Hey Felix, I have a CECHA suffers from the stress YLOD(shuts off under high loads) with the confirmed 801002 error code. I'm going to try the piggyback way to fix it.
I'm wondering what is the part number of these caps you used for TOKIN cap piggyback? Are they 470uF 2.5v 7mΩ Panasonic 2R5TPE470M7 TaPol caps? Also if I remembered correctly, in this thread somewhere you (maybe others, sorry I forget) mentioned it's better to use AlPol as they are same material as stock TOKINs? Does it matter actually?
You can use AlPol if you want. It's possable to get them with 4.5mOhm ESR, which is ideal for 12x caps. That array will equal the tokins' combined ESR. They should be as good as or better than TaPol for the 325KHz switching frequency they are responsable for filtering.
However, TaPol have lower ESR for higher frequencies. I think that advantage is worth the tradeoff. But I dont have the measurments to prove it.
...I can find barely any physical PC games anywhere, not even used, but PS3 used games are so cheap and common it's not even funny anymore. I can buy games for a fraction of their ON-SALE PRICE on digital PC stores, and just pop them into a console and play right away. No DRM, no accounts, and I get a box with a manual as a bonus.
It's a philosophical difference of opinion. I collect games and consoles to have (own). I enjoy the ritual of choosing a game off the shelf, putting it into a box, and flipping a switch. There's a rewarding, nostalgic experience there. But that's because I grew up with that experience and it's a comfortable memory of a simpler time. It's subjective.
OTOH, I have a digital only PC game collection. I'm fine with DRM on PC, because traditionally there's a devoted community of people who keep support going. If the companies are gone and the DRM expired, there is some fan site that cracks the DRM and ports the game forward. Often with enhanced textures and everything. That's how I still play Descent and Descent 2 - with the rebirth project. I can still play all my PC games. There is usually a workaround. PC as a platform has already gone all digital and done it well. It's why the console industry is testing the waters this generation. The problem is that consoles lock the user down too much with DRM/HW limitations. Gamers don't trust all digital on console, rightly seeing it as an affront to their property rights. PC gamers gave up on those concerns long ago, since PC storefronts have done a good job of keeping our game library running. PC has built trust that consoles envy. And in the cases where a game isn't supported, there is usually a workaround.
Now, you can argue that PC workarounds are annoying and time consuming. That's true. But the same is true with jailbroken consoles. That's the way to unlock the potential for new ports, texture enhancements, DLC after the online storefront is gone, etc. And when your digital library is revoked, you can just pirate your property back...
it's a philosophical debate, not legally well defined. When you buy a game digitally, was it explicitly agreed that you are renting the game, or buying to own it? You could argue that people are led to believe they're paying for digital ownership. That by burying the rental agreement in the terms of use/agreement, legalese that customers cannot be reasonably expected to understand, that the implied sale is the real agreement and that the predatory/obfuscated agreement in the fine print is illegal. It just hasn't been legally tried to it's conclusion. The digital frontier is a legal wild west. Complete with exploitation and outlaws. The legal ambiguity is what pits copyright holders against the property rights gamers want. Two sides on far extreemes because fair practices and legal recourse have not been established to the same degree as buying a house has. It should be clear as day, that you are buying a houese, or renting it. You should have no question whatsoever which agreement you are entering into. And it's illegal, fraud, to misrepresent the agreement. Why it's different when you buy a physical vs digital video game, I don't understand. It's as if they believe you deserve exploitation for being stupid enought to buy digital in the first place. An increadably ignorant position to take in a world where the most lucrative industry is data. I guess it's just old politicians from a different generation, who can't see digital rights in the same category as property right. Especially when re-election money is dangled in front of them to remain blind to the affront to the property rights of the people they are supposed to be protecting.
But you are still tied to the console hardware. It has to keep functioning. On PC you aren't. Besides that, I really don't see the difference.
I think the rewards of PC outweigh the detriment. And I'm not alone.
Having a finger on the pulse of gaming, MS stand to benefit from this massive PC boom. That's their cash cow, not the XBOX.
PC gamers gave up on those concerns long ago, since PC storefronts have done a good job of keeping our game library running. PC has built trust that consoles envy. And in the cases where a game isn't supported, there is usually a workaround.
But these concerns haven't been given up on entirely, GOG exists because of them. It's not even a matter of trust for me, it's something something "why do I need an online account, install some bloatware and have an internet connection to play a singleplayer game." I wholeheartedly believe it's a waste of money to buy a PC game with DRM that will break on you, not because of failing hardware mind you, but deliberate decisions on the developer's/publisher's part. The deliberate inclusion of Valve's Epic DRM and maybe Denuvo or something. It will only get harder to crack games if we keep on giving up concerns. The community that cracks the latest games will mostly be the Piracy Scene and already just a small chunk of it has the competence necessary to strip shackles that shouldn't be there. PC storefronts don't really do a good job about this, even GOG with its DRM-free policies likes to shoot itself in the foot every now and then, to its community's frustration.
The good thing is these concerns are starting to matter, these days anywho. Granted a lot of people hate Epic's launcher only because it's not Valve's launcher and nothing else, but the cracks are becoming painfully obvious as launchers wrestle each other. Console manufacturers don't need to worry about PC anything because it's pre-occupied with fighting itself. I do hope it ends with more DRM-free stuff if nothing else.
I understand that PCs are easily user serviceable, replaceable, and easy to keep playing the same games on for decades, but the later games won't be so lucky. I just remembered, Denuvo-protected games don't really run on the latest Intel CPU architecture IIRC? Seems software longevity is also a hot topic too.
Also as an aside, to be fair, the picture you posted for How Long to Beat's stats is probably just the stats recorded by its community, which I don't think fairly represents the game community as a whole. I've only been there once or twice in my life.
I'm saying digital has been steadily growing market share over physical for many years now. I'm not saying it should be this way. Subjectively, I agree with you about preferring physical copies. Objectively, the data shows the next generation of average gamers don't care. 83% of all video games sales in 2021 were digital. "This includes subscriptions, full games, add-on content, mobile apps, and social network games. In contrast, only 17% of video games were purchased in physical form." (Source). Clearly people are becoming more comfortable with it. And most of the revenue in gaming is to be gained on purely digital products and services (like a stupid outfit or dance, DLC, and subscriptions). That's too attractive an opportunity for game developers to ignore. And they aren't.
Part of the problem is the gaming industries unwillingness to learn from the music industry. Few people complain about DRM in music anymore because the main players in music distrobutin (apple, google, amazon) are too big to fail and therefore the DRM doesn't become a problem. As long as these companies are still around, your music is safe. Example, I purchased some music from MusicMatch Jukebox in 2004 that I can't play anymore, because the liscence needs to be updated. When I tried to play it it says the liscence needs to be verified and directs me to a website that no longer exists. The DRM bricked the music I legally downloaded. That was my experiance buying digital in the early days of digital music distrobution, before the major players had conglomerated into the powerhouse companies today. My purchase wasn't safe, because the companies weren't safe. And they felt it was okay to hold my music library as collateral against failure. In effect, "if we go down, we're taking your music with us! You better keep giving us money so that doesn't happen." It's the same today, except the companies are amazon, apple, and google. They're not likely to disappear overnight like musicmatch jukebox.
I took the hint and pirated my music from that point on. The only music I can still play from 2004 are the songs I ripped from a physical CD. I refuse to support a system in which our legally purchased music/movies, TV, Games etc are used as blackmail to ensure a companies survival. Except I've never had that experiance with my PC games. I always find a workaround to get them playing, even if it is a PITA. PC games stopped being sold in physical form many years ago. It's mostly been a non-issue. That's because the games are still playable and no one gets royally screwed out of their entire game library, like I did out of my music library. Like everyone will when PSN shuts down access. Like when the wii virtual console shuttered (I lost quite a bit from that). These are the warning signs about giving up on your physical property rights. It's what happens when you buy a game virtually.
And yet, that's 83% of all gaming sales. If these issue are important to gamers, digital sales figures don't show it! And why would publishers give up on DRM if it ain't hurting sales? They won't. If anything the see the sales figures as proof that DRM is working, preventing piracy. They are doing now, the same thing the music industry did in the mid 2000's - fight among themselves over who's going to rule the digital domain while alienating their customers, labeling them pirates. Gamers will lose their digital libraries as companies fail, storefronts shutter, new storefronts open and eat up sales from their predecessors.
If it follows the music industries path, eventually we'll reach an equilibrium where a few powerhouses are rich enough to stick around long enough for gamers to feel as safe buying digital only games as music lovers do buying songs on iTunes. It's been that way on PC for the last 10 years or so. Steam is kinda like the iTunes of games (I'm sure they'd take pride in that comparison). But consoles have lagged behind in digital, namely because SONY & Nintendo haven't established lasting storefronts. They need to be committed to maintaining support or console gamers will be, and have been, left high and dry.
Sony and Nintendo are still playing the old game. Build a unique console architecture, convince developers to learn how to make games for it, make another console with unique architecture that can't easily support the previous generation, convince developers to learn how to make games for it, and abandon the old games. That is except for HD remasters and bad ports of popular titles - to double dip!
