Remove the XBox 360 X-Clamp in 45 Seconds

I got the dreaded Red Ring of Light on my XBOX 360. The error code was 0102 and thanks to Google I found tons of postings with successful fixes. It requires about $8 worth of screws and washers to replace the poorly designed X-Clamps that clamp the heatsinks to the GPU and CPU. These clamps cause the motherboard to bow and slowly with time and heat the soldering becomes weakened.

This video shows how to remove the X-Clamps. You just need to pry off two of the four legs of the X-Clamp and you can slide it right off.

Just grab a pair of needle-nose pliers and watch the video.

The tutorial and parts list by LAWDAWG0931 that I used can be found here:
http://copronymous.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/fix-for-the-3rlod.pdf

Good luck!

Category:

Gaming

Tags:

• XBOX
• 360
• Red
• Ring
• Of
• Light
• Fix
• Error
• 0102

[carwilej]

CONCLUSION:

The overheating/refrigerating proved only to be a very temporary solution. Eventually it stopped helping at all and my XBOX 360 was dead for good. I logged into the XBOX warranty/repair site to see how much it would cost to fix. It ends up they replaced my XBOX 360 for free for this issue even though it was out of warranty. I lucked out. All I had to do was pay for the shipping to them. They sent me a re-manufactured XBOX 360 and it's been working fine for a few months now.

[carwilej]

UPDATE:

This method on my XBOX lasted almost a year (362 days). Today I turned the XBOX on and had 3 flashing red lights. I found a quick and easy method for that one which is wrapping your XBOX in a plastic bag (fitting for something that is dead :) ) and turning it on and letting it overheat for 25 mintues. Mine cut itself off after about 10 minutes. Then I placed it in the fridge for 30 minutes. Then it worked again. Who knows for how long. I'll update the status as time goes on.

[LuigiWolf]

can u send me a link to the parts i need to bolt down the heatsinks?

[carwilej]

I just added a link in the comments to the right of the video above to the PDF that contains the instructions and parts list.

Good luck

[somfin000]

does the xbox 360 work without the x clamps???? i need to know soon

[carwilej]

The X-clamp is Microsoft's initial design to clamp the heatsink down onto the GPU and CPU. It just also happens to warp the motherboard. Removing the X-Clamps all together and just bolting the heat sinks down has worked great for me for 7 months now. Not a single issue since I made the modification.

[boondock1213]

@YoungGeekGuy holy shit your an animal

[TheChickenrun3]

the overheating then refridgerating is one of the top three stupidest fixes nearly up there with throwing your console in a pool and hitting it with a golf club it's just REALLY FUCKING STUPID if you know anything about electronics you are putting an ENORMOUS amount of heat stress on the console and doing exactly what causes RROD! heating it up and letting it rapidly cool!

[a32938]

@somfin000 Yes, However I would not recommend it at all. With heat, the board warps like no other without them and causes the gpu to seperate from the board. The x-clamps keep the board flat since you mount it to the exterior housing which works beautifully. The best way to keep your 360 cool enough to not RROD is 12V on both fans. Yeah it's loud but even at 12V the GPU gets pretty hot. Not scorching but a lot cooler than at 5V or 9V or whatever.Or just get the whisper fan for like $10 ebay

[a32938]

@carwilej - I see huge warping on flacon boards which don't use the x-clamps which eventually cause a permanent irreversible rrod. So I just got a Zephyr system and modded it to 12v immediately. The board looked super flat compared to the falcon system. I think the X-clamps are genius. Just throw on the Whisper fans at 12V and a Thermalright TR-360 on any version of xbox not including slim and it should last literally FOREVER.

[PixelPotato]

Thank you! This helped- one side immediately popped out!

[elbertivory2006]

thanks alot, this helped me

[blackops696]

can u still put them back on?? just asking thats all

[MrGangstaWaffle]

@VincentBProductions ms are dumbass', everybody worked this out years ago. The constant heat cycles make the x clamps bend, warping the motherboard as well resulting in cracked gpu solder joints. What did you think caused it?

[MrGangstaWaffle]

@VincentBProductions not sure what you're on about... the only reason you'd want the x clamps off is to perform a fix and you don't use the clamps at any stage again. They're the cause of rrod...

[Blackscoqes]

thanks man, this helped a lot. *subscribed*

[WHITEBOYZification]

thanx alot me and a

dad where busing our azzes thinking on how to get em off...thanx!