Xbox 360 owners suffer from the RRoD but PS3 has its own problems. A small percentage of PS3 owners suffer from a phenomenon called “Yellow Light of Death” or “YLoD” . A issue very similar to Xbox 360. Up till now there has not been a fix for this but Gilksy1 has found a way to fix this for PS3 owners. This method is oddly familiar to the Xbox 360 RRoD repair and requires you to open your PS3 and need a heat gun.
You can view the PDF tutorial via download link below:
[Download]
03-27-2009
05:01 PM
this is great news for those that have had ylod lets hope that it fixes every ps3 that has it great work Gilksy1
03-27-2009
06:04 PM
iHope I dont run into this problem.
03-28-2009
10:17 AM
Just one question though...how long does it last? Any other way to prevent it from happening again?
03-29-2009
03:39 AM
Thanks for the tutorial !! My PS3 is going again !! THKX !
03-29-2009
06:56 AM
Great job Gilksy1, this is certainly going to help a lot of people out, if they ever have the YLOD issue!, awesome job!!
I would think this one should be made sticky, as it certainly warrants it!!
03-29-2009
12:39 PM
My cousin had something like this once except his ps3 broke beyond repair. He kinda deserved it though.
03-30-2009
10:27 PM
How exactly does YLoD occur.. from overheating? Which ps3 models does it occur most on?
Good to know there's a fix for it in case it ever happens to my ps3
04-08-2009
04:37 PM
Thanks so much for this tutorial
it really does work
04-08-2009
04:48 PM
never knew about the yellow light but a kid from school said he got it and sold it on ebay and bought another one. ill show him this now lol. thanks
05-16-2009
07:33 AM
Thanks for the upload I'm gonna try this just had this problem. One question though, is my HDD still good and with my files? And what caused the problem exactly?
05-16-2009
07:40 AM
It's either a bad power supply or the solder being moved
I replaced my power supply but I still have the YLOD
Use the tutorial, there are also some vids on youtube by the owner
My first attempt failed since I got a heat gun with fixed temperature, get one that can stay on 350 deg C
You have to use a high temp to melt the solder under the RSX and CPU so that it is re-soldered
05-31-2009
11:09 AM
I had nearly every major system since the Atari outside the Wii and 360. Never had a problem with any of them. I took care of this system unlike the previous systems that I left on for days or played 15 hours straight. Is this just something we come to expect with future technology. I mean my iPod dropped out along with my PS3 in the last month. It just sucks. You pay for something that randomly breaks and you are forced to foot the bill. If I build a house and it crumbles a year in a half later I doubt I could get away with that.
07-20-2009
04:29 PM
A mate of mine has just got ylod, and phoned sony and was told he has to pay £145 to have it fixed, i told him sod that there must be a fix so i'll be getting him to do this fix i'll let you know how he gets on.
08-07-2009
11:16 PM
this tutorial from Gilksy1 is not safe also not fix all YLOD,I find own my way to fix many ps3 safe without damage anything,95% to fix it.
08-11-2009
09:45 PM
My PS3 went YLOD 3 weeks after warranty. I called Sony and they refused me free service, This will be the last Sony product I will ever buy.
I tried the reflow and it worked! I even went a little too close with the heat gun which partially melted the plastic on three of the chips, but it still works.
Cheers!
08-11-2009
11:15 PM
Same here... im really dissapointed Sony asked me to pay for their design flaws...
Anyhow got aheat gun and silver thermal paste... and 4 hours later my ps3 is back online
60gb... baby!!!
08-18-2009
08:23 PM
Worked for me...backing up now =D
08-21-2009
01:42 PM
the file opened but it was only one page and couldnt process the rest
08-30-2009
08:33 PM
Thanks for the tutorial! Should help me in the future
03-27-2010
02:12 PM
Hi guys,
I had the same problem, and found the solution and I am happy now, playing games again. YLOD problem was making me mad.
04-25-2010
06:22 AM
Since we see quite often people here in forums asking for help regarding YLOD, I wanted share my alternative method for repairing YLOD since I consider it to be easier and it doesn't require complete dissassembly. This method has also worked for GLOD(green light of death - all lights seem normal but no video/audio output and controllers won't sync). I have sent email to gilksy some time ago to get my method to his guide, but since he hasn't replied I decided to post my method here. I actually discovered this first time some time before gilksy published his guide but since hadn't much experience using this I didn't post this.
Since problem is very similar to xbox's RROD the fix fundamental is similar: add pressure to GPU and CPU. I tried various things(shim etc.) before I figured out what would be the best solution for adding pressure.
I come across following solution:
You need just 4 big washers(diameter 40mm, hole 8mm and 1mm thick. You can find these every hardware store for less than 1euro.) to do this.
