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Some help with ps3 turning off by itself. (overheating maybe?) please read
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KmkDml
Newbie
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2. February 2011 @ 00:57 |
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I will sum this up as easy as possible
(btw I had been a previous heavy user of the site 3-4 years ago but there was a moderator who had a power trip being a mod on a website of all things, and got me annoyed so I stopped coming. now I forgot my user/pass, sigh)
Anyway I have an issue. I am on my 11th PlayStation 3 and to explain it as simple as possible. The first 2 (60G,60G end of 2006-late 2008) systems died from a hardware defect found in a lot of ps3's in my area, my 3rd system (80 gig, end of 08 - 2010 November) lasted me until I just used it too much ,4000 hours between fallout, fallout new vegas, demons souls, FFXI, mag, ect, It actually fried a ton of capacitors and overheated causing a small fire and was too much work to fix so I got another 60 gig.....heres where my S***storm started (btw I am very good with electronics and engineering, besides part-time at gamestop I also have a job for Asus, acer, MSI and the like testing main boards or designing better ones)
So back to the start of the S***storm, I have literally had a 60 or 80 gig a week since November of 2010(8 seperate systems) First five have had YLOD, Dead BD drive/PSU/connectors destroyed, Fire on the inside, melted componenets... ect (sigh lol)... The later 2 just worked for a week or so then YLOD and even a reflow later would not work, also looked as if they had previously been reflowed just to be sold to us, so I returned them as defective.
The past two (10 and 11) specifically I have opened and have been in mint condition though, The number 10 system would not read hdd so I opened her up to find a busted off sata power adapter, Did a return at my job and grabbed number 11, It has worked for about a week or two of no troubles though, Until two days ago. I was playing MAG and it turned off with the three beeps (I get PO's and turn it off and back on thinking YLOD and its cool to the touch, Also used a temp gauge for ambient temp and its at 30C) So wtf, No yellow light it turns on and works for another hour then bam three beeps with red flashing light(no ylod though even after I turn it off then back on it starts normally) I change the HDD and open it up (as I said this thing looks like the person opened it and then sold it the same day I bought it.. MINT!)
Thermal paste is fine (redid that also) So after even getting a multimeter and testing every single point on the ps3 mobo my question is.... WHY AND WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS THING!!?? I have had terrible luck with ps3's and just want a BC 60/80 gig to work for me.
I have literally used different hdmi cords, different power cords, changed the PSU, HDD, Swapped the BD drive (after changing a part out if it didn't fix the issue I put the original part back in to make sure I was kosher about what parts came in the system) But no luck, Give her a few minutes to a few hours and off she goes. I have done what I consider everything in my power and still no matter the game, heat level, time of day ect it turns off with three beeps randomly, then will turn back on just fine with a flip of the psu button on and off then a tap of the on button.
Any help will be much appreciated, I know this is a long winded story but I needed to explain as best as I could I am not ignorant about ps3's, But this is just stumping me to death. I really truthfully from the bottom of my heart appreciate the read, I have searched for two days non stop on the net for answers, Before coming back to the one site that usually helps the best with any situation. Again thank you.
PS. I properly reflowed the most recent system a few times with no luck, Its in a well ventilated area and have even tried a house fan blowing on it. Also have tried different electrical sockets in the house with no luck and different video output settings too.
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AfterDawn Addict
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2. February 2011 @ 01:43 |
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Looks like you tried a lot, here are a few more possible answers:
-Check the PSU for clean, stable voltage outputs on all voltages. If you have a recording USB 'scope, use that to get an idea if the voltages get less stable over time.
-Try a different screen, with no other devices attached to it.
-Do all tests with only the power and screen connected; no LAN, no analog outputs, no USB devices, no memory cards, not even any bluetooth devices other than the controller.
-Try turning on the system, let it fully boot and start a game...then hold the power button to see if it turns off after holding it for about 30 seconds. If it powers down, and gives similar beeps, then the problem might be with that little capacitor that is used to balance capacitance for the touchsense chip, or even with the touchsense chip itself.
