A Warning For Playstation 3 YLOD Repairs

Original Playstation 3s are notorious for failing with the Yellow Light of Death. There's a lot of information out there about why they fail but some of it's more optimistic on its repairability than I think is warranted. It's not something to undertake without being properly prepared. I hope this video helps shed some light on the issue for anyone thinking about doing what I did and jumping in and trying to fix YLOD PS3s. Don't be like me!
For a deep dive on the YLOD please check out RIP Felix's video: • A PS3 Story: The Yello...
/ @fixmorewasteless
If you're interested in having a complete stranger try to fix your console, reach out to [e-mail] and I'll see if I can help
Tools I use (affiliate links):
Microscope: s.click.aliexp...
Atten Hot Air Station (expensive but highly recommend)- amzn.to/4a2YyVK
Soldering Iron - s.click.aliexp...
Solder - amzn.to/3XrmQEB
iFixit Driver Kit - amzn.to/43NSDzZ
Tweezers - amzn.to/3qAN4qn
Solder Wick Braid - amzn.to/43Oyn0V
Kapton Tape - amzn.to/4act5zS
Isopropyl alcohol - amzn.to/3NiWcbV
USBC Tester - s.click.aliexp...
Discord: / discord
instagram: / fixmorewasteless

[@RetroFix]

It's crazy how much time some techs have taken to figure out and revive these machines. Rip Felix and computer booter come to mind. It's a very complicated process.

[@FixMoreWasteLess]

Yes the dedication to saving these consoles is admirable to say the least. Also way beyond my skill set to uncover these kind of fixes haha. Maybe one day!

[@joel16506]

Hello, I would recommend that you read out the Syscon. You have the consoles there anyway and the device you need for this costs 4-5$. This way you can say with certainty what is defective. It's true that it's mostly the RSX, but only on the consoles that use a 90nm RSX, on other Ps3s it's other defects like the NEC/Tokins or other components that are easy to replace with hot air because the 65nm RSXs that came out afterwards are relatively robust. You may also be interested to know that the Ps3 in the video has a blue light because there is a disk in it. You can remove this despite the YLOD by switching off the Ps3 at the switch at the back of the power cable, then holding down the eject button and then flipping the switch while pressing the eject button, which puts it into a cleaning mode and the fan turns on and the drive gets enough power to eject the disc. You can also test whether the power supply is working. If the fan doesn't spin up or it stops immediately when you eject the disc, the power supply is broken. It rarely happens, but I've replaced the power supply before and then the YLOD was gone. And only the models with the 4 USB ports are backwards compatible with the PS2. So the models CECHA,CECHB,CECHC and CECHE. Ps1 games play all Ps3 consoles up to the super slim.

[@FixMoreWasteLess]

Thanks for the tips. I do plan on taking a look at the syscon at some point as I have two that are ylod and am curious if they’re salvageable. Didn’t know that about a game being in it still. I’ll have to pull it back out and see what’s in there!

[@FixMoreWasteLess]

I realize that YLOD isn't always the RSX chip and the best way to confirm what it is is to read the SYSCON off the motherboard. While this is useful if your own PS3 has died, it's a big gamble to buy a YLOD PS3 off somewhere hoping it's something "simple" like replacing the tokin capacitors and not something complicated like replacing the RSX chip.

[@Marco-xz7rf]

I still have a 60GB version with PS2 support. Someone reflowed it for 25 bucks in like 2011 or whatever with the rickst of completly killign it, because he was still new an learning. But it worked and it still works. Or at least last time I checked haha. I also installed a fan mod, so the cpu is cooler than what the ps3 would do to itself standartwise. With homebrew its easy to check temps and adjust the fanspeed.

[@FixMoreWasteLess]

Oh that’s awesome! Did you buy it new or later in the generation? Real shame Sony started messing around with the backwards compatibility so quickly after launch.

[@Marco-xz7rf]

@@FixMoreWasteLess I got it from a friend, so I don't know, but it is a german model and I think only the first release here had full ps2 support. He had it at some repair shops before but it ofc broke down again. I tried to fix it with a fan, which worked for a few days, but the main thing was to get the game out again cause he got a new ps3 haha.

[@chooch5728]

Mine has the flashing red 🚨 light