Fluxing an Xbox 360 (or PS3 etc)

[XB0X36OMaster]

I just fried some components on the board after a messy flux application and my psu shows a red light now. If I buy your flux will it matter how messy I am with it? Could I potentially fully submerge a mo board in a pool of your flux?

[cskustoms1]

Can someone give me the definition of what "Flux" does as i'm knew to reairing consoles and i thought i might want to try it.=)

[bangdupnshot1]

I have E74 coming back after a heat gun re-flow. do you think if I flux the HANA chip that would keep it from coming back?

[killasoftvideos]

I like how slow you put the flux in there... I have both chips fluxed in about 15 seconds, and I prefer to use a squeeze bottle with a syringe at the end; so much faster.

[betogtos]

How long did this reflow?

[vmiget01]

what is fluxing?

[simplcool]

@vmiget01 , Flux removes oxidation in the copper and solder to assist the metals in their bonding process.

[MASTBRANDONTHEBOSS95]

you need to take off the acces flux or yo ruin the rest of the motherboard!

[tziotaras13]

thats not the xbox 360 chip

lol

[thebigw1004]

so i should do this while the chips are cool? not hot after i've heatgunned them?

[petecity100]

So I should do this before I reflow?

[Iceman4Christ]

I noticed everybody does the flux on (H)ANA/CPU/RAM and GPU, but what about the southbridge do you flux that too!

[craigdavid360]

@Iceman4Christ You can, but southbridge failures are less common due to small size of chip and its location, so I guess that is why you haven't seen it done much.

I'd usually only reflow the southbridge if the box had something like an ethernet issue or E73 code.

[Logoseum]

Use no clean flux!

[craigdavid360]

@Logoseum That's right my friend, you should only use no clean flux, and that is the only kind I stock.

[johnchesney1]

@Logoseum - why "no clean"? I ask because I have plenty of RMA flux available in the shop I work at and would rather use that if I could.

[supafudge]

@johnchesney1 this is a month late, flux goes under the cpu/gpu..if you use flux that has to be cleaned to work, you cant clean under the chips. no clean flux doesnt require you to clean under the cpu/gpu..

[tristan7zavier]

is it possible to flux multiple chips and reflow all one by one? or will the flux on the other chips boil off and become useless?

[craigdavid360]

@tristan7zavier Opinion varies on this one... I do one chip at a time as I have a pretty good bottom heater and an IR reflow station; and as you say, the flux has pretty much boiled away after I've reflowed the first chip.

People who use heat guns seem to like to flux all the chips at once as they are reflowing the whole board at once.

[dying2l]

can you tell me what is this doing to the board? Is this dessolving some of the solder?

[craigdavid360]

@dying2l It is helping to remove oxidised solder and also helping the solder to melt and reform easier and stronger.

[dying2l]

@craigdavid360 Thank you.

[blueshift314]

why is it that you dont put the pipett right up to the chip when applying the flux and why dont you dab the cloth near the chip when cleaning up the flux?

[craigdavid360]

@blueshift314 I don't put the pipette up the the chip so I can clearly see where the the flux is going, and I don't dab the chip as it would draw some of the flux out from under it.

[camdenkohler]

thank bought some flux and fix my xbox 1 week ago works great :)

[HOMeSKILiT24]

Is is possible to flux the hana/scaler/ana chip, and the cpu too, will it fix the red ring o death

[craigdavid360]

@HOMeSKILiT24 yes, you can and should flux the (H)ANA/CPU/RAM and GPU before reflowing for a greater chance fixing the ring of death and related issues.

[proximxr]

Make a video on how to reflow, as I don't know what that is. :)

[Masterchief55525]

So right after I put flux do I start reflowing, or should I let the Flux dry up a bit? Or does it even matter which way?

[craigdavid360]

@Masterchief55525 you can start reflowing straightaway

[xxmoney91xx]

@craigdavid360 does it make a difference either way?

[craigdavid360]

@thecore333 Were you using a heatgun? I take it you removed the heatsinks before trying to reflow! After a correct reflow the Xbox shouldn't run hot enough to cinder metal, in fact it should never run that hot, even if you shorted out something on the board.

[thecore333]

@craigdavid360 It seems I used the wrong type of flux I made an assumption that all of them were the same the one I had was not used for electronics but for pipes.

[proximxr]

Ouch.

[jesseastl]

hi i have had a few xbox's with RROD and i replace the x clamps with screws and washers, clean the gpu and cpu with asetone and then re-apply thermal paste and heat up the syncs and 75% of the time this works and i have never had them get RROD again. but occosionaly i come across some that just dont have any response to that..do you think i should reflow it with a heat gun and flux or would that make a difference? please respond i am extremely stuck and dont get y some dont work thanks so much!!

[craigdavid360]

@jesseastl 75% is a pretty good ratio for the repair of boxes that haven't been reflowed. Overheating the heatsinks, is ideally not the best approach and can damage the GPU/CPU. A reflow with a heatgun or reflow station will always yield better results when done correctly, however it is harder than what you are doing now! Flux helps remove oxidised solder from the joints, and will improve the chance of a "non-reflow" repair from working as oxidisation on the cold joints is often an issue.

[swisscs]

thats a sh*tload of flux. =P

[craigdavid360]

yeah, I'd already fluxed the chip before this video. Normally you only get a small amount escaping.

[molafaka808]

can i get this somewhere in AMERICA?

[Didjumom]

okay do u have to do both chips or just the gpu

[craigdavid360]

A lot of people just do the GPU as most of the time it's the only one causing trouble, however I do both as when the box is stripped down it's easy to do both, but a pain to take off heatsinks again if it was the CPU after all!