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind buying it again if you come to the table with an HD remaster, better frame rates, achievements support, new easter eggs, and other surprises. That's actually good. But don't half ass it! Don't give me a terrible emulated version worse than what fans have already made! Make a product that can compete and EARN my money! Prove to me you're committed to keeping my investment alive, by giving me a liscence that can be redeemed for the port if you can't bring it forward. And be clear about what a digital purchase is, and what it's not. It's like they've forgotten they have to earn out mony. That it's generated revenue, something automatic. We'll just fork it over for practically no reason.
It's insulting that they expect us to pay for the same game twice, as if that's a viable alternative to developing an emulator that can compete with open source projects. An official one we can use to play our legally paid for games, so we don't have to turn to emulators or feel morally justified to pirate given how badly we've been treated. In effect, we've been told, "your too old for video games. Buy the new console or get lost!" A tactic that only works if your current patronage are kids who are too young to have built a substantial game library. It's a scorched earth tactic that alienates gamers of 2021, who's average age is 34. SONY and Nintendo are living in the past, when gamers were kids and consoles were toys!
MS is setting up to be the new iTunes. And PC is silently raking in the doh, having made the transition years ago.
I agree with you about the music industry's learnings, except I think you're getting it wrong when you mention that it's better because Apple is too big to fail. I think it's because these companies have learned to...actually not include any DRM in their music whatsoever. iTunes is annoying as hell to use no matter the context, but these days if you buy an album from it, it's a bunch of MP3 files that you can stick on your SD card, on your USB flash drive, play them on an old car radio, the works. Even if Apple goes down for whatever reason or decides it's the end of iTunes, the music will work. In fact, Google decided on a whim to shutter down Google Play Music in favor of the inferior YouTube Music, and what did I do? Use one of their applications designed for mass library download and save my collection. Google is a classic "too big to fail" example but even they haven't been kind to Play Music, but because the music is a bunch of DRM-free MP3 files, they're now saved on my hard drive and uploaded to another cloud service independent of Google, other applications, or internet connections.
With PC games, have I got a similar guarantee? No. I'm supposed to put blind faith in Valve's Epic's EA's LauncherPlay's servers to stay alive, for the client to keep working on Windows 20, my already spotty internet to keep on chugging, and for my digital account itself to not be nuked for whatever reason. The same goes for consoles, I don't buy anything from PSN because I know Sony has attempted to put it on the chopping block and already went through with it for the PSP. Digital can be done right as you pointed out but nobody is willing to do it right for games.
These layers of trust I don't worry about with MP3s because I just buy the MP3s, download the files and forget about it. Can't do the same with console or PC digital games. But the issue is more frightening than "stupid clients" on PC: a lot of games on both sides of the aisle rely on online functionality in single player games. GTA V for the PS3 has its entire half of the STORY MODE stock market hosted on the BAWSAQ stock exchange which requires internet functionality and either is already down or requires a logged-in PSN account. The rest of the game works off-disc, but it's cold comfort basically.
Also I keep forgetting to say, for MS to benefit off a PC-boom, people would need to buy games more from the Microsoft Store specifically and not the thousand other competitors. It's probably much better having Xbox alive specifically for any attempt at competitive edges using both PC and Xbox.
Even if they don't get a cut of the game sales, they're stealing marketshare from apple. Most of PC gaming occurs on windows. So what ever gets windows installed instead of Mac, it's a win for MS.
Huh, I guess I've been out of the music game for awhile. I checked out of the music game after they sued napster grandma. I guess I assumed they still did the DRM thing. Glad to hear they've realized it's pointless and paranoid, only serves to alienate their customers. I trusted them once, they burned my digital library. Ever since, I just buy/Rip CD's. Fool me once...and all that jazz.
I hold mostly the same philosophy when it comes to console games, but make an exception for PC...I don't know why. Probably because I don't play Games with a large component of their experience based around online interactions. I mean, I don't fault MMO's for not maintaining servers forever. But then, usually a fan site puts one up. I'm sure there's a way to play WOW today. Not that I particularly like that game, I had a friend go missing for 2 years because of it.
But yes, single player games that require an internet connection to even be played is going too far. But that's what the retro gaming community is for. They'll find a way to strip DRM, spoof online license checks, whatever is needed to get games working again after the developers abandon us. I mean, they launch broken games with day one patches. How much do they care about their own product? Pressing an unfinished game into a disc is irresponsible! Fans step up to the plate because the gaming industry hasn't. It's that simple.
hi guys. i have a fat board with dead cpu and i find some caps on this board marked as NEd eS8 and NEd ej8 is this elements are tantalum caps and can i use them to replace nec tokins on other boards?
hi guys. i have a fat board with dead cpu and i find some caps on this board marked as NEd eS8 and NEd ej8 is this elements are tantalum caps and can i use them to replace nec tokins on other boards?
thank you
replaced one of cpu nec with x3 470uf
1st rsx nec with x3 470uf
2nd rsx nec witch x2 330uf + x3 220
boots up and works fine. tested with uncharted 2 and last of us
by the way, 220uf tantalum is more convenient in size for soldering, i think soldering 6x (or 8) 220uf tantals will be more easy than 330 or 470
thank you
replaced one of cpu nec with x3 470uf
1st rsx nec with x3 470uf
2nd rsx nec witch x2 330uf + x3 220
boots up and works fine. tested with uncharted 2 and last of us
by the way, 220uf tantalum is more convenient in size for soldering, i think soldering 6x (or 8) 220uf tantals will be more easy than 330 or 470
I don't have a log, my console just boots up witj ylod, and google brought me here, the first nec which i tried to open is darkened inside and I decided to change them
What Causes the YLOD?
(According to SONY, "A general Hardware Failure.")
According to popular belief it was Overheating and Solder ball cracks...
There were many years worth of reflow attempts. From people baking their motherboards in the oven, to using heatguns to reflow the chip. And people showed positive results doing this (seriously don't). Lots of services popped up to "professionally" reball consoles for a hefty fee. And that's the nightmare scenario everyone though the YLOD was.
Introduced in 2006, the PlayStation3 its perhaps one of the best systems to own to date, the vast of PlayStation3 software to explore, Blu-Ray and 3D Blu-Ray Movies, PlayStation and PlayStation2 Backwards Compatibility, Linux and many other features, the PlayStation3 its a swiss army knife for any PlayStation veteran and newcomers alike.
While the system its well engineered, like all Sony products, quality its always present, the system did come with its flaws, one of the most famous of the issue was the YLOD or as its known by Yellow Light Of Death, its a indication of a general hardware malfunction.
Around 2007, the very first YLOD fixes surfaced the internet, known as the Oven/Baking Method or Reflow, this fix consisted in disassembling the console, and insert the Motherboard in a oven at 300ºCs, and the by applying extreme heat, the solder-joints under the CELL Boardband Engine and RSX Graphics Chip, would
align, thus fixing the YLOD, although this method worked,it wasnt a long lasting fix, the time-frame before the console failed again was between 1 day to 1 year, perhaps even more, but thats luck.
The Second method of YLOD its called Reballing, which envolves applying extreme heat to the chips, thus replacing the Lead-Free solder BGA Grid, to a more reliable Leaded Solder, which fixed the console, but again the fix wasn´t a long lasting success, usually a console would last between a week to a few years,but eventually it would fail, some reports suggest more than that,but eventually it would fail,no matter how well the reballing work was.
*TRIVIA - Why these aren´t long time fixes?
In order to understand why these fixes would fail, we need to understand why the Lead-Free Solder isn´t the issue and whats really causing the YLOD.
On 27 January 2003, the RoHS (Restriction of Use of Hazardous Substances), imposed a rule to switch the used Lead-Solder in the past PCB fabrications, to the Lead-Free Solder, in order too meet the Safety Quality Standarts, by the time the PlayStation3 started development in 2004 with the early prototype machines, Sony was already using Lead-Free Solder in they´re PCB fabrications, and any model of the PlayStation2 past the manufacture year of 2003. Due to this change, many users assumed, that the Lead-Free Solder would crack due to heating and cooling of the machine,thus creating cracks on the BGA Grid, dissrupting the connection between the chip and the motherboard.
Reflowing and Reballing worked, but not for the reasons that was believed,which was the Lead-Free Solder causing the issue, the PlayStation3 with the Syscon fan usually has a max tolerance temperature around 75/78ºC at almost Stage 4 Fan Speed "more on the later models", and a Thermal Protection at 90ºCs, the problem is that in order for the Lead-Free Solder to crack or dislodge from the board on average you need 217ºC to get the chip off the board, the PlayStation3 inside, its almost at 75ºC to 80ºCs at the most, which is 138ºCs less than what you need in order to damage the solder-balls, Sony used the same Lead-Free aloy in all Generations of the PlayStation3, yet only the Revisions that are known for this kind of failure its the CECHA all the way to the CECH-2000 Slim Model, and why dont any other revision from CECH-2100 and upwards get the YLOD, if the same Lead-Free aloy is used? Did Sony removed the "feature? Its because of the newer Chipset Manufacture Process "Nm"? Is because the newer consoles heat less than they´re predecessors? The answer its neither of them, the Lead-Free Solder, the Overheating or Newer Manufacture Process,but rather a few SMD Capacitors manufactured by NEC "Formerly known as "NEC/TOKIN", which are responsible for the YLOD issue caused by the early PlayStation3 revisions.
*TRIVIA - What is the NEC/TOKIN Capacitor and why does it cause the YLOD?
