Xbox 360 overheat update issues

[DoodleTheory]

I currently have an xbox 360 that keeps getting 2 red lights (the left ones) and when i turn it back on i am told it turned itself off because it thought it was overheating. It has only been doing this since an update in early november last year. At first it rarely happened when i played black ops but now it happens when i play Kinect games or Skate 2 or even N+. The model is the 20gb model from 2007. It has been sent of to be repaired for Red Ring before but this is not damaging the xbox what so ever, it has a cooler fan and all of the air coming out of any of the holes in the console is cool. Does any one know why it is doing this and if there is a way of fixing it? Thank You

 

[Dorian]

Just gonna tell you right now. Dust buildup.

Only two ways of dealing with it. One, buy yourself a new 360 or open it up and get all that dust out of there. There is a LOT of dust.

This [http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/repair/Xbox-360-Disassembly.htm] should help you. You'll also need a star-headed screwdriver for those nasty screws. Don't really know where you'd find one.

 

[C95J]

when my xbox kept overheating I just elevated it into the upright position, and made sure it had plenty of room so it could cool properly. Now it has no problems whatsoever.

 

[DoodleTheory]

Have you tried removing the cooler fan?

It was doing it before we had the fan, so we put the fan on hoping it would make a difference.

Just gonna tell you right now. Dust buildup.

Only two ways of dealing with it. One, buy yourself a new 360 or open it up and get all that dust out of there. There is a LOT of dust.

This [http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/repair/Xbox-360-Disassembly.htm] should help you. You'll also need a star-headed screwdriver for those nasty screws. Don't really know where you'd find one.

I'll try that and let you know if it works.

 

[squid5580]

A great way to keep it running cool is to install your games.

 

[mikecoulter]

Id recommend opening it up to remove any dust/check the fan but only if it's out of warranty or you don't mind voiding it.

 

[GRoXERs]

Have you tried removing the cooler fan?

It was doing it before we had the fan, so we put the fan on hoping it would make a difference.

Just gonna tell you right now. Dust buildup.

Only two ways of dealing with it. One, buy yourself a new 360 or open it up and get all that dust out of there. There is a LOT of dust.

This [http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/repair/Xbox-360-Disassembly.htm] should help you. You'll also need a star-headed screwdriver for those nasty screws. Don't really know where you'd find one.

I'll try that and let you know if it works.

1. Take off the fan, they don't help and in fact may cause overheating. 2. Don't open it unless it's already out of warranty. 3. Do you have it sitting flat on carpet or inside a cabinet / in an enclosed space? That's often the problem in overheating - impeded airflow

 

[Bludge]

If it isnt dust buildup, then try this.

Take it apart and make sure its got lots of space to breathe. move the disk drive so it isnt over the heatsink. run it for a while and see if the problem occurs/is as frequent.

If it is, then you want to remove the xclamps and clean the heatsinks and chips, and replace the thermal paste. use some washers and screws to reattach the heatsinks and make sure they are reasonably tight.

Hopefully that should sort your problem.

There are lots of guides to the xclamp fix on the net, follow it but leave out the overheating part.

 

[DoodleTheory]

Have you tried removing the cooler fan?

It was doing it before we had the fan, so we put the fan on hoping it would make a difference.

Just gonna tell you right now. Dust buildup.

Only two ways of dealing with it. One, buy yourself a new 360 or open it up and get all that dust out of there. There is a LOT of dust.

This [http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/repair/Xbox-360-Disassembly.htm] should help you. You'll also need a star-headed screwdriver for those nasty screws. Don't really know where you'd find one.

I'll try that and let you know if it works.

1. Take off the fan, they don't help and in fact may cause overheating. 2. Don't open it unless it's already out of warranty. 3. Do you have it sitting flat on carpet or inside a cabinet / in an enclosed space? That's often the problem in overheating - impeded airflow

We had it in a fairly large cupboard on a vented wooden rack and then placed it on the laminate wood floor in front of it. It still makes no difference though. I don't know were to look to find out if the warranty is void or not.

 

[VanityGirl]

I've always read that the cooler fans where actually worse for your xbox. Try taking them off. If you don't seen any improvement, you may have had a dust build up in your unit.

My PS3 got dust in it... -_-" it was a mess.

 

[GRoXERs]

Have you tried removing the cooler fan?

It was doing it before we had the fan, so we put the fan on hoping it would make a difference.

Just gonna tell you right now. Dust buildup.

Only two ways of dealing with it. One, buy yourself a new 360 or open it up and get all that dust out of there. There is a LOT of dust.

This [http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/repair/Xbox-360-Disassembly.htm] should help you. You'll also need a star-headed screwdriver for those nasty screws. Don't really know where you'd find one.

I'll try that and let you know if it works.

1. Take off the fan, they don't help and in fact may cause overheating. 2. Don't open it unless it's already out of warranty. 3. Do you have it sitting flat on carpet or inside a cabinet / in an enclosed space? That's often the problem in overheating - impeded airflow

We had it in a fairly large cupboard on a vented wooden rack and then placed it on the laminate wood floor in front of it. It still makes no difference though. I don't know were to look to find out if the warranty is void or not.

It's still in warranty if you bought it less than 3 years ago, and the tamper-proof stickers on the inside are still intact. If you open it up (beyond just removing the faceplate and plastic shell), the stickers will break and your warranty will be voided. Try using canned air to blast the vents, leave it on the wood floor, and don't let your cat sit on top of it

 

[dsmops2003]

Have you tried removing the cooler fan?

It was doing it before we had the fan, so we put the fan on hoping it would make a difference.

Just gonna tell you right now. Dust buildup.

Only two ways of dealing with it. One, buy yourself a new 360 or open it up and get all that dust out of there. There is a LOT of dust.

This [http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/repair/Xbox-360-Disassembly.htm] should help you. You'll also need a star-headed screwdriver for those nasty screws. Don't really know where you'd find one.

I'll try that and let you know if it works.

1. Take off the fan, they don't help and in fact may cause overheating. 2. Don't open it unless it's already out of warranty. 3. Do you have it sitting flat on carpet or inside a cabinet / in an enclosed space? That's often the problem in overheating - impeded airflow

We had it in a fairly large cupboard on a vented wooden rack and then placed it on the laminate wood floor in front of it. It still makes no difference though. I don't know were to look to find out if the warranty is void or not.

It could be that the Heat Sinks are not making a good connection or the thermal compound used is not good. The CPU and GPU have a thin layer of compound on them which makes the bond to the heat sink. Metal is porous so the compound fills those holes and transfers the heat to the thin metal fins on the heat sink. The fans then pull the heat off the fins like a radiator in a car.

As far as fixing it you will have to open it up. However if you do that if you have warranty left it will be voided. There are instructions on the internet that go over this. http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1271373/360_three_rings_of_death_fix_real/ This video shows the 3 red ring fix but the cause and solution are the same for the 2 red ring.

 

[Busdriver580]

If you're not afraid to open it up, you can run the thing around 30% cooler by attaching pretty much anything to lengthen the fan-hood (it's way too short). I've done this myself and haven't had problems since. If you're feeling ballsy the heat-sink paste that comes on the chips really blows, replace it.