What causes the yellow light of death in a PS3?...

[dave4shmups]

I got this last week in my "fat" 40gig Gamestop refurbished PS3, so I am wonder what the root causes are? I kept it well-ventilated.

In terms of a new PS3, I'm thinking about the 160gig original slim model, since it's priced lower then any other new PS3s out there. But I don't know how durable it is in comparison to the older "fat" PS3s.

[HydrogLox]

The Yellow Light of Death (YLOD) PS3 Repair

Don't think there is a good reason to salvage a CECHG01/CECHH01 model. CECHA01/CECHB01 are a different story.

In terms of a new PS3, I'm thinking about the 160gig original slim model.

You just missed the (US) Walmart Black Friday sale - $149 for a 12GB PS3. Just need a Hard Disk Drive Mounting Kit CECH-ZCD1 SKU 3000054 and a hard drive of your choice.

[dave4shmups]

The Yellow Light of Death (YLOD) PS3 Repair

Don't think there is a good reason to salvage a CECHG01/CECHH01 model. CECHA01/CECHB01 are a different story.

In terms of a new PS3, I'm thinking about the 160gig original slim model.

You just missed the (US) Walmart Black Friday sale - $149 for a 12GB PS3. Just need a Hard Disk Drive Mounting Kit CECH-ZCD1 SKU 3000054 and a hard drive of your choice.

I appreciate the links, but I'm not into repairing consoles. I'll have it recycled, because throwing it out would be REALLY bad for the environment. I never go to Black Friday sales, and I'm not interested in a Hard Disk Drive Mounting Kit; just in how durable the "original" slim PS3 is, and if it's prone to the yellow light of death, like the older, "fat" PS3s.

[ApolloBoy]

Dave4shumps: Asking questions that could be easily found on Google within 2 seconds since 2005.

[HydrogLox]

I appreciate the links, but I'm not into repairing consoles.

The link described the likely cause of YLOD - which is what you asked for in the first place. A much more elaborate version can be found here.

I never go to Black Friday sales.

and yet

I'm thinking about the 160gig original slim model, since it's priced lower then any other new PS3s out there.

.

But I don't know how durable it is in comparison to the older "fat" PS3s.

1. I have yet to hear that Sony has been using a higher quality thermal compound on the heat sinks in the newer models - they are not worried about it if your 4 or 5 year old console is dying as it is way past its warranty. Viewed that way the degrading thermal compound is a ticking time bomb and getting a model that was manufactured some time ago is likely going to cut your overall "play time" short. The situation can only be defused by replacing the thermal compound used during manufacturing.
2. All PS3 consoles are manufactured with lead-free RoHS compliant solder. It tends to be less durable than the solder used in electronic equipment sometime before 2006. It is more prone to failure in equipment operating at higher temperatures. The power supply wattage gives you an indication of the waste heat that can be generated. The slim 160GB uses a 230W (later ones are 200W) power supply which is 50W less than the "fat" 40GB model but the super slim is yet another 50W less than that. So barring some design flaw that traps heat somewhere, the super slim has the most reduced likelihood of heat related solder failure.
3. The slim seems to be preferred by some people because they like the slot loading disc drive - which, when compared to a top loader, requires additional moving parts (motors) that can fail over time. A carefully used top loader (as found on the super slim) will probably last longer. Of course the top loading drive has virtually no sound insulation and is therefore louder.

So the original "slim" should be somewhat more durable than the original "fat" PS3s - but given the above reasons I would predict that a carefully used super slim would likely last longer than a slim with the same type of usage. But lots of people will disagree with me and simply state the the super slim looks and feels flimsy when compared to the original slim.

[brentsg]

I never go to Black Friday sales.

and yet

I'm thinking about the 160gig original slim model, since it's priced lower then any other new PS3s out there.

.

There's a huge difference in appreciating a lower price and fighting with morons on Black Friday.

[dave4shmups]

I appreciate the links, but I'm not into repairing consoles.