-Try running the system with the top off; this will let you get "feels like" temperatures from more parts. Don't worry about starting it; just touch the little prong that touches the power symbol when the top is installed.
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KmkDml
Newbie
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2. February 2011 @ 02:15 |
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Thanks a ton for the reply killerbug, For the past 2 hours I have actually had the top off of the system with nothing but hdmi and power. Played god of war 3 (figure play a game with better than average graphics to stress the RSX) the entire time and left the system on to type my question, no beeps yet but heres some more info. I had the top off to do a PSU voltage test and it came back almost dead on for everything (.01 volts off isnt anything I am worried about) I just did a test and its the same after the 2 hours, also tested it at 1 hour and it was the same. My job doesn't give us a scope heh, or else I would've used that lol.
It seems like my psu does get a tad hot but with the top off I have yet to have a problem, The psu also seems a bit different than the 80 gig or non BC models (almost like it is just generating more heat but no extra wattage).
I should have mentioned the fans never kick into overdrive, I get modes one and two on the fan at all times even when it turns off. No loud mode 3, or 4... or jet engine 5.
I did replace the fan to make sure the fan wasn't 'disabled' from modes 3-5 but it seems it just never gets hot enough to warrant a mode 3-5.
Thanks for the great ideas, I hope the ps3 stays running for the next few hours with the top off and I will keep testing voltage. I also am going to plug everything back together like headset and whatnot at 3 hours to see what happens then. I was going to try my 27 inch pc monitor instead of my 55 inch tv but after the past few hours of the top being off and it staying on I figure why test my luck if its just find and dandy the way it is haha.
But about holding the power button for 30 seconds? my ps3 like it should goes to the red standby after the 3 seconds or so of pressing it well its on. But I can then keep holding it indefinitely and nothing seems to happen. The system will not turn on or do anything unless I release holding it and then press it again. I can get into safe mode also.
I know by this reply it seems like things are fixed, but they are not. lmao, I have a ps3 in a ton of pieces that works like a charm but would like a fully built working one haha, but I have faith it will fail even when its apart like this so I will keep updating this if anything else happens. Thanks again for the reply.
EDIT:: added a few pics :) 
usually much neater but in this situation I have had to tear apart my wall of wires to get this thing to work.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 2. February 2011 @ 02:22
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AfterDawn Addict
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2. February 2011 @ 02:38 |
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There is a trick to lock the fan into overdrive easily if you want to test that...I didn't mention it because I didn't think the system was getting too hot, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to do the test. There are three wires going to the fan: power, gnd, and control. The gray wire should be the control wire, but double-check using your multimeter just in case sony did something silly like switching wire colors for one week of production (they have done stranger things). If you disconnect it from the mainboard and splice it into the PSU wire that is 3.3V when the system is turned on, the fan will run at very high speed...within safe specs for the fan, but very loud.
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KmkDml
Newbie
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3. February 2011 @ 07:44 |
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Ok so here is an update after 30+ hours of testing.
After all day yesterday from midnight to around midnight (all 24 hours of Tuesday the 2nd) of playing without it happening (plus testing with the case on and off) I went to sleep for 4 hours with the system off and cover off, When I woke up to try it again it beeped within probably 5 minutes, Started it back up and beeped again within another 5 minutes. No way anything was overheating. My room is freezing and nothing on the ps3 is warm to the touch. All voltages read correct. The system does it with any game also. After a few hours now it seems to be stuck in permanent 3 beep mode after a few minutes, I even let it cool for 30 mins just in case and it beeped within a few minutes. No YLOD yet, everything still works perfect until a few minutes in it just beeps 3 times and then shuts itself off.
This would be fine if more electronics were doing this, Or this wasn't my 11th ps3 with a problem... But I mean come on man!!!! WTF!!! lol.