So you have to remove upper cover, blu-ray drive and PSU. It's fairly easy and you can find tutorials for it from this site or youtube and I don't cover it here.
What you have to do is to put washers on the screws which holds the cooler blocks in place.(arrows in the photo)
Just screw screws as tight you can get them with reasonable force. I recommend using turn by turn technic so that both screws gets about same amount pressure whole time. You can't screw them too tight because of type of the screws.
You have to cut out small piece of one washer(which goes to screw on lower right in photo) due metal clip used for attaching PSU and memory card reader. Dremel or something similar is good for cutting.
edit: I added a photoshopped photo for clarification.
Because of washers thickness it adds some pressure and because washers size it produces pressure from larger area.
Adding these washers have been enough for all PS3s I have come across. I'm sorry because I don't have any photos of washers assembled since I don't have any unit under repair right now and I have lost my old photos regarding my repair method...
Please post your experiences here about the fix.
04-25-2010
12:49 PM
Front paged, nice find
04-25-2010
01:13 PM
Great idea, how long ps3 operate this way
04-25-2010
03:14 PM
Basically, this method fixes the PS3 that has YLOD? Which means I could fix it with my fingers, pressing that area? lol Yeah, a stupid question, but as I am not fully sure why does it break, I'm just asking. If it indeed does fix a YLOD, then awesome. More than awesome!
04-25-2010
03:27 PM
My own 60GB has worked since fix(about year) without any problems. And yes, it is only adding pressure. Actually I figured this out by pressing one GPU corner with screwdriver(lesson learned:don't press it using your finger, it gets very hot very quickly...) one of my GLOD unit which I had already lost faith to get fixed.
I don't know if this works for all YLOD units just like x-clamp isn't the ultimate fix for RROD but since it's quite simple and cheap it's worth a try.
I also recommend to tighten the screws turn by turn so that one side won't get much more pressure than the other during operation.
And afaik mentioned GLOD is very often GPU problem and YLOD is CPU related.
04-25-2010
04:30 PM
Also if someone would be willing to find the Lowes/Home Depot part number for those in US, that would be greatly appreciated
04-25-2010
04:57 PM
04-25-2010
08:00 PM
Just a warning to people using the heatgun method, i strongly suggest that before
you do that stuff to follow the very first video of "gilksky" which is about
"Fluxing BGA's + Clamp Bending" because if you don't do this before,
you might get YLOD quicker than you think...
Video: YouTube - fluxing ps3 bga's+ clamp bending!
The pen he's using in that video is a cw8400 pen, non clean lead-free flux
from Chemtronics, there are also other flux out there that could be used though...
is to change the solder which is in Lead-free into a Leaded Solder...
And do a complete reballing of the BGA's...
Source: http://www.playbackups.com/Playstati...ga-solder.html
04-25-2010
11:58 PM
Some people are contacting me to tell that this doesn't work for their PS3's. I think issue is very similar to xbox 360 RROD: for some units it is enough just for add pressure but some units needs to be heated also. I can't recall if PS3 could be overheated similar way as xbox during x-clamp operation and I don't have one to test this out. Someone could probably try this and comment here.
And to be clear: I have succesfully repaired 5 units using just washers and all are still running. I have normal daytime job and I do this only for fun to help my friends.
04-26-2010
12:05 AM
Yup I just repaired a YLOD PS3 that came in as well, however I also did apply new TIM.
04-26-2010
04:35 PM
I just tried it on my 60 Gb launch ps3 with ylod and nothing... Fells bad bro
I did notice it ran a little longer than usual before ylod, but that could be from me opening it up and letting some air flow there. I only used the washers.
Good news is that it is "working" like it was before so I can probably try the other method now having lost the fear of opening it.
04-27-2010
12:52 AM
I just tried the washer method on an attempted "heat gun method" one, and still it does nothing, i guess i'll go to see my dude that will reball n resolder with leaded solder
04-27-2010
12:18 PM
Now I tried the method with no heat and washers not happen. I'll try again with warmth and washers
04-27-2010
04:51 PM
Got the YLOD today and tried this method with no luck... I'll move on to the more challenging tutorial...
Edit:
Wow... The washers I used have almost become one with the screws used to hold down the "sprung brackets" had to use the dremel to cut away a washer because the screw stripped - no real damage was caused (that I know of) but i scratched up the insides a little...
I recommend (because Sony is so friggin cheap) even before placing these "sprung bracket" screws back inside their place, to use a dremel and actually make them into flat head screws!
This unique type of screw has a thickness that this can actually work better for because the metal is so soft that it will strip... If you create a flat head slice it will work better...
