[Nichibotsu]

very nice work! anyway the zinc is to prevent oxidation, as copper oxide is way less conductive than zinc : ) just tell me what should i change, and i'll have it done... or if you prefer, i can provide you the original file, modify it and then send it either to me or to KillerBug to upload it : )

[KillerBug]

Copper doesn't oxidize when it is covered in thermal compound; that is why the heatsinks in many models have copper bases.

[pereb27]

Yo.
I finished lapping. I have to say, this was a pain. And my fingers need to recover because I lapped them too in the process >.<

So, here are some pics of RSX IHS lapping, die-side.
I started by checking how good the contact was between IHS-die, as suggested by @KillerBug :


Not too good, but could be worse.

Started lapping, thinking since the heatsink side of the IHS was warped towards the edge, the die side should be warped towards the center. I was quickly proven wrong :


For obvious reasons, instead of using 60, 120, 180 and 280 grit to flatten it, I used 120, 280, 400 and 800 grit. After flattening it I did a bit more lapping at 800 grit before going higher :



I skipped 1200 grit and went for 1500 straight after :


Finally 2000 :
7

I then proceeded to check how good the die-IHS contact was again. As expected, it got a bit worse :


So I sanded down then lapped each side, one by one (looks ugly now, but I can live with it xD) giving me the much better result of :

(Those marks I wrote are there because I got a better contact in that position than if rotated 90º)

It was my first time lapping a heatsink, and I think I haven't done a perfect job but I also doubt I could have done it much better.

Well now I am mad because the MX-4 I ordered Monday still hasn't arrived to my local shop! They said they'll have it around the middle of next week.
Impatient as I am, I used the leftover MX-4 I had and some cheap white paste. I only have MX-4 between RSX IHS and heatsink. both dies and the Cell heatsink have cheap white paste on them (Titan Nano if that rings a bell).

I assembled it and started to run tests. I'm not sure how long that cheap white paste takes to cure, or how bad it performs compared to MX-4, but right now I am getting very close (probably just slightly worse) results than before lapping with MX-4 everywhere. Level 2 on XMB (haven't heard it at level 3 there so far though), level 3 when playing a game (PS2 or PS3, haven't tested PS1). The exhaust air seems very slightly cooler than before I did this, but it's still almost as hot.

I am expecting a better result once I get my MX-4 and get rid of the cheap white paste, but I don't know if it will be enough to keep the fan at level 2 when playing a game, which is my original goal. Still it should run cooler than it used to which is always good to have.

EDIT : Just found this. And thanks to that, I'm still hoping for level 2 fan max after applying MX-4 :





13ºC (about 23ºF) difference between Titan Nano and MX-3! MX-4 isn't in that test, but it most likely performs even better xD

[KillerBug]

Looks good...you should have your finger prints back soon.

[torresjoel]

Someone wrote a tutorial for a PS3 oven reflow , it is really good, just look at it.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-...oven/?ALLSTEPS

[KillerBug]

Originally Posted by torresjoel Someone wrote a tutorial for a PS3 oven reflow , it is really good, just look at it. http://www.instructables.com/id/How-...oven/?ALLSTEPS

There is a nice tutorial here as well; it is the sticky right under this thread:
http://www.ps3hax.net/showthread.php?t=30305

[asakayosapro]

Hello guys..

I had just ventured into getting a PS3 for a cheap $50.

Unfortunately, this ps3 (original fat 60GB version) had undergone what seemed to have been quite the load of abuse; cracked side and bottom covers, as well as snapped / broken screw headers. The insides were somewhat dented - not bad enough to break anything, but have slight bending of the motherboard, aluminum cover and heatsink as well as fan; which btw was stuck. The dustballing was moderate, though.

Initial symptoms: Would not power on; not sure if it is mobo or power supply, so used a regular PC PSU to power the 12v to the two large pins and 5v to the 5-pin header.

inb4 that, how does i test that darn power supply? Both fuses on it are ok...

Using the computer power supply (after unbending the mobo cover, fan and heatsink assemblies), the system would light green, then three-beeps and flashing red light (with the blue alternately flashing dimly). The fan would spin then stop as if it only got a few miliseconds of power.

