PS3 no repair :o(

Justin

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Seasons greetings to one and all.
Thanks to the incredibly kind scrappysphinx I received a very poorly PS3 to have a tinker with.
This is not a YLOD machine it is a RLOD (red, green, yellow then flashing red) this means it has a general hardware failure:(.
Now I must admit to not being too hopeful with this as the first thing I noticed is stuff rattled around inside the PS3, but undeterred I carried on and started stripping the machine, more bad news there are various screws missing and some address label type stickers placed across the case joints.
Once the case was off it got worse, the inside of the case had loads of plastic bits floating around and all of the internal screws were missing, the heatsink and fan were completely clogged up with dust, carpet, hair and flakes of skin (mmmmm yummy!). Also the shielding was bent and scratched.
Ah well press on, remove the shielding and find......really cheap and nasty copious amounts of thermal paste all over the chips and board, I'm guessing about 1/2 a tube per chip, also the board was covered in dry sugary coffee and worse than this there is a SMD superglued to the motherbaord!!!.
Well I reflowed the chips, but new thermal paste on, cleaned up everything, replaced the missing screws and re-assembled and guess what happened!!??..........
Yep no difference, I think this will need a new motherboard but also new ribbons as the ones in this PS3 have had a screw put through them:blink:.
The blu-ray drive may be OK, but the firmware would have to match the motherboard so it would probably be cheaper to buy a new PS3, but then where's the fun in that? I shall have another go at this beast over the weekend, anyone know how to safely remove superflued SMDs? :)

cheers, JuvUK
 

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some more piccies
 

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my god, this looks awfull! LOL
good luck restoring this, but I fear it is dead now, the previous "repair" was obviously it's tombstone...
 
yeah i'm not that confident myself the superglued SMD is my biggest concern as i can't think how to remove it without damaging it :(
 
that one is priceless... ya hear that Z??? no moar solder, only GLUE! LOL
 
Superglue can be softened by acetone, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) or (if you can locate some) nitromethane.

Acetone is nail varnish remover. MEK is sometimes sold as a pre-cleaner for PVC pipes before you solvent weld them. Nitromethane is sometimes sold as an additive for glow plug engines in the RC market.

Nitromethane is by far the best one to use and works quite quickly. I know this as one company I worked for used to make superglue in one division and we were regularly called upon for advice with the following:-

1. Old ladies stuck to loo seats :wooha:.
2. Grooms-to-be or mugger's victims with their hands stuck around lamp posts.
3. Stupid knobs, who have glued their hands to the counter at the local Social Security office because their welfare cheque hasn't arrived "Well, I'm staying here until it does!".
4. Secretaries who have lost a false nail and had glued their hands to their eyes after poking a needle into a tube of superglue whilst squeezing it; you can guess what happened next...

Now for the best one...

I used to do a lot of work for offshore companies and our glue was supplied as part of an "Instant O-Ring Seal Kit" along with some strips of rubber that could be cut and glued to make a seal. Anyway, we took an emergency ship-to-shore phone call from a Norwegian platform who had a guy in the Medical Unit who had had an accident with our glue. I worked in the lab at the time and the lab always took medical advice calls, as we had all information to hand.

They requested emergency advice, so I said "Soak the affected area in warm soapy water and try to gently peel the areas apart with something blunt like the handle of a spoon. If this doesn't work, then eventually the body's natural fluids will start to break it down." At this point there was uproar and laughing on the other end of the line and I realised I was on a speakerphone. "Is there something you aren't telling me, what area is affected?" It turned out than an engineer had been taken short during a repair and had glued his hand to his crotch, and they were seriously thinking about getting a helicopter in to fly him out for treatment!!

:LOL:
 
@ JuvUK

Have you got access to an ultrasonic cleaner? The damage looks like damage from a cola spill to me. Unless you can get it to an ultrasonic bath you aren't going to get it clean enough, especially under the BGAs and SMDs.

Cola is also corrosive so it's imperative you get it clean first.
 
Last edited:
@ Merlin,
you're right m8 it could well be Cola (I haven't tried tasting it)
and no, unfortunately i don't have access to a ultrasonic cleaner :(
 
@Juvvy, sorry mateythe PS3 came from a friend of mine.
He swore to me that although he'd opened the case he'd not attempted any repairs.
If i'd have known it was that bad bud i would have ust binned it.

Mike
 
@ Merlin,
you're right m8 it could well be Cola (I haven't tried tasting it)
and no, unfortunately i don't have access to a ultrasonic cleaner :(

LMFAO ROFL and other accronyms that emphasise how funny I found this :)
 
My sense of humor is twisted, but I thought the cola tasting comment was hilarious :)
 
To be honest, it looks to me like a 13 year old has tried to repair it and has found him/herself crushed by the weight of epic fail. :blink:

Hopefully the person won't have tried hammering the Blu-Ray drive to try and fix it, so there may still be some useable spares out of it.
 
missed repair

missed repair

It is just a failed "magic" repair.

There is a structure in the "repaired" areas. It is no damage because of some fluid. It is something applied to it.

Had many laptops in the past, coffee, coca cola etc.. it has no structure, just where it leaked, :)
 
@ JuvUK

Have you got access to an ultrasonic cleaner? The damage looks like damage from a cola spill to me. Unless you can get it to an ultrasonic bath you aren't going to get it clean enough, especially under the BGAs and SMDs.

Cola is also corrosive so it's imperative you get it clean first.

I've heard of some people sticking their Amiga boards in the dishwasher... I found it strange but it's true and maybe this would work with a PS3 board? (if it's built well and robust like a Miggy one :)).

...Just an idea :cool:
 
@ JuvUK

Have you got access to an ultrasonic cleaner? The damage looks like damage from a cola spill to me. Unless you can get it to an ultrasonic bath you aren't going to get it clean enough, especially under the BGAs and SMDs.

Cola is also corrosive so it's imperative you get it clean first.

I've heard of some people sticking their Amiga boards in the dishwasher... I found it strange but it's true and maybe this would work with a PS3 board? (if it's built well and robust like a Miggy one :)).

...Just an idea :cool:

you know something?

that's not a bad idea!!(y)
 
@ JuvUK

You aren't going to lose anything by trying it, anyway. There is a risk that the "superglued" parts may come off, so I would recommend a cool cycle.
 
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