Original Xbox PSU issue

Hey all, I have a modded Xbox (Xecuter 3 chip) that I'm having issues with. I've had the Xbox for over 3 years now, and not had any issues, aside from replacing the DVD drive a year ago. I went to turn it on a few days ago, and it wouldn't power on. The day before we had a few power surges in my place, but I had it plugged into a surge protector...which apparently failed. The Xbox doesn't power on at all now. The cord itself is fine, I tried it with my Debug Xbox, and it turned on just right, so it's the console itself.

I have two questions now:

1. What are the odds I could pay someone to fix this? Or what would the costs be? (I don't know what version of Xbox it is, I'll be finding out in a few days when I crack it open)

And 2. If I wanted to try and fix this on my own, would the easiest solution be to try and just replace the entire PSU board (with the right version), and trying that?

If anyone has any insight, it'd be much appreciated.

 

It depends on what is wrong with it.

If the fault is in the power board (and not on the motherboard somewhere) then replacing that is the quickest solution.

That said, a modded Xbox is worth about $30-$50, so it might just be easier to buy a replacement system.

The market for original Xboxes is at its low point right now. It probably won't rebound until we're a good year or so into the next generation of consoles.

 

Maybe. I guess I just spent a lot of time with it, and it has sentimental value. I haven't found a lot of X3 Xbox's floating around. How hard would it be to just replace the power board?

 

Assuming you find the same revision unit, it's completely modular.

It's no different than replacing, say, a DVD drive.

1) Open system.
2) Disconnect cables to old board.
3) Remove old board.
4) Install new board.
5) Reconnect cables.
6) Close system.

Figure out what revision Xbox you have in order to determine which power boards are compatible.

Then, look on eBay/CL/garage sales/etc. for the same model unit. Preferably one with a bad DVD drive, a clock error or a FRAG error. You'll get it cheap and can ravage that system for its board.

 

Check your current Xbox PSU and buy a replacement. This page have all the info to clearly identify it: http://www.llamma.com/xbox/Mods/xbox_power_supply_conversion.htm


But before buying a replacement I would check if the fuse is burnt. In that case check these pages:
http://www.xbox-scene.com/articles/replace-fuse.php
http://www.xbox-scene.com/articles/powersupply-fuse.php

Also take a good look at the solder joints of the fuse while you're there: http://www.llamma.com/xbox/Repairs/xbox power supply repair tutorial.htm

Good luck!

 

Check the solder joints on the power connector too, they are renowned for the joints cracking.

 

Had this issue with my X3 system which I reflowed the power connector joints to the board. Was good for another month until it started to scream at me after 15 minutes of gameplay so I just swapped a PSU from my 1.4 and good as new

What type of PSU do you have? Foxlink, Delta etc.

Since you spent a lot of time on your unit, I would advise to search around for another system for the PSU. There's so many "not working" Xboxes advertised on the internet so you won't be far from repairing it.

If it's NOT the PSU, then it's the motherboard, if you have a 1.6 then it could be the regulator that's giving off some weird voltage. I had a similar problem with my other custom Xbox, I ended up just searching for another motherboard as I'm not good at finding replacement components, or fine soldering.

 

It's a Foxlink Version 1.0/1.1 model, not sure which. It was scary to mess with (at least to this layman), but I got it out. I took a few pictures of it, and I think I spotted the problem (the circled thing in the first photo), but I'm not sure. Here's what I got:

 

Ah yes, this is a common problem. Foxlink PSUs are the worst. I surely wouldn't bother trying to this, try and source another one.

 

Would you recommend I get the Minebea connector from Llama? This one:

http://secure.llamma.com/catalog/oe....html?osCsid=2254311d50c4f4e1d7310b2e4a055990

 

It's up to you really, I mean $15 is a price of another xbox (if you can find one locally at a thrift shop, carboot etc). Though that one will be suitable.

When my PSU's transformer stopped working, I was about to buy another PSU for $25 but found two systems for $20. Which powered up but no video so it works out better to find another system. I understand if you have trouble finding a replacement 1.0/1.1 system as those are fairly hard to come by.

 

1.0 and 1.1 arent hard to come by. At least not in this side of the world..... maybe in Australia

 

What I mean is, you'll come past more 1.6 than 1.0/1.1 systems.

 

I would also suggest searching for another console.

But if you really want to replace the PSU you'll be good with a Minebea PSU. All the other parts of the console will fail before that!

 

Swap the PSU (either using a donor Xbox or see if there's a shop around that repaired Xboxes that might do you a PSU cheap), or get another Xbox and put the chip in it.

 

I ordered that Minebea part from Llamma, and got the shipping info today. I like the idea of getting a donor xbox, but the likelihood of it being the right revision seems pretty low. Plus, there are no stores anywhere here that sell them. I do have a Debug Xbox, but I don't want to crack that thing open at all, even if it did have the right PSU. I'll update once I get the part in, and either have it work, or get fried from trying to install it.

 

It doesn't need to be the right revision - get a working Xbox and transfer the chip!

 

Well, I got it installed, and hey, it actually works. Sliding out the old PSU before-hand was a good move on my part, since I was able to slot the new one in fairly easily. I did run into a little difficulty when putting it back together. I installed the hard drive first, then went to slot-in the DVD drive/drive caddy. I forgot you're supposed to put that in first, so I had to lift it up enough to slide in the DVD drive stuff. I made a video of it working, but I doubt anyone wants to see my emulation Xbox running.

I did consider trying to transplant the chip into a working Xbox, but I'd run into three problems: 1. I don't own a soldering iron, 2. I'm not very good with a soldering iron (I'm terrible), and 3. The guy who did it originally, lives in Texas, so having him do it, would be a bit of a challenge. Still, it was a good idea, had I the knowledge/skill to pull it off. Sadly, the people who know actually how to do that stuff are becoming increasingly rare.

Still, thanks to everyone for their help.