Prevent the PS3 YLOD Yellow Light of Death (4 of 7)

[doppen99]

i wonder if you could use that Gigantic fan on your car radiator?

[FrapsYou]

I had no idea that those copper pipes on the heatsink contains somekind of liquid such as alcohol. Thank you sir for the information. Really helpful and educational.

[PlaystationTREY]

i didnt use alcohol but ''degreaser'' is that okay? after that i cleaned evrything with a drop of water on a cloth and rubbing it clean and than used a heardriyer so everything gets dry... please tell me if this is okay?? my ps3 is running smooth & quit and the fan never get passed the 2nd gear.

[PlaystationTREY]

@PlaystationTREY Up!

[jamesfreddieboy]

What air compressor do you have?

[fixmyplaystation]

@jamesfreddieboy It's a 3-gallon Sears model. Nothing special.

[sasrob28]

why do sony put way to much heat paste on the processors? must be very cheap and nasty paste!! the excess thermal paste on the edge of the processors do nothing but keep the heat around that area not transferring its heat as there is no contact to heat sink. if you got paste build up around the edge of cpu/gpu then too much have been used. I use a citrus based solvent to clean off old paste and Arctic Silver 5.

[Cusack187]

why in this day and age do we even need thermal paste? Surely there is some kind of material that would do the same job and not crack and dry out.

[fixmyplaystation]

@Cusack187 Check with NASA... if they haven't been totally defunded by now. We'll need thermal compound until we have processors that don't generate heat.

[mikeloveskimbo]

Thank you Sir,

I've repaired a couple of PS3s recently using guides on here but I have found your explanations very interesting and informative - gr8 vids

Mike

[London2ATL]

Thanks, I'll be attemtping my one next week, I already got the YLOD, u are so confident the way u speak...why is it some games give u YLOD? I never played the MW franchise before and after 4 or so years of owning my PS3, I played the MW3 and got YLOD after about 45 mins,

[fixmyplaystation]

@London2ATL All PS3s can get the YLOD if they are not cleaned. MW3 didn't really cause your YLOD, but it is an intensely graphic game that heats up the GPU.

[juniorlopesdasilva1]

my ps3 have a fan crasy can you help me, hes runing so fast , and i hava an other ps3 that lhe yellow l. of death came back an i do 1 more time the same thingh but the ywllou light of death dont go away

[fixmyplaystation]

@juniorlopesdasilva1 CRAZY FAN: I see we've coined a phrase here! YLOD won't stop until the GPU is reballed. The Crazy Fan GPU must be replaced.

[tobster09]

Recently had this done to my ps3 by a friend who used cheap thermal paste and spread it all over the heat sink, now my ps3's fan is kicking in fully when turning it on and I'm getting a warning saying its overheating. I now plan on doing this myself should I use Arctic silver and should I apply paste in middle of heat sink and not all over?

[fixmyplaystation]

@tobster09 Cheap paste can act like a blanket. Yes, use a pea-sized blob in the middle of each processor and press the heat sink in place. (removing the fan from the heat sink lets you press directly on the backs of the heat sink blocks... might help)

[foofighter8008]

From your experience, what would cause a PS3 to get the ylod in less than 2 months? I got a brand new 60gb model back in August when my other PS3 got the ylod, but it got the ylod with only about 40-50 hours of it ever being turned on. It was kept at room temperature and had plenty of airflow. I'm really confused why it got the ylod so quickly. What are your thoughts?

[fixmyplaystation]

@foofighter8008 1) there are no NEW 60gb ps3s. you bought a refurb that never had it's heat sink cleaned?

[foofighter8008]

@fixmyplaystation I was told by Sony it was a brand new, never used system. It looked brand new as the outer shell had no scratches or anything like that on the plastic. I'm thinking the person on the phone at Sony might have lied to me, because the guy on the phone at Sony also said they would move the hard drive from my first 60gb hardrive to the NEW 60gb system so that I would still have all my data, but the system instantly formatted the hard drive when I turned it on. Thanks for the help

[fixmyplaystation]

@foofighter8008 If the sticker on the left side is black with silver writing, it's a Sony refurb. Black with dark grey writing is a new machine. There are no new 60gb machines on Earth.

[magma3000]

I have a question. I bought this $20 Intercooler, that blocks the side and back of my PS3. However, when I told GameStop about my PS3, they said that Intercoolers are one of the causes for the Yellow Light of Death. When I get my PS3 sent back to me, should I still get a better Intercooler or should I try to fix it by following your videos if I do get the Yellow Light again?

[fixmyplaystation]

@magma3000 Nope, the cause is never cleaning the heatsink. Forget the intercooler. Get a good motherboard repair and have someone clean the heatsink every 2 years.