The NEC/TOKIN SMD Capacitor was manufactured by NEC "Formerly known as NEC/TOKIN", which its responsible for the current filtration and conversion, in order to stabalize and give the necessary current to the needed components.
These capacitors were used by Sony until the 65nm CELL/RSX manufacture era, due to they´re size and compact mounting space required, it could easily replace 4/6 Capacitors required to give the same uF "Micro-Farat" output, in a single package, these capacitors was used by other manufactures not just Sony, in a variety on PCB appliances such as Laptops/DVD Players between others, these Capacitors are notorious for failure due to the age/use and heat, thus loosing they´re original capacitance to a point they wont provide the necessary current anymore.
Reballing/Reflowing and the Hair-Drier only worked,because by heating the area to remove/reflow the CELL/RSX, you were not fixing the BGA with heat,but the action of heating the chips, where heating the NEC/TOKINs themselfs, thus restoring they´re original capacitive properties of the NEC/TOKINs,but depending on the amount of heat used, either it could last between a day to a few years.
The NEC/TOKIN Capacitors have the serial number 0E128 - 1200uF "Phat Models" and 0E108 "Slim Models" - 1000uF Capacitance respectively.
View attachment 21839
The problem with the use of these Capacitors on the PlayStation3 is that they are 8 "Phats" and 4 "Slim", and they work in tandem to filtre and provide the necessary current to the RSX and CELL, and if one out of the four NEC/TOKIN fails on either of the chipsets, there is a current disruption,which means the Capacitence needed to feed either the CELL or RSX is below the required, thus YLOD.
In this tutorial, ill explain step by step,how to replace the NEC/TOKIN Capacitors and where to start, so dust off your old PlayStation3 from your closet and lets get to work!
DISCLAIMER - Do this repair at your own risk, i am not responsible if your PlayStation3 catches fire or blows in a Thermo - Nuclear fashion, proccede with the upmost extreme caution, read the instructions carefully, and good luck!
*TOOLS - What you will need?
*Soldering Iron - "Small/Thin tip recommended" *Soldering Flux
*32 Tantalum Capacitors "330/470uF - 2.5V/6.3V - Rated" *Soldering Skills
*Knife "NEC/TOKIN Removal" *Cup of Coffee "Optional"
*Patience and steady-hands "recommended"
"Due to the DEB-001 being identical to a DYN-001 Board, only the RSX needs a capacitor repalcement, you can use either 470uF, although 330uF will work just fine"
*Slim Models: "330uF" - RSX Only
*CECH-20XX - "DYN-001
*STEP 1 - DISASSEMBLE YOUR PLAYSTATION3.
This procedure its very simple, just like replacing the thermal paste, disassemble your PlayStation3, we will only need to work on the motherboard, for the time being we only will work on the RSX, on the top layer of the board, just one capacitor its needed to replace for the console to boot, if it fails, then more its needed,but the process its the same,but for now we will just focus on one NEC/TOKIN.
*STEP 2 - REMOVE THE ORIGINAL NEC/TOKIN CAPACITOR
Once you have the motherboard in your work-bench, identify the NEC/TOKIN Capacitor, then use a Knife, and carefully remove the original NEC/TOKIN Capacitors, they have a Plastic Outer-Shell so removing them should be pretty easy, i suggest using a masking tape as there are many traces around the NEC/TOKINs, you can also use the Soldering Iron to melt, the Plastic Case, as it will be even easier to remove them, remove the capacitor until you have four solder lines "2 Positive/2 Negative", that means the capacitor its completely removed. "See the picture for reference"
*STEP 3 - SOLDER TANTALUM CAPACITORS IN THE POSITIVE/NEGATIVE POLE.
This its a very important step, there should be four solder lines once you remove the NEC/TOKIN Capacitor, the Tantalum Capacitors have a Positive Pole and a Negative Pole, the Grey Sign its your Positive Pole, the rest of black its the Negative Pole, the 2 Middle lines "almost together" are your Negative Poles, the other 2 from the start are your Positive, you need to solder 4 Tantalums in the correct order, solder them in a 65º Angle, in order to fit 2 Tantalum Capacitors in 2 lines "Positive/Negative", its important while soldering that the legs of the Capacitor touch they´re respective rails "Positive/Negative". "See the picture for reference"
After you done soldering all the four capacitors, grab some electical tape,and isolate the Tantalum Capacitors, this will make sure that the Solder from the Tantalums wont touch the EMI Sheild "Electro Magnetic - Sheild" thus creating a short, after that assemble the PlayStation3, and test the console.
*STEP 5 - TEST THE UNIT
If all has been done correctly, your console should boot without any problems, Congratulations you just fixed your PlayStation3, if your console refuses to boot, inspect,and make sure you solder them right, take a look carefully,and test it again, if it still refuses to boot,then more capacitors replacement its needed, replace the 2nd NEC/TOKIN with Tantalums on the RSX Area,where you replaced the NEC/TOKIN area before, the procedure its the same.
"IMPORTANT - TO MAKE SURE YOU DID IT RIGHT, AND MORE CAPACITORS NEEDS REPLACEMENT, THE YLOD MUST BE DELAYED, SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN 3/5 SEC TIME-FRAME, IF ITS IMMEDIATE/SHORTED THAN THAT, IT MEANS THAT THE CAPACITOR ITS NOT PROPERLY SOLDERED, THAT HAPPENS WHEN A NEC ITS REMOVED,BECAUSE THERE IS NO CURRENT SUPPLY TO THE CHIP"
"NOTICE - IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO REMOVE THE NEC/TOKINS, I SUGGEST TO LEAVE THE ORIGINAL NECS UNDER THE BOARD, AS THEY HAVE AN INTERNAL BRIDGE/JUMPER ON THE POSITIVE POINT, SO IT WILL CREATE A BRIDGE FOR THE TANTALUMS, BUT IF YOU DECIDE TO REMOVE ALL THE NECS, YOULL HAVE TO BRIDGE THE TANTALUMS FROM THE POSITIVE TO POSITIVE POINTS WITH A HIGH GUAGE WIRE OR ELSE THE CURRENT WONT PASS THOUGH,SINCE THERE IS NO BRIDGE BETWEEN THE TANTALUMS! BUT THE BEST WAY TO AVOID MAKING JUMPERS IS TO LEAVE AT LEAST 1 ORIGINAL NEC ON THE MOTHERBOARD "See Picture for Reference"
Q-1 - How long does this repair last?
A-1 - Once you make this capacitor repalacement, your PlayStation3 not only will improve reliability,but it will last you years to come, and you dont have to worry about YLOD anymore. Q-2 - My PlayStation3 doesn´t any NEC/TOKIN Capacitors,but my PS3 switches off,why?
A-2 - Sony remedied this issue on the 45/40nm starting with the CECH-2100, so they dont encounter this issue, regarding the shutdown on these models,thats a different topic, it can be either a Mosfet/Resistor or even a PWM Chip, that issue its known as BlackOut. Q-3 - Does these capacitors are the cause for the YLOD?
A-3 - Statistically speaking, 90% of the YLOD its due to these capacitors, as long as the unit hasnt been touched, chances are that its the NEC/TOKIN Capacitors, due to they high failure rate,but if this fix didnt help,then chances are then its another component failure, like a Ceramic Capacitor "more frequent on the L/K Models", or if the Chip themselfs have suffered physical damage or corrosion,which only reballing will help you remedy this,and brand new chipsets.
Q-4 - Will this fix the Gran Turismo 6 and The Last Of Us YLOD?
A-4 - Yes, if you make a full capacitor replacement,meaning you replace all the capacitors, yes thoes titles will become playable, due to the original NEC/TOKIN Capacitors aging and capacitance loss, can´t supply the necessary to the CELL/RSX, thus the YLOD.
Q-5 - I dont want to remove the NEC/TOKINs,can i solder the Tantalum in parallel/Piggy-Back?
A-5 - The good news its yes, you can solder the Tantalums with the NEC/TOKINs in parallel, or as its commonly known, the Piggy.Back technique, this will make sure they work in tandem, you will still have to solder the positive to positive, by melting the NEC/TOKIN plastic shell, but the Negative Pole, you can solder it by finding the Ground Point on the Motherboard.
Q-6 - Have you tested this fixed yourself, or any other user has made this repair,and did you/they have success?
A-6 - Yes, ive made this repair myself, preformed on a European CECHC04 - 60GB, still works till this day, already on the 8th month, one month before the thread was written, other users whom made the capacitors replacement have been successful on the repair, no failures reported so far, the rate its high.
Q-7 - Do you have plans to continue this repair on your personal consoles, or any consoles with YLOD you grab to prove this repair works? A-7 - Yes, this repair motivates me to purchase more Phat models,since i collect PlayStation consoles,and i like my consoles in perfect working conditions, so reparing Phats should`t be a problem.
Q-8 - Will this fix my Green Light Of Death (GLOD) PlayStation3?
A-8 - Unfortunately no, GLOD its not related to the NEC/TOKIN Capacitors in anyway shape or form, summarizing GLOD its caused by a dead Graphics Chip, mostly when the Substrate has failed "little tinny solder balls under the die" due to overheating/poor maintanence or even reballing/reflowing,since extreme heat does put a strain on the GPU die, your only choice is either a RSX replacement, or using a heat-gun at 150ºC, this will restore the GPU Substrate,and your PS3 should be in working order, but if you choose the heat-gun method,be warned this isnt a long last fix, GPU replacement its advised. Credits goes to @sandungas for helping me out, and to many other users who tested it "cant remember the names,but thank you"
...started a NEC/TOKIN debate. It started a chain reaction that has spread it's tendrils throughout the internet.
