apart its pretty easy
That's what I was thinking haha. Looked hard. I also don't have have a heat gun.
I don’t know if I’ll get an answer to this because most people don’t answer old videos like this, but I was curious. I’m still going to go to your playlist see if there’s any other videos after this one, but I was curious to see if after re-flowing the board, how much time you got with the PlayStation before the yellow light came back.
I always answer! It's been just under 1 and a half years and it's still working--yellow light has not came back. I play it very seldom though. I thought about doing a follow up video but I wouldn't have much to say/show other than that its still working, so feels like just a cheap plug to advertise this video which is why I haven't.
I wish that you would do a follow up. There are many people that have been searching the tubes here looking for any answer to this problem. I saw that someone named RIP FELIX made a video saying that most reflows don’t last more than a couple weeks.
I want to get a syscon so that I can diagnose ps3s like some can do now with a pc.
I loved the video, thank you ❤
You're welcome, cheers!
I'm just wondering how long this will last. I bought a good heat gun and some high quality thermal paste. Here's hoping.
People have been having varying results from 1 week to many months. Depends on how well the fix is implemented and how frequently you play PS3 afterwards, I imagine. Good luck with yours!
Man I love this console.
Long live the phat boi
At the 12:35 mark, when you put the top back on, did it go on pretty easily or did you have to screw it back in to keep it on there?
If you start by aligning the front edge like I did it should just drop down easily.
You got very lucky. Never, never, never touch anything on the board, or move it in any way while, or after heating it. You run a very high risk of shifting something and causing a solder bridge.
The only thing I touched during the heating portion was the large metal shield for a split second to judge how hot it was. I don't think it was luck but thanks for the comment.
What I dont understand is the battery connector on mine it has those 4 pins sticking off the motherboard but the white box thing has 2 holes, but only one of the pins is sticking through one of the holes. So idk if both pins are needed for the battery or not. I know a previous owner had it apart previously so maybe they put the white box on there wrong or something. On yours it looks like its centered in the backplate hole but mine is like in the corner barely fitting through that hole
Hmm I'm not sure I fully understand, hard to say without seeing a pic or being able to take a look myself....
*Playing bejeweled 2 for the next six hours commences* 😁
Me: step 1 no luck. , I'm scared of the tryn the rest lol. Good video
Me too I can't do the next step am scared please tell me a shorter way
Good job, man. This was and still is a problem with my PS3. I fixed it for $15, but after 3 months the problem returned again. I think it was because I played for 8 hours straight or because the atmosphere contained a lot of dust...
Thanks! and yes unfortunately the failure mode is unfortunately sure to return eventually in the same way it happens on a brand new unit over time.
Great, awesome work👍🏼 mine does that now but it’s too much effort to do all of that 😅
Thanks! Yea it can be intimidating if you're new to this kind of stuff, but it will click soon enough!
@@FantasticQuack means just leave it and wait a while it will balance
NEC and tokin caps should have been replaced before doing a full tear down and reflow. These caps are a known failure point since day one in laptops and other devices. The fix for the issue back then was to replace them with higher quality ones. These caps also react in a positive way to heat and come back to life temporarily
Since doing this I've seen people replace those caps too. If/when I get YLOD again I might go back inside this thing and do the cap swap.
@@FantasticQuack yeah make sure to super heat the cpu and gpu and shorten their lifespan next time you do it too. This video isn't even that old, how did you not know that ylod happens because of the tokin caps?
@@DarkoPetreski ylod has multiple causes beyond just the caps. I've addressed this type of comment in the video description.
@@FantasticQuack Maybe pin a comment saying if you get ylod, first replace the caps, and if that doesn't work do the reflow. People don't really read the description, including me.
@@DarkoPetreski that's a good idea I'll do that soon!
Nice dude .. mines completely disassembled now so as soon as I get my neighbors heat gun I'm gonna try to get it running. Thanks for the upload
Oh yeah it's an OG 80gb with backwards compatibility 🤟
Thanks Ty I hope the rest of the process goes well for you!
Nice, need me a phat ps3 before they get harder to find
Yea! I was happy to find this one even if it needed a little TLC :)
@@FantasticQuack
Hi.
Thank you for all your sweet videos.
I'm not too good at fixing consoles.
do you think I'd be safe having a game store fix it for me maybe like if GameStop did it or another personal I mean small ma n Pop game store such as blue shell gaming in Fresno? Do you think theyd try to steal parts from it without telling me and replace it with cheaper parts or do you think I should be okay?
Thank you.
Anybody knowledgeable please reply soon.
