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[Safrole]

The longest heat gun repair is probably still functioning.  We'll never know.  When someone gets their fix, they may not come back until the next breakdown.

@wireless:  I like your idea, to touch the component while above the solder temperature.  It's dangerous, but it's good.  I don't think you need real pressure, just a little contact - and no sideways movement at all, of course.  Usually when two bodies of molten solder touch at all, they flow together.  But if there is gunky film on the surface, perhaps a reflow from temperature alone may not occur, or would require a much higher temperature.  A little tap could help.  I don't think constant pressure is necessary, because once you have the two sides flowing together, the solder will continue to cling to each side.  Obviously if the board is severly warped then you're just beating a dead horse, so we must assume that the components are still in a salvageable condition.

There are people who do this kind of thing all the time, with a proper rework station.  I wish they had taken the lead on this issue in the first place.  I bet even among those guys, opinions vary on whether you tap a component or not.

[goodl]

http://forums.xbox-s...howtopic=577840

low rent, but it works

[qaz_]

hey thanks !!
i have repair my 360
thanks too you (mygameswirelesscom)
hay have a happy new year ~~
 keep up the good work~

[Tortuga2112]

M$ secret fix for 3RLOD .  here's a microsoft technician fixing your 360 when you send it in for repairs

$140 please.thank you

3 red light error fix  

too funny , but if it works for you...

til it gets progressively worse and you gotta hit it with a hammer(or as my shop teacher used to call it "the multi-angle swing press").

[mygameswirelesscom]

QUOTE(Tortuga2112 @ Jan 13 2007, 07:27 PM)

M$ secret fix for 3RLOD .  here's a microsoft technician fixing your 360 when you send it in for repairs

$140 please.thank you

3 red light error fix  

too funny , but if it works for you...

til it gets progressively worse and you gotta hit it with a hammer(or as my shop teacher used to call it "the multi-angle swing press").

hey  I love it !!!
lol      

[nnndoh]

i did the hot air gun method early december for about 5 minutes...and the xbox works flawless till today.
after i did the system update and a lost planet update i get a error 79.
and i know that this will be error 102

i have an lcd thing where i can see how the temperature are on the gpu and the cpu.
but thats oke, not to hot.

think i will try the toothpick solution tonight

edit: 0022 GPU Error / GPU Overheating... the first time i get this one but my xcm 360 high speed air cooler display's that the gpu is at 39 degrees celsius..if i get 52 degrees celsius it gives an error.

edit 2 : 5 minutes later : error code 0103, not yet known..think he's dying
            thank you microsoft for the update

[shenmuemaster]

The heatgun fix sounds interesting...

I have been havin a few problems with my 360 the last few days with the 3 red lights. When it first occurred, the console wud directly boot to the 3 red lights. I made many attempts and the same 3 red lights. However, I read a few places about some tricks that could help the 360 run.

What i did was let the 360 run on the 3 red lights for about 15mins and rebooted it and voila it loaded up the dash. However when i loaded a game up (Pro Evo 6) it froze after 5 mins (which was expected). I rebooted and then the 3 lights returned. I reattempted and the 3 lights remained to flash. So i reattempted leavin it for 15 mins, and reboot. This time it didnt work and the 3red lights appeared. So i put a towel and covered the 360 at the back, so inaffect the console wud heat up as i left the 360 on the redlights for 15 mins. After 15 mins and rebooted, the console worked. I popped in GOW and played it for about 10 mins be4 the checkered screen appeared. I rebooted, but continued to work and booted up the dash. So i rebooted GOW and froze after a minute. Rebooted and the 360 boots up but then freezes on the loadup screen (360 logo). Everytime i turn on the 360 it boots up, but to freeze in the 360 logo sequence.

So the 3 red lights have gone, but the 360 freezes be4 it loads up.

Does anyone think that the heatgun fix could fix my 360?

Update: Leavin the 360 to cool for a bit the red lights are back!

[shenmuemaster]

Well i tried the towel trick again and its worked. Played for a hour straight, no freezing, played loads of different games, rebooted and still works. I even tried the lost planet demo which originally started the freezing, and played fine.

Im guessin it wont work if i leave it for a while. But uptill now things are lookin better.

Maybe the heatgun method might sort the problem for good...

[Safrole]

Shen, the heatgun will indeed fix your troubles.  If you don't actually melt the solder with it, then the fix will be temporary.  If you do melt the solder it will be as good as original.  So that would still be temporary, but probably a year instead of just a week.

Put pieces of solder on top of each chip so you have an idea when you're close to the melting point of solder.  Go a little farther after the solder on top melts, since you have to melt what is on the bottom side of the chips.  If there is too much air blowing from your heatgun, it may be possible to restrict its airflow by putting some tape over the intake.

[mygameswirelesscom]

hey hop this help a bit   !!

