PS3 flashing red light

[russbeer]

Just bought a ps3 off ebay and set it up, its as quiet as a mouse, then after about 5 minutes it switches itself off and beeps 3 times whilst flashing a red light at me... whats going on?!?

[Mario87]

Flashing red light means its overheating!!

Is it out of warranty? If so then either open it up and try cleaning it out, or go to http://www.continuousplay.co.uk/ and setup an account for £4.99 per month (like insurance with Sony directly), then call Sony tell them the problem, get them to replace it and then cancel it after you have your new console!

You have to give them 2 weeks notice to cancel. Its hassle, but it will only cost you £4.99!

They dont charge you any extra for claimng and you can claim as many times as you like without voiding your policy or upping what you have to pay.

My warranty ran out on my PS3 so im gonna start paying for this incase something happens to it. They swap it at your door for a new or refurb console of the exact same spec (even the discontinued 60GB) just like they do when its still in warranty and it also covers accidental damage, so you might want to keep it for a couple of months after they replace it just in case?

[russbeer]

Fuckin hell, what could be the cause of it? There's a very quiet "brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" noise for 15 seconds before it goes off

[Mario87]

That is quite strange! are the fans working at all? Because if they are then you would expect them to speed up like on those "fan test" vids posted a while back.

Has it been opened before? Look at the bottom (when its vertical) and check to see if the warranty sticker is still there.

If its been opened before and the fans are not working then maybe the guy that opened it forgot to plug them back in?? Or maybe the fans are just fried?

[wakadoo]

take it back.........

[MonkeySputum]

This happened to mine in December, I phoned sony and they said it was a firmware problem. If it's stil under warranty get it replaced, if not, format the drive and see if that works.

[Mario87]

take it back.........

Im guessing he bought it 2nd hand. But all depends on how much he paid, etc.

If he got it dirt cheap and is willing to go through a bit of hassle to get it sorted then do that.

But if he paid full whack for it then as you say, take it back and buy one from your local Comet, etc.

Less hassle if it goes wrong.

EDIT:

You might find this interesting.

hey yesterday i woke up to bad news, i turned on my ps3 by the swich in the back and about 2 seconds later it beeped three times and the red light started flashing. after trying to turn it on for about 1/2 an hour i realized that it wasnt going to turn on...

i did some searching on the web and found nothing but 360 had the same problem. heres the interesting thing i found a ''fix'', all i did was take out the hard disk, and turn it on to get my game out. then i put the HD back in and turned it on. it worked. i booted up a game and the same damn red flashing light came back on.

i repeated the steps and checked to see it the game would work now, and it did! im currently useing my ps3 to write this. i wanted to let you guys over at QJ.net because i couldnt find a fix anywere and maybe if you post this ill end up helping someone else.

So might be a dodgy HDD??

[wakadoo]

yeah dont get me wrong i hope he got it cheap and that the fault was stated in the ad and not that he paid for a working console and and has been ripped off......

[russbeer]

took out the hdd, and blown around a bit, no difference.

Done the fan test, that worked ok, but still no joy.

Done the quick format of the drive too, still nothing.

I got it from a bloke off Ebay, not a company, no reciept, no g'tee.

Although i picked it up from his house, so......

[QfanatiQ]

They swap it at your door for a new or refurb console of the exact same spec (even the discontinued 60GB) just like they do when its still in warranty and it also covers accidental damage, so you might want to keep it for a couple of months after they replace it just in case?

Thats some dan good info, cheers!

Im guessing he bought it 2nd hand. But all depends on how much he paid, etc.

If he got it dirt cheap and is willing to go through a bit of hassle to get it sorted then do that.

But if he paid full whack for it then as you say, take it back and buy one from your local Comet, etc.

Less hassle if it goes wrong.

EDIT:

You might find this interesting.

So might be a dodgy HDD??

Also good to know, can try. This is the first case i have read on a sony going wrong.

took out the hdd, and blown around a bit, no difference.

Done the fan test, that worked ok, but still no joy.

Done the quick format of the drive too, still nothing.

I got it from a bloke off Ebay, not a company, no reciept, no g'tee.

Although i picked it up from his house, so......

It is up to you, but this seems all to quick for it to be a accident.

Good luck

Q

[Mario87]

took out the hdd, and blown around a bit, no difference.

Done the fan test, that worked ok, but still no joy.

Done the quick format of the drive too, still nothing.

I got it from a bloke off Ebay, not a company, no reciept, no g'tee.

Although i picked it up from his house, so......

Try this.

Hard Reset procedure for the PS3 (as instructed by Sony CS).

Be sure to backup your settings/games saves by doing a System > Backup on your PS3 or you may lose your game saves! Also, this is a last resort procedure prior to exchanging/returning to sony.

1. Power Off the PS3 via the power switch in back and power back on w/switch.

2. Hold Power Button on the Front until you hear 3 beeps.

3. Then go through the initial setup and then run a full Format via System > Format. (will take approx 3 1/1 hours). You may need to have our AV cables ready if your using HDMI (in case HDMI isn't detected after initial reset).

4. Restore your backup you made prior to doing factory/hard reset (optional, if you created a backup).

Hopefully this will solve your freezing problems.

That will "hard reset" your PS3, if that dont fix it then its a hardware issue!

[russbeer]

Update on this guys...

Called Sony Customer Services and they are dropping me a new one off next week. Straight away when i said what the fault was the girl on the other end said it was a power issue and said to swap it straight away.

Alls well that ends well i guess. I'll shatter that guys knees if i ever see him again though!

Thanks to all involved. Big up to Herman

[Mario87]

Glad you got it sorted mate!

[Simate]

Glad you got it sorted mate!

Nice one for the help you gave out. K+

[Mario87]

Cheers mate, thats what DF is all about!