PS3 blu-ray drive dead

ok i finally got my ps3 working (well almost) I finally got it to spin discs, it has a slight delay but they start spinning after a few seconds, so far it has read all the games I tested. before it make more clicking noises than normal, and would freeze up a little while loading games. I greased the rods and now that problem seems to be solved.

Now the only thing is that when I turn the ps3 on, the disc drive automatically wants to accept a disc (blue light flashes and the motor runs to try to grab a disc and mount) if I put the disc in at this time, it mounts fine and runs the game. however after the ps3 initially starts up and the blue light stops flashing, the drive no longer wants to accept discs. seems like a simple fix, but everytime something small like that goes wrong, I end up really screwing something up somehow.

can anyone suggest anything? i'm going to continue, CAREFULLY, trying to tweak it so it will work properly, but if someone knows exactly whats up I would greatly appreciate it.

 

What did you do to get the disks to spin? Was it greasing the laser assembly rods?

 

i have the same problem after i open the blu-ray drive, when i turn the ps3 on, the blue light flashes and the motor start for take discks, the problem was the sensor that detect if you put discks in (the one with a red and black thin wires) and not only this, when i put discks in a have to push them a litle for the motor to start swalow the discs. if the sensor works ok you dont need to push the disc for the ps3 to load it, as soon as you put the disk in the drive the sensor checks that and start the motor for load disk, PS: sorry for mi english

 

naw I had to get 2 new lasers (first was bad) and a new blu ray-drive (sold broken off ebay) before I got it to spin. I accidentally broke the blu ray causing it to be misaligned beyond repair (I think) and somewhere in the process of handling the laser assembly rods so much, it was making some scratching noises when I finally got the discs to spin and load. (if you are familiar with the ps2 DRE it sounded like a quieter version of that scratching and clicking) so I greased the rods and so far so good. except for that other problem i've had of course with the discs not bein taken in properly.

 

so do I need a new sensor then? the red and black wires appear to be intact

 

i dont think that the sensor is the problem, the most common problem is the wires, in mi case the wires looks ok too, but there are cut inside, to check this you have to use a tester to check continuity in the both ends of the wire, and couse the connector is so small in my case i have to cut the wires and solder directli to the controller board, but the ps3 works ok without the sensor, the onli problem is the blnking blue light when power on and you have to pushe te games for teh ps3 to load them.

 

No, not that sensor anyway. The one with the red and black wires only pulls the disk out of your hand, if it is dead/broken, all you have to do is push the disk in a little further to activate the mechanism.

 

I don't know if you've totally debunked the front sensor. When I had mine apart and the sensor was loose, it would actually automatically turn itself on and wanted to accept a disc, the front sensor was the only thing out of place at that point.

Onto my problem. I got the laser assembly in today and hooked it up. Works so far, but now I've run into another issue:
I got a letter from the postmaster about loosing items. Sure enough, it was for the magnetic hub that sits a top of the drive. The envelope had ripped apart somewhere along the line, and the magnet and all the screws spilled out of it, leaving me with an empty letter envelope.
I am now in need of one of these magnetic discs, and preferably for this Saturday. The screws I can get at a local hardware shop. PM me, or reply here.

 

Well, if you still had that sensor plugged in, it was probably sensing whatever it was near as a disk, which is why it was turning itself on. I made sure mine was positioned with the sensor side facing up, and it functioned normally.

Sorry about the magnets, I've been hearing more and more packages getting ripped open lately..... I don't know of any replacements for them, either

 

It's odd too. Can find the PS2 ones (which don't work btw) for 5 bucks. I managed to contact a few sellers on ebay and I'm getting one for 10 bucks, hopefully for this weekend.

 

I just read about your problem man- that really sucks AND blows. But surely with the postmaster's letter the company is obliged to send you this part themselves- gratis? Also, contact your local independent console repair shop (yellow pages), it sounds like the kind of part that may be floating around. I've seen PS3's irreparably smashed by irate girlfriends. I had one mad ex who would have gleefully smashed everything precious to me given the chance- coz of it's dramatic value .

