PlayStation 3 RSX Chip YLOD Reflow
This is a Sony PlayStation 3 games console which had a repair carried out on it in our Union Street, Dundee store. It has a fault associated with the RSX “Reality Synthesizer” chip- which is causing a “Yellow Light of Death” (YLOD)- and we believe a reflow will fix it.
This PS3 has a “COK-002” motherboard, which shows that it’s one of the early versions of the PS3.
After the reflow, we tested this machine out, and as you can see in the final image, it passed and we were able to return it to the customer shortly afterwards.
(As always, this look at one of our repairs is not intended as a complete or comprehensive guide to reflowing a PS3 RSX, and some steps have been omitted for the sake of readability and/or trade secrets. If anything, this means that the reflow looks easier here than it often is!)
The original, faulty PlayStation 3 as it came in to the shop
Further disassembly.
Disassembling the PS3 case so that we can get to the motherboard.
Applying heat to the heat spreader (via the BGA rework machine). This makes it easier to remove from the chip itself.
The heat spreader has now been removed, and we clean the old thermal paste off the RSX chip.
Applying heat to the RSX chip itself, in this case to reflow it. Note the soldering flux around the edge of the chip.
The RSX chip has been reflowed- now we add thermal paste to it before re-attaching the heat spreader.
Reassembling the PlayStation 3 case. (Note the dust lying about- this is the remainder of what we cleaned out of the case to improve airflow and reduce the chance of future failure).
Running some tests to confirm that the PS3 is working. In this case, you can see that it’s working fine, and we were able to return it to the customer shortly afterwards.
