PS3 (Research/Experimental) - NEC/TOKIN Capacitors Replacement - YLOD

Success story!

If you want to skip the back story of the system then skip on down to the second paragraph.

This is my CECHA01 that I got for Christmas 2006. It suffered YLOD in 2012. Then I boxed it away. In December 2017 I started getting curious about possible repairs for the system. Of course like a lot of us the internet led us to the infamous ref flow method. I never baked my board in an oven thankfully but I did follow I fixits guide for disassembly and reflow with a head and new paste on top of the IHS. To my surprise my dead system worked! After 5 years of sitting in storage! Well it worked great but a month later YLOD. So I took it apart thinking I did something wrong applying the paste so I re pasted, reflowed and it worked again for another month. This time I was convinced that the system was overheated so I needed to delid. Well I was able to delid both IHS successfully and the system worked great for another month. Then I put a fan mod in that I bought off of eBay but same result. The last time it YLOD'd before this repair it happens while I was playing Metal Gear Solid 4. I was in game for about 45 minutes when it happened last august. Around this time I found this thread and started following it but I wasn't confident in my ability to do this without royally screwing up.

Tonight I decided it was time to try to replace one of the Nec Tokins. Top side of the board. I started with the one furthest to the right on the RSX. I tried just using my resolder station heat like NSC uses in one of his recent videos. But I couldn't melt the solder with just the gun to have a clean removal like NSC so I had to use my solder tip ton help remove the Nec. Once that was done and the pads were cleaned up I scratched away 4 little squares where my minus (-) of the tantalums would go. I did this so I wouldn't have to worry about putting them at an angle. With a combination of my flux, 50/50 lead solder, and solder station I had my four tantalums in place. The tantalums I ordered are rated 470 uf 2.5 v. My strategy was just to replace one at a time and see what happens. My mentality on this was that it wouldn't work but it's worth a shot. I apologize for not having photos of my solder work but I have a photo of the caps I used and the system running with my MGS4 disc! I tested it with this game for about an hour ( It was the only game I had at the time) it ran flawlessly. Then I played black ops for another hour. No issues! I couldn't be happier right now. Thank you Naked_Snake1995 and everyone in this thread for your contributions!

ecad317fab28ac001898cdbbf796c653.jpg




c7e37fbe9e6b683eb3be2fdcf48f748a.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
cfreddykrueger said:
Success story!

If you want to skip the back story of the system then skip on down to the second paragraph.

This is my CECHA01 that I got for Christmas 2006. It suffered YLOD in 2012. Then I boxed it away. In December 2017 I started getting curious about possible repairs for the system. Of course like a lot of us the internet led us to the infamous ref flow method. I never baked my board in an oven thankfully but I did follow I fixits guide for disassembly and reflow with a head and new paste on top of the IHS. To my surprise my dead system worked! After 5 years of sitting in storage! Well it worked great but a month later YLOD. So I took it apart thinking I did something wrong applying the paste so I re pasted, reflowed and it worked again for another month. This time I was convinced that the system was overheated so I needed to delid. Well I was able to delid both IHS successfully and the system worked great for another month. Then I put a fan mod in that I bought off of eBay but same result. The last time it YLOD'd before this repair it happens while I was playing Metal Gear Solid 4. I was in game for about 45 minutes when it happened last august. Around this time I found this thread and started following it but I wasn't confident in my ability to do this without royally screwing up.

Tonight I decided it was time to try to replace one of the Nec Tokins. Top side of the board. I started with the one furthest to the right on the RSX. I tried just using my resolder station heat like NSC uses in one of his recent videos. But I couldn't melt the solder with just the gun to have a clean removal like NSC so I had to use my solder tip ton help remove the Nec. Once that was done and the pads were cleaned up I scratched away 4 little squares where my minus (-) of the tantalums would go. I did this so I wouldn't have to worry about putting them at an angle. With a combination of my flux, 50/50 lead solder, and solder station I had my four tantalums in place. The tantalums I ordered are rated 470 uf 2.5 v. My strategy was just to replace one at a time and see what happens. My mentality on this was that it wouldn't work but it's worth a shot. I apologize for not having photos of my solder work but I have a photo of the caps I used and the system running with my MGS4 disc! I tested it with this game for about an hour ( It was the only game I had at the time) it ran flawlessly. Then I played black ops for another hour. No issues! I couldn't be happier right now. Thank you Naked_Snake1995 and everyone in this thread for your contributions!