04-27-2010
11:03 PM
just fixed my ps3 ylod with the heat gun method but when putting it back together did the washer method to now ill just see how it goes sony seems to just cake the thermal paste on the cpu because it was all over the place
04-28-2010
12:46 AM
Those of you who are not having results besure you replace your thermal material with AS5 or any other TIM.
04-28-2010
04:38 AM
This still does not fix the underlying problem...the fact that the solder joints got so hot that they melted...that is why most of the heat gun repairs only work for a little while.
BTW...if you have a YLOD, but the system still boots for a minute or two, it is most likely not the YLOD that this would fix.
04-29-2010
03:21 AM
it fixed my glod for like 10 minutes then gave me ylod
tried to reflow with flux no joy..
04-29-2010
02:02 PM
This method did not work for me.
04-30-2010
08:14 PM
SUCCESS!!! I posted the other day that I had no luck with attempting the easier "washer" tutorial. I decided, forget paying Sony another $150. I purchased from "The Home Depot" the Wagner Heat Gun HT 1000. Item # 024964184774 priced at $22.96 USD. I then purchased from "www.globaltestsupply.com" the Chemtronics CW8400 Lead Free Flux (no clean as well). Item # 5545417 priced at $8.59 USD. I 2-day expedited the shipment so it cost me a little more. I did also have some Arctic Silver 5 lying around from a previous PC build. That would be another $10 from RadioShack (item #28.1099) Total cost was $48.41 USD. Not bad for a MacGyver fix on the PS3?! I also get to keep my 60gb... I truly thank all the talent involved to discover the YLOD fix! Thank you!
05-04-2010
10:17 PM
Used this but did not work,also when after I put back together I did not have the YLOD
...but...i get no video/audio 
I tried doing the debugging mode and still could not see anything...last time i saw it had 3.15 so if anyone wants it and knows how to fix it (ill put it on ebay) you can have this and wait until it gets "hacked",meaning you can upgrade your current one and wait with this one 
(if you can fix it).
05-09-2010
02:54 PM
I'm sorry to hear that many have been unlucky. I have been on vacation abroad so I haven't been able read this forum.
I try to get couple ylod units to research it still more to develope fix although my main focus is now study all those broken kes-400a lasers which I have. There have to be a way to fix them, because they are being sold in ebay by some sellers as refurbished... If someone has fix for them I'd be glad to hear.
To rda990: try to use washers just for GPU if you haven't sold your PS3 already.
08-22-2010
12:15 PM
i didnt even know the ps3 had its own "ring of death"
09-17-2010
05:48 PM
every time i get ylod it takes my @ 2 minutes to fix it
09-21-2010
09:07 PM
How do you fix YLOD in just 2minutes? I'm desperate LOL spent several hours last week doing a reflow... system then worked but it only held up for 1 week. Please let me know your secret : )
reply or PM me plz
09-21-2010
09:13 PM
Sir79 How did you do yours? Did you use a heatgun? Personally If I'm going to DIY then I would use a conventional oven at about 400 425 F. 4 minutes should put some months back on it. Foil off any type of connector you see as well as the smaller chips. If you want it to last longer than you need to also a consider a better way to get it.
09-22-2010
11:18 PM
ok ok 2 minutes its just a saying but it can translate to very easy. at most 10 minutes with not much effort.
first not many people will like the way I do it, you have to remove the original fan make a hole and externally replace it with a PC fan 120 mm 2000rpm fan "cooler master" or better. Them also add and additional heatsink in top of the GPU not too big, optionally a small one in top of the CPU, use also the washers mod then every time you get YLOD just remove the fan re-flow a little bit put the fan back and done. if mine get YLOD I will make a video but I just fixed one week ago.
I also recommend putting a fan on top of the PSU.
- Re-flow under 300c for not more than 2 minutes, you don't want to damage the plastics.
- I inverted the fan to flow air into the ps3 is better I think.
- I did the O ring mod instead of the washers mod.
04-02-2011
09:23 AM
hi guys
i know this thread is old but answer me if you can please
i have a 20 gig ps3 that has ylod and i repaired it months ago with heatgun mod
but now it get that thing again and i cant repair it again with that method
i want to know can i remove cpu and gpu off the board and reflow them again with fresh solder?
does it work or not?
excuses for bad english
04-02-2011
09:35 AM
It is called reballing...and it is not something you do at home (unless you have a lot of high-end tools in your home).
After you reball, fix the fan so it does not overheat and kill the system all over again.
04-02-2011
11:46 AM
i got the 3 beeps flashing red light problem on my 60 giga..not exactly ylod, it still comes back on. I notice playing "heavy" games such as gt5, uncharted or any games 20gb or more in size triggers this, it shuts off on its own with 3 beeps and red flashing lights...any1 know any possible fixes for that? much appreciated!