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bigo93
Senior Member
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3. February 2011 @ 08:04 |
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Are these second hand BC models you have bought? If so have you cleaned them?
Yes the launch models do overheat a lot, but when ppl have thrown them into cramped cabinets they have reduced the ventilation to it and dust gathers.
I bought a faulty BC ps3 once, I knew the above most likely happened so was an easy fix. Dust bunnies were everywhere! On the boards, in the fans, in the heatsink. So I'm sure you have some dust spray, dismantle the ps3 and blast air into every nook and cranny you can find.
If you have already done this, there was a tip in the ylod thread. We know the psu heats up a lot, and this is directly above, and in contact, with the heatsink above one of the processors, so the hetsink heats very quickly and reduces the transfer from the cpu.
The tip is to add some rubber or silcon pads to the underside of the psu and even the bluray drive if you keep the cover on. This adds a gap between the psu and heatsink and allows air to help cool both of them down.
Hope this helps, cos I have never hears of someone busting 10 ps3!
lol just noticed your psu is on the floor in the pic, is that where it always is? Whats the stuff you've added on the ps3 where the psu should go?
But also from the pics looks like there is a lot of dust in the front intakes. So yeah de-dust the sucker! Make sure it has plenty of access to air and none of the intakes and outtakes are blocked.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 3. February 2011 @ 08:08
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AfterDawn Addict
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3. February 2011 @ 10:00 |
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If I am not mistaken, it is just the cover on the floor, and the PSU electronics are still in the system...the other bit is the card reader that the launch models had.
I'm afraid I am at a loss on this problem...it has none of the symptoms of a heat issue, it seems to have good power, and everything seems to work fine...right up to a total crash.
The only idea I have left is a blind shot in the dark...try wiggling all of the wires and cables to see if one of them might have a bad connection. While you are at it, make sure those prongs used for 12V are clean and tight.
[edit]
oh, and try the fan at full speed; another shot in the dark there; but it is theoretically possible that the trace feeding that fan if feeding something else, and can't handle full amperage.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 3. February 2011 @ 10:02
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KmkDml
Newbie
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4. February 2011 @ 05:51 |
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Thanks for the reply guys. The actual front of the ps3 case has small markings on it, around the silver part that looks like dust.. But as far as clean goes this thing is already cleaner than I could of ever made it haha.
But, I have made sure I have stable connections to everything and also stable power. As far as I can humanly test them at least. I actually have two usb fans I just put on top of the ps3 right by the psu, It might be that my psu is somehow reading that its overheating at only a suboptimal 30C (around body temp) somehow... Because if it was reading an overheat issue at any other part of the ps3 it would probably YLOD.
Yesterday I actually had to take out the battery and leave it out (not the PSU but the actual battery) for about 10 minutes because I couldn't even get the ps3 to power on after a XMB crash. The strange thing is this is what a few of the other ps3's had done, But instead of just lightly dying they would just totally YLOD. This one seems to want to live but can't so to speak.
So far I have tried
PSU replacement, adding fans, adding thermal pads to psu unerneath to not allow head to cpu, reflow, thermal paste replacement, over voltage checks, Fan checks (I tried the fan on high and it did it after a few about 15 minutes also), Removal of case, change HDD, clean any excess dust (none at all in the system), tested touch sensor for power/eject, BD drive totally checked all around, almost every capacitor, transistor connection point checked ... some are too small to check without better tools or the proper tools, checked the card read and BT/wifi connectors (lol it was worth a try) and still nothing. Even a house fan blowing on it with freezing cold air wouldnt stop it.
There is no pattern either, so its not like its when it reads from hdd or disk. Its just whenever it wants.
Thanks again for your replies, My main reason to try and fix this is.... Working at gamestop we have had nearly 300 returns/trade ins of 80/60/20 BC models in only a few months district wide. Almost all of them YLOD, Totally DOA or irreparable (even with my training in computer and micro engineering). So I feel the past few of my systems (the ones that were not totally fubar'd during purchase) might of had this exact problem and it could be preventable in someway. Thus maybe saving our BC model population from some other major defect besides just overheating or a component dying. I will probably keep looking into it for as long as possible until this one dies on me and hopefully be able to give some useful info back to the community.
