Psu Fix Tutorial, You wanted it... You got it Options

[BCfosheezy]

Some pictures are located here.

Before I get started I'd like to first discourage everyone from opening their psu. Simply send it back to MS if it's defective. Opening your psu can kill you. You can damage your psu. I urge you not to take your psu apart and reading any further means that you agree that I am not responsible for what YOU do while taking YOUR psu apart. You have been warned.

You'll need some tools before opening your psu.
List:
soldering Iron/pencil
pliers
#1 philips screwdriver
#2 philips screwdriver
Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound

Step 1. In order to attempt to discharge the capacitors in the psu, turn your xbox on and leave it at the dash. Next simply unplug the power chord from the wall. You will notice your led on your psu stays on for a few seconds and then goes out. Now unplug everything from your power brick and take it to your work area.
2. Pry the plastic feet out. (WARNING: I haven't found a way to get them out without destroying them) Next, the screws are super-glued in. You'll need to take your soldering pencil and heat the screws. You will smell the smell of hot super-glue and if you're not careful it will sting your eyes. Once you hear the squeeking sound of the glue boiling, quickly grab your #2 philips and unscrew that screw.
3. After you get all 4 screws out take the housing off of the unit. Now you'll notice a big metal sheild covering the components and the psu won't come out of the other housing. [Do not take this metal sheild off. The only thing it is covering is the leads (solder pads)on the bottom of the unit]The circuit board is actually held in place with compound. Gently pull the pcb away from the compound and do not bend the pcb. It is really stuck on there. You are pulling away the pcb from the main heatsink and air duct. Detach the fan leads.
4. Clean the old thermal compound off as you go. (Only do this if you plan to upgrade to AS5) It makes it much easier. Next remove the heat transfer plate that is on the side the chord and led are on. The screw (1 screw.) The other screw is holding the heat plate to the transistor. Don't loosen it. If anything tighten it.
5. Now on the top assembly (the one with the fan)unscrew the small screws holding the metal down with your #1 screwdriver. The metal will come away to reveal a heatsink on top and a duct that the fan draws air through.
6. If you'd like to increase your fan's airflow efficiency cut the holes out so that you have large slots on both ends of the duct
7. Now that you have all the metal pieces off and cleaned. Clean them with isopropyl alcohol and a q-tip and then apply your AS5 between all the heat spreaders and transfer plates where they make contact. Screw down all the screws so you get good contact. (this means where the transistors touch the actual heat plates. This means where the heat plates touch each other and also where the heat duct touches the heatsink.)You want excellent contact area (thermal compound) and excellent contact pressure (screws). You also want increased airflow. (Slots where holes were). This should make your psu much more efficient as far as how it removes heat from itself.
8. Follow the steps on disassembly in reverse to put it back together. Make sure you screw your case screws down tight as well because that's how your psu heat plates touch the heat duct.

On an interesting note, there is a potentiometer on the fan control pcb. I have not taken meaurements but I just wonder if that control the fan speed.

Pics will come this evening. I have taken them but I am at work.

This post has been edited by BCfosheezy: Dec 16 2005, 08:46 PM

[leorimolo]

POST PICS PLEASE, btw nice tut.

[sp3cialk]

POST PICS PLEASE, btw nice tut.

did you not read.. he said he would this evening... he's at work... all people don't take there digital cameras to work...

[BCfosheezy]

The pictures I took came out super blurry. On a good note though I will be posting good ones tomorrow and I also found the fuse for the psu. I think I might do a circuit-breaker mod so we can leave it plugged in but it not be on standby all the time.

[Mick Garvey]

me wants pics! I want to see the guts of that beast!

[Shutdown[Swe]]

pics ?

[Mick Garvey]

I think BCfosheezy shocked himself to death while trying to take some pics, thats why we havent heard from him.

[SuDDeN]

Noob here been waiting all day for the PICS! ARHGHGGHGHGH!!!!!!


Jeesh!



Anyway - Can someone at least tell me looking from top down with Light to the right side of the unit...
Which way are the fans located and pointing? for intake and exhaust? Are they at each long end? or are they back to back across the middle?

