Help I have 3 rings again

[RemaL]

A few weeks ago have 3 red rings. turned off for a few days then worked fine for a few weeks then last night again.

I had my xbox fixed a long time ago when this first happened. since then bought a fan that is fixed to the back of the box and you connect the power lead through it. Worked fine

I've had the 360 since it was first out so not sure if its under the 3 year warrenty cover for this

any idea?

[Altrezia]

I had one of those fan things - i think it actually made the problem worse.

As for the RROD - it's an easy fix with the repair kit, if you DIY.

[Steve Evil]

Altrezia said:

I had one of those fan things - i think it actually made the problem worse.

As for the RROD - it's an easy fix with the repair kit, if you DIY.

Got any details on the repair kit? Mine is a day-one machine and if it goes again it's now out of warranty, so it would be good if I could sort it myself rather than buying a replacement.

[RemaL]

Altrezia said:

I had one of those fan things - i think it actually made the problem worse.

As for the RROD - it's an easy fix with the repair kit, if you DIY.

why is the fan no good, I thought it helped keep it cooler or mover more air. and as for the DIY kit, where do I get it?

cheers

[Steve Evil]

RemaL said:

Altrezia said:

I had one of those fan things - i think it actually made the problem worse.

As for the RROD - it's an easy fix with the repair kit, if you DIY.

why is the fan no good, I thought it helped keep it cooler or mover more air. and as for the DIY kit, where do I get it?

cheers

I've heard loads of reports about the fans making the problem worse, due to them not cooling the correct parts of the system. I'd get that off asap.

[Altrezia]

Exactly that. The xbox has been designed to give airflow to the correct parts - the fan stops that!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Xbox-360-XCLAMP-Repair-Kit-W...

There's the kit. Comes with instructions. If you don't feel comfortable doing it, I am happy to do it for you.

-a.

[RemaL]

Altrezia said:

Exactly that. The xbox has been designed to give airflow to the correct parts - the fan stops that!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Xbox-360-XCLAMP-Repair-Kit-W...

There's the kit. Comes with instructions. If you don't feel comfortable doing it, I am happy to do it for you.

-a.

Altrezia your a star. I shall look into this and give it a go. many thanks for the offer too

[Bobby_Mac]

From what i remember...if you got the RROD problem and you sent it away to be repaired, when it comes back again you have the 3 year warranty start over....may be wrong though!

[RemaL]

Bobby_Mac said:

From what i remember...if you got the RROD problem and you sent it away to be repaired, when it comes back again you have the 3 year warranty start over....may be wrong though!

anyone got the number to contact microsoft?

[ih8thisname]

RemaL said:

anyone got the number to contact microsoft?

0800 587 1102

You'll get a friendly asain bloke who doesn't have a clue what planet he's on nevermind what you're trying to say...

[RemaL]

ih8thisname said:

RemaL said:

anyone got the number to contact microsoft?

0800 587 1102

You'll get a friendly asain bloke who doesn't have a clue what planet he's on nevermind what you're trying to say...

cheers, do I need the serial code fro the back of the 360. if so I won't be able to phone from work

[DoubleYellow]

Do the 'Towel Glitch'. lol.

Wrap the Xbox in a beach towel really tight. Leave it to run for 20 minutes (getting really hot), let it stand for an hour then turn in on.

My brother did it and it actually worked... for 3 days til it went again.

Disclaimer: I am not held responsible for any house fires that may ensue from this method.

[ih8thisname]

RemaL said:

ih8thisname said:

RemaL said:

anyone got the number to contact microsoft?

0800 587 1102

You'll get a friendly asain bloke who doesn't have a clue what planet he's on nevermind what you're trying to say...

cheers, do I need the serial code fro the back of the 360. if so I won't be able to phone from work

Nope, don't think you do but I'm sure someone will be along to correct me if I'm mistaken!

Don't, whatever you do wrap your xbox up in towels/blankets etc. It won't weld the broken bits back together, all it'll do is set your house alight.

Folk only started doing that because xbox refused to fix their error under warrenty as it wasn't RROD - their solution?

Homemade RROD.

[Digby]

ih8thisname said:

RemaL said:

ih8thisname said:

RemaL said:

anyone got the number to contact microsoft?

0800 587 1102

You'll get a friendly asain bloke who doesn't have a clue what planet he's on nevermind what you're trying to say...

cheers, do I need the serial code fro the back of the 360. if so I won't be able to phone from work

Nope, don't think you do but I'm sure someone will be along to correct me if I'm mistaken!

Don't, whatever you do wrap your xbox up in towels/blankets etc. It won't weld the broken bits back together, all it'll do is set your house alight.



Folk only started doing that because xbox refused to fix their error under warrenty as it wasn't RROD - their solution?

Homemade RROD.