The link described the likely cause of YLOD - which is what you asked for in the first place. A much more elaborate version can be found here.

I never go to Black Friday sales.

and yet

I'm thinking about the 160gig original slim model, since it's priced lower then any other new PS3s out there.

.

But I don't know how durable it is in comparison to the older "fat" PS3s.

1. I have yet to hear that Sony has been using a higher quality thermal compound on the heat sinks in the newer models - they are not worried about it if your 4 or 5 year old console is dying as it is way past its warranty. Viewed that way the degrading thermal compound is a ticking time bomb and getting a model that was manufactured some time ago is likely going to cut your overall "play time" short. The situation can only be defused by replacing the thermal compound used during manufacturing.
2. All PS3 consoles are manufactured with lead-free RoHS compliant solder. It tends to be less durable than the solder used in electronic equipment sometime before 2006. It is more prone to failure in equipment operating at higher temperatures. The power supply wattage gives you an indication of the waste heat that can be generated. The slim 160GB uses a 230W (later ones are 200W) power supply which is 50W less than the "fat" 40GB model but the super slim is yet another 50W less than that. So barring some design flaw that traps heat somewhere, the super slim has the most reduced likelihood of heat related solder failure.
3. The slim seems to be preferred by some people because they like the slot loading disc drive - which, when compared to a top loader, requires additional moving parts (motors) that can fail over time. A carefully used top loader (as found on the super slim) will probably last longer. Of course the top loading drive has virtually no sound insulation and is therefore louder.

So the original "slim" should be somewhat more durable than the original "fat" PS3s - but given the above reasons I would predict that a carefully used super slim would likely last longer than a slim with the same type of usage. But lots of people will disagree with me and simply state the the super slim looks and feels flimsy when compared to the original slim.

OK, thanks! I do appreciate the link to that information, which is what I asked for. I never looked it up because I assumed that the yellow light of death was much less prevalent in PS3s then the RROD was in XBOX 360s. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a Sony fanboy (I'm not a fanboy of any video game company). Maybe the RROD was just more publicized; I don't know.

The one complaint that I have heard from people about the new super-slim PS3 is that the lid on the top loader feels extremely cheap. But I do baby my consoles, and one person who was complaining about it on Youtube was sliding the lid back and forth like a DJ!

As far as the Hard Disk Drive Mounting kit goes, it's not expensive and it does come with instructions, but I'm always VERY anxious about opening up any video game console. I did mod an SNES once, but that just involved breaking off two plastic tabs.

I don't understand why, unless it's a bundle that includes games, Sony is still pricing their PS3s-except for the 12gig model-above $200. It's seven year-old technology, and the PS4 is selling really well.

[HydrogLox]

The one complaint that I have heard from people about the new super-slim PS3 is that the lid on the top loader feels extremely cheap. But I do baby my consoles, and one person who was complaining about it on Youtube was sliding the lid back and forth like a DJ!

There is still the possibility that the super slim (CECH-40xxx) has some kind of design flaw that will affect its durability but only time will tell - also heavy-handed types could put undue stress on the disc drive spindle on the top loader - but so far my personal preference is still with the super-slim.

I don't understand why, unless it's a bundle that includes games, Sony is still pricing their PS3s-except for the 12gig model-above $200. It's seven year-old technology, and the PS4 is selling really well.

I would tend to agree. Over the past year there have been a few opportunities to score a 4GB 360S for $129 or even $99. The 12GB PS3 remains stubbornly at $199 - there have been occasional 250GB bundles for $199. If you don't want to hunt for a deal (and avoid fiddling with the hard drive) the $249 250GB Last of Us bundle is probably your best bet right now (there could still be some $269 500GB GTA V bundles kicking around if you are into that). If you are still considering the slim check the model number - the earlier CECH-25xxx comes with the 230W power supply, the later model CECH-30xxx comes with a 200W power supply - I would lean towards the CECH-30xxx as it could be running cooler (PlayStation 3 technical specifications).

