To learn more about how we repair the 3 red lights

                                                   you should read what causes the problem in the 1st place

 below is a detailed report on 3 red light failure

and below that is information on how we repair

1 Red light / E74 also falls under this repair

2 Red lights also falls under this repair

No picture but Sound also falls under this repair 

to the center of each device. This phenomenon is usually an indication that the time and

temperature parameters, used for reflow soldering of the motherboard at the point of original

manufacture, did not provide a thermal profile sufficient for complete and thorough reflow at all

points beneath the BGAs and CSPs on the PCB. This is quite consistent with our X-ray analysis,

which also shows that most of the flaws observed (cracking, voids, etc.) are symptomatic of "cold"

solder joints with a poor grain structure.

While a "cold" solder joint may initially provide an adequate electrical connection, long term

reliability is jeopardized, especially in applications where the solder bonds are subject to wide

temperature fluctuations. In such an environment, continuous expansion and contraction of

materials with varying thermal coefficients will quickly destroy the integrity of a "cold" solder joint,

creating intermittent problems or even complete failure. This is precisely the environment of the

Xbox 360 motherboard, due to the high amounts of heat generated by the CPU, GPU and memory

components when running graphics-intensive gaming applications, not to mention the fact that the

great pains Microsoft has taken to ventilate and cool the Xbox chassis may all be for naught when

Junior's Xbox is buried beneath dirty laundry and empty pizza boxes. This would also explain why

so many consoles, that certainly would have passed Microsoft's initial QC testing, are now failing in

the field.

One could also blame the "cold" solder joint problem on what, unfortunately, has become a

problem for suppliers of many electronic goods other than Microsoft. As of July 1, 2006, the

European Union, as part of a global environmental initiative, set strict compliance deadlines for

what is known as the RoHS (Restriction on Hazardous Substances) Directive. What this meant for

electronics manufacturers was, that if a company intended to continue selling its products in the

EU, it had to convert from the use of eutectic "tin-lead" (SnPb) solders to the use of new lead-free

solders. Many manufacturers are still bristling over the speed at which they have been forced to

implement these changes. While conventional 60Sn/40Pb or 63Sn/37Pb solders have a melting

point of around 183°C, lead-free solders, which are usually 96-97% tin with the balance composed

of various combinations of silver and other materials, have a melting point of 217°C. As one can

imagine, the effects of this single change have had a major snowballing effect in terms of their

impact on component and materials specifications, equipment capability, processing parameters,

and manufacturing personnel who have been used to fundamental soldering principles that have

been acceptable for nearly five decades. Technicians, who for years have been used to a shiny,

silver finish as being the first indicator of a quality solder joint, are still having difficulty getting

comfortable with paste manufacturer's profile recommendations that produce lead-free solder's

normally dull appearance; for years an indication of a "cold" connection. In addition, the fear of

over-heating may naturally make engineers lean to the low side when establishing process time

and temperature parameters.

Another set of X-rays also points to the possible presence of "cold" solder joints. In the view of

the GPU component shown in Figure 2, differences in the diameters of the solder spheres are

clearly visible. This could be an indication that not all of the spheres achieved complete reflow,

although this is assuming that all of the spheres were of the same volume in the first place. This

issue is addressed further in the sections that follow.

                                                Figure 2                                                       Figure 3

Developing a Solution

It is interesting to note that, although a number of the so-called "fixes" available on the internet

and some of the repair methods used to "solve" the Xbox 360 problems can be termed reckless at

best, most do appear to address the issue of "cold" solder joints between the CSPs and BGAs and

the PCB. In addition to removing and "baking" the motherboard in a toaster oven, another remedy

being sold as part of a guide on Xbox 360 repair goes so far as recommending that the unit be

wrapped in towels while power is on, blocking off all the air vents and allowing the unit to overheat

for 15-20 minutes; presumably turning the unit into its own, self-contained, reflow oven! In

addition to being a dangerous fire hazard, one can only imagine the additional damage to the

console.

We are also of the opinion that, although some of the more rational repair approaches may appear

to correct the problem, albeit temporarily, the issue is probably exacerbated by causing additional

damage to other components on the motherboard that may have been working perfectly in the

first place. Even some of the most experienced electronics repair professionals have expressed

their frustration with the problem and are now refusing to perform Xbox 360 repair, claiming that

the problem is too deeply rooted and going so far as pointing specifically to the lead-free solder

used for attachment of the GPU. It also appears that warranty repairs performed by Microsoftauthorized

refurbishment centers still may be a problem for precisely the reasons we've stated. A

bulletin board posting on a website dedicated to the "Red Ring of Death" issue, submitted the day

after Microsoft's July 5th announcement, indicated that an irate customer had recently received 3

defective refurbs from Microsoft's repair center in Texas.

Based on our tests so far, we don't believe the problem is, at all, as bad as it sounds. First of all,

the time and temperature parameters of the thermal profiles used for reflow soldering at the time

of initial manufacture were probably not too far off from where they should have been. This is of

course an assumption, but we base this on the fact that not all of the units are defective and that

most of the problems seem to be traceable to a few specific components. It is also quite possible

that the composition of the solder spheres on the BGA and CSP components and the geometry of

these devices necessitated a thermal profile that did not exactly match the remainder of the

motherboard. In any case, we feel that most problems related to poor solder joint quality beneath

the BGA and CSP components can be rectified by very precise, very localized, controlled-profile

reflow soldering of these devices on the defective boards without having to remove, reball, and

replace the components. According to Bernhard Martin, who has developed nearly identical

solutions for cell phone repair, the key is preventing damage to neighboring components, not only

from excessive heat, but also, from board warpage and thermal stress due to improper

underheating. While these words may sound trite among SMT rework manufacturers, there are

certain intricacies to the process that have resulted in Martin's numerous successes and other

manufacturers' inability to provide viable solutions.

In tests conducted on actual Xbox 360 motherboards we have already proven that, by using the

proper techniques in conjunction with the proper equipment, precision preheat, reflow, and cooling

can be performed on selected components in less than 200 seconds total without any deleterious

effect on adjacent parts.

Figure 3 shows the same GPU component that was shown in Figure 2, after localized reflow using

our equipment. This view appears to indicate complete reflow, as all of the connections have

nearly identical diameters, eliminating the possibility that the sphere volume was inconsistent

beforehand. In our opinion, this view shows a considerable improvement in quality and

consistency, which is why we are so encouraged by our tests.

Above you can see the XBOX 360 printed circuit board populated with its components including the critical GPU, CPU and Memory Chip chips.

And shown below is the XBOX CPU component which is Ball Grid Array (BGA) styled package

How we repair the 3 red light/e74 :