Possible fix for your RROD 360 X-clamp mod

Post Reply
sadalius
Robinhood
Robinhood
Posts: 4039
Joined: Wed Nov 07, 2007 6:06 pm

Possible fix for your RROD 360 X-clamp mod

Post by sadalius »

This guide is placed here with permission from it's author RBJTech. All credit for this guide goes to him. It's a guide that teaches you how to replace the X-Clamps on your xbox 360's motherboard if your getting the 3 red lights of death, commonly called RROD. If you use this guide, please understand that if you blow up your 360 (or yourself for that matter) in the process, don't hold anyone accountable besides yourself. So, here we go, Thanks RBJTech!! If you would like to view his original guide, click here

Xbox 360 – X-Clamp Replacement - MkIII
Updated : 15th August 2007

This is an alternative method of mounting the heatsinks which involves no heatsink cutting or drilling. Its a hybrid combination of lawdawg's (xbox-scene) method and my MkI method - resulting in a very secure and solid fixing.



Contents :

0. Parts
1. Preparing the heatsinks
2. Preparing the case
3. Replacing the mainboard
4. Preparing the case
5. Mounting the CPU Heatsink
6. Mounting the GPU Heatsink
7. Completing & testing
9. FAQ - READ ME !!
10. Shim

1. Parts

Part Description

Machine Screws (5mm x 20mm) Number in packet 8 Packets needed 1
Flat Washer (5mm) Number in packet 60 Packets needed 1
Machine Screws (5mm x 15mm) Number in packet 8 Packets needed 1

Part Numbers from Reddragon105@xbox-scene - tks .. :)

If you get the 20mm screws, then you need to cut off 5mm for the GPU heatsink or it will fail the fins. For the CPU this is not necessary. Easier if you just get the 15mm ones to begin with but appreciate these are not a common size...


1. Preparing the Heatsinks
Remove the X clamps – CAUTION advised here. Getting these clamps off without slipping and damaging the board goes without saying. Use a small Philips screwdriver and insert it into the end of the clamp where it clips onto the legs. Slowly lever the clamp against the leg until it unclips. Then do the same to the next leg (not opposite) – you may need to do a 3rd leg before it comes off. If it doesn’t want to go, then try another leg – do NOT force it off – you’re likely to slip and take out critical parts on the board !

The GPU & CPU Heatsink :-
ImageImage
(PS - ignore the RAM h/s paste, it's simply there to indicate that I had good contact with the thermal pads..)

Remove the legs from the heatsink using a ¼” socket :-
Image

2. Preparing the case
We need to drill bigger holes in the case that will hold the heatsinks in place.

Case prior to drilling :-
Image

MkIII bolts are M5 (5mm) therefore I drilled each hole with a 5mm drill. I also countersunk each hole lightly so that the bolts would sit flush (ish) to the outer case. To do this (and for the drilling) place a block of wood under the case or you’ll just end up bending the case out of shape. There is no need to get the bolts perfectly flush as we have some space to work with. Do not over countersink the holes, or the bolts will go straight through .. ;)

Image

Put a bolt though each hole, and tape the bolt to the case with some electrical tape as shown in the example below.
Image

We now need to provide 'stand offs' instead of the nuts (like the MKI) - this is achieved with THREE or FOUR washers placed over each bolt... The number of washers entirely depends on their thickness ... The aim is to get it the same level as the stock 'stand offs'. Just use a straight edge to see if they are all at the same level.
Image

The height of the washers should be exactly the same height as the mainboard standoff’s pressed into the case (see pic above). This means that the board will be FLAT – not bent in any way.

GPU Bolts must not be more than 15mm long - or they will foul the top part of the heatsink.

Do the same for the CPU side - the length of these bolts is not critical - I used 20mm bolts in the prototype but anything over 15mm is fine...

IMPORTANT NOTE
It is critical that any swarf (chippings of metal from drilling etc) are thoroughly removed from the area before proceeding. Do this by visual looking for them, blowing on the area, banging the case upside down etc …

3. Replacing the mainboard
First things first, make sure your thermal pads on the bottom RAM haven’t dropped off … ;) Also take the opportunity whilst the board is out to do any underboard soldering mods, such as the Fan Header, Ethernet LED etc etc - have a look at my home page for ideas .. :)

Lining up the board with the bolts is fairly tricky actually because you usually have to put the mainboard in at an angle, fan side first. With the bolts in place, you need to get the board in flat. So tuck it under the fan lip, then line it up with the bolts. Some GENTLE persuasion may be needed to get the bolts into the holes ...

The mainboard with the bolts exposed :-
Image

You should be able to press lightly on the board next to any of the bolts and there should be no movement at all. Don't put in the normal board screws yet ....