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opskie
Newbie
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4. February 2011 @ 07:20 |
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I feel your pain man, If i had my way i'd nuke the entire sony facility so tht they'd stop taking our hard earned money and givin us fake, inferior and short-lived consoles, this is really not fair, why sell us somthing that u already know is gonna die within coupla months, PS3 is a failed experiment no doubt, just a shame we have to pay thru the nose buy it.
Ive been battling the legendary YLOD or whatever they call it on my 40GB fat ps3 for the past 4months now with no successful fix yet, the strange thing it does is whenever i try to power it up it gives me a yellow light, 3beeps and a constantly blinking red light, if i keep pressing the ON button for bout 20mins (or sometimes more) the ps3 finally cooperates and powers ON, somtymes it will ylod back almost immediately b4 gettn to the XMB, then i wuld try again and it will come back on and stay on, so the thing is if im playing a movie disc or music/movie files from the xmb it stays on like that till whenever i shut it down [and lets say i shut it down and go out for like half an hour or more and come back home later to put it ON it gives me the ylod again so i repeat the 20-30mins -ON/YLOD/OFF/ON- process again till it finally comes on and stay on].
So when at the XMB, Music and Movies only? console stays ON no prob, but say i pop in a game disc like God Of War3 or RESISTANCE 2, 5minutes into the game, the fan kicks into overdrive and shuts down like 4mins later, if i press the ON button again it comes up and loads back into the XMB as usual, Start a game again the whole process repeats itself. This been an entirely frustrating experience for me in that i cant play again for as long as i want. Ive opened up the console for bout 5times now, stripped it to bits, used blower to clean out dust from fan assembly etc, ive tried swapping power pack with a new one, changed the HDD too, used recovery menu to fix/recover file system, tried the heat-gun/thermal paste method but all to no avail! (although i was unable to get the Arctic Silver5 or the Akasa brand tht was recommended.)i had to use another type of paste that i later found out was a silicon based heat sink compound..
Pls one thing i would like to know is what could a possible fix for the console's problem, im slightly confused about the ylod issue cos i want to believe tht if the console is actually having a ylod problem it shuld never even come ON at all regardless of how many times i try to put it on.., (2) would gettin the exact recommended thermal paste fix the problem, i learnt its a temporary fix though, but i just need to get this thing working for a while least till im able to purchase another console, maybe PS4 or something :p
Thanks for reading..
XBOX1 is still by far the greatest console ever made! without it, i wulda gone crazy by now...:)
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AfterDawn Addict
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4. February 2011 @ 10:35 |
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I think I am out of ideas. As for preserving the BC models, I think it is a lost cause. They were never designed to last even three years under ideal conditions...and most were not used in ideal conditions. On top of that, Sony has been messing with the fan speeds in firmware (that is why you are seeing more YLODs lately). Save the ones you can, but don't waste 100 hours of your life trying to save something that cost less than $600 new, over 4 years ago.
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SmoothD
Junior Member
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4. February 2011 @ 16:14 |
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I'm no expert but I had a similar problem with a computer once. It would shut off for no apparent reason without any patterns as you mentioned. After much troubleshooting and research it turned out to be a faulty power supply. I noticed you mentioned that you replaced many parts trying to determine the problem except for the power supply. I'm not saying this is definitely your problem but a worthy thing to consider. Good Luck!
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bigo93
Senior Member
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4. February 2011 @ 21:26 |
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"They dont make em like they used to"
Bet people have heard their fathers say this tonnes of times, but in fact it is true.
Electronics were originally built to last, there are still people who watch programmes on a TV which is over 30 years old!