ecad317fab28ac001898cdbbf796c653.jpg




c7e37fbe9e6b683eb3be2fdcf48f748a.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Good news! Let's hope this lasts longer than a month!
 
SeanRanklin said:
What is the obsession with Tantalums? Why not just get new NECs?
Click to expand...
Is not an obsession, is more common sense, you can replace, them with brand new NECs instead of Tantalums, nothing wrong with that, but on the "Top-Side" of the board having original NECs installed isn't a great idea, since they're life span is increased if there is proper cooling, which there isn't, so you'll usually find NECs burn marks on the EMI Sheild near the BD Drive and the PSU, which is a sign of heat degradation that impacts the NECs lifespan, if $ony didn't implement NECs on top, i am sure the recapping wouldn't be necessary, and the machine would have been much more reliable, unfortunately for me is a design flaw, not only from Sony, but also Toshiba, many of they're laptops have the NEC Capacitor just hidden in a tiny spot where no air gets through, plus the older A300 got so hot, that would accelerate the degradation even more, see the pattern, when my A300 started to randomly shutdown, then i started to clean the machine in late 2012, mind you i had it since 2008, but by then it was already too late, the NEC had bitten the dust, and the only way to "revive" the laptop, was to heat it up the bottom shell with a Hair-Dryer, see another pattern here with the PlayStation3?

Now if you excuse me, imma gonna continue my journey throughout Persona 5 Royal, because $ony/SEGA failed to deliver my Themes, and i need to create some havoc with the support [emoji23]

Sent from my G8141 using Tapatalk
 
PS3FatRIP said:
Good news! Let's hope this lasts longer than a month!
Click to expand...

It would definitely last more then a month. I changed my PS3 (CHCHE01) back in Oct 2019 (after it had shown direct YLOD on boot since 2008 or 2009, cant really remember anymore) and it had been working well since the change. Ordered 50 capacitor to test out this repair then and order another 100 to change my other 2 system (this 2 system (CECHE06 and CECHA01 was working but would need multiple attempt to boot up to get pass the YLOD or would just suddenly YLOD while playing). Now both system are working very well during my on full day test using GT5 and GT6.
 
PS3FatRIP said:
I'd be more than happy to get new NECs. Where can you get them from?
Click to expand...

Get them from Aliexpress. Around 12 USD for 10 pcs. But to use these, you need heat up the PS3 mainboard which I think is quite bad for the board since it is difficult to control the amount of heat you are applying to the board. In SMT, heat are control at a max of 260C not exceeding 280C (lead-free) to ensure that component would not be damage by heat.
 
Naked_Snake1995 said:
Is not an obsession, is more common sense, you can replace, them with brand new NECs instead of Tantalums, nothing wrong with that, but on the "Top-Side" of the board having original NECs installed isn't a great idea, since they're life span is increased if there is proper cooling, which there isn't, so you'll usually find NECs burn marks on the EMI Sheild near the BD Drive and the PSU, which is a sign of heat degradation that impacts the NECs lifespan, if $ony didn't implement NECs on top, i am sure the recapping wouldn't be necessary, and the machine would have been much more reliable, unfortunately for me is a design flaw, not only from Sony, but also Toshiba, many of they're laptops have the NEC Capacitor just hidden in a tiny spot where no air gets through, plus the older A300 got so hot, that would accelerate the degradation even more, see the pattern, when my A300 started to randomly shutdown, then i started to clean the machine in late 2012, mind you i had it since 2008, but by then it was already too late, the NEC had bitten the dust, and the only way to "revive" the laptop, was to heat it up the bottom shell with a Hair-Dryer, see another pattern here with the PlayStation3?