I found this link and have GOOGGGGGLLLEEEDDD every possible term of "pictures of Disassembled xbox 360 psu"

anyway here is the link of what someone has made to cool it....just think the fans should run the opposite though???

http://wootboot.com/360psu.htm

[Mick Garvey]

That is the most pointless and inneffective thing I have seen thus far in Xbox 360 modding. Obviously that PSU is messed up so he needs a new one because mine works fine, doing that was just a waste of his time. Talk with MS and get a replacement, dont try and act crafty and make a worthless POS like that, go I cant get over it.

[BCfosheezy]

That is the most pointless and inneffective thing I have seen thus far in Xbox 360 modding. Obviously that PSU is messed up so he needs a new one because mine works fine, doing that was just a waste of his time. Talk with MS and get a replacement, dont try and act crafty and make a worthless POS like that, go I cant get over it.

dude did you read the disclaimer at the top? Of course I don't want people opening their power supplies but everyone wants to see inside of it so I did it. No I didn't shock myself. Yes my power supply works and I work six days a week and I have very little time to take my psu back apart and take pics for everyone to see. So in short get over it junior. You're an idiot.

[Mick Garvey]

wow man cool it, I wasnt talking about you I was talking about the above link. I was kidding about the electrocution thing too, if you didnt get that I dont know what to say. But hey way to go, you pointlessly call me an idiot and junior. Ill give you some popcorn for that because it was actually a first for me.

Well here ya go

[BCfosheezy]

wow man cool it, I wasnt talking about you I was talking about the above link. I was kidding about the electrocution thing too, if you didnt get that I dont know what to say. But hey way to go, you pointlessly call me an idiot and junior. Ill give you some popcorn for that because it was actually a first for me.

Well here ya go

well then I apologize for my pre-emptive counter-attack . I actually did think you were kidding about the electrocution until I thought you were calling what I did worthless and stuff. Again, I apologize.

[liqwidsky]

The circuit board is actually held in place with compound. Gently pull the pcb away from the compound and do not bend the pcb. It is really stuck on there. You are pulling away the pcb from the main heatsink and air duct. Detach the fan leads.

It's ridiculous how hard it's stuck on there. I took the case off several days ago to get a look inside but couldn't figure out exactly how to extricate the pcb. Is it silicone glue that's holding it in there or what?

I'm having a lot of trouble with this step so any help would be appreciated.

[Mick Garvey]

No problem I can see where your coming from, and by all means this is not a worthless topic. The PSU is the most unexplored part of the 360 and with more knowledge we might beable to find out why some are overheating and creat a fix for them.

[BCfosheezy]

It's ridiculous how hard it's stuck on there. I took the case off several days ago to get a look inside but couldn't figure out exactly how to extricate the pcb. Is it silicone glue that's holding it in there or what?

I'm having a lot of trouble with this step so any help would be appreciated.

There's a couple little tricks you can do if you're having trouble. Take your #1 philips and look down on below the edge of the black plastic housing. You'll see a screw that looks just below the edge. There will be screws there. If you have the smaller plate on the left (I'm sorry this is so vague... I'm at work right now.) then on that smaller plate there's two screws. The one on the right is the one you want to unscrew. This will allow the psu to come away from the heat plate. The heat plate is what's stuck and is very easy to extract once you have the pcb out of the way since you don't have to be careful anymore. Also, something I didn't put in my tutorial: Under the big heat plate there is a thermal diode. It is what causes the 3 red quadrants and your psu led to turn red. If you are sure your psu is going to be properly cooled you can unattach that from the heatplate. It will NEVER read a reading of too high floating in air. The downside is, if your psu isn't properly ventilated it will cook and possibly cause fire so this is strongly discouraged. The fuse is right next to the AC power in. It can easily be replaced.

Edit: The stuff that is holding it is like a yellow plastic substance with some kind of porous adhesive. It can't be a very good conductor and if I remember correctly it is seperating the heat duct from the actual psu. simply getting that out of there is an improvement imho.

This post has been edited by BCfosheezy: Dec 20 2005, 10:45 PM