Having had much experience of dead 360's, I can suggest that the towel trick will work fine for some people.It is not a long term cure however, sometimes your machine may work for a few more hours, sometimes for a few more weeks, sometimes it won't work at all, it just depends.In the majority of cases, the low quality lead free solder on the 360 gets extremely hot due to the naff cooling and the clamps which hold on the heatsinks also bend the motherboard and the result of this is cracked solder.
Heating up the console can re-flow the solder.I fixed one of my machines several times in the oven (with the machine stripped of course!), with a towel and one with a heatgun.They would all work for a few weeks and when they died, I did the same again and they lasted again for a while.They did still all die in the end though and even an xclamp repaired machine I had only lasted a few months before that too went to the big MS graveyard.There are ways to repair the motherboards properly, but you need some decent equipment to do it and someone who knows what they are doing, otherwise your best bet is to send it off and get another machine, but the towel trick can save you for a short while if you are desperate to use the machine.My friend did his only a short while ago after my advice and it lasted around a month before dying again.

Edited by Digby on Tuesday 17th February 18:00

[ih8thisname]

Digby said:

ih8thisname said:

RemaL said:

ih8thisname said:

RemaL said:

anyone got the number to contact microsoft?

0800 587 1102

You'll get a friendly asain bloke who doesn't have a clue what planet he's on nevermind what you're trying to say...

cheers, do I need the serial code fro the back of the 360. if so I won't be able to phone from work

Nope, don't think you do but I'm sure someone will be along to correct me if I'm mistaken!

Don't, whatever you do wrap your xbox up in towels/blankets etc. It won't weld the broken bits back together, all it'll do is set your house alight.



Folk only started doing that because xbox refused to fix their error under warrenty as it wasn't RROD - their solution?

Homemade RROD.

Having had much experience of dead 360's, I can suggest that the towel trick will work fine for some people.It is not a long term cure however, sometimes your machine may work for a few more hours, sometimes for a few more weeks, sometimes it won't work at all, it just depends.In the majority of cases, the low quality lead free solder on the 360 gets extremely hot due to the naff cooling and the clamps which hold on the heatsinks also bend the motherboard and the result of this is cracked solder.
Heating up the console can re-flow the solder.I fixed one of my machines several times in the oven (with the machine stripped of course!), with a towel and one with a heatgun.They would all work for a few weeks and when they died, I did the same again and they lasted again for a while.They did still all die in the end though and even an xclamp repaired machine I had only lasted a few months before that too went to the big MS graveyard.There are ways to repair the motherboards properly, but you need some decent equipment to do it and someone who knows what they are doing, otherwise your best bet is to send it off and get another machine, but the towel trick can save you for a short while if you are desperate to use the machine.My friend did his only a short while ago after my advice and it lasted around a month before dying again.

Edited by Digby on Tuesday 17th February 18:00

I stand corrected!

[paul26982]

if you do a search ou can fix them properly i think, had a guide somewere, this way people were making a fortune buying rod console for £20 an selling them fixed, this was my plan but have being side tracked

[Digby]

paul26982 said:

if you do a search ou can fix them properly i think, had a guide somewere, this way people were making a fortune buying rod console for £20 an selling them fixed, this was my plan but have being side tracked

This is possibly the x-clamp mod.That's the one I see plastered all over the place.There are numerous 'packages' but the end result is that you open the 360 (no easy task if you are not used to it, although it now only takes me a couple of minutes) remove the original clamps which flex the motherboard, screw in some new clamps to the heatsinks add on various washers, lob some better thermal compound on the GPU and CPU and keep your fingers crossed it stops any more solder cracking.The problem is, it is not a 100% cure, no matter what anyone else tells you.I even did a test on a new console and xclamp modded it from new as a test, it still died after around a year.That machine was also stripped and was run with fans on the heatsinks, something you don't get as standard, so it was also much, much cooler.My second xlamp modded machine is sat behind me as we speak and is also dead, so if anyone wants an xclamp kit, one which is "guaranteed" to fix your dead machine, let me know!

It may well fix it for a while btw, but don't count on any of them making it last for years to come.The only proper fix is to have the whole motherboard resoldered, something which is way beyond most peoples capabilities and requires some pretty specialist machinery.

[Digby]

ih8thisname said:

I stand corrected!

From what I can gather, if people had a RROD only a few times, or had other problems with the machine, they often tried to cook the machine by wrapping it in towels etc, as this would give an overheating RROD error (and possibly help the solder to become weaker due to the added heat and pressure on the mobo by the heatsink clamps) and they would send it back to MS.Things got a tad confused though, when people started to realise you could also fix a dead RROD machine - one which had suffered cracked solder as talked about above - by also wrapping it in a towel! The two examples above have become kind of intertwined as time has gone on, so confusion abounds!

The towel trick itself is simple enough, you get some thick towels (it's always better with two or three), turn the machine on, completely wrap it up as much as possible so no air can get in or out, leave it ticking over for half an hour or so (and turn it back on if it turns itself off) and then let it cool for half an hour +.I have yet to hear of anyone burning down the house, but it would probably be best not to leave it alone and go shopping etc You would be suprised at how hot is is inside a standard 360 anyway, there isn't a great deal which can burst into flames, but if anyone wants to try, you do so at your own risk!

Edited by Digby on Tuesday 17th February 18:35

[skylinecrazy]

This wouldn't have happened if you would have bought a PS3.

[Digby]

skylinecrazy said:

This wouldn't have happened if you would have bought a PS3.

That's what my mate told me, he's on his second PS3 now though.
I did get a PS3 but sold it in the end, I will get another later.
Great bit of kit though, it makes the 360 feel like something you
get from a Kinder egg, but there is definately room for both consoles.
Gamers have never had it so good!