PS3 RED FLASHING LIGHT HELP!!!!

[Imran]

Hi Guysm,

My beloved 60Gb PS3 (upgraded to 500Gb) turned off automatically whilst playing CODMW2 last night, with a Flashing Red light, turning it back on, it played for a few minutes then went again!

I left it overnight, then took out my hard drive and vacuumed all around the vents and hard drive slot, popped it back in but the same problem, was on for a few mins and then died again! NOW IT WONT EVEN TURN BACK ON!!

I replaced the 500Gb with the original hard drive, and this turned it on for about 10 secs, but then it froze again!! And now it wont turn on!!!

What is this RED FLASHING LIGHT PROBLEM? Is it a problem with the Motherboard or the PSU? [Obviously not the HDD, as that still works fine]

Will Gilksys guide fix it? http://wheretobuyps3.com/YLOD_fix.pdf

He also has step by step Youtube tutorial, but I am unsure this will fix it?? If it will I am happy to go out and buy the bits and bobs to give it a go myself!

Please can someone help me, I am in Yorkshire this weekend, then going back down south on Sunday! Is there anyone local who can help me?

BLOODY SONY, FIRST THE MILLENIUM BUG, NOW THIS

NOT HAPPY!!!

[DejaVu]

Overheating. The paste has prolly dried out on the CPU or GPU's heat sink. Works the same way a PC does...

- http://www.llamma.com/PS3/repair/PS3...y_tutorial.htm

Good luck

You can try Sony, they may sort it for you. But unlikely.

[Imran]

Cheers DejaVu!
Unfortunately the PS3 is over 4 years old! So doubt Sony wil repair it!
Are there any local places I can get it fixed, or get someone to teach me?

Thanks

Imran

[DejaVu]

Seriously been overdoing the COD I reckon! lol

Finding PS3 repairers is hard pushed in my area, dunno about Leeds.

Continuous Play used to be the way forward, but that's stopped now.

So long as your careful and have the right tools you can DIY following the disassembly tutorials. If your not keen on doing it yourself, one of the fella's on here closer to you might be able to help out.

Replacing the Thermal paste is a lot easier than heat blasting the motherboard which I personally wouldn't do unless it was a last resort. Heat blasting is generally for cold solder joints, which I doubt your PS3 is suffering from. I still reckon its just burnt the paste off whilst playing COD!

[blaggard]

Cheers DejaVu!
Unfortunately the PS3 is over 4 years old! So doubt Sony wil repair it!
Are there any local places I can get it fixed, or get someone to teach me?

Thanks

Imran

It was launched in November 2006 so it can't b over 4 years old!!
Buy a new one.

[Imran]

Sorry mate, worked out I bought it in August 2007, when Ghost Recon MW2 was launched!!!

I like my old 60Gb with Memory Card slots, 4 USB ports and shiny black plastic, which matches all my other kit!!

May give it a go and see if I can get it working!

[DejaVu]

TodtheBod had the same issue.

Replaced the Thermal paste and he says it sorted it...

http://boardsus.playstation.com/t5/P.../td-p/34633624

This is his conclusion post after using fans to cool it down! PMSL!

I've been seeing a lot of people have the freezing problem similiar to what I had. I knew it had to be something to do with heat because it would be ok cold. Then after playing for a few minutes I would see weird artifacts in the game but only on certain games. That's what threw me off. Some games were fine but I guess they didn't load the cpu or gpu as much. The more I played the more artifacts I got (even in the XMB a couple of times) to where it would eventually freeze mid game and wouldn't even load a movie or game until it cooled off. I deleted game data and reformatted and it still did it. It was one of those things where it just started a few months ago and froze like maybe once in a 2 week span. Then it moved up to once per week. I didn't think anything of it until it started once per day and eventually got to where it wouldn't go over 10 minutes without freezing. I took it apart and cleaned the laser lens with no luck. Then I thought about the cpu load so I got a fan from wal-mart and pointed it at the vents on the side. Then it would let me play for a couple of hours before freezing. I took it apart and the paste that they had on the chips didn't look very good. Some dried pieces where actually hanging down touching the motherboard. I put the new paste on and it seemed to work. The weird thing is that if the cpu/gpu was overheating enough to freeze a game then why wasn't the fan ever on full blast before it froze. I think the ps3 fan has 5 speeds (the fastest being loud as hell you wouldn't believe it if you've never heard it.) but previously my fan never sounded like it got over the 2nd speed. Maybe the paste was throwing off the temp sensors for the chip becuase I never got a system shutdown/fault for overheating, just freezing. When I put the new paste on the fan will now go up to whatever speed is necessary and back down in speed or off if necessary. It never did that before. Just something to think about for everyone with freezing systems that are out of warranty. I'll keep everybody updated on how (if) it keeps running.

[blaggard]

Sorry mate, worked out I bought it in August 2007, when Ghost Recon MW2 was launched!!!

I like my old 60Gb with Memory Card slots, 4 USB ports and shiny black plastic, which matches all my other kit!!

May give it a go and see if I can get it working!

If it was a 360 it would have been repaired under warranty
Sony charge about £140 I think so worth a try yourself if it's just a re-paste.

[Imran]

Yeah Sony are charging me £131 for a refurbished one with 3 month warranty, so I was aiming to go to Asda and pick up a 120Gb with Final Fantasy for £217 + £37 for the game! Unfortunately all the Asdas are blooming sold out!!

So may goto Costco and pick one up for £235 with unlimited warranty apparently???? Well thats according to the girl on the phone are Costco Leeds.

[DejaVu]

In that case... Open your old one and at least try! lol

[blaggard]

Unlimited warranty? buuuuahahahahahaha!

[Imran]

Bloody Hell! Just been to Costco, got amembership, and they told me they were out of stock! Bar stewards!! There was a master plan to stop me using my beloved PS3 today!!

[prezzy]

So may goto Costco and pick one up for £235 with unlimited warranty apparently???? Well thats according to the girl on the phone are Costco Leeds.

I go Costco in Leeds loads - they are fucking mint, not so sure about unlimited warranty though.

On Merchandise: We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell with a full refund.Costco is first quality and guaranteed by a full refund from Costco and where available, is covered by the manufacturer's warranty. We will refund your annual membership fee at any time if you are not fully satisfied.

(Effective 7th May 2008 , Costco will accept returns within 90 days from the date of purchase for the following items: Televisions, Projectors, Computers, Cameras, Camcorders, iPod/MP3 players and Mobile phones. In addition Costco also extends the Manufacturers warranty to 5 years on Televisions and 2 years on Computers and Camcorders. All other products are subject to the remaining manufacturer's warranty.)

[prezzy]

Also out of interest what are you going to do with your old one if you are not going to try and fix it?

[AxE]

Costco worth being a member and worth paying a visit?

[prezzy]

Costco worth being a member and worth paying a visit?

I think so, go once or twice a month and pick up food / wine / beer

Can pick up some real bargains on electrical stuff so long as you know what your looking for and how much it is elsewhere.

The AAA matured steaks from Costco are fucking quality

[Imran]

I am gonna, open up the 60Gb and try and next weekend.

Decided I want one with an extneded warranty sowill probably purchase it from Amazon when they have their bundles back on, or from Asda if they improve their 250Gb bundle!

Actually dont know how long I can last without a PS3 so may end up picking one up in the west end! lol