TVs and electronics today are purposely made to die out in 5-10 years. Sure you can repair them to last a little longer but they will eventually die. This is done for grater profit, why sell someone 2 TVs which will last them a lifetime when you can sell them 6 or more over the same time period!
Things arent really worth what we pay for them any more, and according to sony's belief, even though we paid for our ps3s, they think they still own them!
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4. February 2011 @ 23:13 |
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I certainly agree that consoles are not made very well, but I have to give $ony & M$ at least a little bit of a pass on that given the circumstances. I mean, they were selling systems at a loss, and it is hard to justify spending more money on a loss. Neither company is very good at making hardware cheaper without making it work like crap...but M$ can't even make expensive hardware that works well, so the first few models of the 360 were total trash, while the first few models of the PS3 worked fine, at least for a couple years.
Remember that in the "good old days", a TV might be made to last, but it also cost as much as a used car. Don't get me wrong...if sony had given me a choice to spend an extra $100 on a system with better quality components and cooling, I probably would have bought it...but most people would not...and the availability of the "reliable version" would just discourage them from even considering the "junk version".
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KmkDml
Newbie
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4. February 2011 @ 23:44 |
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I agree the systems are weaker but they are cheap for what they offer. I have had 2 360's that in total cost me 850$ and they have worked since the day I bought them , First from 05 lasted till 08 then I reflowed and re pasted and it still works... Second from 08 when I was paranoid I would lose my first and that still works fine too. I can't be mad at spending 850 on two 360's and having them both still around and working.
However I can be very pissed at sony for charging $600 for my first, and since then (the ones I have had to pay for) in total costing me nearly $1400. Its not that I hate sony. Its the fact that how the BC models were treated and how easily they were tossed aside. If you play them enough they will die no matter what. It does not need proof or a source to be proven that out of all my friends, I am the only one left with a BC model and thats because I have went through so many.
As a side note, a pathetic one at that. I also had 3 ps2's. but only 1 dreamcast, one xbox, one psx, one saturn, one genesis, one mega drive, one snes, one nes.... one of every other system pretty much including a wii. I do game probably 40-60 hours a week so whatever console was big at the time was hammered with gaming and they all survived.
It merely comes down too the government and laws they make intruding in simple manufacturing businesses and the practices they follow. Its no lie that if sony was allowed to use the solder they originally intended and the out of console psu they at once planned but were denied there probably would have been zero ps3 deaths (lol ok at least as close to zero as possible). Its also no lie that 360's would have lasted also had they been allowed the same solder and been granted the partnership earlier with amd and hitachi (plus liteon and other dvd manufacturers they used) they would have known that the xbox was not going to get proper cooling earlier and had a few extra months to incorporate more fans and a different dvd drive.
Plain and simple they have way too many god forsaken hoops to hop through to get a system released and it causes the consumer to be at a major loss. Or we could have waited till 06 for the 360 and 07 for the ps3 and they probably would have charged just as much... But maybe legally could have solved more problems.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 4. February 2011 @ 23:54
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KmkDml
Newbie
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4. February 2011 @ 23:50 |
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back on topic... SmoothD I actually did try another power supply. I just called it a PSU =).
I also tried the fan trick and having my house fan directly underneath the system barebones and it turned off, More so does seem like a defect elsewhere in the system and not a heating problem. But all tests and scans show system at full working order. I really hope to come to some sort of discovery soon so I can further delay and help the community differentiate between a full YLOD and a non full (such as what I have) That is probably salvageable.
also @opskie. The thermal paste is always a good bet, get some artic silver 5 or use what I use... diamond paste of any type. The power supply (PSU) is also a good bet, go for one that will fit your system and then make sure it takes less voltage and will run cooler. The only thing that you could try first (or last) is to do a system reflow. Check youtube for ps3 ylod reflow, a 30$ heat gun and MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW THE VIDEO DIRECTLY and you should be good. If you heat up something too much you can kill it.