Who is right? What is the real cause of the YLOD!?
The tutorial that started this behemoth thread also started a popular misconception. One that currently has a death grip on the gaming community! The idea that the NEC/TOKIN capacitors are the real issue, and that it can be fixed permanently by replacing them with Tantalum caps. That's a great narrative, but it's not true!
While the NEC/TOKINS can be A PROBLEM, they're NOT THE PROBLEM. In all likelihood, the YLOD is a BGA/Bump failure requiring a reball to fix (for early phat PS3s)!
I did alot of research into this topic since first hearing about it a few years ago. I have been collecting particularly important posts and guides in this post, which I regularly update and add to. It's the one linked in my signature. More than that, I painstakingly collated every user's experience reported on this 200+ page thread into a spreadsheet and performed a statistical analysis of the data. What I found backs up my claims. I'm not just spouting off an opinion here! Follow the links I've provided and prove it for yourself. But here are the highlights...
80% of the 166 "Tantalum fixes" were later confirmed to have failed or were inconclusive.
After 2 years, only 9 users have confirmed 18 consoles were working at least 2 weeks after installing tantalum capacitors.
That should put it into perspective for you. Admittedly, these statistics are misleading. That data was up to page 186, when I made the post. There have been more posts since then, but you get the gist of it. Be aware, though, there are confounding variables and biases from unreliable user reports that make this sort of thing inherently messy. I took care to honestly represent the numbers in the original post and discuss these factors. So please review that post and subsequent discussion in the tread if you'd like to dive deeper. But here's a synopsis.
The type of YLOD can give you a clue...
83% of Intense YLOD (only in intense games) reported initial success.
71% of Random YLOD (Normal stress) reported initial success.
41% of Non-Instant YLOD (1-10s) reported initial success.
33% of Instant YLOD (<1s) reported initial success.
The shorter your YLOD was, the less likely it's a tokin fault. This doesn't mean a long YLOD is likely to be a tokin. You still need a A0801002 error code to diagnose it. It's just more likely than short YLOD. If you see an A0403034, then it's the dreaded RSX faults (Bumps, dead die, BGA defects, etc).
Some have mentioned they thought slim models have more tokin failuers? Here are the numbers based on what people have reported in this thread.
61% Of Backward Compatible consoles reported initial success
Only 18% were "reported" working at least 2 weeks later.
50% Of Non-Backwards Compatible consoles reported initial success.
Only 17% were "reported" working at least 2 weeks later.
I strongly recommend everyone at least read the FAQ and and then diagnose their PS3 with SYSCON errorlogs.
It is my hope that newcomers are not misled by a sensational narrative, driven in deeper with google's algorithm. When you YouTube "YLOD FIX" You get results like these:
The best video on YT about this issue is this one...
...and yet, even that one is misleading. It seems to suggest that BGA defects are not the real issue. But that's not what he is saying. He's just saying we shouldn't assume they are. And he's right! In fact, he did a very good job at presenting the information objectively at a time when everyone was jumping on the Tantalum band wagon. But it skewed toward the better narrative, which is hard to avoid.
Google and especially Youtube (which is also google) tickle your ear, telling you what they think you want to hear. It's perpetuated based on popular search results, because it's the better story. And let's face it, the better story is the fiction that "the YLOD was misdiagnosed all this time." That, "it was the tokins all along. You don't need a reball, you just need to change some caps." This a familiar villain. It may have taken out your SNES or OG XBOX. Pepole are already aware that old video games consoles go bad and need "recapped." So when they see a "YLOD Fix" tutorial that looks like you can easily DIY to save money and get playing again, of course it's the more popular narrative. Everyone agrees that it's the one we wish were true. But wishful thinking doesn't make it true!
The algorithm doesn't care if you waste your time & money chasing a red herring down a rabbit hole to hell! It only cares if that's the popular thing end users are searching for. And of course that's what people are searching for. The problem is they assume google wont return any results if it doesn't exist. Or that the popular results are likely true, if so many people are saying it works. That last one is particularly deceptive. People want hope. A capacitor is hope. A reball is the hopelessness they want so desperately to escape. Too desperately! It causes them to stop looking once they found the answer they were looking for, and then they give it a try "just in case." Hey, "why not? You can't break what's already broke!"
The problem is that more often than not, it works! Temporarily!
Long enough for people to post positive results, thanking the OP for the tutorial and touting their triumph over evil. Headline: "DIY'er defeats greedy reballers." It makes for a nice YouTube video for sure. Of course, the YT video ends when the console works. These misleading results hook other would be DIY'ers and they follow suit.
Meanwhile, that console fails in the following days/weeks. YouTube videos never show a thorough test over the next month to be sure it kept working! They can't contain their exuberance and want to get the video out, thinking they'll just post another video update if it later fails. But, it can take months to figure out that the caps weren't the problem. Most people give up and assume they must have botched the cap install, which is likely true because it's much harder than it looks. And it can be hard for people to admit they were wrong! Besides, the damage is already done at that point. Few people ever see the update video that admits a fail. It doesn't get picked up in the algorithm!
All of this horribly complicates the truth.
The truth of the above has played out in an endless loop since before this tutorial began. It's why this thread has 224 page so far. No one can be reasonably expected to read all of it and they give up after the first 10 pages of glowing positive results because...humans! We're excited to try it having worked up the courage watching videos that make it look doable, if not easy. Yup, me too! That experiance is why I set out to solve this issue once and for all!
The truth is it takes reading about 100 pages of this thread before people start to realize it wasn't working. I jumped in on page 137. There was alot of controversy and hold outs until about the 150 page mark. Then the SYSCON diagnostics came along and the mounting evidence against the tantalum fix began pouring in.
That's not to say the caps can't go bad. They do, but the YLOD is still primarily a BGA/Bump failure issue. It always was.
Just like the XBOX 360 RROD. These consoles were released around the same time, with the same manufacturing defects at the GPU OEM. It wasn't entirely SONY or MS fault. It was an industry wide issue that affected increasingly hotter chip designs when transistor density reached a critical heat density/design bottleneck. Previous designing practices were no longer effective to reduce BGA/Bump failures to an acceptable level. Advances in miniaturization created a plague for the hottest 90nm chipsets during that console generation.
Even MS admitted it in their new XBOX documentary (Skip to 4:10 & 19:08)...
If you watch closely, their explanation of the problem actually points at the Bumps, not the BGA?! Why? The narrative that has escaped attention is "Bumpgate."
Before I continue, I need to thank @DeadEnd for drilling this point home for me. It's a huge contributing factor to the story that everyone, including me, didn't give equal attention. But now that I dove in, it really deserves it's own documentary!
Bumpgate was caused in part by a mismatch of underfill chemistry and the FR4 interposer. Their CTE (Coefficient of Thermal Expansion) were not optimized for SAC Lead-Free solder. The solution was better underfill, improved LF BGA reflow profiles, and a support bracket around the edge of the chip to reduce the amount the interposer can flex. On the OEM side of things, it requires better thermal designs and testing procedures. These explanations are simplified, of course.
You can even see the approach they took to mitigate the disaster in the design changes made after that...
Notice the metal bracket around the edge of the chip. That's called a "Stiffener window FCBGA" package...
The PS3 and Xbox 360 GPU's used FCBGA, without a direct stiffener strategy to reduce warpage.
Jesse Galloway said:
Larger die sizes exhibit greater package warpage due to the difference in thermal expansion coefficients between silicon and laminate materials. As a result, large die packages are more difficult to solder mount and may produce larger variations in the bond line thickness between the die and external heat sinks. Two options are available to reduce the package warpage. The first option, shown in Figure 1(a), is to mount a stiffener window to the periphery of the package in order to provide structural rigidity.
I just want to point out that the edges of the chip is where we are seeing the most BGA defects (FlexIO and VDDIO errors). MS called it a "Core Digital Error." Core refers to the Digital logic Core that is used by the chipset to communicate. But it's the same issue as the PS3 YLOD. It's caused by BGA/Bump failures!
Ultimately, this was a well known industry wide manufacturing defect by chip manufacturers (ATI/Nvidia and others). Here's Jen-Hsun Huang, CEO of Nvidia at the time, admitting to it.
Did you notice the "blame shifting" and "gas lighting" manipulation tactics?
He plays down the scale of the problem. For example, "Most of the Notebooks are fine, mine is! It's just that certain notebooks have this problem."
He plays up his response to the problem, making himself look good and his competitors look bad. For example, "I just sold a chip for $20 and I might have to spend $200 to help you repair a notebook. Just think about that for a second. No one else has ever done that. [paused for dramatic effect] Nobody has ever done that. Marvell's never done that and they've had issues, Broadcom's never...they've has issues, AMD...they've..."
He blame shifts by normalizing the issue. At the same time he's admitting the industry wide problem and his own part in it! "You know, this particular issue is, is pretty industry wide known." Then he immediately attempts to gas lights us. "And the reason for that is I just don't want the consumers have to fight the process." It's not that his company did something extraordinarily wrong, and that's what all the backlash and press is about. Noooo, it's that his company actually did something extraordinarily good. They owned up to it. That's why you know about the issue. He's implying that these issues are normal and that he's the good guy doing the right thing.