[dave4shmups]

The one complaint that I have heard from people about the new super-slim PS3 is that the lid on the top loader feels extremely cheap. But I do baby my consoles, and one person who was complaining about it on Youtube was sliding the lid back and forth like a DJ!

There is still the possibility that the super slim (CECH-40xxx) has some kind of design flaw that will affect its durability but only time will tell - also heavy-handed types could put undue stress on the disc drive spindle on the top loader - but so far my personal preference is still with the super-slim.

I don't understand why, unless it's a bundle that includes games, Sony is still pricing their PS3s-except for the 12gig model-above $200. It's seven year-old technology, and the PS4 is selling really well.

I would tend to agree. Over the past year there have been a few opportunities to score a 4GB 360S for $129 or even $99. The 12GB PS3 remains stubbornly at $199 - there have been occasional 250GB bundles for $199. If you don't want to hunt for a deal (and avoid fiddling with the hard drive) the $249 250GB Last of Us bundle is probably your best bet right now (there could still be some $269 500GB GTA V bundles kicking around if you are into that). If you are still considering the slim check the model number - the earlier CECH-25xxx comes with the 230W power supply, the later model CECH-30xxx comes with a 200W power supply - I would lean towards the CECH-30xxx as it could be running cooler (PlayStation 3 technical specifications).

OK, thanks for all the info! Regarding my PS3, I talked to a guy at work yesterday who said that the yellow light of death that my PS3 got could be due to the hard drive. Is there ANY truth to this, and would switching out hard drives help at all?

[moh]

lead-free RoHS compliant solder. It tends to be less durable than the solder

I've done a fair bit of research on lead free vs leaded solders, and as far as I can tell, the differences are

-wetting temperature
-lead free stuff tends to "splash" more
-The lead free solder has a much duller finish compared to the leaded stuff.
-Lead free solder is susceptible to growing "tin whiskers" which could lead to short circuits: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whisker_(metallurgy)

the only one of the above could lead to system failure is the tin whiskers. Tin whiskers can grow as much as 1mm per year, which is enough to cause system failure very quickly. These could only occur (in this case) from thermal strain, as you mentioned.

It could be as simple as opening up the console to check for short circuits, but I have never heard of this causing the YLOD. Its definitely worth a try though

[dave4shmups]

lead-free RoHS compliant solder. It tends to be less durable than the solder

I've done a fair bit of research on lead free vs leaded solders, and as far as I can tell, the differences are

-wetting temperature
-lead free stuff tends to "splash" more
-The lead free solder has a much duller finish compared to the leaded stuff.
-Lead free solder is susceptible to growing "tin whiskers" which could lead to short circuits: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whisker_(metallurgy)

the only one of the above could lead to system failure is the tin whiskers. Tin whiskers can grow as much as 1mm per year, which is enough to cause system failure very quickly. These could only occur (in this case) from thermal strain, as you mentioned.

It could be as simple as opening up the console to check for short circuits, but I have never heard of this causing the YLOD. Its definitely worth a try though

What about the new hard drive suggestion? Does that have anything to do with the YLOD?

[HydrogLox]

What about the new hard drive suggestion? Does that have anything to do with the YLOD?

It can cause YLOD. If you have a spare drive kicking around by all means try it. However I wouldn't go out and buy one - given the age of the system there is a good likelihood that the YLOD is a result of the failure of the thermal pads and/or cracking of solder on the RSX ball grid array - in which case you would have spent the money for nothing.

[system11]

lead-free RoHS compliant solder. It tends to be less durable than the solder

I've done a fair bit of research on lead free vs leaded solders, and as far as I can tell, the differences are

-wetting temperature
-lead free stuff tends to "splash" more
-The lead free solder has a much duller finish compared to the leaded stuff.
-Lead free solder is susceptible to growing "tin whiskers" which could lead to short circuits: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whisker_(metallurgy)

Related to point 4 - can't cope with heat expansion/contraction as well as leaded which leads to the obvious...