4. Preparing the case ...

Do do the next part, we need to put the case on it's side ...
Image

5. Mounting the CPU heatsink
Put a SINGLE washer on the bolts above the board.
Put fresh paste on as normal (AS5 in the pics ) and line the bolts up with the threads on the legs (heatpipe facing away from the GPU!)
Remove ONE piece of tape, and holding the heatsink, screw the bolt until the bolt threads onto the leg, get 5mm or so and stop.
Do all the others - removing ONE piece of tape at a time until all 4 bolts are threaded into the legs.
If you manage to pull out a bolt without threading it, then you will lose the washers behind the board and you will need to pull it all out and start again !

Lightly do up all the bolts - when seated correctly, then tightly do up all 4 bolts.


6. Mounting the GPU heatsink
Use 2 Washers above the board or 3 washers if using a shim (the shim is recommended).
It's a little bit more tricky as you cannot see the bolts getting threaded so you'll need to feel them getting started.
Again, very important that you only remove one piece of tape at a time to do the bolt up...
Again once seated properly, then do the bolts up tight.

7. Completion & Testing
Plug in the power and test things before proceeding to put it all back together again ..
Firstly you’ll need to put in the RF board so you can power it on …
On powering on, the heatsinks should get hot within a minute or so (no fans), if they do then great, job done !
Put it all back together again remembering to screw all the outside screws in to hold all the interfaces, then replace the fans, shroud/air flow guide (with divider..), etc etc.



IMPORTANT NOTE FOR A LASTING FIX
You should NOT have to overheat the GPU/CPU for the fix to work. ie Towel Fix, Removing the Fans or whatever. If the 3ROL does not go after the first or maybe second power on attempt - then you have not fixed the problem - try the Shim. Heating it will simply temporarily fix the problem, and the 3ROL will return at some stage.


9. FAQ
A. Do I need to heat the board for this to work ? No you should not need to. If you do, then you are likely fixing the problem by warping the board rather than keeping pressure on the joint with the bolts.

B. Which heat method do you recommend ? I don't recommend any .. but if you have to, then the only one I recommend is to just remove the power from the fans and let the chips and heatsinks heat up until you get the two red lights (ie overheating). Towel method is NOT recommended - it will kill other components on the board ...

C. I powered up and immediately got 3ROL, powered off, then on again and it was all ok - why is that ? The 3ROL is a serious hardware error and this needs to be reset when doing a POST (Power on Self Test) - you may be unlucky and need to do this twice, but usually the first power on is successful.

D. It still doesn't work - what could be wrong ? You may need to do a little investigation to find where the problem is - do all the nuts up fairly tight and then press hard on each corner of the GPU heatsink whilst booting, it it boots with a particular corner pressed down, then that's the corner where you need to do the nuts up tighter, or loosen the other forcing unequal pressure on the die/board.

E. Still doesn't work ... ? Try the 'Shim' method below ...

F. It now boots but locks up after a few minutes into a game, but seems fine in the dashboard ? Heat is the problem here, the joint you made is 'just' good enough to pass POST, but when playing a game, the thermal movement breaks it again. You can proove this by removing the DVD, swing it 90 degress so you can get to the heatsink. Rig up a fan blowing cold air directly onto the GPU heatsink. Play your game again and it'll probably be fine. Remove the fan and it'll likely lock up within 10 seconds of you removing it. Two fix's - 1 is to fix it properly (you may need a shim) or 2 is to provide much better cooling (see my other mods, recommend the divider if you have not done this already..)

G. It works - what do I need to do now to make it last ? Cooling, cooling and more cooling ! That was the reason it failed in the first place so make sure you cool the damn thing down this time. Look at my cooling mods for some ideas - the separator really makes a difference to the temp of the GPU heatsink. You can combine this with the other mods too.

10. Shim
The 'Shim' is a small piece of Aluminium or Copper that is 2cm x 1cm x 1mm thick. This was cut from an old heatsink that I had. It obviously needs to be perfectly flat to sit on the die and interface with the main heatsink. Cover the top and bottom is AS5 and sit it onto the die (both main and daughter die - as per the paste imprints below..)

Image

Use three washers with a 1mm thick Shim, two washers if 0.5mm thick etc. This presses the centre die down whilst keeping the heatsink normal height. This has reliably fixed consoles where 3 or 2 washer fix'es have failed... :)

-------

If this mod is successful, then please add an entry into the Xbox-Scene results poll here http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=595746

Disclaimer – By doing ANY of the above, you will be voiding the MS Warranty – I cannot be held responsible by any damage caused to yourself or the console.



Thanks,



Richard.



All my other mods here :- RBJTech – Xbox Modding Homepage
Post Reply

Return to “Other Tutorials”