@@smerk429 Thanks for the kind words! For any reputable repair shop it is unlikely they would try to take/replace parts that didn't need replacement. I would start with local retro game stores and use gamestop as a last resort. Every refurbished console I've seen from gamestop looks like they used actual sandpaper on the entire exterior--so who knows what other bad methods they implement.
I have an original launch PS3 with backwards compatibility…. It does something similar to this but it happens after 20 minutes or so of playing PS3 games..
It only does it with PS3 games though..
I can play PS1 and PS2 games all day long with no issues and all other functions work perfectly - but as soon as I play a PS3 game for 20 minutes or so it gives 3 beeps and cuts out..
Any idea what may be causing this ?
I think it's still related to overheating. It might not happen with PS1/PS2 games because those games are not as demanding on the CPU/GPU so the system can keep the temp at a manageable level for the condition of the system. That's my best guess anyway ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Enjoyed this mate! Makes me want to pick up a PS3 sometime ☺️
Glad to hear! Make sure to go for the backwards compatible versions: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3_models
@@FantasticQuack oh for sure! With the recent news of Sony about to discontinue support of the PS3 and vita I'll definitely get the older model ☺️
@@FantasticQuack oh wow never mind! Literally as soon as I typed this apparently Sony came out and is reversing the decision due to consumer backlash. Go consumers haha
@@TheObicobiHD I heard about that too. Good news for everyone!
I took my ps3 apart to clean it and apply new thermal paste which I initially thought would fix it but it continued to shut off and blink red 3 times. I didn’t use a heat gun or anything but I’m a little lost as to what exactly is making my ps3 do this.
Changing the thermal paste on it's own won't fix YLOD. Pls check my pinned comment for additional info
Лучший обзор по ремонту ps3, спасибо 🙏
Thanks for watching!
It’s not always nec tokin failure reflowing them does not work and if it does it’s not permanent reflow cpu and gpu use flux and if that dosent work then replace nec tokin capacitor but most of the time due to the dried up thermal paste it will overheat causing the solder balls to loose connectivity with the board so just reflow cpu and gpu
I pinned a comment addressing this
Where did you get the screw driver thingy to open the screw for the lid, I don't have it😭
It's a TR10 security torx driver, they're included in a lot of screwdriver kits or you can search for the bit specifically online
@FantasticQuack thank you son much dude🙏
Hello, have just rebuilt a ps3 off my friend,and it turns on, shows up on tv but then the fans start going REALLY fast and loud, it then has the infamous 3 beeps and the red light of death.
It doesnt have a cd drive but has a fresh hdd with ps3 os on, aswell as new thermal paste.
This is in abot 10 seconds only.
Any help will be appriciated
It still sounds like a YLOD issue even if the start up behavior is slightly different. You can try the process in this vid but please also check my pinned comment for more info.
It would seem there is different types of fat ps3s Mine doesn’t have a ribbon to the lid.
Yeah it's a little convoluted and that's why I pointed out the model # at the start. I think there are 3 or more variations of the "fat" PS3. Easiest way to tell if yours is PS2 backwards compatible is to check if there's 4 USB ports on the front.
Ok, I have a good question, can a hair dryer do the same thing regarding GPU and CPU, or if I would be better off with Heat Gun?
Heat gun required (hair dryer can't get nearly hot enough)
I just got my ps3 second-hand and it was working fine for a few hours, and then the red blinking light happened. I'm in no way able to preform what u did in this video, so now I have a ps3 for decorating :)
Even if you try and fail you can still use it as decoration!
@@FantasticQuack true😂😂
@@DidiRox_ It's already broken, can't break it more! That's my theory as I prepare to do this myself. Here's to hoping I get a round of Tenchu in tonight!
@@tecc8380 yea I'll probably get around to doing it sometime. You've convinced me lol
Well, that fix wasn't the one I needed for this system. I will say taking it apart was fun and not that difficult. I might need to do some motherboard work, which again it's already broke. Hands on has much inner peace and gratification if you can keep your cool! Good luck out there ❤️🌍
You got the voice big dawg
You dont know how much it helps, even if i dont solve the issue
Loud n clear tho😊😊
Thank you for the comment! 😅
Ive been looking for this video for months YES thank you 😊
Glad to help, cheers!
Sir, I have a ps3 fat case device. It works on green light. It doesn't display any images. It turns itself off without going into safe mode. I wonder what could be the problem.
Oh man that could be a number of problems such as a bad HDMI driver, open circuit on the board, or something else. Unfortunately very tricky to diagnose. You could try PSXplace to see if anyone had a similar issue and solved it. Good luck!
