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

[moptop219]

yeah, another one right beside it should be plenty. Take one from a donor board or one of the low ESR caps you would otherwise use to replace tokins. Thats next if this doent work, so just get a couple extra. You can leave it afterwards, it wont hurt. At worst it does nothing.

Still getting A0801002. ERR 00 - ERR 19.

These also arrived today

 

[RIP-Felix]

Can't say I'm suprised. What I dont get is why Sony claims 1002 is a VRAM power failure when its not.

looks like some of the tantalizers came off the panel needing some cleanup. I didn't have that issue when I ordered a sample set. Maybe I can fix that by panelizing them in sets of 8.

 

[azlox9]

Yes, what you describe is a YLOD. Unless it's obviously overheating, you should always start with the syscon diagnostic.

No sense continuing with the tokin removal/replacment until you know if it's worth persuing. If you have a 3034, then you have wasted your time damaging what ain't broke. It needs a reball. If you have 1002's then keep going (low ESR/ESL caps only).

Hello,
Thanks for your reply.
I've ordered the board to do syscon diagnostics.
I don't know the history of these consoles, it's a lottery...
If it need a reball, they will go back on the auction, unfortunately I don't have the tools or the money to attend this, I've already spent some a fews bucks on the consoles, the tools and the compoments.
One thing that I saw, when I removed the tokin (I broke them into multiple pieces carrefully), one was kinda burnt in the inside, never saw that on other tokin, so maybe there is hope and only the capacitors are faulty.
Wait and see....

 

[RIP-Felix]

One thing that I saw, when I removed the tokin (I broke them into multiple pieces carrefully), one was kinda burnt in the inside, never saw that on other tokin, so maybe there is hope and only the capacitors are faulty.
Wait and see....

We've seen that before. It doesn't seem to be a problem. At least, no one has correlated burned looking tokins with 1002 and/or had sucess after replacing.

I do still suspect there is a fail modality there. Not sure if its ESL increases, thus increasing voltage ripple, but a few users have removed them and attempted to measure ESR and they were normal (kinda hard to know, since low ESR is hard to measure accurately).

 

[moptop219]

Installed the first Tantaliser on the RSX side. No dice. New fault is A0093004 RSX Power Failure.

 

[RIP-Felix]

Installed the first Tantaliser on the RSX side. No dice. New fault is A0093004 RSX Power Failure.

Is that a burn mark on the tape you used? First, only use kaptop tape (polyacrylamide tape). It can withstand high temperatuers without burning. Anything else is a fire hazard.

Second, it looks like you have a short in the upper right hand corner, but it's hard to tell. That's what the 00 3001 suggests too. Be sure to use flux, measure resistance, and clean afterwards. Resistance between +/GND rails should be greater than 1 ohm, but is typically under 4. Continuity will buzz, but that's normal on low impeedance filters like this.

 

[azlox9]

We've seen that before. It doesn't seem to be a problem. At least, no one has correlated burned looking tokins with 1002 and/or had sucess after replacing.

I do still suspect there is a fail modality there. Not sure if its ESL increases, thus increasing voltage ripple, but a few users have removed them and attempted to measure ESR and they were normal (kinda hard to know, since low ESR is hard to measure accurately).

Hello,
Just hooked up my first board to read the syscon error.
Both errors in the log : A0403034 and A0404421.
Is it our tokin friend or do it need a reball ?
The second motherboard will come soon.
Thanks.

 

[truemaster]

Hello,
Just hooked up my first board to read the syscon error.
Both errors in the log : A0403034 and A0404421.
Is it our tokin friend or do it need a reball ?
The second motherboard will come soon.
Thanks.

thats rsx fail. reball or replace the rsx

 

[azlox9]

thats rsx fail. reball or replace the rsx

RIP
The second board have the same A0403034, with a different 2ND error : A0404402.
So with the 3034 that mean RSX fault, so, I was unlucky on this lot
Anyways, the team behind the syscon reader discovery and program made a very good job

 

[RIP-Felix]

So with the 3034 that mean RSX fault, so, I was unlucky on this lot

As is should when you play the lottery. The difference between gambling and investing is knowing the odds and tipping them in your favor.

By way of analogy, the YLOD is like a high stakes game of poker. Unless you're an expert, you'll get eaten alive. To be fair, it's easy to get lulled into a false sense of ability by fixing other consoles. I did! 2 years later and I'm still loosing to this console. But It's an obsession at this point...nay, a vendetta!

Spoiler: What's wrong with the PS3?

A little self depricating humor here. It applies to both the PS3 and ME!

I don't mean to discourage anyone from learning and experimenting. If overestimating your ability, or underestimating your opponent, gets you in the ring, cool! Just don't expect to win every time. The PS3 is like going strait for Mike Tyson. Expect to lose an ear!

