YLOD: PS3 Repair experience?

I got it fixed by Moe. Good guy, he has done tons of the same YLOD repair and works for Sony so I know he did his job. Good price, permanant fix for $60 bucks and told me to come back if there were problems. The PS3 works perfect but really it does sound like a hair dryer lol. Apparently it will take a few months of good use for it to quiet down and I hope so because in my small room, you can't hear anything else at night. He also got it done in 2 hours!!

Considered getting mine fixed but the shop I talked to said the PS3 would probably last a couple of months. Furthermore my buddy got his done and it sounds like a jet. I will put my money towards a new console. Shame because I loved my 60G Phat... RIP.

Hi,
Wanted to share my experience.

My PS3 randomly died when it was just sitting there downloading something from PSN. Basically it has the YLOD. It was hard for me to believe at first, because it wasn't doing anything that would make it particularly hot, so I thought it must be an HDD issue. Taking the HDD out and putting it back in did not work (there are youtube videos that show it can). Turning the PS3 on without one also doesn't work. Technically it should, the PS3 should just tell you there is no HDD and sit at some screen.

A bit more digging on the internet and info from reputable sources, and the YLOD is in fact, almost 99% of the time caused by either the GPU or the main processor having a bad solder joint. From what I understand, the lead-free solder can get brittle over time, so all the joints would have to be re-done. But what people usually do is try to heat up the board to reset the joint (reflow board).

There are several methods of doing this. One is the fan, which I would advise against because you can damage the console. I think this method does not involve taking it apart. Second one is the heat gun, which involves flowing heat over the bare motherboard in the areas you are trying to reflow. The third method is baking it in the oven, which is what I plan to do.

Basically, you watch some online videos about how to take the thing apart (it's a bit intimidating). Careful with the ribbon clips, they need to first gently be flipped up from the edge, and then the ribbon can be removed. Keep all stages of your process in plastic bags and labelled. If you are going to bake, make sure to remove the motheboard battery (the one that runs the clock when the console is off), otherwise things go BOOM.

I also did some digging and found that PS3 failure rate is 10% after 2 years of use (study from 2009). So the YLOD is quite common for the PHAT consoles, and it seems it can be arbitrary how it happens. My PS3 was clean from dust when I opened it, and the thermal paste looked okay. Mind you I still haven't fixed it so maybe I pinned down the wrong issue, but all signs point to one of the MB chips failing. (forgot to mention, I have the 40 GB FAT and had it for about 4 years and 2 months).

As far as the YLOD fix itself, your PS3 will eventually die again (best case a few months). So this fix is mostly for people who can't go out and buy a new one immediately, or simply want to get stuff from their HDD. (myself for example, I forgot all the emails my JP and HK accounts link to, so I'll need those to restore content on the new PS3 I buy). You could always fix it and try to trade it in, but that's kind of a douche move as someone will just get your broken PS3. I guess it really comes down to a question of morals.

My plan is to buy a new PS3, 320 gig slim, probably this uncharted bundle one, seems worth it, for ~300. Still a bit steep since my original cost me just under 400, but it is what it is.

I hope this overview was helpful to anyone who experiences issues. Feel free to PM if you need some more tips, I can try to let you guys know how baking it went, but if you want success stories just check youtube. My colleague at work actually recommended this method, as he said he was able to fix a laptop MB this way, and also some people have been successful with fixing faulty graphics cards. The oven method is better as it distributes heat evenly as opposed to the heat-gun method, and it's cheaper. You might want to use a friend's oven though (also a question of morals) :P, as you never know what gasses are evolving from the board as you cook it.

Cheers!

Edit:
So it worked!
It seemed arbitrary but let me tell you when that green light came on and stayed on, it felt quite good.
Feel free to PM me for some tips.

Well, looks like I've officially joined the YLOD club.
My 80gb PS3 (bought back in 2008) died on me early this morning while I was watching Jackie Chan Adventures on crackle.com. I tried to reboot it as usual but it just won't activate at all. It gave me a quick green light, then flashed to yellow and settles on blinking red light. After checking with playstation.com, I concluded that it needs to be taken in for repair services. Called Sony and they refused to fix my system since the sticker on the back with the serial number is missing. The sticker slid off the system a few months ago. I never modified my PS3 in any way, shape or form.

Someone recommended gamerama but reading reviews on the place, I think I'll pass. Thankfully, I just went to this forum and found out about this Moe fella. I'm gonna call him right away and consult with him. I hope to get this done ASAP. I still need to finish Uncharted 3. (I'm at like 90% of the game already!)

Also, this thread needs to stay on top.

tinlunlau wrote: ↑Well, looks like I've officially joined the YLOD club.
My 80gb PS3 (bought back in 2008) died on me early this morning while I was watching Jackie Chan Adventures on crackle.com. I tried to reboot it as usual but it just won't activate at all. It gave me a quick green light, then flashed to yellow and settles on blinking red light. After checking with playstation.com, I concluded that it needs to be taken in for repair services. Called Sony and they refused to fix my system since the sticker on the back with the serial number is missing. The sticker slid off the system a few months ago. I never modified my PS3 in any way, shape or form.

Someone recommended gamerama but reading reviews on the place, I think I'll pass. Thankfully, I just went to this forum and found out about this Moe fella. I'm gonna call him right away and consult with him. I hope to get this done ASAP. I still need to finish Uncharted 3. (I'm at like 90% of the game already!)

Also, this thread needs to stay on top.

You wouldn't want to deal with Sony anyway, in my experience it was expensive and it got the YLOD again after the repair warranty expired.

veejam wrote: ↑You wouldn't want to deal with Sony anyway, in my experience it was expensive and it got the YLOD again after the repair warranty expired.