Will you let us know how long this repair lasts? It is well known that the NEC/TOKIN Capacitors need to be replaced. I wish there was somewhere I could get my done. I lack the skills to do this. I only play PS/2 games on my PS/3 after I got it repaired last year. I don't want this to happen again. I have a launch PS-3 and it means a lot to me.
I will post an update for sure if and when it fails again! Hope you still have the box for that launch boi
@@FantasticQuack I sure do. I have the plastics bags as well.
@@FantasticQuack Anther Sony Gamer, "Mystic" now says that NEC/TOKIN Capacitors may not be the problem. This is getting frustrating
@@jamesduran3804 they definitely are though? Not always of course.
I just went through the entire process and my console stayed powered up a little longer than before but still shut off and now, I can’t even get it to power back up. I was really careful with the entire process but I do fear I may have started it up too early without letting it cool off long enough. It was definitely dirty but the paste wasn’t dried out completely, replaced it anyway. I’m in shock at the thought of losing all my data. All in all, I do appreciate the video, just upset about the situation. Wondering if I can replace the cooling fan if that would help.
Update: i figured i had nothing to lose so I redid the process in your video from start to finish. My ps3 started up and stayed on long enough to do the system restore and reboot. I do not plan on using again until I get another ps3 to sync the data to. I’m very grateful for even the smallest chance at saving my data. I truly appreciate your video and explanations even if it is just a temporary solution
Thanks for watching and glad to hear the silver lining in your second comment, cheers!
After going through all these process, yet is still bink Red. Don't know the problem again
Sorry it didn't work out. Might not have gotten enough heat on relevant areas of the board? Otherwise check my pinned comment for more info.
I heated mine up with a blow dryer, worked for at least a few hours then shut back off. Obviously need more heat. Got a heat gun on its way but this is a real clean video of how to....
Or replace the NEC and tokin caps because those react in a positive way to heat and come back to life temporarily. Applying heat also weakens surrounding solder joints and creates a larger problem
Thank you! Let me know how it works out for you
It didn’t work for mine 😢. It started giving me the RROD after 1 hour again.
Sorry to hear that, pls check my pinned comment for more context on this error and fix method
My console turns on, but after a while, it just shutdown for no reason. What do I do?
Hard to say, you could always try this method because it sounds like you have an intermittent solder joint somewhere, but I'd recommend checking my pinned comment for more info first.
Mine shuts off after 5 minutes in a game. Stays on menu for hours. I see no yellow light what can I do in that situation?
Only applicable to the phat ps3:
First, make sure it’s all clean of all dust and you aren’t running it in a hot environment.
It is likely the RSX (GPU). You can try reapplying thermal paste first. (The actual chip is actually under the metal square IHS. You can find videos on how to reapply the thermal paste to the actual chip underneath. I would also replace the thermal pads being used.
It might be worth making sure your power supply is good, some of the very first ones ran extremely hot. Best one for a Phat PS3 is an APS 231 I think.
If that still doesn’t work, I would replace the NEC token capacitors.
If that still doesn’t work… you could try a reflow
If that doesn’t work you could try a reball of the GPU
If that doesn’t work you can switch out the 90nm GPU for a newer GPU.
Good advice from Ishmael, sounds like an overheat problem.
I have been playing my ps3 fat the one with compatible ps2 games and I was playing crash bandicoot the wrath of Cortex on my ps3 console the fan was so loud like a jet engine and then turned off automatically
Overheating for sure. You can clean out the system and replace the thermal paste like shown in this vid and I think you'd get more life out of it if YLOD hasn't already appeared.
Great video... But trying to find someone who knows how to turn off a microphone connected to UA-cam using a PS3 because it interferes with scrolling videos on UA-cam using a PS3. Any ideas please let me know. Thanks... I tried a lot of ways, but no success. I even tried resetting the manufacturer settings.
I'm not sure I understand properly, if you can share a vid or more detail on the problem it would help me or others to offer advice, cheers.
Would a normal hair dryer work too to heat up the CPU and capacitors? That's all I have at the moment.
not even close.
you need the heat cranked up to over 400o centigrade to melt the solder as illustrated in the video.
a specific tool, a heat gun is required.
If you were able to insulate well enough around it and apply the heat for a loooong time (20 min as a guess) you might get there. I would recommend just using a heat gun.
I’m located I. Washington DC looking to get my PS3 slim fixed. Please assist…😢
YLOD on a ps3 slim? I thought it was only a problem on the fat models...
@@FantasticQuack I’m gonna hit up Estarland for assessment. Hopefully it’s something small but I fear the worst. I want to keep all my old games. It’s worth fighting for.
couldn't have mentioned the torque size bit? kinda matters.