Maybe you even bought into the nonsense. Well his manipulation is exposed for the BS it is when you look at the timeline of event. Nvidia only "did the right thing" when forced - by loosing a class action lawsuit! I think Charlie Demerjian of Semiaccurate.com sums it up perfectly:
...we are glad to see that Nvidia is finally allowing the clues to sink in, even if they had to be applied with a $319 million bat.
These manipulation tactics are forms of verbal abuse. They're common tactics guilty individuals use when attempting to avoid accountability. They are also common traits among narcissists, who naturally gravitate toward executive positions, because they compulsively seek power and adoration. While I can't say Jen-Hsun Huang is a clinical narcisist, I can say he should win a Golden-Globe for best Actor!
Speaking of doing the right thing, also caught up in this was Microsoft, who ate a billion dollar recall for the XBOX 360! I guess they should have gone with Nvidia instead of ATI. Then they could have gotten Nvidia to reimburse them...lol. Yeah right! SONY never did recall the PS3. Did Nvidia pony up when SONY started having YLOD with the RSX? Will they if we ask them to make it right for our console? Get real!
Just because there are hundreds of millions of devices out there doesn't mean that all of them are being used as intended. There are plenty of consoles used by casual gamers, music, and movie watchers. There are still sealed in box consoles waiting to be opened 13 years later. And what about all the people who don't complain? The ones who just take the hit and buy another brand. Customers who will forever remember that piece of crap they bought from you and vowed, "never again!" Just because you are getting a tiny number of complaints, relative to the numbers sold, doesn't mean the problem isn't a big one. That's the biggest gas lighting tactic of them all!
Both SONY and MS extended the warranty. MS to 3 years, SONY only extended it to 1yr. And just for the 20/60GB (A/B Models). The E, C, and G models also contained the 90nm RSX affected. So I guess Nvidea's CEO was right after all, there is an industry wide conspiracy to avoided accountability for unreliable products. I guess fessing up requires leagal action and bad PR. MS was hit harder than SONY with bad PR, and MS was worried about bad it killing their momentum after initial sucess entering the console wars. So they took serious action to turn the PR around. That worked, even though millions of 360's didn't!
Sony's response? If it's an A/B model you get a free reball for one year. If it's an E, C, or G model or been longer than a year, you can pay us $150 for a reball. That's great if it's the BGA, but as we have established, it isn't always the BGA. What about the bumps? How is Nvidea going to make that right for PS3 customers?
There's more admission of guilt. It can be see in the design of chips after 2009. That bracket on the interposer! Ever wonder why it's there? I mean, why would the add its cost to the Bill of Materials? It's there to improve reliability of FCBGA technology. It's an open secret. Well, it is when you void that illegal warranty sticker and have a look at your GPU. And If you know what to look for.
And now that we know what to look for, let's shoot down a common counter argument!
"If there was a defect in the PS3's Bump/BGA, then why is the CELL BE CPU reliable?"
The answer is simple. It's an FCLBGA package. It's interposer is stiffened by the "L" shape of the IHS. It has a support ring around its edge used to glued it down with a bead of silicone:
Also, directly underneath the DIE is a hole in the PCB to cool the decoupling caps located on the bottom of the CPU interposer. That helps cool the die from beneath, but more importantly it allows the center of the chip bend more without having balls there to transfer strain to the edge.
The thermal design of the Cell BE is better than the RSX. It's not 100%, no FCBGA is. We still see CPU BGA/Bump defects. It's just way less common than RSX defects. The reason the RSX lasts longer than did the XBOX 360s GPU is similar. The RSX IHS is glued the the 4x memory modules on its corners with thermal adhesive. That helps to keep the interposer from flexing as much as it would otherwise. The 360 has nothing to prevent the interposer from flexing.
Something about the RSX's design is still flawed. For one, there is no support for the area between the memory modules. Second the DIE is oriented in a diamond arrangement, which creates a twisting force on the interposer. There are balls in the center of the BGA, directly underneath the DIE, which act as a lever to increase the compression/tension force on the balls on the outer edge (where we see the most BGA defects).
This brings up a serious oversight and concern about delidding! We really should be gluing the IHS back on after repasting. Otherwise we're allowing the interposer to flex more. That will hasten a YLOD!
Moreover, the RSX has many more, and varied, temperature swings that does the CPU, simply because it of its workload. Because of these "mini" thermal cycles it wears out the solder joint faster. And SONY's default Fan Curve was insane! It favored silent operation over reliability. I don't blame SONY for that decision though, consumers will not thank you for added reliability when they're too busy complaining about fan noise. They're doing it with the PS5 right now!
So launch model PS3s could reach CPU = 91C and GPU = 97C before thermal shutdown. The curve is more agressive on G model, which have the same 90nm GPU. It's important to note that the fan was changed (G14T), so that mucks with our ability to directly compare these models. The CPU was reduced to the 65nm CELL at that time, so it didn't need as powerful a fan to cool the CPU. However, it's clear that the fan does ramp up at lower RSX temperatures than it does on launch models and it is still a 90nm RSX. Higher fan speeds are noisy, so raising them more aggressively means they saw the need to increase cooling! And that need was greater than their desire to keep the console quiet. I think that's telling!
He identified the 15-Blade D14F had the best fan% to CPU cooling curve. And because it could cool the CPU with less Fan% it was one of the quietest too. In other words, the 15-Blade D14F is better than the 19-Blade fan everyone though was the best fan for Phat consoles!
None of this is new!
Thermal design is a critical part of engineering a chip or console. Engineers can use CAD software to model and simulate how many thermal cycles it takes before a BGA package fails (Skip to 14:20)...
Pay special attention to the "No of Propagation Cycles to Failure." You don't become an electrical engineer without learning about CAD modeling and simulation. This is routine, an everyday part of engineering. It's not so complex that no one could have predicted it would have happened.
Don't let SONY, or Microsoft, or Nvidia tell you otherwise. PR guys do what they always do. Downplay the issue and their companies culpability. Like that "expert" tried to do it in that news interview on the XBOX RROD documentary at 16:30. I'd like to know who that was. Was he employed by Microsoft or just some industry expert the station hired to give an opinion? Either way, MS chose to include that clip in this documentary. He was trying to say that the problem can be anything, that because 'there are 500 million transistors and 1700 parts in each of these boxes, the speculation can go anywhere.' But can it really?
I know they made it look like they got blindsided. That it was an extremely difficult problem to "Root Cause." Just remember that MS is not going to relase a doumentary publically detailing everything. They did a great job with it, don't get me wrong. I enjoyed it. I even felt better about MS and getting a XBSX after watching it, which was no doubt the reaction they had in mind. Here's the "but" - Engineers like Todd Holmdahl, head of hardware development at XBOX from 1994-2014 are not stupid. He used the term "breakthrough," when they "realized" the problem was with the BGA/Bumps. The video's carefully crafted choice in words implies it was some sort of revelation! If BGA/Bump defects truly were a revelation for them, then someone didn't do their job! This is what thermal design CAD software is for.
There is WAY more to that story then they included in this documentary. Was it that they were inexperienced? If so then why did it happen to SONY also? Somebody knew, or should have known an issue was coming! It was not an unknowable problem. It might have been missed, sure. But this side of the story has not been told! Chip manufacturers, console and laptops OEMs, etc. are balancing other factors. Factors like thermals and sound, manufacturing complexity, component cost and availability, initial sales goals, launch price, support and servicing, estimated costs of recalls, and so on. They each have a strategy and reliability often isn't the most important factor.
Yes, later model PS3/360's are more reliable, despite the fact the chip design changed very little (aesthetically), because they reduced the the temperature Delta. Smaller manufacturing process allowed them to pack the same performance into a more power efficient die. So there was less heat to sink and less package warpage. Also the fan curves were adjusted, fans themselves were changed, different heatsinks, the airflow in the case was redirected, the method of attaching the IHS was changed, etc. Basically, they improved the thermal design over successive model iterations to improve reliability to an "acceptable level" while also lowering BOM costs to make the consoles cheaper. That's a good thing for everyone!
How did this happen?
All of this started because SONY and Microsoft were chasing graphics. They wanted the most powerful hardware and it bit them in the cheek (whichever one they keep their wallet). Nintendo on the other hand chose to stay out of that arena. That's why their consoles avoided getting caught up in Bumpgate. Chip manufacturers failed to recognize the need for thermal design changes from the traditional method. And in the ensuing blame game, console's continued shipping with defective chips. Basically, the solder joints couldn't take the heat during this specific point in time, when using the same old design principals didn't work for how energy dense chips were getting. Reliability suffered.
It's not like the demand for hot chips that push BGA technology to the reliability limit has gone away. Just look at the RTX family of GPU's. You can't even overpay for them! They're so hard to get, they sell out immediately. The demand for hot powerful chips is greater than ever! That's why the industry had to come up with a strategy to improve reliability to an "acceptable level."
What is an "acceptable level" of reliability? 5 years? 10? 20? It depends on your perspective. Well, SONY's, Microsoft's, AIT's, AMD's, etc. They only care about our perspective (gamers/customers) as far as we keep buying their product. So it just can't fail in the first few years, leaving a bad impression or getting them sued. Recalls are expensive!