[Didjumom]

after u flux the xbox do u have to do the heat gun method for it to work?

[craigdavid360]

@Didjumom You need to reflow the chips either with a heatgun or reflow station.

[flesknava]

It would also be nice to see some reflowing :)

[dkizzy84]

Any tips on what temps to aim for with the heat gun and how long to do it? I don't have an IF rework station unfortunately.

[craigdavid360]

You need ~230oC (measured on top of chip) for no more than 30 seconds. Preheat board before hand, I use a non-contact heater set to 125oC which results in a top of board temp of around 85oC.

Capacitors will start browning and going pop above 100oC so beware of that; insolate everything except chips with kitchen foil if using a multi-purpose heat gun. There are plenty of tutorials on the web on the subject, you should read them all.

[tymo1234]

Will this help the 0110 error?

[craigdavid360]

yes, do a normal reflow but also pay attention to the RAM chips as they could be causing the 0110.

[jowlly]

any one know if reflowing will fix e 73 please heeeeelp

[ittjavila]

e73 is a ethernet port problem... i have three of them with that try heating up the the soter (if thats how you spell itlol) under the ethernet part but other then that e73 is hard to fix

[xboxexpertsdotcom]

Reflow the Southbridge for E73, ethernet chip related errors are E75-E78...

[craigdavid360]

E73 can be ethernet OR southbridge in my experience. I've also had trouble fixing this one, but reflowing GPU/CPU/Southbridge and ethernet are worth a try.  Be careful then doing ethernet chip, it's tucked very close to ethernet and USB ports.

[ohiocitysales]

Does using flux give off a strong odor? I work out of my apartment and strong smelling fumes is not except able. How bad are the fumes? Thanks, I got the same setup.

[craigdavid360]

There are some fumes, but don't think it's any worse than paint fumes or something of that nature, if I have several boxes to fix I'll keep the door of my workshop open for keep fresh air circulating. I also keep a distance of 4 feet from box when it's reflowing.

[spokehedz]

Will this work on the HANA chip? What is the best way to shield the other components from the heat from the reflow iron?

[craigdavid360]

Yes, and a mix of old clothes covered with layers of kitchen foil works well, make sure you tape the shield down to stop hot air leaking under it. There are videos and tutorials on the web showing how to make these shields.

[HQA0]

i dont have an ebay account us there any other way i can buy this off u

[craigdavid360]

Send me a Youtube email if you are still interested

[solidsnake123]

i have some kester 951 that i've used before reflowing but it dries before i even get to reflow.its halogen-free, non-rosin organic flux.i dont think its any good,what do you think?im still having problems just a week or so after..

[norm360X]

Bought some flux off you on ebay. Used it to reflow the GPU on a IBM T41 laptop. Worked a treat. (Two previous attempts without flux failed).

[craigdavid360]

That's great news, especially interesting to hear none 360 success stories, as there are plenty of those :) Strangely I've also had quite a few PS3 messages lately.....

[5UPRAH]

I'm in NZ so probably cant get the flux from you - so I'll have to source it elsewhere. Just wondering what sort of flux I should use?

[fullofgold55]

where do u buy this

[craigdavid360]

I've sent you a friend request so I can mail you a link to ebay

[craigdavid360]

ebay link now added to description up there ^^

[bigart2fyt]

is inhaling flux vapor bad should i wear a mask or something do i rotate all the time when fluxing all the chips the same way all four sides

[craigdavid360]

I've never worn a mask or known anyone who does so. I find you get worse vapor if you don't clean off all the heat paste before reflowing.

[craigdavid360]

I usually reflow one chip at a time, so I flux it, reflow it, let it cool, then move onto the next one. If you want to do several chips at once then i'd apply flux to all edges facing the same way then rotate and do the next set of edges. Remember to adjust the number of drops depending on the size of the chip or you'll have flux all over the place, which isn't bad for the board, but it is wasteful of the flux!

[fullofgold55]

deos this fix 0031 and deos this fix the xbox

[craigdavid360]

The 0031 error has many possible causes, however if plan to reflow the southbridge and RAM (one possible cause) then yes, this will help. I'd also make sure your heatsinks are not shorting out one of the surface mount components on the top of the GPU... you should have two 1mm washers between the board and heatsinks remember.

[russ1931]

HI Can you pls give me information on how to get hold of this product as this will help me to repair gpu`s using a I.f rework station not hot air thanks.

[sarahdarlinglovely]

Does fluxing fix a RROD as well? and can you reflow using a heatgun?

[craigdavid360]

Lots of people have been messaging me asking for flux, and yes I can supply it, but only really to the UK due to shipping restrictions! Message me if interested.

[russ1931]

i`am interested pls infor me further

[wjg02]

only the GPU was fluxed... does that mean the CPU isn't supposed to be fluxed???

[0M4rs0]

Well the CPU doesn't really have any problems. Maybe if you have sec. code 0011, you could flux the CPU but it's not necessary.

[craigdavid360]

When using a reflow station you pretty much have to flux and reflow one chip at a time for best results. If heat gunning you can do them all at once. Most faults are GPU based, but I normally do the CPU just in case, as it's not that much hassle once the 360 is in bits.

[pinkjona]

flux is used to clean and help the solder flow better . without flux you would get a dry joint with no electrical contact

[joshmar11]

so whats the point of refluxing? I have and xbox 360 that i was unable to fix with thermal comound replacement. I've looking up reflowing the gpu. Any info on this would be helpful.

[joshmar11]

sorry not refluxing, but fluxing before reflowing?

[Henberry7]

How long till this reflow process has to be repeated???

[gamebeatter]

normally its a permanent fix

[phxdrummer16]

How long are your reflows lasting before they break again?