I updated the vid description to include this.
Got a hold of a PS3 Slim model. Is it possible to wire & mount a mini stereo jack (headphones) so a pair of headphones can be plugged into the system? Also can the"PS3" logo on the top of the case/ lid be modded to light up (LEDs)? Thank you 🤓 my PS3 works but might need some cleaning and thermal paste refreshed. There is a better, more accurate way to do a reflow.
If you can dream it you can do it. I haven't worked on a slim model yet so can't give any specific advice there. Regarding reflow, the "proper" way to do it requires re-balling equipment which is expensive and doesn't make sense for most people to own given the specific/uncommon use scenarios. The method I show in this vid could also be done with a reflow station which is basically a miniature and more controlled heat gun. In general, the reflow might not be necessary depending on the problem, check my pinned comment for more info. Thanks for watching!
@@FantasticQuack a reball takes more time, skill, & patience! And it is possible to make a type of hot-air station for doing reflow or reball operations, but you are right! It's specialized, and may not get used very often. Thank you for the reply! 🤓
So I’m kind of new to all this, I took out the part which was held in with the blue screw ( I want to say hard drive but it looks too small to be that.)
And I blew out a lot of dust, put it but together and tried to start it up didn’t work, turned it off and have it a few minutes then it started and it’s been on now for about 5 mins.
But it won’t load past the opening screen it keeps freezing.
Any idea what could be causing that?
And my controllers just keep flashing red and never connect.
That would be the hard drive behind the blue screw. Beyond blowing out dust I would clean all the pins on the hard drive and receptacle with alcohol. Unfortunately I can't recommend anything more specific with this info without troubleshooting it myself.
hi can you help i got ps3 fat console giving to me the other day when i turn it on im only getting a red light it only turn green and white for a second when i try a disc then it turn off i hear 3 r 4 beeps then the red light start blinking is there anyway to fix it many thanks
I believe what you are starting to see is a symptom of a very near YLOD. A failed hard drive might also cause this. In any case there is no doubt the thermal paste could stand to be replaced. If you run out of options I'd try the method shown in this video if you feel you've got nothing to lose as it's already broken.. check my pinned comment for more info.
hi bro thanks for the advice the other day still can't get the ps3 to work i put new paste on the chips and a new hard drive in it i done the reflow when i press the power button its turn green for a second then it turn off red light blinking and 3 beeps i press the power button again to stop it i watch a youtube video cleaning the fan i just try it to see would it work it did green light stay on for about 15 r 20 seconds i could hear the fan spinning i hold down the eject button then power it back on have you got anymore advice i can try many thanks 👊
Done this twice. How do you tell if you heated it up enough? It was definitely hot to the touch
It's really just gut feel. If you have experience soldering that helps with the intuition. To give you an idea, mine was hot to the point that you couldn't have your finger on it for more than ~1/4 of a second without burning yourself. I believe in the video I mention temperature settings and duration I used as a reference.
@@FantasticQuack Need help Regarding Fat PAL PS3 60GB model, So I have a Problem I hadn’t used my PS3 fat in 3 months but today I booted it up(meanwhile this darn AC was turned on in the same room in the background) and was playing for 1 hour and a half and turned it off for about 10 minutes before turning it back on 3 seconds into the boot up screen and I turned off my AC At this Exact moment my Ps3 shutdown for some reason and I panicked and it started doing this exact red light of death and won’t turn on anymore come to think of it in the past also it would randomly shut off between gameplay 2 or three times making a red light but then it would turn on fine so I didn't pay much attention to it. So I’m guessing this might be a power supply issue or capacitor issue🤔if not then I’ll be really depressed. “Retro” games and old games are really rare in my country and eBay died 2 years ago here so There really is no one trustworthy enough here to be handed this old console.I found this PS3 Fat a year ago on my local craigslist by a stroke of luck! And bought it for $130. It’s always really dusty inside(and it was at the time of purchase too) although I had CFW installed on it So I turned up the fan speed so the temps don’t go higher than 61C. I hope my PS3 isn’t dead. 💀
This dude is the Christian Bale of PS3 fixes. All I could think about in my head while he was talking was Patrick Bateman explaining his morning routine LOL.
Love that movie!
I have a launch 60GB model. Are there any paid services around anymore to refurbish PS3’s with this error?
You could try checking with a retro game store in your area, some may do repairs
This is the exact same thing I just did and I thought the method in the video would be different but it Still didn't help got any other solution? Please?