So chip designers added the stiffener in subsequent hot chips. It serves 2 purposes. First, heatsinks can interface directly with the die, instead of having the IHS and a second TIM in the way. That increased thermal transfer efficiency. Second, it physically braces the interposer keeping it from flexing. It probably also helps keep the DIE from cracking from uneven force applied when seating down the heatsink, as @sandungas pointed out to me.
The strat is to use materials with the smallest difference in CTE and then Stiffen the shiz out everything. All to avoid using a socket!
The whole industry was forced to do a better job of modeling the stresses and thermal design. They had to revamp their testing procedures, quality assurance and warranty repairs. Bumpgate woke the industry up! But they just worked around the problem. They still refuse to put a socket in!
Here's the conspiracy theory part. Console/Laptop OEM's don't want you to be able to upgrade/repair your hardware. They want it to break so they don't have to later compete with it. About 10 years seems to be the console cycle. After that, they want you to migrate to their new console and buy games they make a profit on. They don't want you to be satisfied buying used games from a market they don't profit from. It competes against them. And that's why they are employing digital only, DLC, broken games on disc. They want to destroy the used games market and control the retro gaming scene. They want to funnel us all (modern and retro gamers) into a subscription service for that experience.
Subscriptions are the holy grail of business. All digital cuts out the logistical nightmare and expense. No more negotiating prices with factories that press the disc, transportation companies who ship them, or retailers who stock/sell them. None of that. Direct to consumer! Larger margin, reliable, projectable profits. Exactly the type of thing investors want to see. Guaranteed income and growth potential. That's the sort of business model that makes selling console hardware at a loss an easier pill to swallow.
What about PC? How come they don't fail?
Desktop CPU's use Pin Grid Arrays packages instead of Ball Grid Arrays. They were/are socketed! The pins and socket provide strain relief. That helps, but the bumps can and do go bad. CPU's dont last forever, but they are generally considered reliable enough. Especially since most of us don't usually rock the same computer we were 10 years ago. We usually upgrade sooner. PC gamers especially. Consoles don't have that luxury. We need them to keep functioning to play the games. That's not the case for most PC games.
Desptop GPU's have usually been soldered directly to the Video Card with BGA, and sure enough BGA defects are very common way a video card dies. Often with graphical artifacts or black screens. Sound familiar? Video Cards are usually upgraded more often than CPU's too. So it may just be that you don't notice them failing because you don't keep it long enough. People who buy crypto mining cards on the other hand tend to see more failures, because those cards have been well worn, having been in continuous use from the moment they were new (ideally).
Laptop CPU and GPUs are usually BGA. Actually the Bumpgate fiasco was discovered because of laptop failures. It really was an industry wide problem. Nvidea's CEO wasn't lying about that! Nor was he lying about the reliability of a system depending greatly upon the thermal design of the device it was put into. But he was wrong to imply they couldn't design more reliable chips that can help prevent poor OEM designs from turning into a catastrophic recall.
I leaned on Jen-Hsun Huang pretty hard earlier, but in the end he may be right. It could have been an unforeseen issue that baffled the industry before they figured out how to design better chips. As transistor density got smaller we reached a point at 90nm where the traditional way of designing for FCBGA didn't work anymore. The chips were too energy dense and hot for that.The ROHS just went into effect forcing the entire industry to learn how to reflow Lead-Free solder. Lead free is more brittle and requires higher reflow temperatures to be used (heat at those temps kill chips faster). Maybe these factors BLINDSIDED the entire industry.
Maybe they could have, or even did foresee it with CAD modeling and testing. Did they fail to strike the right balance between reliability and other priorities? The truth may never be known.
Either way, excuses don't alleviate us Nvidia, ATI, AMD, SONY, Microsoft, anyone from financial and ethical responsibility - to their customers and society. It doesn't matter if it's your fault. If you sold it and it's defective, you have to make it right. The sooner you own up, the better. Microsoft proved that!
The TL;DR
No one was completely right or wrong, except SONY! Their carefully crafted PR response, 'the YLOD is a general hardware fault' was completely accurate. It's not helpful to narrow down the specific issue, but it's vague enough to be accurate.
It should be obvious to no one that all or nothing statements are never true. Statements like...
"All YLODs are caused by bad NEC/TOKINS"
"All YLODs are caused by Cracked Solder Balls"
"All YLODs are caused by Overheating"
Of course these are not true 100% of the time! We know that intellectually. We've all heard the saying, 'if it's too good to be true, it isn't.' So why do we abandon reason when we know better? Because humans don't behave reasonably, we behave emotionally. We make bad decisions because we want to believe the lie!
You cannot understand human history without realizing this fact. There are entire business models built to exploit our emotions for this reason. It's an extremely effective political strategy. It's something that Artificial Intelligence has picked up on and is using to serve us information. And it's having a really bad effect on society. It always has. It's a part of being human!
No one should feel bad for getting suckered by this narrative. I did! We live in a time where the "algorithm" feeds us crap info just because it thinks that's what we want to hear. Truth is hard to come by. Especially when you don't want to hear it! You can be forgiven for not devoting the time it takes to become an expert. You can be forgiven for being a human.
That was my goal. To bridge this gap. Hopefully I have provided the relevant research and links to information you needed to fix your YLOD the right way. So far as it can be at least. Which brings me to the most important take away from all of this doom and gloom.
If the Bumps on my PS3 are doomed, is the YLOD inevitable?
The answer is yes, without modification you can't escape the YLOD. All you can do is beat it back with a reball. But there is a limit to how many times that can work, and the number of available RSX chips. But there is hope! We're calling it the "Frankenstein Mod." You can read about it here or just watch the video!
About a year ago we learned about official SONY refurbished consoles that had different model GPU's installed on them. So far 4 console we know about have been found. Apparently, around 2012 SONY repair shops began replacing the stock 90nm RSX on backward compatible PS3's with 65nm and 40nm RSX's. Around that time the slim consoles were being manufactured and sourcing new old stock 90nm RSX's became impossible. So to repre these console's SONY had to figure out a way to install the newer 65nm, and later 40nm, RSX chips. We called this the "Frankenstein Mod" for obvious reasons and have been attempting to replicate it since 2020, without success. It involves replacing/reprograming the SYSCON chip itself (the part we're still figuring out), among other mods. So it's very difficult and time consuming.
However, 4-5 years before we even learned this was possable, @botakompong's brother "Kiaw" made a modchip that allows it! He and @botakompong could interchange 90nm, 65nm, and 40nm RSX's by just installing a chip and moving a few resistors! That wasn't possible before, because the console would recognize there wasn't a 90nm chip and refuse to boot (YLOD). The mod chip spoofs the RSX_ID and tricks the system into booting. An amazing accomplishment!
Unfortunately, Kiaw passed away a few year ago and we never got to pick his talented brain about the modchip. His brother @botakompong has carried on the torch selling the modchip and installing it at his shop in Jakarta, Indonesia. @botakompong had been offering this service for years before we found out about it in the west! We only learned about it last year. The modchip is only available through forwarding services ATM, making it hard to get. On fiverr I used "lusianaliu" who bought the modchip from this listing and shipped them to me. It's a bit inconvenient, but works.
@botakompong has alot of experiance with the mod and repiring consoles in general, so he's a wealth of knowledge, but he's not the engineer Kiaw was. We're still trying to regain the knowledge that was lost when Kiaw died. The specifics about how the mod works are not fully understood (by us at least).
Regardless, this mod chip enables us to replace the 90nm RSX with a much more reliable 65nm or even 40nm model. The 40nm RSX has no trouble staying at 54C in my A model, under intense load (ambient 25C)! So this is the ultimate solution! We can still source NOS 40nm RSX's! And there are many, MANY more Slim PS3's than there are BC models. This modchip makes sourcing replacement RSX's for BC PS3's sustainable. Every single BC model could easily get a 40nm RSX, since there are so many more slims out there! We don't have to throw them away anymore!
Please, for the sake of your beloved console, buy an $8 TTL Serial to USB adapter and use the SYSCON error codes to diagnose your console properly. Don't waste your time/money on the NEC/TOKINs until you know they're bad! If your backwards compatible console turned out to have BGA/Bumps defects, please consider the Frankenstein MOD instead of potentially console killing it with a reball/reflow! Currently no one offers this as a service, but perhaps if we get the word out someone will step up to the plate. You may be able to use a professional rework company to do it, but no one here has tried it. If you do decide to go with a reball, then please choose wisely. There are known scammers out there! If you decide to YOLO it with a heatgun, sigh...it's your property, but please consider that there are only 5.4 million Backwards compatible PS3's out there. Many fewer reparable ones thanks to misinformation. If you want to drive the price up for the remaining supply of repairable consoles, we can't stop you.
Do not read this and think I hold ill will toward the OP, SONY, YouTubers, staunch critics/believers of any one "fix," or Jen-Hsun Huang. I don't. I simply want people to be able to make a reasonable decision, if they care to do so. If they still insist on making an emotional one... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I've gotten a ps3 cech-2001A super cheap and it started to fail on heavy loads, blink with red light and shut down. so i've read you only need replace one side capacitor of this model with 330uf 2.5v tantalium capacitor, I couldnt find any of those in the small town I'm from, so... it was do something crazy or wait few week and buy it online. I dont like the waiting and to be honest I dont give a damn this ps3
so I had 2 electrolite capacitors 680uf 35v and used one on each side and let the other one as bridge
I know is not the right thing, but it works. the downside is space. with small fixes works like a charm with no issues on heavy loads.
