PS3 DYN-001 No Standby Light / No Power - Pulled 3 Caps, Short Still Present (Need Advice)

[Dreamlander097]

I am troubleshooting a completely dead PS3 Slim with a DYN-001 motherboard. I am stuck tracking down a short-to-ground circuit and could really use some expert eyes on this.

Current Symptoms:

• Total Blackout: No standby red light at all when plugged into AC power.
• No USB Power: 0V at the USB ports.
• PSU is OK: The power supply unit has been verified working on another system. The motherboard itself is refusing to take or distribute any initial standby power.

Testing & Troubleshooting So Far:

1. The Short: I located a short-to-ground area surrounding the integrated Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module zone and near the 4-pin motherboard connector.
2. Component Removal: I have a hot air station, so I decided to isolate the circuit. I removed a total of three surface-mount capacitors from the motherboard that were reading as shorted.
3. The Result: Even with those three capacitors completely off the board, the short to ground is still present on those pads. The caps themselves actually look fine, so the short is deeper in the rail or inside a major IC.