Very possible the components just didn't get hot enough with the heat gun, in which case you could just try again with higher temp/longer heat exposure. There are more considerations here, so please check my pinned comment for additional detail.
Author please What's that green stuff, it's plugged of in mine, should I leave it so
Can you point to a time stamp in the video? I don't know what green stuff you're asking about.
But did you know what you just did by heating up the chips, doing the flux and putting new thermal paste is not actually the real fix for the problem it's just only temporary not actually fixing it even though after you do it it might seem that the console can turn on normally
Please refer to my pinned comment
Tried your method yesterday. Managed to revive my ps3. Thought of start to play today. Unfortunately it went back to YLOD. Was thinking should I give it a try again with higher temperature.
This is the first account I've heard of it working then failing, which intrigues me. Many are saying that exactly this would happen. Fortunately mine is still working but I haven't been playing it heavily/stress testing. I'm curious to hear what your next steps/results were.
my ps3 does the same thing but after a few minutes (maybe 10) of gameplay is it still ylod?
The yellow light + flashing red light is ylod, but there's a variety of issues that can cause it. Usually it prevents the console from turning on at all so yours might be a different problem than this one.
@@FantasticQuack it happens sometimes i tried clearing what little dust i could without opening it and it stopped shutting off but 2 days later it did the ylod thing but the 2nd time i tried to turn it on it worked then it crashed ac brotherhood a few seconds after i loaded my save and when i turned it on again to my horror my ac save was deleted so i asked my cousin to take it to a professional (dont have the screwdriver to open it up) but im sure its just a near symptom of ylod and a nice clean will hopefully fix it since i put it in a rather dusty area
My ps3 has been doing this for SEVEN years now and my mom is just bringing it in, i hope i wont lose my minecraft disc worlds.
Bringing it in.. as in to a shop? I'm a little surprised that shops would still be willing to do this fix. Hopefully you can get it working and keep your saves!
Here I am in 2024 after my PS3 has worked all night I woke up with a BRLOD - damn it sucks
Sorry to hear that, sadly the phat PS3's just don't stand the test of time
@@FantasticQuack bought a 5th one, another 2501A model
Love your go get it attitude! Son got a old original ps3 and has this problem. I used to fix Xbox’s with red ring of death. But that time has gone probably gonna look online for a cheap old ps3 slim. Thanks for the info my fellow OG gamer. 👍🏽
thanks for this note and for watching, cheers!
Is there any way to open up without the security torch screwdriver
No good way without it
Does anyone know of a repair person or business that can resurrect my PS3 that I purchased on EBay 3 months ago? Smh. Locally a cellphone/laptop place said it’s my GPU is bad? And googling said repair, I sent email to a place in LA. but never heard back. Symptoms are lights come on, yellow light seems to be caught in a suspended order, n nothing gets projected to the screen. Thanks for any suggestions for repair service as I don’t work on them. Cheers
Do you have any retro game stores in your area? Some might be willing to take it on.
Mine still has a red light and now it won’t turn on at all. I change the thermal paste and I cleaned up all the dust & it still doesn’t work😔
Changing the paste alone is not enough, those components needs to be heated to achieve some degree of solder reflow thereby reestablishing any bad connections. There are many different potential issues though and yours may not be the same.
@@FantasticQuack my cousin helped me out with his heat gun thank goodness 🤣 thanks for the tip 😎👏🏽
@@yagikidd2300 You bet, I hope it worked out!
Hi, how can i clean lance cd player, it's dirty, sometimes not red disc, on ps3 60gb
I'm not sure if you can get to the lens without taking apart the disc drive. Are you sure it's just dirty? Many consoles have a potentiometer to adjust the laser power which can drift out of calibration over time. I've fixed a lot of Gamecube's and ps1's not reading discs this way. Never ran into the issue on a PS3 so not much experience there, but I imagine it is similar.
@@FantasticQuack I'm sure i s dirty, I've watched more tutorial videos, they taken part, then clean the lens disc, its not easy many screws and ribbon cables has to be disconnected, specially lens its really tricky places,.
my PS3 got YLOD with 3 beeps and red light flashing like yours, and it happen after a couple of power outage. is it possible that my PS3 just have a dead drive/PSU after that couple power outage?
I highly doubt it is the power supply, but won't say it isn't possible. Most commonly the issues is related to the NEC caps going bad and/or overheating causing the internal solder to melt leading to missing/intermittent connections.
@@FantasticQuack ohh okay. i see a lot of youtube video with this problem is changing the NEC caps with the tantalum caps for this kinda problem, and i might try to do it and hopefully it'll work.. Thanks!!!