Yeah, I read about their $50 shipping costs and etc.
They'd send my system back anyway since the sticker on the back slipped off my system a few months ago. I talked to Moe and he seems to be very knowledgeable. I'll get it fixed from him in a week or two when my next cheque arrives.

Knock on wood, but I must be one of the lucky ones. I'm still running the original PS3 fat when they first came out and I have had no issues at all. And it has probably logged well over a thousand hours of gaming and movies.

Any suggestions for place to fix it in Montreal?

Just got my PS3 back from Moe and he fixed it good. The fan is a bit too noisy but it'll do for now. It'll quiet down in time. I'm having alot of trouble browsing through crackle.com, though but it's been like this before the system YLOD'd. Sp whatever...I'm just glad that I'm back on Playstation. The last few days has been tough without it..

My 40GB PS3 (fat) got the YLOD while trying to pair my Vita with it. It froze and then refused to start back up.

I was planning to get it repaired but sounds like this issue will eventually come back and is a design flaw with the fat models. So, new plan is just buying a new 320GB slim. At least FS has the 320GB Uncharted bundle on sale for $250 this week.

For those who have had their PS3s fixed by Moe, is it still loud?

If not, how long did it take before it quieted down?

Hey it's been about 2 months now and I don't think I've played all that much but I have been playing for hours at a time sporadically. It is still pretty loud but the system works flawless. It has gotten just a tiny tiny bit quieter but I really haven't noticed much of a change. Any other people on here got their's fixed by moe and is now quiet?

Does anybody have Moe's contact? My PS3 YLOD last Friday. I read about his services here but unable to reach him. Also seems his Kijiji ads are gone. Thanks.

bumboclott wrote: ↑Hey, do you have the address and phone number for Global GSM? Their website seems to be down and I want them to save my PS3.

Thanksnon advance!

Do not trust global gsm/mtech the guy is a ****ing crook he ripped me off and made my ps3 worse than when I took it in.

Ah, can't find Moe anymore!

Just when I was getting ready to contact him.

Has anyone here ever gone to Sony for their expensive repairs? How long did the repairs last?

They quoted me $202 for repairs, which included tax & shipping. It seems steep, but I'm thinking that at least they'll have the right parts for replacement and trained people to make the repairs, and they won't dick me around with all the hidden costs like the CL and indie store repair people seem to do.

It seems like a lot of people experiences with indie repair guys have not worked out all that well. I don't want to pay $100-150 for repairs that only last six months.

If Sony's repairs last for a few years, then I think the expense is worth it. So I'm looking for feedback.

DonburiBoy wrote: ↑Ah, can't find Moe anymore!

Just when I was getting ready to contact him.

Has anyone here ever gone to Sony for their expensive repairs? How long did the repairs last?

They quoted me $202 for repairs, which included tax & shipping. It seems steep, but I'm thinking that at least they'll have the right parts for replacement and trained people to make the repairs, and they won't dick me around with all the hidden costs like the CL and indie store repair people seem to do.

It seems like a lot of people experiences with indie repair guys have not worked out all that well. I don't want to pay $100-150 for repairs that only last six months.

If Sony's repairs last for a few years, then I think the expense is worth it. So I'm looking for feedback.

Don't do it, I sent it to Sony and it YLOD again right after the repair warranty (I think it is 90 days?) . Besides for $200, you're better off buying a new PS3.

Moe never reply to my email when I wanted to ask him to fix it. I don't know where you search, but you shouldn't spend anymore than $60 for the ylod.

Stay away from repair shops unless they will repair in front of you on the spot because you'll never know what they'll do to your other parts of the system. They might claim to fix the yellow light, but then they will say your blue ray drive is broken or something with the power supply. So be aware.

The guy name Rimdale on the thread does sound like "Moe". Just my suspicion.

There's no permanent fix even with what Moe claims by the power fan, it's pretty much the thermal paste needs to be reapplied of course with proper procedures. It may last you a few months or a few years. If that doesn't work, it's probably something else that internally failed, but it'll be hard to diagnose if you're not from sony.

Before my ylod, it lasted almost 5 years and that's with continuous long hours of online play.

If you're in downtown toronto. I went to the guy on University and Dundas. Just kijiji him. He charges $40 and he knows what he is doing.

Tell him, the guy who had his modern warfare 3 game stuck in his ps3 recommend him to you lol

My PS3 60gb phat died last friday. After searching online for somebody to fix it and not finding a real credible source and going to Pacific Mall and inquiring the costs and hearing them say it is not permanent I decided to buy a new one. I preformed the hair dryer ps3 fix (youtube) and I was able to resurrect the PS3. I don't know how many hours it has left, but it bought me enough time to fully transfer all the data from that one to my PS3 160 slim. At the current market price of $60, that is a quarter of the cost for a new unit. I went with the new unit.

I took mine to a guy in Brampton. His business is called Jogimods. He fixed it for me in 2 days and gave me a 6 month warranty if anything else goes wrong with it. Only cost me $60. The business is run out of his house which made me a bit nervous, but it was busy as hell. I actually had to wait in line when i got there, lol.

http://www.jogimods.com/

My 40gb ylod while it was loading during a Mass Effect 3 cut scene. Couldn't even take out the disc. Called up Sony tech support and they gave the same old it will such and such price. Had mine for about 4 years so my warranty was long gone. Decided to look up tutorials on youtube as paying Sony almost half the price of a new one for a repaired or refurbished which, chances are after the 90 day warranty would break down again was not worth it.. Grabbed a few tools, heat gun and spent a few hours heating up the solder points and I my ps3 is backup and running. Though I'm not taking any chances I have already done a full backup and now I tend to remove disc from the drive when im not playing or when it is off.