I just want let know people theres is another alternatives of doing it!
later on I'm going to paint the wood and fill the gaps or buy something else
sorry for bad english
Hello guys. I have a CECHC04 model ps3. In the past, I solved the overheating problem by getting help from here (CELL and RSX delidded). But now I have a problem that I didn't realize before. (Actually, I had the same problem when I wanted to play Heavenly Sword long ago, but I thought it was caused by the bluray driver) I wanted to play Tlou , GT6 and COD: Black Ops with my ps3 but the games closing in the login screen before they start. Games I've played without any problems so far: GTA 4, GTA 5, FIFA 19 Mafia 2, Assassins Creed Revelations, Crysis, Midnight Club: Los Angeles.
I also recorded the problem I had with the game Heavenly Sword.
The fan noise is loud in the video, but after the video I replaced the fan with a Nidec fan on a CECHG model dead ps3.
Methods I've tried so far:
1) Reflowing the CELL and RSX using FLUX and heating the NEC/TOKIN capacitors. Then I entered Heavenly Sword for the first time and played for 10 minutes, then YLOD (I don't know which action caused the change). In the second attempt, I could not play for 10 minutes.
2) Replacing the APS-227 Power supply with the APS-231 I got from the dead CECHG. It works normally, but the same problem in the video, I couldn't even play for 10 minutes.
3) Replacing the old 80GB hard drive with a 500GB Samsung. It didn't work.
4) Upgrade system software to 4.88.2 Evilnat. It didn't work.
Then I saw this guide and read up to 110. pages. Although most games work (PS2 and PS1 games also work), games that use RSX like Tlou, GT6 are closing, which made me think that NEC/TOKIN might be the problem. (I'm not so sure about this either, because the Little Big Planet and Journey games are also closing.)
And I ordered 470uf 2.5v capacitors from aliexpress.
They haven't reached me yet. Can you help me with these problems? Thank you from now. (Sorry for my English I use Google Translate )
Hello guys. I have a CECHC04 model ps3. In the past, I solved the overheating problem by getting help from here (CELL and RSX delidded). But now I have a problem that I didn't realize before. (Actually, I had the same problem when I wanted to play Heavenly Sword long ago, but I thought it was caused by the bluray driver) I wanted to play Tlou , GT6 and COD: Black Ops with my ps3 but the games closing in the login screen before they start. Games I've played without any problems so far: GTA 4, GTA 5, FIFA 19 Mafia 2, Assassins Creed Revelations, Crysis, Midnight Club: Los Angeles.
I also recorded the problem I had with the game Heavenly Sword.
The fan noise is loud in the video, but after the video I replaced the fan with a Nidec fan on a CECHG model dead ps3.
Methods I've tried so far:
1) Reflowing the CELL and RSX using FLUX and heating the NEC/TOKIN capacitors. Then I entered Heavenly Sword for the first time and played for 10 minutes, then YLOD (I don't know which action caused the change). In the second attempt, I could not play for 10 minutes.
2) Replacing the APS-227 Power supply with the APS-231 I got from the dead CECHG. It works normally, but the same problem in the video, I couldn't even play for 10 minutes.
3) Replacing the old 80GB hard drive with a 500GB Samsung. It didn't work.
4) Upgrade system software to 4.88.2 Evilnat. It didn't work.
Then I saw this guide and read up to 110. pages. Although most games work (PS2 and PS1 games also work), games that use RSX like Tlou, GT6 are closing, which made me think that NEC/TOKIN might be the problem. (I'm not so sure about this either, because the Little Big Planet and Journey games are also closing.)
And I ordered 470uf 2.5v capacitors from aliexpress.
They haven't reached me yet. Can you help me with these problems? Thank you from now. (Sorry for my English I use Google Translate )
After trying to play Tlou , GT6 and Journey I got a YLOD error. Then I obtained SYSCON Documents with the help of PS3 Advance Tool. Thank you very much in advance for your help. Here's what comes out of the text file :
Firmware Version: 4.88 (build 50731)
Platform ID: CokB10
Product Code: 00 85
Product Sub Code: 00 03
Hardware Config: 20000000FFFFFEFF
Syscon Fimware Version: 0C16.0001000100030003 (EEPROM: 0001000100030003)
Bringup Count: 2953, Shutdown Count: 2202
Runtime: 223 Days, 12 Hours, 19 Minutes, 59 Seconds
Error Log
01: A0801001 Wed Jan 18 17:43:31 2006
02: A0801001 Wed Jan 18 17:40:28 2006
03: A0801001 Wed Jan 18 17:38:46 2006
04: A0801001 Wed Jan 18 17:36:28 2006
05: A0901001 Sat Jan 14 22:59:14 2006
06: A0101001 Sat Jan 14 11:13:48 2006
07: A0802022 Fri Jan 13 22:54:12 2006
08: A0802022 Fri Jan 13 22:53:01 2006
09: A0802022 Fri Jan 13 00:23:36 2006
10: A0802022 Fri Jan 13 00:14:25 2006
11: A0101001 Fri Jan 13 00:08:23 2006
12: A0901001 Thu Jan 12 23:02:34 2006
13: A0611001 Thu Jan 12 19:24:14 2006
14: A0801001 Wed Jan 11 22:05:15 2006
15: A0801001 Wed Jan 11 17:56:15 2006
16: A0611001 Wed Jan 11 17:53:16 2006
17: A0801001 Sat Jan 7 12:31:44 2006
18: A0101001 Sat Jan 7 00:41:25 2006
19: A0801001 Sat Jan 7 00:20:09 2006
20: A0802022 Fri Jan 6 21:22:06 2006
21: A0802022 Fri Jan 6 21:15:04 2006
22: A0801001 Fri Jan 6 21:11:20 2006
23: A0101001 Fri Jan 6 21:08:24 2006
24: A0101001 Fri Jan 6 18:10:26 2006
25: A0801001 Fri Jan 6 12:42:27 2006
26: A0901001 Fri Jan 6 01:17:34 2006
27: A0801001 Wed Jan 4 07:25:41 2006
28: A0801001 Wed Jan 4 04:43:43 2006
29: A0101001 Tue Jan 3 23:59:39 2006
30: A0101001 Tue Jan 3 23:59:27 2006
31: A0902203 Tue Jan 3 15:52:37 2006
32: FFFFFFFF Tue Jan 3 15:52:37 2006
After trying to play Tlou , GT6 and Journey I got a YLOD error. Then I obtained SYSCON Documents with the help of PS3 Advance Tool. Thank you very much in advance for your help. Here's what comes out of the text file :
Firmware Version: 4.88 (build 50731)
Platform ID: CokB10
Product Code: 00 85
Product Sub Code: 00 03
Hardware Config: 20000000FFFFFEFF
Syscon Fimware Version: 0C16.0001000100030003 (EEPROM: 0001000100030003)
Bringup Count: 2953, Shutdown Count: 2202
Runtime: 223 Days, 12 Hours, 19 Minutes, 59 Seconds
Error Log
01: A0801001 Wed Jan 18 17:43:31 2006
02: A0801001 Wed Jan 18 17:40:28 2006
03: A0801001 Wed Jan 18 17:38:46 2006
04: A0801001 Wed Jan 18 17:36:28 2006
05: A0901001 Sat Jan 14 22:59:14 2006
06: A0101001 Sat Jan 14 11:13:48 2006
07: A0802022 Fri Jan 13 22:54:12 2006
08: A0802022 Fri Jan 13 22:53:01 2006
09: A0802022 Fri Jan 13 00:23:36 2006
10: A0802022 Fri Jan 13 00:14:25 2006
11: A0101001 Fri Jan 13 00:08:23 2006
12: A0901001 Thu Jan 12 23:02:34 2006
13: A0611001 Thu Jan 12 19:24:14 2006
14: A0801001 Wed Jan 11 22:05:15 2006
15: A0801001 Wed Jan 11 17:56:15 2006
16: A0611001 Wed Jan 11 17:53:16 2006
17: A0801001 Sat Jan 7 12:31:44 2006
18: A0101001 Sat Jan 7 00:41:25 2006
19: A0801001 Sat Jan 7 00:20:09 2006
20: A0802022 Fri Jan 6 21:22:06 2006
21: A0802022 Fri Jan 6 21:15:04 2006
22: A0801001 Fri Jan 6 21:11:20 2006
23: A0101001 Fri Jan 6 21:08:24 2006
24: A0101001 Fri Jan 6 18:10:26 2006
25: A0801001 Fri Jan 6 12:42:27 2006
26: A0901001 Fri Jan 6 01:17:34 2006
27: A0801001 Wed Jan 4 07:25:41 2006
28: A0801001 Wed Jan 4 04:43:43 2006
29: A0101001 Tue Jan 3 23:59:39 2006
30: A0101001 Tue Jan 3 23:59:27 2006
31: A0902203 Tue Jan 3 15:52:37 2006
32: FFFFFFFF Tue Jan 3 15:52:37 2006
First and foremost I would like to say what a wonderful experience it has been sending my board @squeept for repairs. Great communication, superb micro trace work, and amazing packaging on the way back. So thank you and I highly recommend. Here is where I am at now.
