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Posted 8 June 2008
Xbox 360 2 flashing red lights - overheating advice - possible saving of £65 by self servicing.
This is advice for anyone who has a fault with 2 red lights flashing on the ring of light due to overheating and is handy with a screwdriver.
I feel I have to share this advice with all of you HUK Dealers out there. This is my genuine experience of what caused my 2 year old OUT OF WARRANTY Xbox 360 to fail due to overheating and resulted in 2 red lights on the console.
ROOT CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM:
It was clogged with dust internally and this was preventing the air from passing through the cooling fins of the heat sink.
CONCLUSION:
I plan to repeat this self servicing every year to prevent it from happening again.
SYMPTOMS:
Playing on the console normally for a few hours and then it would stop suddenly with 2 flashing red lights. Resetting the console worked ok at first. However, a few weeks later it gradually began happening more frequently with shorter intervals of playing time in-between. Eventually it would only play for about 2 minutes before overheating with 2 red lights flashing to indicate overheating.
XBOX SUPPORT:
I rang Xbox support and ran through the symptoms with them. They eliminated some obvious things that should be done e.g. keep it off the carpet / keep it out of confined spaces - preferably on a stable base in a well ventilated place. (This was a well cared for console and none of it applied). They advised a repair was required at a cost of approx £65 including shipping, but that this would also cover the console with a 12 month warranty from the time of repair.
SOLUTION (£65 SAVED):
I advise you to do all of this on a wooden bench to avoid static. Make sure the Xbox and all it's internal components are fully cooled down. Also, first remove static from yourself by washing your hands (this will earth the static).
(1) Remove all cables and connections / memory cards etc
(2) Remove the hard drive (where fitted - it just unplugs).
(3) Remove the plastic case as follows*:
*Note: carefully prise all the plastic lugs / clips so as not to break them during removal.
*Remove the 2 plastic end plates first
*Remove the bottom of the main outer plastic case
*Remove the 6 long screws to release the other side of the main outer plastic case
(I needed a T10 driver bit to do this).
(4) Very, very carefully blow out all of the dust, especially where it clogs the metal cooling fins of the heat sink. (or use a plastic handled brush with no metal parts - canned air is useful for this or use a balloon + pump + straw) (see thread advice).
(5) Reassemble in the reverse order of the previous instructions.
This self service cured the overheating problem and the console works fine now.
*Note: Please don't confuse this with the 3 flashing red lights on the ring of light which is a separate general hardware failure that Microsoft will repair free of charge for up to three years from date of purchase.
I feel I have to share this advice with all of you HUK Dealers out there. This is my genuine experience of what caused my 2 year old OUT OF WARRANTY Xbox 360 to fail due to overheating and resulted in 2 red lights on the console.
ROOT CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM:
It was clogged with dust internally and this was preventing the air from passing through the cooling fins of the heat sink.
CONCLUSION:
I plan to repeat this self servicing every year to prevent it from happening again.
SYMPTOMS:
Playing on the console normally for a few hours and then it would stop suddenly with 2 flashing red lights. Resetting the console worked ok at first. However, a few weeks later it gradually began happening more frequently with shorter intervals of playing time in-between. Eventually it would only play for about 2 minutes before overheating with 2 red lights flashing to indicate overheating.
XBOX SUPPORT:
I rang Xbox support and ran through the symptoms with them. They eliminated some obvious things that should be done e.g. keep it off the carpet / keep it out of confined spaces - preferably on a stable base in a well ventilated place. (This was a well cared for console and none of it applied). They advised a repair was required at a cost of approx £65 including shipping, but that this would also cover the console with a 12 month warranty from the time of repair.
SOLUTION (£65 SAVED):
I advise you to do all of this on a wooden bench to avoid static. Make sure the Xbox and all it's internal components are fully cooled down. Also, first remove static from yourself by washing your hands (this will earth the static).
(1) Remove all cables and connections / memory cards etc
(2) Remove the hard drive (where fitted - it just unplugs).
(3) Remove the plastic case as follows*:
*Note: carefully prise all the plastic lugs / clips so as not to break them during removal.
*Remove the 2 plastic end plates first
*Remove the bottom of the main outer plastic case
*Remove the 6 long screws to release the other side of the main outer plastic case
(I needed a T10 driver bit to do this).
(4) Very, very carefully blow out all of the dust, especially where it clogs the metal cooling fins of the heat sink. (or use a plastic handled brush with no metal parts - canned air is useful for this or use a balloon + pump + straw) (see thread advice).
(5) Reassemble in the reverse order of the previous instructions.
This self service cured the overheating problem and the console works fine now.
*Note: Please don't confuse this with the 3 flashing red lights on the ring of light which is a separate general hardware failure that Microsoft will repair free of charge for up to three years from date of purchase.
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I suppose I never really had an overheating problem - it was more of a dust contamination problem.:thumbsup:
Thanks - good advice, I hadn't thought of that:roll:. I know where there's canned air for £1 too - a bargain at poundland no less and I've already got some in the cupboard!:giggle: (I must post that one - I just did a search on HUKD and it came up with nothing for canned air.)
Added later: Here's the post for the canned air... hotukdeals.com/ite…y-1-
Gosh so much good advice - thanks guys, I've updated the post accordingly, no more vaccuum cleaner for me! :thumbsup:.
Rep added to all of you for the feedback .
Please dont say its from the air horn things?
Thats cool then as they had the hand held air horns in ours with what appears to be compressed air i thought great compressed air for a quid spot on, checked the can "contains butane":oops: so left it.
If they do have it in ours for £1 a can their stocks will be virtually disappearing tomorrow with me! Well with 2 pc's, a laptop, HTPC, xbox 360, 2 Original xbox's, it gets heavy use and im currently paying £4.20 a can and living in a home with a coal fire makes things worse!
Oops I messed that one up :whistling:.
I've double checked and guess what - you were right, it has a flammable warning and contains propane and butane. 750ml Can and it claims to be ok for printers keyboards CPU etc. I'm glad I don't have a coal fire...:shock:
coal fires are a hazard for modern electricals due to the fact fans suck air in and coal fires create a lot of dust!
I'll check it against a proper can of compressed air tomorrow as obviously they need a propellant just never really thought about it! :w00t::?
How easy is it to install talismoon fans?, any soldering required. Does it take long?
Thanks for the feedback craigthaagensen, you are right that the rrod issues (red ring of death) are covered by the (now) extended 3 year warranty by Microsoft.
However, the rrod has a fault code of 3 flashing red lights. My post covers the 2 flashing red lights which is an overheating problem not covered by the extended warranty. Microsoft Support quoted me £65 to repair this fault which is why I serviced it myself.:thumbsup:
Takes 5 minutes. You don't need to do any soldering.
Only thing is if you want to do the 12v mod (recommended if you want to prevent RROD - but a noisey solution) you will need to do some soldering.
baconsandwich - How about a post from you with the details of these mods? I think that it would be excellent.:)
On another point - I'm finding that since I cleaned the dust out of my 360, the cooling fans don't cut in anywhere near as much as they did and therefore it's quieter. But I do notice the noise from the DVD Rom a lot more now, perhaps because I didn't notice it before or perhaps because it virtually takes off when reading the most up to date games e.g. GTA IV.
By the way - my repair is still 100% effective so far.:geek:
best resource for these mods - forums.xbox-scene.com/ind…958