1 broke dude with a broken PS3. YLOD(Yellow Light of Death)

Mijn probleem

I was playing a game online with a few friends, and then all of a sudden my PS3 just turned itself off. So I turned the main power switch off, and waited about 10 min. Then I turned the main power back on, and then hit the secondary power button. The red light turned green, everything started to start up, then the green light quickly turned yellow, followed by the PS3 shutting down, and then the yellow light turned red, and was left blinking. No matter how many times I tried to restart the PS3, the same thing happened. So I looked on the internet to find out what was going on, and I found IFIXIT. They make a repair kit just for this problem, and it was only $40.

Mijn oplossing

The repair went perfectly. I watched the how-to-video on utube, for the YLOD fix several times to make sure I was familure with what I was going to be seeing as I opened the PS3 for my first time ever. Then I followed the step-by-step instructions on the web site. It took my about 3 hours to complete, because it was my first time working on a PS3, but I think if I had to fix a friends PS3, I could do it in about half the time.

Mijn advies

Be careful disconnecting the battery back up from the motherboard, I pulled the female connection plug off of the motherboard as I tried to unplug it. Use the tweezers that come in the screwdriver set to help you secure the female plug and keep it connected to the motherboard. If it does become disconnected from the motherboard, just look at the picture on the step-by-step instructions real close and make sure you put it back in the same spot, and the same direction that it was when you started. Even though I disconnected the female plug, I was careful to put it back in the right place and right way, and it still works, so don't freak out if it happens to you.

As I was waiting for my repair kit to arrive in the mail, I saw a video on utube, that said you could repair the YLOD on a PS3 without taking it apart, and with only a hairdryer. All of the videos I watched, said don't be afraid if you see parts of your case start to warp and/or melt. I don't know about you, but that didn't sound to good to me. After I did my repair, I realized that even if you were able to heat the motherboard up enough with a hairdryer to reflow the solder and not melt your case in the process, you have only fixed one of the problems that caused the unit to fail in the first place. The main reason the PS3 got a YLOD, is the thermal paste broke down, and is no longer transferring heat to the cooling fan. This causes the heat to stay on the motherboard, and everytime you play with your PS3, it causes the solder to turn to liquid again. So in short don't waist your time doing a quick fix, just get the repair kit. It's only $40. And has a high quality thermal paste to replace the old stuff, and a proper heat gun to reflow the solder the right way, and only in the spot that it should be done, the hairdryer heats everything up, cables included. Just think about it, and like my father always said, get the right tools for the job, and do it right the first time. That's sound advice in my book.

Thanks again IFIXIT for providing us with the right tools for the job. So we can do it right the first time, everytime.

As for the photos, I took several, but the ones that you have on the site were better than mine.