[juniorlopesdasilva1]

I tried this a few times, but the problem continues, the light was yellow to blue, but the yellow came back again What should I do, can you help me??

maybe I have to have the ps 3 on the TV to play a little or What's going on?? can contact me at my email which is junior.e.af @ hotmail.com thanks!

[fixmyplaystation]

@juniorlopesdasilva1 Sounds like you need to have your motherboard repaired.

[Genera1Smok3]

woah wait wait wait..... soo if you Have the YLOD already, does this whole process not apply to the issue?

or is this just an overall fix/prevent type of deal??

[fixmyplaystation]

@Genera1Smok3 YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. Thanks for reading. :) I've explained that to dozens of others.

[Jaliya48]

Do you replace the small thermal pads that are on the other chips as well?

[fixmyplaystation]

@Jaliya48 It's not a bad idea, if you have new pads... but the only overheating problem to worry about is YLOD due to an overheated GPU.

[Jaliya48]

@fixmyplaystation Thanks for the quick reply! I might consider getting a large sheet of thermal pad & cutting out the required pieces. Right now I've ordered the 19blade fan & thermal paste. That leaves my power supply (APS-226) but I won't be swapping it out yet.

Regards.

[fixmyplaystation]

@Jaliya48 The power supply is so easy to replace, you can do that at any time.

[passreseter12]

if i dont have a thermal paste would you suggest not removing the residue yet?

[fixmyplaystation]

@passreseter12 You can't reassemble without paste.

[TheBanned0ne]

got a question ,but I will send it in a PM if that is okay

[G14Soccer]

my playstation is experiencing the red light right now...so it is starting to shut off during game play but turns back on...what do you suggest?

[fixmyplaystation]

@G14Soccer The solder that connects the GPU to the motherboard may be starting to crack, but only lets go under high heat during gameplay. You could try repasting first... but you'll probably end up with a full YLOD in the near future.

[MrMark3384]

would you suggest replacing the original fan with an aftermarket fan that claims to move more air

[fixmyplaystation]

@MrMark3384 They're not necessary if you clean the heatsink every 2 years or so.

[MrMark3384]

@fixmyplaystation thanks

[jop5776]

can you , for some reason not assembly wireless, bluetooth, card reader, and other non-game parts, in case i just want to use my PS3 only for play game??

[fixmyplaystation]

@jop5776 If you use a wired controller, the system might run properly without those elements.

[MrTr4nc3]

I just bought some Arctic silver compound and im going to try it now, I replaced the thermal compound about 2 times before but it keeps on overheating,well, the fan goes very loud so obiously it's not cooling off well. I cannot believe in Scotland you cannot buy Alcohol in shops,I just cleaned the heatsink with a kitchen roll paper,very well.I hope the noise goes away as I dont know what else to try!

[fixmyplaystation]

@MrTr4nc3 You can't buy isopropyl alcohol?

[MrTr4nc3]

@fixmyplaystation No, they don't sell it for some reason.I always used alcohol for these things. I finished with the arctic silver paste but it seems that it didnt do anything, im so angry with it lol. the fan keeps going loud [I also disarmed the fan and cleaned it] I know this is to prevent ylod, but I thought it could help with the fan issue, as you said, with a good thermal compound applied it should do a good cooling job.I wonder what's wrong.

[fixmyplaystation]

@MrTr4nc3 Your motherboard could have a defect. We have seen a few PS3s whose fans won't run at normal speed, no matter what.

[01mrfico]

I changed the termal paste and my ps3 is still overheating. I saw that some people open rsx and apply paste on that, should i do the same?

[fixmyplaystation]

@01mrfico I don't recommend it, because you might damage the GPU.

[benz1980i]

You did a great job of explaining everything. Cheers

[teuni40]

is this only to prevent or olso to repair YLOD.

THX

[fixmyplaystation]

@teuni40 PREVENT.

[lookinghomeward]

Just wanted to say thank you for posting this video. My oldest son's system went down last week. What a bad time. I've been on medical leave and wasn't sure how I was going to come up with the money to pay Sony to fix this for the second time. Yes, the second time and it's only 2 years old. With this video I was able to repair it myself. Thanks again for sharing. It meant a lot

[jdawg1991williams]

I had the ylod of death but i fixed it with the heat gun method. If i regularly clean my ps3 and apply arctic silver every few weeks, will my ps3 die again? Also, what if i bought a cooling system as well?

[fixmyplaystation]

@jdawg1991williams Not every few weeks. Maybe once a year at most. I don't think much of the external fans, because the thermal paste and a good reball are the real keys to permanent YLOD repair.

