Xbox 360 E74 DIY Reflow

Whaddup kids, Mic-B here back with another slick fix. I had one of the many 360′s I’ve fixed from the RRoD come back to me with the dreaded E74 error. I had already previously done the X-Clamp fix on this beast; so voiding the warranty wasn’t a problem — sadly, out the window was sending it to Microsoft as well. I was already in knee deep on this box, so I had to finish it out right.

Be warned… this error *can* be caused by a faulty AV cable; but if you can see the error code on the screen when you turn it on (see the first photo below) then the cable is definitely not to blame. At this point, it’s either a pin of that scaler chip itself that has become unseated or a broken trace between the GPU and the ANA/HANA chip. If you’d like to see the forum thread I gathered information from, you can check that out on xbox-scene.com. There really is a scarce amount of information on this fix at the time of this writing.

In order to make sure that I did it up right, I went out to trusty ol Home Depot and purchased a Ryobi Non-Contact Infrared Thermometer. This thing is cheap, wicked, and I highly recommend it to anyone attempting ANY reflow as it takes all of the guesswork out. Before, when I had to play it safe and would try two or three times on some units, I can now know when the solder has reached its melting point, exactly how hot the board is and whether or not the board is heated evenly, etc… it’s awesome to say the least. Wordemup.

The Damned E74 Error.

Top Case Off

The New Gat.

So, this fix is pretty straightforward, with a few exceptions. Instead of reflowing from the top, you should hit this one from the bottom. Ensure that you clean off the thermal paste and remove the heat sink from the GPU (the short one — on elites and 2nd edition hardware, this heatsink also has the secondary sink with the copper pipe attached to it) so that your work area is clean. Thermal paste, on average, will melt at about 248F, whereas the solder will start to melt at 423F. If you don’t take that heatsink off and clean the chip you’ll definitely fry it playing games afterward.

A Top Down Shot

Closeup of the ANA/HANA

The Reflow Area

For where to reflow, check the video below. Ensure that you remove all of the cables (SATA and power for the drive) and the little cushions on the four black chips you see in the photo above. Also, after your done, ensure that you play test your unit extensively because these can slip back into submission much like the PS3s with the YLoD.

Hope this information helps, and if you need some advice, drop me a comment on this article or snag my e-mail from the “About Mic-B” page.

Happy Hacking.
Mic-B

This entry was posted on April 22, 2010 at 1:30 am, and is filed under Gaming, Gear and Gadgets, General Dispositions, Hardware and Software Hacks. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

Drifter22840

What about stripping the board bare (at the minimum leave the CPU heat sink on (as shown in your demonstration), setting it on an even surface and sticking it into an oven set at ~400F ?
http://www.mic-b.com Mic-B

I’ve never liked the idea of putting a board into an oven. I know people have had success with it, but it’s not something I’ve had experience with.
Kissmyass

Pure genius! Did this today and it worked perfectly!!! Poor 360 could of been fixed months ago but I was just too lazy…took me 7 mins to fix!
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_7B3X3CK5CETN6PL7KWUGTWCN5A John

Thanks for this. I’m now 3 for 3 with this method.
Recycler

wished you monitored the temps more often also under the board. protect the capacitors from overheating (it shorten their longivity) because they are design to support only 105C for a short period. the new unriable rohs silver soldering need max of 20 sec @220C to melt(more after overheatings) heating and cooling slowly to avoid warping of the board.
http://www.mic-b.com Mic-B

Thanks for looking out for me, friend.
http://www.mic-b.com Mic-B

Nice work! Sorry about the late reply, but glad this worked for you!
http://www.mic-b.com Mic-B

Fight the good fight Glad I could help.
Andrew

u00a0heiu00a0friendu00a0let me knowu00a0howu00a0do Iu00a0knowu00a0when to stopu00a0theu00a0reflow, thanks a lot
http://www.mic-b.com Mic-B

If you watch the video, I talk about the proper temps that the thermometer should be showing for the solder to reflow.
http://www.videogame911.com/playstation-3-repair/ playstation 3 repair

Before, if I had to play it safe and would try two or three times on some units, I can now apperceive if the adhesive has accomplished its melting point.
Hank

I just did this and it works fine, but upon restarting it, the fans (and whole system) get really loud very quickly. If I leave it on for a few minutes, it sounds like it’s going to explode. Did you encounter anything like this?nnI had installed everything correctly and after the reflow, I let the board completely cool off. I dunno what the hell is going on.
Justinhickman17

Hey mic. I’m completely new to an extent at repairing xboxs. My Xbox has a normal center green light when there is no AV cord connected. When there is one Connected it has a single red light on 4th led spot. I know for sure the AV is at work. So the only thing I can think is something wrong with is hana chip. But there is no sign of board meltage around the chip. So I am completely stumped at what to do. I replaced new silver compound on CPU and gpu. I don’t have a clue where to beginning. So could us ur help
http://ebluar.com/video-games/video-game-cards/ez-flash.html ez flash

Really your post presents news are being impress to me. It through many effort information I have gather it.
Anonymous

I can’t tell if your heatsinks are left on for the reheating or not. Judging by the x-clamp fix I’m gonna go with on. And your wording is fairly ambiguous when it comes to what temperature you actually need to get it to, both in the description and the video. A temp high enough to melt the thermal paste or high enough to melt the solder? Also if you’re getting to that higher temp, are you turning the board back over somehow for the cool down, or is that not necessary?nnThis looks like an awesome fix and I already have everything to do it, but it’s frustrating when people aren’t descriptive in the right places.nnI asked about the heatsink because you said take it off to clean it, but then show a picture with it on the xbox still.nnI’m probably gonna try this either way, seeing as I have no where left to go with this 150$ doorstop I’m currently sitting with.
Myklblue

I see you have the CPU heat sink on. I presume this is to support the board and keep it level. Did you remove the thermal paste under that heat sink then? I presume not because you are not focusing on that chip but is it safe to do it without removing the thermal Paste from that chip?