Now if you excuse me, imma gonna continue my journey throughout Persona 5 Royal, because $ony/SEGA failed to deliver my Themes, and i need to create some havoc with the support [emoji23]

Sent from my G8141 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Okay i see where you are coming from. However, if one has modified the PSU to generate less heat, istalled custom fan mods and such all in an effort to reduce the heat in the console compared to how sony had them set, would it not be safer to install direct replacement NECS all over instead of other capacitors?

Interesting about the toshiba laptop issue, seems these capacitors cause the same issue all around. And here we all were blaming the lead free solder!

PS3FatRIP said:
I'd be more than happy to get new NECs. Where can you get them from?
Click to expand...
I got mine from ebay. 5 new NECS for around $15. Worth it IMO as i'm only changing the two RSX ones.

MYS said:
Get them from Aliexpress. Around 12 USD for 10 pcs. But to use these, you need heat up the PS3 mainboard which I think is quite bad for the board since it is difficult to control the amount of heat you are applying to the board. In SMT, heat are control at a max of 260C not exceeding 280C (lead-free) to ensure that component would not be damage by heat.
Click to expand...

I hear the old boards dispense heat quite well on their own even when heating them up directly. I have so far seen two methods of removing these NECS, one from NSC mods where he basically applied flux and blasted the chip with 380c heat until it came off, at which point he put new NECs and it rectified the issue, and another from My Mate Vince, where he had a hell of a time removing them with a heat gun and almost butchered the whole are of the board lol.

Since i have never done any kind of solder work, and am unable to find anyone who can, i am going to attempt this, but i sure hope i dont do any damage as my unit still works, and only has YLOD on certain game. I hope i dont reduce it from a semi functioning console to a dead one.
 
PS3FatRIP said:
Are there differences between the nice black tantalums and the orange yellow tantalums?
Click to expand...

Hiya, for starters i think there is a difference in the height, the black (Panasonic) ones are lower than the yellow (AVX) ones.

Another thing is the Panasonic ones are (+) or (-) 20% of the rated value (so +/- 20% of 470uF), and the AVX type ones are generally + or - 10% (so +/- 10% of 470uF).

Also, Sony used the Panasonic ones (size D right?) in the later PS3 boards and i'm sure these fit better under the metal sheilding(s).
 
SeanRanklin said:
Okay i see where you are coming from. However, if one has modified the PSU to generate less heat, istalled custom fan mods and such all in an effort to reduce the heat in the console compared to how sony had them set, would it not be safer to install direct replacement NECS all over instead of other capacitors?

Interesting about the toshiba laptop issue, seems these capacitors cause the same issue all around. And here we all were blaming the lead free solder!


I got mine from ebay. 5 new NECS for around $15. Worth it IMO as i'm only changing the two RSX ones.



I hear the old boards dispense heat quite well on their own even when heating them up directly. I have so far seen two methods of removing these NECS, one from NSC mods where he basically applied flux and blasted the chip with 380c heat until it came off, at which point he put new NECs and it rectified the issue, and another from My Mate Vince, where he had a hell of a time removing them with a heat gun and almost butchered the whole are of the board lol.

Since i have never done any kind of solder work, and am unable to find anyone who can, i am going to attempt this, but i sure hope i dont do any damage as my unit still works, and only has YLOD on certain game. I hope i dont reduce it from a semi functioning console to a dead one.
Click to expand...

@SeanRanklin ...friend, when i saw you say this:- "Since i have never done any kind of solder work....i am going to attempt this", i just want to offer some advice:- practise soldering / de-soldering on anything you can get your hands on first, old stuff, broken stuff, anything with components you can practise with. Get a feel for it, because soldering looks easy but it's actually very difficult without experience. But with practice, and more practice, it becomes easy. And then (just a suggestion) once you feel more confident with your skills attempt the PS3 work.
 
