The error known as "The yellow light of death " is one of the worst that the Playstation 3 can suffer . It indicates a serious hardware failure , specifically the motherboard, and in many cases it is usually the reason why many users are forced to buy a new console since the repair can cost more than 100 euros. The funny thing is that there are certain more likely models this fatal mistake, the PS3 older than 40 and 60 Gb are the ones that have registered this problem and it appears that due to the poor quality of the weldsThey are made with an alloy of tin and lead. The successive heatings caused by use cause the welds to deteriorate until the day when they no longer make contact and we get scared with the dreaded yellow light, after this the console does not turn on no matter how hard we try. Luckily Sony solved this problem in later models, however if you are unlucky enough to have a 40 or 60 Gb PS3 and the yellow light comes out, the prognosis is not very good.
The most sensible option (and also the most expensive ) would be to call the technical service to have it fixed, but if you don't want to spend money on your PS3 there is a homemade method that can get you out of trouble. It is very important that only users who have a 40 or 60 Gb PS3 without warranty follow the tutorial, we insist that otherwise the warranty will be invalidated. The necessary tool to be able to solve the fault is something that we all have at home, a hair dryer (yes, we were not wrong).
What we do is, with the help of the hot air that the dryer expels, re-melt the welds so that they make contact and our PS3 turns on again. Keep in mind that it is a temporary solution and there is no guarantee that it will work in all cases, it has worked for us and we have been able to extract the backup copy so as not to lose the games but then it has failed again, we must insist . However, there are users who claim to have "resurrected" their PS3 and have not failed for months.If you don't have a warranty and you don't want to spend money on the repair, you can try this method, which is also very easy, but remember that it is at your own risk . If you want a more reliable solution, it is best to go to the technical service.
1) Logically the first thing to do is disconnect all the cables from the PS3 to be able to manipulate it. We place it on a flat surface where we are comfortable and preferably in a horizontal position .
2) Now we take the dryer and start to give hot air through the grilles at the back, always making movements to distribute the heat and being careful not to get too close or the grill will wrinkle. You have to do this between five and ten minutes without stopping, the PS3 will get very hot especially at the bottom but calm, that's what we want.
3) Before trying to turn on the PS3 you have to let it cool down and the longer the better. There are those who recommend that ten minutes is enough but in our case we tested it and, although it turned on, in just a few seconds it turned off due to overheating. If you can leave it at least an hour much better, another trick is to give it cold air with the dryer if it has that function, so it will go faster.
4) If trying to turn on the PS3 still does not respond or shuts down immediately, repeat the process until you stabilize it. In our case we had to do it twice so that it stayed on for an hour and then it turned off again. It is a matter of patience and also a little luck .