[GoooboopTT]

Hi. I currently have a 40gb Ps3. When I first bought it, it ran pretty smooth and fast. But now it usually takes abit longer to start or process something. Does this help improve the processing speed ? And when i play game, the textures in the game being shown very slow, it takes a while to appear. So i dont know if this way can help the graphic run better. Please reply.

[fixmyplaystation]

@GoooboopTT If you DON'T clean the heat sink, you WILL end up with a yellow-light-of-death doorstop. I suggest cleaning the heat sink or having it cleaned, if you're not comfortable doing it yourself. Also clean the laser lens while you're in there. Then see if the processor issues improve.

[GoooboopTT]

@fixmyplaystation Yes. I did clean the heat sink but how can I clean the laser lens ? plz help.

[fixmyplaystation]

@GoooboopTT We have a video that shows how to replace the laser. Just follow it to open and close the drive. Use a cotton swab and alcohol to clean and dry off the lens.

[GoooboopTT]

@fixmyplaystation I've seen some video that they say i have to use some kind of lens fluid. But i dont have it now. So alcohol is good enough ?

[fixmyplaystation]

@GoooboopTT Yes, isopropyl.

[Omari1125]

I think Artic Silver works the best, it basicly glues the heat sink to the prorcessor.

[fixmyplaystation]

@Omari1125 It conducts heat from the processors to the heat sink.

[runargt]

In some videos you are told to heat up the board, an specially the CPU and GPU with a heat gun. Is that necessery for the process?

[fixmyplaystation]

@runargt No heating is needed for cleaning the heat sink.

[nstanfome]

thanks for the answer, but i saw in other vids that you can do a fan check by holding eject and switching on the main power, mine only wound up to full for about 1 second then got real quite, i have also experienced system freeze ups now alof a suddin, i think its heat related. i plan to replace the fan and clean the system as showin in you vid.

[fixmyplaystation]

@nstanfome Only later models have the fan check available.

[nstanfome]

have you ever had to replace the fan itself, i think mine is going out?

[fixmyplaystation]

@nstanfome Only replaced the entire heat sink when the mounting screws were snapped off in them. The fan doesn't usually die.

[DAYDAYGOON45]

MY PS3 HAVE THE YLOD SO I HAVE TO REPAIR IT BUT MY I WANTED TO KNOW ONCE I FIX IT WOULD MY PS3 EVER GET THE YLOD AGAIN...?

[fixmyplaystation]

@DAYDAYGOON45 If you repair it via the reflow (heat gun) method, there is a chance that it will overheat again at some point. It's a tricky repair.

[jaybye11]

when you turn on your ps3 how many hours could you leave it on for without getting the YLOD plz help i had 4 ps3 now cuz of this

[fixmyplaystation]

@jaybye11 Cleaning the heat sink BEFORE it allows the system to overheat seems to be the only way to avoid the YLOD. Is that what you're asking?

[urbancza]

@fixmyplaystation

excellent video

[MrTr4nc3]

I really enjoy this videos. You made me want to replace this thermal paste, I got it opened already.Nice explanation. Best video.

[fixmyplaystation]

@MrTr4nc3 Thanks for the comment. Don't overtighten the heatsink retaining screws when you reassemble. The springs do all the work of pulling the heatsink against the processors.

[wagwaneasy]

I have a ps3 that turns off after about 15 mins ,a message comes up saying fan is overheating, then it turns off, would that just require opening it and cleaning the dust?or is it something else?

[fixmyplaystation]

@wagwaneasy Sounds like a typical dried out heat sink. Needs to be completely disassembled. Watch the videos and see if you want to try.

[unrewritable]

Hi me again in my PS3 60GB model I have noticed that the fans would blow Hot air out, is this normal? or should the fans be blowing cool air out?

[fixmyplaystation]

@unrewritable The job of the fan is to blow hot air out of the PS3.

[paisitauk]

@fixmyplaystation ok my PS3 is blowing hot air out, so that means that my PS3 is not overheating yet right? I still have a chance to do something to prevent it from getting the YLOD?

[fixmyplaystation]

@paisitauk It's supposed to blow hot air out. But after about 3 years, the heat sink's thermal paste dries out to the point that the heat sink can't properly cool the unit... and the graphics processor comes loose from the motherboard. This video shows you how to clean/repaste the heat sink, in an effort to avoid overheating.

[unrewritable]

You think I should do this my PS3 is still working fine?

[fixmyplaystation]

@unrewritable The idea is to prevent the YLOD by cleaning the heat sink before it completely dries out. Probably don't need to do it until the PS3 is 3 years old.

[unrewritable]

I have a launch 60gb PS3, which I have barely used. I think I have only used it to play GOD OF WAR 3 and Metal Gear 4 oh and to browse the web and watch blu ray movies once in a while. I am a big freaked out as my xbox 360 just got the RROD and I don't want my PS3 to overheat as well. You reckon I should do this to my PS3 and if so what sort of thermal paste should I use? what's the best quality thermal paste out there (what does sony use? Artic Silver 5?) please let me know thanks!

