100% Failure Rate on Xbox 360s | X-clamps, NOT Heat

Unfortunately, I still see a myriad of posts/discussions about the Red Lights of Death (RLOD) that are still incorrect about the cause of the issue, and even worse, what the fix may be. I believe the cause to be obvious, and considering that I repaired my own several months ago, and it’s still going strong, only strengthens that belief. It just makes sense. I’m not sure why Microsoft hasn’t admitted the real issue, nor have I see any of the major reporting sources really investigate and recognize what seems to be true in this case.

The cause: X-clamps

Many still want to point to heat issues, including this article with almost 4,000 Diggs. While heat will certainly play a part in the demise of any electronic device, this is not the cause for the RLOD. Quite simply it’s the mechanism that hold the heat sinks on the CPU and GPU in place. These are in the shape of an “X”. The design of these clamps causes the motherboard of the 360 to warp over time. I honestly don’t know what causes the issues after that (likely an open connection that is small, but enough to break the system), but the warping is the main issue.

The force that is applied is shown from a drawing I pickup up from Neogaf, posted by someone named Bilbi. Crude, but effective:

As you can see, it’s puttying equal force on the edges, which is good, but puts downward force on the CPU, which is bad. Luckily, the fix for this is fairly easy if you have a bit of technical skill and is why you see people selling the fixes on eBay and wanting to purchase broken Xbox 360s. This is a cheap fix for someone selling a broken item.

The best place to find a tutorial to fix this issue is on the Xbox-Scene.com Forums in this post. Whatever you do, please don’t do a “towel trick” or whack it with your hand.

Considering the rate of success with the replacement, this points to the possibility that this is the “true” fix. I’m personally convinced as it makes sense and just screams of poor design by Microsoft. My question is: Why Microsoft has not addressed the X-clamp issue, but continues to call it “heat related?” The only thing that I can surmise is that they want to continue to leave a sense of doubt in the consumer, and the slight possibility that if they handle their 360 properly, it will not happen to them. This is not “M$ SUXXX” hate from me, but just trying to justify the business decision in my own head. They’ve extended the warranty, which is a great start, but I’m sure if they admitted this design flaw there would be a rising call for a recall, which would add considerable more cost to the whole equation. Make no mistake, this affects 100% of the Xbox 360s sold.

In conclusion: If you have an Xbox 360, the RLOD will eventually happen and is not a question of “when,” but “if.” With the new warranty in place, you’re covered, but I know the turnaround time has been less than stellar in most instances. You may want to consider the possibility of breaking your warranty, and implementing the fix yourself. I’ve personally had my fix in place since December and have not had a single hiccup since.

knobee | blog » 100% Failure Rate on Xbox 360s | X-clamps, NOT Heat