People asking for NECs should re-read the entire thread. If BC PS3s didn't last enough with brand new OG NECs, what makes you think the ones you get from "ebay" will be a better option than the tantalums? Also, many screwed the console up by doing this job, better read a lot and follow the advises of the ones who already succeed with this repair.
 
Workz_777 said:
@SeanRanklin ...friend, when i saw you say this:- "Since i have never done any kind of solder work....i am going to attempt this", i just want to offer some advice:- practise soldering / de-soldering on anything you can get your hands on first, old stuff, broken stuff, anything with components you can practise with. Get a feel for it, because soldering looks easy but it's actually very difficult without experience. But with practice, and more practice, it becomes easy. And then (just a suggestion) once you feel more confident with your skills attempt the PS3 work.
Click to expand...
I'm hoping to use no solder as NSC did in the below video:
 
ElGris said:
People asking for NECs should re-read the entire thread. If BC PS3s didn't last enough with brand new OG NECs, what makes you think the ones you get from "ebay" will be a better option than the tantalums? Also, many screwed the console up by doing this job, better read a lot and follow the advises of the ones who already succeed with this repair.
Click to expand...

To be fair, the BC units didn't start failing around 2009/2010, that's at least 3 years of use with Sony's crappy fan control which lets the unit and internals practically cook themselves.

In terms of the repair job, I have asked around my area multiple times and nobody is willing to take on this job, so I have no option other than to finally attempt it myself.
 
SeanRanklin said:
To be fair, the BC units didn't start failing around 2009/2010, that's at least 3 years of use with Sony's crappy fan control which lets the unit and internals practically cook themselves.

In terms of the repair job, I have asked around my area multiple times and nobody is willing to take on this job, so I have no option other than to finally attempt it myself.
Click to expand...
I extracted this from wikipedia:

"In September 2009, BBC's Watchdog television program aired a report investigating the issue, calling it the "yellow light of death" (YLOD). Among the consoles that experienced the failure, they found that it usually occurred 18–24 months after purchase, while the standard Sony warranty covers one year after purchase. After this time period, PlayStation 3 owners can pay Sony a fixed fee for a refurbished console."

That's the life expectancy of the NECs (see what happens in other pieces of hardware that use these capacitors). We can agree that this is a problem of the crappy reliability of the capacitors, since this also happens on 2xxx models (less working temperature), and never existed in later models. Nobody is gonna stop you from using them, as Squeept proved that this is the best option to use on a PS3, but don't expect to see that console running for many years like it would with the tantalums.

I recommend you to go slowly with the fix, it is not that hard. Many had problems removing smd components by accident, so cover everything with kapton tape and apply flux, tin and use the solder iron with the heat gun (if you have one) when removing the old NECs. The rest is easy.
 
ElGris said:
I extracted this from wikipedia:

"In September 2009, BBC's Watchdog television program aired a report investigating the issue, calling it the "yellow light of death" (YLOD). Among the consoles that experienced the failure, they found that it usually occurred 18–24 months after purchase, while the standard Sony warranty covers one year after purchase. After this time period, PlayStation 3 owners can pay Sony a fixed fee for a refurbished console."

That's the life expectancy of the NECs (see what happens in other pieces of hardware that use these capacitors). We can agree that this is a problem of the crappy reliability of the capacitors, since this also happens on 2xxx models (less working temperature), and never existed in later models. Nobody is gonna stop you from using them, as Squeept proved that this is the best option to use on a PS3, but don't expect to see that console running for many years like it would with the tantalums.

I recommend you to go slowly with the fix, it is not that hard. Many had problems removing smd components by accident, so cover everything with kapton tape and apply flux, tin and use the solder iron with the heat gun (if you have one) when removing the old NECs. The rest is easy.
Click to expand...
Okay point well taken.

Would these tantalums be sufficient for the job?

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/5x-7343...D-SMT-Capacitor/352689057242?var=622031492572
 
Those are the chinese ones. I used them and capacitance values are incorrect, maybe due being also low quality. Better buy those black ones that @cfreddykrueger used. I think those are Panasonic, also used on super slim models.
 
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