As many of you recall, my CECHA had given me the 3034 error. Here is the original error dump and startup prior to reflow attempt:
I did a reflow using preheater and all, and prior to testing the unit, i decided to delid the BE. I screwed up and scratched it. This was what I was getting with a scratched BE chip.
As you can see, I started getting the 2203 error instead. So my reflow likely didn't work, and I scratched the BE so I was getting 2203 with "[ERROR]: 0xb0002001 (FATAL) XDR Link not initilized" which many of you suggested was a short on the BE after the scratch. So I contacted the man/the legend squeept and asked to help. I sent the board and he repaired the BE scratches (awesome job). I should note that with the 2203/2001 errors, I was getting GLOD with no response from controllers/or screen. Fan was at one constant speed, almost like it got stuck in boot due to shorted BE.
Upon receiving the repaired board back, I put it together with UART hooked up and typed "lasterrlog" and the error that showed up was 2022. Not sure what this was, however I should note that prior to my reflow, I had error 2022/1001/3034. Somehow the 2022 came back. The 2203 and 2001 fatal were gone thanks to the trace repairs on the BE.
So i did bringup and this is where things get weird. The console turned on, flashed yellow and kicked in the fan and stayed on. It acted like it did before 3034 and YLOD. This is how it started because of webman. The green to yellow flash to fan kicking up because of my fan setup in webman. The controller synced, however nothing on screen. I tried doing the safe mode, got the beep/shutoff/two beeps like usual for safe mode, hoping the screen would kick in but nothing. I did bringup and this is what i got after bringup. It should be noted that with a scratch BE, I wasn't able to get 2 beeps when trying to access safe mode leading me to believe the trace repair worked and then I'm back to my original problem.
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:52.25(0x3440) [ERROR]: 0xa0802022
[ERROR]: 0xa0802022
[ERROR]: 0xa0802022
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:51.14(0x3324)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:52.50(0x3480)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:51.39(0x3364)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:52.75(0x34c0)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:51.39(0x3364)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:53.00(0x3500)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:51.64(0x33a4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:53.00(0x3500)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:51.64(0x33a4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:53.00(0x3500)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:51.89(0x33e4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:53.50(0x3580)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:51.89(0x33e4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:53.50(0x3580)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:51.89(0x33
>$ tsensor
e4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:53.50(0x3580)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:51.89(0x33e4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:53.75(0x35c0)
[ [SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:52.39(0x3464)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:54.25(0x3640)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:52.39(0x3464)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:54.50(0x3680)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:52.39(0x3464)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:54.75(0x36c0)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:52.39(0x3464)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:54.50(0x3680)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:52.64(0x34a4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:54.75(0x36c0)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:52.64(0x34a4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:54.75(0x36c0)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:52.64(0x34a4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:54.75(0x36c0)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:52.64(0x34a4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.00(0x3700)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:52.64(0x34a4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.00(0x3700)
tsensor
*** Invalid Argument ***
[mullion]$
>$ tmp
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:52.64(0x34a4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.00(0x3700)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:52.89(0x34e4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.25(0x3740)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:52.89(0x34e4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.00(0x3700)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:52.89(0x34e4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.25(0x3740)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:52.64(0x34a4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.25(0x3740)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:52.89(0x34e4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.50(0x3780)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:52.89(0x34e4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.25(0x3740)
tmp
*** Invalid Argument ***
[mullion]$
>$ bstatus
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:52.89(0x34e4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.50(0x3780)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:52.89(0x34e4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.25(0x3740)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:52.89(0x34e4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.25(0x3740)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:52.89(0x34e4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.50(0x3780)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:52.89(0x34e4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.50(0x3780)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:52.89(0x34e4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.50(0x3780)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:52.89(0x34e4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.50(0x3780)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:53.14(0x3524)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.50(0x3780)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:52.89(0x34e4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.50(0x3780)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:52.89(0x34e4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.50(0x3780)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:53.14(0x3524)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.75(0x37c0)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:52.89(0x34e4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.50(0x3780)
bstatus
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:53.14(0x3524)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.75(0x37c0)
>$ shutdown
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:52.89(0x34e4)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.75(0x37c0)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:53.14(0x3524)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.75(0x37c0)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:53.14(0x3524)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.75(0x37c0)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:53.14(0x3524)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.75(0x37c0)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:53.14(0x3524)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.75(0x37c0)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:00, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] 1st BE Primary Get Temperature:53.39(0x3564)
[SERV THERM] GET_TMP CMD
[SERV THERM] TZone No:01, MAX TZone No:15
[SERV THERM] RSX Primary Get Temperature:55.75(0x37c0)
shutdown
[SSM] state: 0400 -> 0500
[POWSEQ] AV Backend Letup
[SSM] ssmCb_AfterBeOn() called.
[SSM] Shutdown mode ... req_wake_src = 000000F4, ctxt=00/00
[SSM] Shutdown mode : syspm_stat=00000000/00000000
[POWSEQ] PowerSeq_Letup called.
[SSM] state: 0500 -> 0000
(PowerOff State)
Error 2022 according to the error log has something to do with DVE which I am not sure what it is. So I figured I wait until this morning to post, but try again before I do. I fired it up using UARt like I did yesterday and instant ylod. Error 3034. Here is the log.
error 2022 from last night (dont mind the date) reads 30:34. Then half a minute later it registers a separate error of 1001. Then (overnight) when I came back its 3034. What does this mean?
Squeept was kind enough to check the necs and said they are good. So if the necs are good, the BE is fixed, I am back to 3034 which was my original problem which many say is RSX related. Am i dealing with a dead RSX? based on the ohm measurement I took before it was good. As for 1001 error, I have done a test on a separtate board where I removed a nec off working board and got 1001. I replaced with tants and console came back to life.
And just for info, is it possible i screwed up the eepcsum when flashing to use python? here is the log.
c:\Python27\Scripts>python ps3_syscon_uart_script.py COM3 CXRF
>$ AUTH
Auth successful
>$ eepcsum
eepcsum
Addr:0x000032fe should be 0x52b7
Addr:0x000034fe should be 0x7115
sum:0x0100
Addr:0x000039fe should be 0x0f38
Addr:0x00003dfe should be 0x00ff
Addr:0x00003ffe should be 0x00ff
>$ w 39fe 38 0f
w 39fe 38 0f
w complete!
[mullion]$
>$ r 39fe 02
r 39fe 02
+0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +9 +A +B +C +D +E +F
-----------------------------------------------
38 0F
[mullion]$
>$ eepcsum
eepcsum
Addr:0x000032fe should be 0x52b7
Addr:0x000034fe should be 0x7115
Addr:0x000039fe should be 0x0f38
Addr:0x00003dfe should be 0x00ff
Addr:0x00003ffe should be 0x00ff
>$ r 39fe 02
r 39fe 02
+0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +9 +A +B +C +D +E +F
-----------------------------------------------
38 0F
[mullion]$
>$ eepcsum
eepcsum
Addr:0x000032fe should be 0x52b7
Addr:0x000034fe should be 0x7115
Addr:0x000039fe should be 0x0f38
Addr:0x00003dfe should be 0x00ff
Addr:0x00003ffe should be 0x00ff
and finally, this system had been reballed in the past. After reball I never let the temps for rsx and BE go higher that 58C. when it ylod on me this last time, it happened while in xmb and about 5-10 minutes in just sitting at the xmb while at low Celsius temps.
There are a few possabilities. This could be prelude to a BGA/Bump failure, like it was in @Kleon1876's case. My guess is that the resistance on the BGA that connect VDDIO increased to the point they are registering a DVE error (2022). We're still unsure about error 1001's role in that, but it appears that instability in the FlexIO voltage refrence can cause 1001 errors. That instability can be caused by bad tokins, or high resistance from near failure BGA/Bump. Probably alot more that that too. Unfortunately, 1001 errors are not the tokin smoking gun that error 1002 is. 1001 can be caused by lots of things. Lastly, it could be a faulty DVE chip or literally any SMD on that line.
At this point your console's behavior looks like a potentially bad tokin, but we need more to go of of before reccomending such a drastic repair.
Next step:
Use a multimeter to measure the resistance...
...between +/GND on the nec/tokins. Both the RSX side and CPU side. Post the readings here. Unusually high ohm readings (>4 Ohms) could indicate an open fault or increasing resistance preceding a BGA/Bump failure. Low resistance (<1.5 ish) can indicate internal shorting, which is what happens when the DIE wears out (accumulated electromigration and/or heat damage). Sometimes the low resistance can be from debris, flux, reflows, bad tokins, etc. But this resistance measurment is useful to narrow down the potential issue.
...of TH2501 (HDMI transmitter Thermistor) and TH2401 (DVE - MultiAV Digital Video Encoder Thermistor). They should read the same. If the DVE's resistance is signifcantly higher it could cause an error similar to this.
I think at this point it would be worth trying to piggyback a single 470uF low esr Tantalum cap to the CPU side tokins. You can take one from a donor board, as they are usually of high quality.
I am pleased to hear that. I have 6 330uf capacitors that I removed from the dead CECHG. Can I use these for now? Or should I wait for 470uf capacitors from Aliexpress?