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AfterDawn Addict
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5. February 2011 @ 00:22 |
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To be fair to sony, if you spent $1400 on 11 PS3s, many of them BC, you were obviously buying rather poor condition systems.
I lost count of my PS2s...I went through those things like crazy; GT4 should have had a warning sticker saying, "This game WILL kill your PS2". I actually still have a spare lens somewhere in my house; I used to keep one extra around because those DVD drives were so crummy...in the end, all three of the fat models that used that lens died of massive mainboard failures. My PS3 has been another story...I missed the 20/60/80GB models, and had to settle for a 40GB. It worked fine for almost 2 years, then it started to crash a lot. I opened it up and installed several upgraded heatsinks, replaced the thermal compound, and bumped up the fan speed. Now it is stable as a rock (unless I am playing fallout NV of course; but that crashes just as much on my slim). I have a total of about $440 into my fat (including purchase price)...it is a lot for a PS3 that does not even have BC, but it has lasted a long time and it still works good. These days, I am happy that I missed out on the 20/60/80...I still have one working PS2 if I want to play old games (I don't want to), and they really didn't get the formula working well until the second version of the 40GB...which is what I have.
I really have no complaints about post-BC PS3 hardware; it is remarkably well made for the cost...it is the firmware & software that I have issues with.
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KmkDml
Newbie
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5. February 2011 @ 00:30 |
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I was saying 1400$ as in the ones that I had to pay out of pocket because warranty was out ect. Mainly I bought my first for 600, warrantied it, got the 80 gig that died, purchased another for 400 and replaced with warranty, warrantied, warrantied lol goes on for a while with the warranties, then bought another for 250 with my discount. The other 150 is me having to rebuy warranties when I would use up the last one.
All of them are just the way people treat their ps3's, I have never purchased one from ebay or craigslist. Always my job gamestop or from BB (my first few)
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5. February 2011 @ 01:59 |
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I guess you are just very unlucky. Have you considered checking your outlets?
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opskie
Newbie
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5. February 2011 @ 02:10 |
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@kmk, i actually used gilksy's video guide from utube to do the fix. now tht u mention ps3 ylod reflow, if its a seperate video then id have to check it out then. i hv the heatgun already, then ive tried swapping psu's earlier but tht dint work.
i guess id have to get the arctic silver5 or the diamond based types cos i learnt diamond based types are more powerful than the silver based types., i hope it works..
*Heavy Sigh*
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KmkDml
Newbie
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5. February 2011 @ 02:51 |
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@opskie, The thermal paste would be the best bet, the gilsky video is technically a reflow so thats all done. The last bet is to buy good thermal paste. not the BS Bestbuy or radioshack have. Only go for artic silver 5 or diamond based. It most likely is over heating because its not properly dissipating to your heatsink through the paste.
@killerbug, That was my first attempt at everything. So far I just seem to be in the same boat as all the other BC owners who play theirs regularly. Guess I will have to hook the ps2 back up and just use the slim ps3 which kills me to do.
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AfterDawn Addict
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5. February 2011 @ 04:41 |
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Originally posted by opskie:
@kmk, i actually used gilksy's video guide from utube to do the fix. now tht u mention ps3 ylod reflow, if its a seperate video then id have to check it out then. i hv the heatgun already, then ive tried swapping psu's earlier but tht dint work.
i guess id have to get the arctic silver5 or the diamond based types cos i learnt diamond based types are more powerful than the silver based types., i hope it works..
*Heavy Sigh*
When you follow the Gilsky guide do a reflux first.
Xbox 360: Slim untouched with a faked 320 GB harddrive for XBL, phat with LT 3.0, played Halo early, so going on live would be an instand ban, also with a faked 320 GB harddrive
PS3: Untouched 160 GB Slim, 60 GB Fat with latest Rogero and 160 GB internal harddrive.
PSVita: hardly ever play it
GameCube: Black with a Viper chip installed. With gameboy player. Trying to get a Wavebird controller.
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