2 Red Lights.. again

[DaMack]

God owning a 360 is real hard work!

My 360 got the three red lights again so I opened it up to fix it up and the motherboard was so warped under the GPU and CPU the damn board musta been a couple of centimeters down I had to loosen the GPU and CPU heatsink screws to straighten it out.

I guess the clamp fix is out of the question if I tighten the screws even a little the damn thing warps like all hell it looks like the board is going to snap under the CPU and GPU so I loosened it and it got the 2 red lights. Only problem is now I've "progressed" to the 2 red lights and my 2 red lights error is funny instead of waiting to heat up as soon as I switch on my 360 it flashes the middle green light then gets to the 2 red lights error within maybe 5 seconds.

It isn't very dusty and the fan spins up to full speed(before coming to a halt as the 2 red light error kicks in) so I don't think it's a dust or fan problem. Like I said I had to loosen up the CPU and GPU heatsink so I didn't put the little Torx 9 screws that hold the motherboard to the bottom of the case on incase I warped the motherboard so it may be that but I'm also purchasing some thermal paste, I just wanted to know if anybody had any ideas I could throw at the equation.

By the way is this thermal paste suitable:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?moduleno=32417

Thanks.

[wonka]

i had 2 red lights i replaced the pads on the memory chips with new ones and has been ok since maybe worth a try

[evilsatan]

Xecuter fix and Xclamp fix is definately worth a go mate. 2 red lights after 5 seconds won't mean it is actually overheating unless maybe there is no contact between the chips and heatsinks.

Herman is the man to ask though.

[Mario87]

Read this thread. Could be a number of things really.

Could be your washers are too thick, could be the screws you used for the X-clamp fix are not tight enough....

TBH, sounds like the screws are not tight enough because you say that if you tighen them then the board warps again, so I'm assuming you are leaving them loose to prevent the warping which is in turn causing 2RL due to the heatsinks not making proper contact.

[bbshark]

I had the same problem when i was doing the xclamp on mine. I found that the heat sinks was not touching the chips so they wasnt doing their job and it gave me 3 red lights. I had to change the washers to make sure there was less room and they did make contact. They only need to be tight enough so that the heat sinks dont move.
After this i still got the 2 red lights so i left it turned on for about 20 mins and then let it cool for another 20 mins. Been working ever since.

[DaMack]

Thanks guys I apprecaite the advice.

I've been messing around trying to get an error code and its basically telling me the CPU and GPU are over heating.

I messed around with the screws and came across something interesting. The CPU heats up to extreme temperatures literally in seconds. I went through the motions again and the 360 was on, went 2 red lights and I touched the heatsink it was very hot the CPU is heating up to extreme temperatures in seconds. It can't be normal.

Under further inspection I've found one of the small brown things soldered to the board has broken off so I think I'm pretty much looking at a write off here.

I got it to work before but I think this time it's not going to work I must have broke something necessary. After a bit more fiddling I'll probably go see if I can get a new 360. I need to find a way to make these damn things more reliable either I'm the unluckiest guy in the world or the 360 was designed to constantly fail.

A question: If I get a used 360 off ebay will the 3 year warranty still be intact?

[Mario87]

The CPU is heating up to extreme temperatures in seconds. It can't be normal.

Under further inspection I've found one of the small brown things soldered to the board has broken off so I think I'm pretty much looking at a write off here.

Mate, with CPU's and GPU's of this caliber it is VERY normal for them to heat up to extreme temps in seconds when they dont have the proper cooling (no fans/heatsinks fitted).

As for the little brown thing that is a capacitor, and can be replaced.

[DaMack]

Mate, with CPU's and GPU's of this caliber it is VERY normal for them to heat up to extreme temps in seconds when they dont have the proper cooling (no fans/heatsinks fitted).

As for the little brown thing that is a capacitor, and can be replaced.

Wow thats pretty amazing I had no idea they got that hot that fast I was blown away and even a little scared

So I need to replace the capacitor? Until I replace the capacitor what kind of problems would I have?

I'm just thinking replacing the capacitor may be beyond me, is it possible that could be causing the two red lights?

[Mario87]

So I need to replace the capacitor? Until I replace the capacitor what kind of problems would I have?

I'm just thinking replacing the capacitor may be beyond me, is it possible that could be causing the two red lights?

Dunno mate, depends what capacitor it is.

[DaMack]

It's one right next to the CPU. Basically I needed the pliers to unscrew the screws holding the heat sinks on and it broke off.

I appreciate the help by the way man thanks.

[Mario87]

Dunno mate, there are a hell of a lot of caps near the CPU. A pic might help. Even so, I dont know the ratings of them and therefore wouldn't be able to tell you what to get.

[DaMack]

Ok cool thanks.

I'm going to get back to this project at a later date if I can fix this it's obviously not going to be as easy as I thought.

I'll have to get a new 360 for my little brother in the meanwhile though so I'm going to have to give my attention to flashing that.

Thanks for the help guys I appreciate it.

[plug1]

Thought this worth adding , i find the easyest way to reflow the gpu -
remove the case ,unplug the fan ,cover the gpu heatsink with a tee towel ,place a weight (1K i use) ontop evenly ( i use a wooden block cut slightly bigger than the hs.
tun it on till you get 2 light instaed of three , pull the power then boot it again , you might get 3 lights or it may boot ok
repeat till it boots ok and wait for it to go 2 red lights, giv it one more reeboot till 2 lights. then let it cool (about 30 mins) dont remove the weight or towel . power again till 2 red lights , then wait about another 10 b4 you do same again , now wait for it fully cool , works for me most times you just need to get the timing right or it will just go back to 3rl after a while
good luck .
Plug

[daz73]

towel trick seems to be the way for me lately..

[Mario87]

Personally I wouldn't do the towel trick. It's purposely causing the CPU & GPU to overheat (not a good thing) and the heat is only focussed on those sections of the board.

At least use a hot air gun where you can bring the temp of entire board up to the same level to prevent thermal stress on the PCB. IMO a hot air gun is MUCH, MUCH safer than wrapping a towel around it and/or unplugging the fans. Probably more reliable too!

You can pick up a hot air gun for about £20, so why not? I'm sure it'll come in handy for other things too.

The only time I ever wrap a towel around the 360 or unplug the fans to make it overheat is if I want to give the thing 3RL, not fix it.

[bbshark]

Well me and my big mouth. I got 3rl again

Oh well off comes to the clamp and ill redo it