 

[moptop219]

Is that a burn mark on the tape you used? First, only use kaptop tape (polyacrylamide tape). It can withstand high temperatuers without burning. Anything else is a fire hazard.

Second, it looks like you have a short in the upper right hand corner, but it's hard to tell. That's what the 00 3001 suggests too. Be sure to use flux, measure resistance, and clean afterwards. Resistance between +/GND rails should be greater than 1 ohm, but is typically under 4. Continuity will buzz, but that's normal on low impeedance filters like this.

Replaced it with a new Tant. Cleaned it up and covered in electrical tape. Still waiting on some kap tape to arrive.

Still getting A0093004 though. Get ~2.7 Ohm between +/GND top and bottom. Where to from here?

 

[azlox9]

As is should when you play the lottery. The difference between gambling and investing is knowing the odds and tipping them in your favor.

By way of analogy, the YLOD is like a high stakes game of poker. Unless you're an expert, you'll get eaten alive. To be fair, it's easy to get lulled into a false sense of ability by fixing other consoles. I did! 2 years later and I'm still loosing to this console. But It's an obsession at this point...nay, a vendetta!

Spoiler: What's wrong with the PS3?

A little self depricating humor here. It applies to both the PS3 and ME!

I don't mean to discourage anyone from learning and experimenting. If overestimating your ability, or underestimating your opponent, gets you in the ring, cool! Just don't expect to win every time. The PS3 is like going strait for Mike Tyson. Expect to lose an ear!

Did you ever found a faulty original CECHC console with YLOD due to bad tokin ?
Does it seems that this first batch is not really subject to capacitor faillure but more to soldering failure ?
I'm trying to find faulty one on auction, and hope to fix them with tokin replacement.
Thanks.

 

[vyktormvmpay25]

Yes I did find 1002 in CECHC model untouched board. Found it in slims 2000 on untouched boards.
First I thought it won't work with only replacement but it did.
Also I got 1002 after few days of reball that unit with 40nm and modchip. Never had în syscon on that unit 1002. After few days on shelf it appears from nowhere. Fixed by exchange caps.

 

[azlox9]

Yes I did find 1002 in CECHC model untouched board. Found it in slims 2000 on untouched boards.
First I thought it won't work with only replacement but it did.
Also I got 1002 after few days of reball that unit with 40nm and modchip. Never had în syscon on that unit 1002. After few days on shelf it appears from nowhere. Fixed by exchange caps.

Well, you're lucky.
I'm looking for faulty unit on eBay.
I saw that some have the power on, then shutdown, 3 beep and red led, I suppose that for them it's a faulty RSX.
I saw that some have steady yellow led, maybe these one are likely to have faulty tokin ?
It's a gambling

 

[RIP-Felix]

Replaced it with a new Tant. Cleaned it up and covered in electrical tape. Still waiting on some kap tape to arrive.

Sorry, that didn't answer my question. Was that a burn mark?

If it was, I may need to rethink my choice in voltage rating for the cap that shorted. Can you confirm if one shorted? Which one (a link to the product would be helpful, so I can check it's voltage rating and other specs)?

Still getting A0093004 though. Get ~2.7 Ohm between +/GND top and bottom. Where to from here?

2.7 ohms is good. Keep going, 1 obviously wasn't enough.

 

[vyktormvmpay25]

Well, you're lucky.
I'm looking for faulty unit on eBay.
I saw that some have the power on, then shutdown, 3 beep and red led, I suppose that for them it's a faulty RSX.
I saw that some have steady yellow led, maybe these one are likely to have faulty tokin ?
It's a gambling

I just remove all caps from phat cok002 boards. If resistance of rsx after removing caps is 2.3~2.5 ohms worth reball. If under 2 ohms you can leave aside for 40nm swap modchip. Cell is always near 3 ohms. 05 ohms is resistance that will be given from nec caps, so caps won't affect to much resistance, never seen one short/affect vddc line.

 

[RIP-Felix]

Did you ever found a faulty original CECHC console with YLOD due to bad tokin ?
Does it seems that this first batch is not really subject to capacitor faillure but more to soldering failure ?
I'm trying to find faulty one on auction, and hope to fix them with tokin replacement.
Thanks.

I originally bought 2x A models on e-bay. They were listed as having YLOD. Neither was fixed using this tutorial. That got me annoyed and lit a fire under my a$$ to figure out why. So I performed an exhaustive review of this thread and compiled every single reported attempt to fix a console by replacing the tokins. What I found convinced me the YLOD is a general hardware failure that requires diagnosis to fix. That was SONY's official position in it too. It's still 90% RSX issues (Such as BGA defects).

So, you are better off looking for BC models described as having some other type of problem. Avoid consoles described as having YLOD, RLOD, or GLOD. Red blinking light, doesn't turn on, etc. 90% of the time that means they need reballed.