Was tested with no cables or controllers (does this matter?).

I am soon to receive a massive general purpose reworking kit (hot air rework station, reballing station and a huge batch of reballing stencils, and i do have the ones for the PS3, as well as soldering paste and balls (i wonder what size the balls are for the ps3 BGAs; the ones i am getting are 0.7mm if i remember correctly). Getting this kit because i have plans to start a general electronics repair business venture.

Hot Air Reworking Station

Stencil batch

Now for the big questions:

Which parts should i get concerned about when getting that error? (with the exception of power supply)

If i am going to reflow this board, is it only the main CPU / GPUs, or do i have to also redo the other two metalcapped chips? And are there any other onboard chips i need to reflow / reball as well?

How do i test the power supply board itself? (do i have to apply voltage to that 5-pin 5v header / cable? If i remember correctly they were labeled 5v, gnd and standby 3v unless i am wrong..)

Thanks for any help, guys.

[pereb27]

When reflowing, you only do the CPU/GPU. Also if you're going to get a reball station, your best bet is reball the GPU (99% of YLOD comes from GPU). However if there is physical damage to the console who knows if it'll ever power on again.
The slightly bent motherboard is normal, it happens after a few years of use, because of moisture. People usually bake it in the oven at 80C for a few hours to straighten it. If you reball you will be heating the whole board (on the bottom at least) so it should help straighten it, but probably not completely.

[asakayosapro]

It powers on when i use a PC PSU and apply 12v and 5v to the appropriate terminals. It just gives me the FRLoD. not sure if it is my PC PSU not giving it enough amperage juice or it's the motherboard. And i don't have a definite way of knowing if this PS3's power supply board is really busted.

This PS3 was an as-is $50 from a guy who kept it in his car trunk ever since it malfunctioned; that was the primary reason for the external damage and internal bending - not bad enough to break anything on the system board but kept the fan from spinning.

I took it apart all the way from the still-then-intact warranty sticker to the bare board, and there is no sign of any overheating or any previous reflow work - essentially a nice little virgin board with a nasty problem and past signs of abuse and neglect.

In the process, I found a rather unusual way to take out the warranty sticker without 'voiding' it; it's just a matter of taking a heat gun to it - and careful peeling.

I did also have some partial break-offs on the onboard coil ferrite (the iron-filled ceramic used in inductors, etc.) but even with that, it still managed to pull an FRLoD.

Tested the HDD on the SATA power conn. from the PC PSU, and it seems fine - no head wiggling, scratching or clunking. Not data-accessing it for now.

There are really no other components i can try to check on except the RSX and CELL proc chips for this problem?

[pereb27]

Hello, I'm back xD
After waiting 1 month, my MX-4 FINALLY arrived two days ago... They were out of stock and their suppliers had no work for like a week

Anyway I applied it on my PS3's chips, and it works wonderfully so far.
The first day I played about 3 hours and the fan never went above level 2 in PS1-PS3 mode. Hell, it stayed at level 1 for 10 minutes after booting it and running a PS3 game straight away!
After those 3 hours playing PS1/PS3 games, I put a PS2 game and it went to level 3 in 15 mins. I think this is pretty good since it didn't reach level 3 at all before going PS2 mode (which is known to make BC ps3's run a bit hotter). The room air was a little warm but not so much.

Yesterday tried it again, about 4 hours with PS1/PS3 games, then another hour playing PS2 games, it stayed at level 2 the entire time! :D Although the room air was a bit cooler than the day before, but not by much, I don't think that's what made the difference. Probably the thermal paste burn-in (I don't believe that MX-4 has no burn-in at all, makes no sense to me, I think it just burns in quickly and performs good enough before burning in).

Same thing today, played in PS2 mode for about an hour, level 2 all the time.
I'm very happy with the result, however this is winter... I'm thinking that if it goes level 3 again next summer, I might try making the PSU external.

But for now this is more than enough :D I can enjoy my upscaled/smoothed PS2 games without the annoying noise the level 3 fan gives me xD All I can say is...