[moh]

lead-free RoHS compliant solder. It tends to be less durable than the solder

I've done a fair bit of research on lead free vs leaded solders, and as far as I can tell, the differences are

-wetting temperature
-lead free stuff tends to "splash" more
-The lead free solder has a much duller finish compared to the leaded stuff.
-Lead free solder is susceptible to growing "tin whiskers" which could lead to short circuits: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whisker_(metallurgy)

Related to point 4 - can't cope with heat expansion/contraction as well as leaded which leads to the obvious...

is that true? I wasn't aware of that, do you mind finding a source to back that up? I am very interested in this subject. I encourage you to read the following study:

http://www.fujitsu.com/downloads/MAG/vo ... aper14.pdf

They claim that lead free solder is harder to deform, less resistant to hardening, therefore less likely to crack.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

I had a 1st-gen USA region PS3 with 60GB HDD setup that was powered up for a mere 30 minutes (it was standing in the vertical position to properly ventilate the excess heat) and it suffered the YLOD issue. It wasn't on for very long and that issue came up -- it'd usually take about an hour or so to get quite toasty as usual. I like the fact that you have access to the dedicated various memory card slots for Memory Stick Pro Duo, Compact Flash, etc. The latter produced PS3 consoles had that particular memory card functionality removed entirely.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[system11]

I've done a fair bit of research on lead free vs leaded solders, and as far as I can tell, the differences are

-wetting temperature
-lead free stuff tends to "splash" more
-The lead free solder has a much duller finish compared to the leaded stuff.
-Lead free solder is susceptible to growing "tin whiskers" which could lead to short circuits: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whisker_(metallurgy)

Related to point 4 - can't cope with heat expansion/contraction as well as leaded which leads to the obvious...

is that true? I wasn't aware of that, do you mind finding a source to back that up? I am very interested in this subject. I encourage you to read the following study:

http://www.fujitsu.com/downloads/MAG/vo ... aper14.pdf

They claim that lead free solder is harder to deform, less resistant to hardening, therefore less likely to crack.

https://www.tdk.co.jp/techjournal_e/vol ... ents06.htm

I don't touch it personally myself due to the temperature required to flow issue - high temp vs old electronics, doesn't play well.

[moh]

that was a very interesting read. The diagram on the page you linked to would be more significant if leaded solder joints were also put through the same trials for a side-by-side comparison. But the study was more focused on lead free solder's failures, rather than comparing leaded and non-leaded.

[Lord of Pirates]

What about the new hard drive suggestion? Does that have anything to do with the YLOD?

The cheaper thing to do would be buying a 2.5" SATA enclosure and testing the current drive.

[dave4shmups]

What about the new hard drive suggestion? Does that have anything to do with the YLOD?

The cheaper thing to do would be buying a 2.5" SATA enclosure and testing the current drive.

What is that?? A guy I work with said that he has a spare hard drive, so for free, and he offered it to me. I need to follow up on that offer, because that wouldn't cost either of us a thing.

[speedlolita]

The super slim is easily the best hardware revision.

You don't have to turn the bloody machine on to remove a disc, it doesn't really get all that hot, it doesn't get loud, it has a small footprint unlike the slim and it uses even less power than a slim.

And to the people saying it feels cheap, it doesn't feel any cheaper than any other PS3. I mean, it's a game console. The manual slider may die after constant use for 20 years but for the occasional disc change there's no issue there.

[dave4shmups]

The super slim is easily the best hardware revision.

You don't have to turn the bloody machine on to remove a disc, it doesn't really get all that hot, it doesn't get loud, it has a small footprint unlike the slim and it uses even less power than a slim.

And to the people saying it feels cheap, it doesn't feel any cheaper than any other PS3. I mean, it's a game console. The manual slider may die after constant use for 20 years but for the occasional disc change there's no issue there.

Is there any chance that Sony will drop the price of the Super Slim this year? Other then the stupid 12gig model?

[speedlolita]

Well there's a 500GB in Europe.

The 12GB allows you to add a HDD though.