[fixmyplaystation]

@unrewritable Again... Arctic Silver is much thicker than Dynex, and might be more difficult to apply correctly.

[unrewritable]

@fixmyplaystation Ok so which thermal paste should I use then? which one is the best? which one do you use and why? and should I really do this eventhough my PS3 is still working fine? if I was to do all of this to my PS3 how long would I be able to use it until I have to do this all over again?

[fixmyplaystation]

@unrewritable We use Dynex because it has a high metal content and is easy to apply. We recommend cleaning/repasting every 2 years.

[PocketsGotBigMoney]

i dont understand.. are you supposed to use a heat gun and melt it together or just use the thermal pastE?

[fixmyplaystation]

@PocketsGotBigMoney NO HEAT GUN is used in this video. Heat guns can be used for repair of YLOD PS3s. This video shows how to attempt to prevent YLOD.

[Dr8co1]

what kind of thermal paste did you use?

[fixmyplaystation]

@Dr8co1 Dynex brand from Best Buy. It goes on much easier than Arctic Silver, so I show that to all DIYers.

[Dr8co1]

@fixmyplaystation cool thanks man

[336ac]

is there anyway for me to maintain my PS3 and clean it without having to take it apart???

[fixmyplaystation]

@336ac Sorry, no. The heat sink is attached to the underside of the motherboard, so everything has to come out in order to clean it. Cleaning/repasting the heat sink is CRITICAL to preventing YLOD.

[SELACARTEL]

I just seen a tutorial on here on how to fix the YLOD with a heat gun,what would you recommend??

[fixmyplaystation]

@SELACARTEL YLOD Heat gun repair CAN be done at home. It might be a permanent fix, or it might only last a few weeks or months. The key is not doing further damage to the motherboard.

I recommend:

- setting the heat gun to 500F... NOT 1000F

- pre-warming the entire board for 2 minutes

- reflowing only the RSX graphics chip for up to 1 minute

- allow it to cool for 15 min before reassembling

We are producing a Home YLOD Repair eBook and will announce it via our site and Facebook.

[SELACARTEL]

@fixmyplaystation Thanks for the heads up I appreciate it ,but I must admit I am not familiar with "reflowing the the RSX graphics" what does that mean ,I'm sorry bro but am not too technical savy...Thanks again you are a life saver sir..

[fixmyplaystation]

@SELACARTEL The chip labeled "RSX" is the one that needs to be reflowed. Watch our site for a complete repair guide soon.

[SELACARTEL]

@fixmyplaystation Got it thanks i figured it out watching some other vids....

[Utoobyourself]

Hello, I don't know if this question was ever asked? I have the original OLD PS1 & PS2 backwards compatible PS3 which I had purchased it from ebay in brand new mint condition last year for $40. Seal was never removed. I had it repaired from a 3rd party that do repairs on all major brand of eletronics including consoles. To this day still running perfect. To prevent the YLOD, how often would u have 2 change the thermal paste & do regualr maintenance? Ex: once every yr?

Thank u in advance

[fixmyplaystation]

@Utoobyourself

1) $40 price is a WIN

2) ask the repair guy if he cleaned the heatsink. no problem if he didn't but YES someone needs to clean/repaste it soon, so the system doesn't overheat.

3) If you're cleaning it yourself, I'd say clean it every year to be super-safe. Every 2 years if you have someone do it.

Thanks.

[Utoobyourself]

@fixmyplaystation

Thank you for your reply. My system was FULLY repaired,dusted & cleaned thourghly. I do regular vent cleanup w/ a vacuume. So you think I should do the Thermal replacement?? since it has been a yr? I barly use it, till now with the JB..lol

Thks man

[fixmyplaystation]

@Utoobyourself If it's only 1 year, wait another year before repasting. Vacuum is good but canned air, or better yet an air compressor at 60psi, will kick out more dust without opening the system. Blow air in there until no more dust comes out.

[Utoobyourself]

@fixmyplaystation

Thank you for your advice greatly appreciated.

[Vesipham]

Ok, I'm already too late to prevent the YLOD as my PS3 just got it a day ago, so I'm assuming it has the solder joint issue you mentioned. My question for you is is it possible to fix the solder joints between the CPU/GPU, or is my PS3 completely screwed at this point?

[fixmyplaystation]

@Vesipham The best repair for YLOD is called "reballing". The RSX graphics processor is removed, old solder removed from processor and motherboard, and fresh solder is applied to the chip before reattaching it to the motherboard. Email us for a referral.