PS3 FAT YLOD

[bobofatt]

Hello all,

I'm going to attempt to fix my YLOD on my PS3.  I'm not a handy guy, but I figure I don't really have anything to loose. Plus the interwebs has already helped me fix my sink and my carpet cleaner.

There are a number of videos on youtube.  Is there one that's better than another?  Any tips or tricks anyone recommends?  I'm looking for fix that is easy, effective, and as cheap as possible so any advice from some more experienced members is much appreciated.  I don't want to buy equipment that I'm only going to use once if I can help it, but if it's needed I guess I will depending on the cost. 

thanks

[Nickkchilla]

I recently had my original CECHA01 fail on me a couple of weeks back, though as I'm a bit more technical than the average user, it's alive and kicking once more.

If you're looking for a quick inexpensive fix, a short term solution would be to take a heatgun you may own to the Playstation 3 and reflow the motherboard (particularly the GPU). You don't have to disassemble it completely; some people simply heat the system through the air exhaust.

I don't recommend this for long term, as I believe it's only viable to keep it alive long enough to backup your HDD before swapping to a newer console. It may also damage the motherboard depending how you handle it. Some people have had success though, claiming it lasts anywhere from six to twelve months. Your results may vary. -shrug-

If you don't have a heatgun, a safer (arguably) way to resurrect the PS3 would be to disassemble the system right down to the board itself. Then wrap the motherboard in some foil and shove that baby into an oven for awhile. Mmmmm. Tasty.

You'll need thermal paste for either of these solutions. Those are probably the two simplest ways to go about it without spending much, but eventually it'll need to be reballed or replaced.

[mrfreise]

most of the ones out there are kind of a hack and a lot of people WON'T recommend doing this.  but if you aren't going to send it in to the professionals http://www.ps3specialist.com/playstation3-gpu-reballing-service/# the only advice I think any one can give you is
A)  get a nice heat gun with 2 temp settings
B)  disassemble the ENTIRE console down to the main board
C)  don't forget to buy the thermal heat sink paste ahead of time
D)  stay away form ANY youtube hack that uses a basic hairdryer

now there is a debate out there as to whether or not this is even a permanent fix because if you do manage to heat the chips up high enough and not the rest of the board there is a chance that all you have done is warp the board enough to get the bad BGA to make contact and not reflow the solder at all

[davifus]

If you don't have a heatgun, a safer (arguably) way to resurrect the PS3 would be to disassemble the system right down to the board itself. Then wrap the motherboard in some foil and shove that baby into an oven for awhile. Mmmmm. Tasty.

ohhhhhhhhh noooooooooo Linus? is that you.

^ wait what wrong with the youtube posting? Is this fix part of the soon update?

[Nickkchilla]

Oh wait, wrong Linus. XD

[bobofatt]

most of the ones out there are kind of a hack and a lot of people WON'T recommend doing this.  but if you aren't going to send it in to the professionals http://www.ps3specialist.com/playstation3-gpu-reballing-service/# the only advice I think any one can give you is
A)  get a nice heat gun with 2 temp settings
B)  disassemble the ENTIRE console down to the main board
C)  don't forget to buy the thermal heat sink paste ahead of time
D)  stay away form ANY youtube hack that uses a basic hairdryer

now there is a debate out there as to whether or not this is even a permanent fix because if you do manage to heat the chips up high enough and not the rest of the board there is a chance that all you have done is warp the board enough to get the bad BGA to make contact and not reflow the solder at all

Hmmm...have you used their service?  If a professional job will keep it in working order for years, than it may not be a bad idea. 

[mrfreise]

I have not, yet I used the heat gun trick on mine until I am able to locate a viable BC 60g ps3 fat then I am going to enlist their services

[bobofatt]

I bought a PS3 slim in the mean time, so I'm in no rush to get my Fat up and running.  Please keep me posted if you do go that route.  Much appreciated.

[ignition365]

My FAT PS3 just went YLOD again, for probably the 5th time now.  So I'm looking into other companies capable of doing the work with a longer than 4 month warranty.  That website posted looks promising, but it's $90 + shipping and the warranty requires you to pay shipping both ways every time.  Not to mention that their $90 price is for them to just do the reflow or reball, if anything is actually broken and needs replacement you have to pay added costs, fine print will hit ya.

As far as I'm aware, local to me, there is only one place that repairs old FAT PS3 models, they charge $70-80 and do a 4 month warranty, but I've had them repair my PS3 4 times now.

[davifus]

Sounds like you need a Slim.

[ignition365]

Sounds like you need a Slim.

I have a Super Slim, the PS3 in question has BC.