Hitachi Open Tray Fix
http://forums.xbox-s...n Tray Hitachi

Sticky Dvd Drive Samsung
http://forums.xbox-s...howtopic=575682


hitachi laser replacement tutorial, also contains the solder blob point
http://edpsystemssup...63_Install.html

samsung laser replacement tutorial
http://edpsystemssup...67_Install.html

http://forums.xbox-s...howtopic=552795
Heatsink X-clamps Removal

Heat gun


http://www.myspace.com/nymichael424

Tutorial On How To Apply Here
http://forums.xbox-s...howtopic=467045

tooth pick
http://forums.xbox-s...o...4726&st=300

good luck on your repair   !!

P.S. if you dont have time used your local game store thank you !!

[FearsomeSNR]

A Quick update.  I used the toothpick method 2 weeks ago when i was waiting for my heatgun.  Has worked fine until this weekend and i now start to get the freezing again after 20mins of play. Proving i guess, that this is a temporary fix.

Will try the heat gun fix when i get another T8 torx (last one snapped) and keep you updated.

From my experience tootpick method = 2 weeks.

Heat Gun = ?

[Darth Darius]

QUOTE(FearsomeSNR @ Jan 22 2007, 01:30 PM)

A Quick update.  I used the toothpick method 2 weeks ago when i was waiting for my heatgun.  Has worked fine until this weekend and i now start to get the freezing again after 20mins of play. Proving i guess, that this is a temporary fix.

Will try the heat gun fix when i get another T8 torx (last one snapped) and keep you updated.

From my experience tootpick method = 2 weeks.

Heat Gun = ?

Try this, its like the tootpick , but seems to work much longer.


Well , you do the heat gun trick first, as you Know , i did it with the two heatsinks off, then you cut the alumminium can like the picture in the form of the two chips under the heatsinks, (just the plastic form), in the next pic , http://i140.photobuc...r7/Modbo360.jpg, watch for no put the piece in the small capacitors , just in the plastic like the pic, the pieces must be 2 for each chip to do the job done, put some artic silver in the chips, in the first piece to do a "sandwich" between pieces , this help for no moves when you installing the heatsinks

like this http://i140.photobuc...gengar7/Fix.jpg

when you put the heatsinks and put the screws the heatsink do pressure over the chip and prevent the fatal error.

Cheers

[bozac2007]

I repair game consoles and have been for quite some time ......

Wanted to post a fix that seems to work for me and I have had 90% of the systems with the three red light problem fixed with no problem
I have noticed that the hot air fix seems to work for a bit but then after awhile its back to the drawing board …….
so what I have been doing is removeing the GPU heatsink
and take the main board out of the case ………
I focus on the gpu and south bridge chip, I use the heat gun to heat up the south chip first bout 15 seconds on low heat in round motion ……I apply steady pressure on the outside of the chip (not the center)now here is where it gets tricky ……..apply more heat from the heat gun and focus on the chip itself……you will see the outside of the chip start to flex (NOT MELTING !)
remove the heat gun and hold steady pressure on the outside of the chip for about 10 min I use a fan to cool it a little faster
after its cool reassemble it and try it 3/4 of the time it will work flawless if not back to the drawing board and this time repeat the steps for the GPU …………
IF you have any questions you can e-mail me at [email protected]
If you find this works for you post this on other sites
so people can save their 360’s !!!

[FearsomeSNR]

What's the general concensus on using the heat gun? Start low heat then go up to high or the other way around?

There are conflicting methods about this on the web.  Obviously at the end of the day, regardless, if the solder is reflowed it doesnt matter, i know.

But i would prefer someones opinion on whats the best way to go before i attempt this.

Its a pain in the arse though that all these methods, even a proper heat gun reflow are temporary.

I dont think there is such a thing as a permanent fix with these things.

P.S Apologies for my ignorance but can someone post a pic of the southbridge to clarify.

[Safrole]

Allow me to plagiarize a bit from the pdf I cite below.  The reflow temperature profile (how fast you climb and descend) is not nearly as critical as one may tend to believe.  Can you get a good solder joint with an iron?  Of course.  Is the iron at a magical temperature?  No, it's much too hot, but there's a big window in which you're okay.  The heat gun works the same way for us; it's just a very broad iron.

So you can melt other components off the board on accident.  Or you can fail to melt the solder altogether, because you can't see it happening.  (That's much more common.)  That's why I strongly advocate the pieces of solder on top of the chips.  You still have to go beyond their melting point, but at least you've got SOMETHING to tell you when you're close.  Counting to two minutes while waving your gun around is nothing but a shot in the dark.  The heat delivery from the gun varies widely with the distance to the target.  The only way to get reproducible results with simple timing is if we're all using the same wattage (and airflow) of gun at the same distance from the chip.  Obviously I believe the vast majority of XS heat gunners are following a recipe for random results.  (you like alliteration?  I like alliteration.)

I also believe that you could tape over some of the intake vents on your heat gun and restrict the airflow without melting the gun.  Proceed at your own risk, heh heh.  I'll bet the lower setting comes out hotter and slower, just like a professional rework station.

EDIT: forgot the citation, not that it's really that pertinent to our solution.
http://www.efdsolder...lder_Reflow.pdf

2ndEDIT:  Check out this guy's low-cost solution.  This is NOT what we need, but it's interesting:http://www.sparkfun....ow-hotplate.htm

And just to save you thinking of the correct terms:
http://www.google.co... station reflow