What The YLOD Is
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The "Yellow Light of Death" (or YLOD for short) is a condition I found to be caused by a combination of the use of lead-free solder, poor quality thermal paste, and/or overheating. The YLOD is characterized when the PS3 beeping and flashing lights in this exact sequence: (green, yellow, to flashing red), when you try to turn it on. This is illustrated in the video below.


If you get the YLOD, the PS3 becomes nonfunctional. If you happen to have a disc inside, it will probably be stuck there until you have the system fixed, or have it physically removed.



What causes the YLOD?

In 2006 the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS) came into effect, prohibiting the intentional addition of lead to most consumer electronics. Lead based solders have been in use for over 50 years, and manufacturers are highly familiar with their characteristics. Unfortunately this isn't true for lead-free solders, where they are known to be more fragile, where they can crack and fracture. The PS3 has hundreds of solder connections beneath its CPU & GPU, and if only one solder ball were to crack or fracture, you would get the YLOD.

The PS3 is the first PlayStation system to require an elaborate cooling system, where it needs a heatsink, fan, and thermal paste to cool itself effectively. Unfortunately the thermal paste Sony choose to use when manufacturing the PS3 tends to dry out after a few years of regular use, which can cause the PS3 to overheat. When this happens, it can cause the aforementioned lead-free solder to fracture, break, or melt; resulting in a YLOD issue.

Most of the time it is the GPU (RSX) chip that gets fractured solder points that lead to the YLOD. The best reason I have heard this happens is that the CPU (CELL) chip has a hole cut underneath it on the motherboard allowing for heat to escape, which isn't true for the GPU. You can see this in the picture below, where both chips have been removed from the board.





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TIPS for your PS3 to avoid the YLOD.

These tips are primarily intended only for the following PS3 system models:

60GB (CECHA)
20GB (CECHB)
60GB PAL(CECHC)
80GB (CECHE)
80GB (CECHE MG)
40GB (CECHG)

WARNING

You shouldn't attempt any of these tips if you are uncomfortable with opening up and servicing your own PS3, or if it is still under warranty. If you are not comfortable doing this, you should have a videogame repair shop perform these tips for you.

Tip #1 Replace the PS3 Power Supply with a more efficient version.

The standard power supply that comes with the PS3 can run very hot and is a huge source of heat inside the PS3. They run so hot it probably would have been wise that Sony made the power supply external, so that the PS3 could cool itself in a more efficient manner. The theory of using a cooler power supply comes from the idea that less heat will result in less "flexing" of the PlayStation 3 motherboard, that could potentially cause damage, leading to a YLOD issue.

Tip #2 Install the 19-blade PS3 fan.

There are two different fans that are compatible with these PS3 systems. First, there is the 15-blade fan. [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

And there is the 19-blade fan. Apparently PS3 made in Japan during the first few months of its initial release, had 19-blade fan installed standard. When Sony switched PS3 manufacturing over to China, they largely switched over the 15-blade one, although it is still possible to have a 19-blade fan. It is generally believed that the 19-blade fan moves a larger volume of air per minute (150% more), and tends to be quieter than the 15-blade version. [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

Tip #3 Replace the original thermal paste with the thermal pads.



It turns out the PS3's Achilles heal is the thermal paste that Sony uses on the PS3. It is believed that the thermal grease tends to dry out after 2-3 years, and when it does the PS3 may have issues keeping itself cool during normal use. The latest victims of YLOD have nearly all had their systems for about 3 or more years.

NOTE

One big sign that you need to replace your thermal grease ASAP, is if your PS3's system fan goes to the highest speed within 5 minutes after first turning the console on.

Another big sign is if cool air being exhausted from the back of the PS3.

If either of these signs applies to you, this indicates that the thermal grease is no longer properly transferring heat away from the PS3's main processors as it should. As a result your PS3 may overheat, damaging it and potentially causing the YLOD.

Alot of people recommend [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] thermal compound. This is one of the newest carbon-based compounds, the best thermal conductor available in nature, having several times better thermal conductivity as silver. MX-4 has no cure time, and it costs about the same price as AS5. MX-4 also has 2.4 times the thermal conductivity as Arctic Silver 5 (8.5 W/mk vs. 3.5 W/mk). What I like best about this paste is that it has a durability rating of 8 years, meaning that the performance of this product should not decrease over that period of time. When the thermal paste is properly applied, the air exhausted from the PS3 will be very warm. This indicates to you that the thermal paste working as it should, and conducting heat away from the system.

What if i already have the YLOD?

If you are currently a victim of a YLOD issue, you should consider having your PS3 reballed. Reballing will basically bring your PS3 back to the state it was before it got the YLOD condition. Performing a reflow of the solder on your PS3 can work and will repair your system in many cases. The problem with reflowing is eventually the YLOD problem will return, because over time the process of the chip heating and cooling will cause the "Lead Free" solder to fail again.

With Reflowing, no new solder is applied and the chip is not removed. The chip is just reheated so that the solder will melt and hopefully reconnect the joints. Be advised that if you attempt a reflow yourself (using DYI guides), you could easily damage your PS3 if you perform it incorrectly. This would make it harder to fix your PS3 through reballing, if you choose that later.

With Reballing, all the old solder is removed. The chip and the motherboard is then cleaned and brand new "Leaded" solder is later applied. Using Leaded solder makes this repair stronger than the original lead free solder, and your system should last for a very long time.

Sending your PS3 back to Sony will fix your YLOD problems, chances are they will come back again. Here's why, Sony still uses "Lead Free" solder. If you have a PS3 Fat model, you will get back a PS3 Fat model using the same solder that can crack once again. The only way to solve this problem is to have your PS3 chips re-balled using "Leaded" solder. Leaded solder is far superior in strength and will never crack or melt under the CPU's temp. A lot of people's refurbished systems breaking down soon after the 90 day warranty on these systems has expired. Sony typically charges $100-$150 for an out of warranty repair.