Help with 360 Overheating

So my brother's 360 is now overheating so he gets the 2 red rings.

It's no longer covered under warranty since it was a replacement console and the original purchase date was in 2005 or 2006.

So I opened it up and everything is clean but still overheats after 20 minutes. I took off the x clamps and put some AS5 on both the CPU and GPU and now it runs up to 45 minutes before over heating.

Anyone know a cheap but not crappy fan upgrade for the console?

I also see that I might need to make something so the air is routed to the back as that shield thing doesn't do a good job.

I know these are the obvious things but does he have it in a dusty area that is near a lot of other things that produce heat? Does he have the console on it's side? The X Clamp fix didn't completely repair mine either. I went with a professional reflow from a guy I found on Craigslist. It worked wonders. I would suggest finding someone to do that if it keeps happening. A new fan didn't help mine. You can find cheap dual fans online.

I tried everything, I think the only thing left is a reflow with leaded solder.

Sadly enough you can get this issue from the power supply alone overheating. The older 360s mostly from launch to 2006 have a power supply flaw causing 2 red lights to display from overheating.

Do they sell replacement power supplies that don't have this defect?

Maybe I'll crack the PSU open.

I may still have my extra power supply. I will check tonight and let you know. Try the new power supply first.

Xian Xi said:

Do they sell replacement power supplies that don't have this defect?

Maybe I'll crack the PSU open.

Click to expand...

The newer style 360s vs the older launch style have a different connector that plugs into the 360 sadly.

Versions 1.0 and 1.1 use AT style and Versions 1.2 and 1.6 use the ATX power supply.

Here are the board revisions and so called improvements along with their power supply ratings...

# Xenon (2005-2006)
Original design – November 2005 (Launch)
90nm CPU, 90nm GPU, 90nm eDRAM
Identified by:

* 203W power supply
* 16,5A next to the 12V line on console’s serial label


# Zephyr (2006-2007)
Original Xbox 360 Elite design – May 2007 (Released for Premium design - July 2007)
90nm CPU, 90nm GPU, & 90nm eDRAM
With HDMI port
Improved GPU cooler
Identified by:

* 203W power supply
* 16,5A next to the 12V line on console’s serial label
* HDMI listed as feature on box (Available as Xbox 360 Elite)

# Opus (2007)
Released for Xbox 360 – July 2007
65nm CPU, 90nm GPU, & 80nm eDRAM
Improved CPU cooler (Inherited from Falcon)
Improved GPU cooler (Inherited from Zephyr)
Identified by:

* 175W power supply
* 14,2A next to the 12V line on console’s serial label
* Does NOT have HDMI port (Available only for Xbox 360 Premium, Core repairs; generally considered rare)


# Falcon (2007-2008)
Released for Xbox 360 Premium & Elite consoles - September 2007
65nm CPU, 80nm GPU, & 80nm eDRAM
With HDMI port
Improved CPU cooler (Different heat sink & cooling duct)


* 175W power supply
(This is indicative of at LEAST owning a Falcon console. It may be a Jasper. The only way for the average person to know is to examine the power connector on the console. See photo above.)
* 14,2A next to the 12V line on console’s serial label
(This is indicative of at LEAST owning a Falcon console. It may be a Jasper. The only way for the average person to know is to examine the power connector on the console. See photo above.)
* Console manufacture date is on or after August 24, 2007
* Manufacturing lot # is likely to be 0734 or greater


# Jasper (2008-current)
65nm CPU, 65nm GPU, & 80nm eDRAM
With HDMI port
256MB On-board Flash (16MB was standard)
Identified by:

* 150W power supply
(This is an absolute guarantee that the console is a Jasper)
* 12,1A next to the 12V line on console’s serial label
(Some Jaspers have been found mislabeled with 14,2A however. If your console has 14,2A, the only way for the average person to know what motherboard is used is to examine the power connector on the console. See photo above.)
* Console manufacture date is on or after October 14, 2008
(This is not definitive being that there have been Falcons found with a similar manufacture date. If your console has a manufacture date on 10/14/08, the only way for the average person to know what motherboard is used is to examine the power connector on the console. See photo above.)
* Manufacturing lot # is likely to be 0843 or greater
(This is not definitive as there have been Falcons shipped with the same manufacturing lot.)

My old one would be a Zephyr, just let me know if this is the kind you need.

fans

Xian Xi said:

Anyone know a cheap but not crappy fan upgrade for the console?

Click to expand...

You could always rise the supply to the fans, have them run full on (or over) all the time. Crappy I know.

It's weird. I was running it yesterday and the exhaust temp is actually cooler than it was before but still it gets the 2 rings after about 45 minutes. The PSU doesn't get hot either so I guess the GPU just needs reflowing.

Xian Xi said:

It's weird. I was running it yesterday and the exhaust temp is actually cooler than it was before but still it gets the 2 rings after about 45 minutes. The PSU doesn't get hot either so I guess the GPU just needs reflowing.

Click to expand...

Could be possible, I always consider reflowing a last attempt when all other efforts are exhausted.

you may not need to solder, do you have a heat gun?

OK, it was an overheating PSU. I took a look at the PSU and the exhaust vent was riddled with dust webs which explains why extended play causes it to give the error.

Xian Xi said:

OK, it was an overheating PSU. I took a look at the PSU and the exhaust vent was riddled with dust webs which explains why extended play causes it to give the error.

Click to expand...

Glad ya got it worked out man.