After those first 2x consoles, I mostly bought consoles with other problems. It's harder to find one and more expensive, but the chances of fixing a console that "doesn't read disks" is much better. I got one for $75 that just needed the Blu-Ray drive reseated properly. That was a lucky find, but they are out there if you look and wait. But this is what I mean by tipping the odds in your favor.

Another trick is to look for CBEH-1000 and look at the pictures. Sometimes people think that's the model number and sell a BC model for cheap. Although, I think people are wise to this now. I'm seeing less of this.

My favorite strategy is to buy one describes as "working" or "Tested." Believe it or not, if you wait long enough, you can find them for a good deal. I got a sealed A model for $163 that doesn't even have a loud fan that would indicate bad thermal paste. I mean, if you're gonna gamble. Gamble more money on a working console. If it doesn't work, at least you can get a refund because it wasn't described correctly.

It seems like you'd get a good deal trying to fix a broken console, but everyone has that same thought and are speculating on their value ATM. It's driving the price of YLOD consoles up. In the mean time, working consoles are being ignored. You'll spend more money finding a broken console you can fix than just buying one working. Even if you have to pay $300 for one it's still half the launch price. If you look at it that way, it's not a bad deal.

 

[azlox9]

I originally bought 2x A models on e-bay. They were listed as having YLOD. Neither was fixed using this tutorial. That got me annoyed and lit a fire under my a$$ to figure out why. So I performed an exhaustive review of this thread and compiled every single reported attempt to fix a console by replacing the tokins. What I found convinced me the YLOD is a general hardware failure that requires diagnosis to fix. That was SONY's official position in it too. It's still 90% RSX issues (Such as BGA defects).

So, you are better off looking for BC models described as having some other type of problem. Avoid consoles described as having YLOD, RLOD, or GLOD. Red blinking light, doesn't turn on, etc. 90% of the time that means they need reballed.

After those first 2x consoles, I mostly bought consoles with other problems. It's harder to find one and more expensive, but the chances of fixing a console that "doesn't read disks" is much better. I got one for $75 that just needed the Blu-Ray drive reseated properly. That was a lucky find, but they are out there if you look and wait. But this is what I mean by tipping the odds in your favor.

Another trick is to look for CBEH-1000 and look at the pictures. Sometimes people think that's the model number and sell a BC model for cheap. Although, I think people are wise to this now. I'm seeing less of this.

My favorite strategy is to buy one describes as "working" or "Tested." Believe it or not, if you wait long enough, you can find them for a good deal. I got a sealed A model for $163 that doesn't even have a loud fan that would indicate bad thermal paste. I mean, if you're gonna gamble. Gamble more money on a working console. If it doesn't work, at least you can get a refund because it wasn't described correctly.

It seems like you'd get a good deal trying to fix a broken console, but everyone has that same thought and are speculating on their value ATM. It's driving the price of YLOD consoles up. In the mean time, working consoles are being ignored. You'll spend more money finding a broken console you can fix than just buying one working. Even if you have to pay $300 for one it's still half the launch price. If you look at it that way, it's not a bad deal.

Thanks for giving your opinion on this.
I think the same.
For me, I was not trying to purchase broken one to fix them and have cheap console, I don't even play PS3 a lot.
It was really for the challenge, reviving a broken machine, that is/will become collectible.
Working in ICT, I usually work on computer/server hardware repair, and seeing this kind of "easy" repair (really, removing NEC/TOKIN and soldering tantalum cap is done in 5 minutes with the tools and the training).
I misunderstood the NEC/TOKIN case, it seemed too easy to fix YLOD console with this, the original problem that was found, chips that need to be reballed, still applies for 90% of the case...
I'll keep an eyes on the info you gave me

 

[RIP-Felix]

I misunderstood the NEC/TOKIN case, it seemed too easy to fix YLOD console with this, the original problem that was found, chips that need to be reballed, still applies for 90% of the case...
I'll keep an eyes on the info you gave me

Yes, that's how most of us got started here (the tutorial on this thread). It's such a tantalizing narrative, people are desperate to believe. It's another case of wishful thinking. If it's too good to be true, it isn't...well, most of the time!

That's the rub. The tokins can and do go bad. And as the console get older, the caps will start going bad more and more. So even though right now a true case of bad tokins is rare, it may become more prevalent in the future. So this tutorial and "fix" is still useful. It's just not a case of misdiagnosis, like youtube would have us believe. That's a good story that attracts views. Everyone likes an underdog story. Unfortunately, it's causing people to buy and destroy BC PS3's that could otherwise be reballed and restored. It's sad.

OTOH, it is making working BC models rarer and more valuable. So if you are able to fix them, it's becoming lucrative.

 

[moptop219]

Sorry, that didn't answer my question. Was that a burn mark?

Yes it was, but from me touching it with the soldering iron not a blown cap. Will continue changing caps out.