I didn't even buy the enclosure they suggest, cardboard wedge and an old 80GB went in my 12GB machine.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Over at Best Buy, they sell the official Sony PS3 500GB HDD add-on but it's priced at $99.99 USD right now. There's a sticker on the outer packaging saying that it'll work on the earlier released PS3 consoles (the original 1st-gen fat and 2nd-gen slim PS3 consoles but you'd have to use the HDD enclosure that came with those consoles rather than the HDD enclosure provided for the current 3rd-gen super-slim PS3).

Sure, it's still possible to buy a Super Slim PS3 console with a 500GB HDD included from the get-go here in the USA.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[dave4shmups]

Well, I just watched this video about how to upgrade the 12gig PS3 with more memory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKGV6H_NC2I

Looks SUPER easy; I was under the impression that you had to take part of the PS3 apart in order to upgrade it. I'm glad that I was proven wrong. (Sorry about the stupid "that's what she said" jokes in the video.)

[Lord of Pirates]

What about the new hard drive suggestion? Does that have anything to do with the YLOD?

The cheaper thing to do would be buying a 2.5" SATA enclosure and testing the current drive.

What is that?? A guy I work with said that he has a spare hard drive, so for free, and he offered it to me. I need to follow up on that offer, because that wouldn't cost either of us a thing.

It's an external case for a hard drive.
For example:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/ ... 695&sr=1-3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... ame=2.5%22

My suggestion was that you stick the drive in an enclosure, connect it to your PC, delete the partition, and then stick the drive back in the PS3 to see if that was the problem. If it's not the problem, you're out less than a new hard drive.

[dave4shmups]

Does usage of the optical drive on the PS3 cause it to have a shorter lifespan then a PC? I'm just trying to figure out in my head why we've NEVER had any overheating issues with our 2004 Sony Viao PC, and yet a PS3 that's just a few years old......why were PS3's not made this durable????

[speedlolita]

When do you ever use a DVD drive in a PC?

When do you ever use a disc drive in a PS3? All the freaking time.

[Jameson Rook]

I just got a beat up 80GB CECHE01 BC PS3 at a flea market for $90, everything (except the horrible exterior) is in great shape, with every type of disc I threw in reading fine. I took it apart to replace the abysmal stock paste and even tried some car scratch remover to remove the scratches on the body and chrome.

Before:

Spoiler

After:

Spoiler

Anyway, I was wondering if there's anything else I could do to prolong the lifespan of the console? I've heard mixed opinions on preemptive reballing, so I won't risk it. The unit already has the 19 balded fan but even after the paste change, it gets quite hot if a game disc is running, I wonder if that's normal? I haven't had a fat PS3 in perhaps 8 years.

[AndehX]

I took it apart to replace the abysmal stock paste and even tried some car scratch remover to remove the scratches on the body and chrome.


Anyway, I was wondering if there's anything else I could do to prolong the lifespan of the console? I've heard mixed opinions on preemptive reballing, so I won't risk it. The unit already has the 19 balded fan but even after the paste change, it gets quite hot if a game disc is running, I wonder if that's normal? I haven't had a fat PS3 in perhaps 8 years.

Very interesting. Could you elabortate on how you removed the scratches? I would very much like to do this to my PS3 too. What product did you use? What technique?

Also, don't waste your time looking into reballing. It's pointless. The whole solder cracking/reballing thing has already been debunked by Louis Rossmann on youtube. What you actually want to do, is delid the CPU and GPU and replace the garbage thermal paste with some liquid metal or MX4 or something. That will yield the best results. My PS3 used to spin up to "jet engine" mode after being on for 10 minutes, now it's 100% silent all the time.

[nmalinoski]

I took it apart to replace the abysmal stock paste and even tried some car scratch remover to remove the scratches on the body and chrome.

Very interesting. Could you elabortate on how you removed the scratches? I would very much like to do this to my PS3 too. What product did you use? What technique?

He said he tried a scratch remover product; I think the better question is if it actually worked.