 

ok ill check this out thanks for the info. however my ps3 wont let me push the discs in either, if i push them in after the initial blue light flashing when it first turns on the disc wont mount and the disc will just kinda sit there half spinning, it only mounts when i put the disc in when the blue light is flashing initially.

i already screwed up one laser like that 2 i think, the disc was spinning without being mounted properly and i think it ended up scratching the lens . I have another blu-ray cover with the sensor from a replacement drive, i just need to fix a spring on it, ill try that in a little bit.

 

Hey everyone here! I'm doing a bit of investigative journalism into this issue. I'm setting up phone interviews with contacts at Sony, Sony's service centers, repair shops, retail outlets and even the manufacturer of the diodes themselves.

What I'm looking for now are copies of the work order forms Sony sends back with repaired and refurb units. I'm looking for two things.. what Sony is claiming as the work done to the units.. and expecially anyone who has had to send in their units more than once. Obviously I'd appreciate if you blocked out any personal information.

If any of you have anything else you think might be of use in blowing the lid off this thing please send it my way.

If you send anything my way don't forget to tell me what model PS3 you had the problem with.

Send all replies to bastard11@shaw.ca with the subject "BD FAIL."
Thanks in advance.

 

Good luck Mr. Bastard11 (why the heck did you pick that nick for this purpose?). I had a hell of a time trying to convince a couple of fanboys on another thread that their PS3's optical drive assemblies weren't particularly well built (just like the PS2's)- and my experience with a repairer of consoles with his own shop relishing the notion anyway seemed to almost go over their heads.

Before I get a ton of abuse... I am NOT saying the PS3 is a bad machine.

 

No, the PS3 definitely isn't. I've rebuilt two now for under 200 bucks, both with laser problems. And I've got quite a library of games already in the span of a couple months.

Maybe take a look on fleabay and see how many of them come up that have laser problems.

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fishdropping11 (aka bass turd), I don't really think you'll get a few people doing this. For most of us, our warranties have expired and we're now looking into out of warranty, off the record, or even self service. I know that given the nature of what I've done to mine, I doubt that Sony will even touch my systems as that little warranty seal is broken on one, and non-existent on the other.

I don't really think there's a big conspiracy going on at SCEx for the following reasons:
1. For every person that reports a problem, there are thousands of happy unreported consumers. The IEEE has a standards guideline that a small percentage of products can be expected as faulty. IIRC I think it's under 1% of manufactured units. (Personally, I'd check Microsoft with that problem ^_^)
2. Sony has in the past had trouble with the BD lasers, since the PS3 uses BD, it's not exempt.
3. Testing procedures are different from real world use. They're made to test functionality, not longevity. Just because a unit is tested as working doesn't mean it'll continue to do so after the warranty. (Which is the definition of a warranty, they guarantee it to work for so long before something can go wrong, and they'll pay out of pocket to fix the product if it's defective before that time.)
4. Multiple repairs don't necessarily mean it's the same problem. In Michigan there is a lemon law stating that if a particular part fails three times, it should be replaced (I'm not sure if it's a federal or state law). A retail store I worked at offered a replacement on any three problems, regardless of what they were.

Good luck with your story though! Best of luck!

 

Finding a cheap PS3 on fleabay with a dud laser assembly and fixing it... great idea.

 

I just wanted to say that in reguard to having Sony fix it they didn't send me a refurbished console but actually sent me the same one I sent in with the blu-ray disc drive fixed. From what I can tell they replaced the entire blu-ray drive because the sensor that causes it to grab the disc out of your hand works now and the blu-ray laser works now. I have opened and tried to fix my PS3, and I happened to lose the torq screw that held the lid, well they replaced that also. I don't know if the $150 was worth it for most of you, but having the 90 day warrenty and not having to mess with import lasers going bad was worth it for me. I've had my PS3 for a week tommorow, so far so good.

By the way my PS3 is the 40gb model.

 

yup you were absolutely right, I replaced the top of the drive with one from my replacement blu-ray drive and as I was doing so the little yellow piece broke off the red and black wires so i'm guessing it was a little loose to begin with. btw whats the best way to go about putting that little yellow connector piece back on the wires? or is it just a lost cause? The replacement drive top has the system working right for the moment. its now in good working order from the tests i've done (knock on wood...)

I would like to try and fix the wires on the other one if I can, because I plan on selling my other blu-ray drive for parts. its pretty much done cuz the plastic is misaligned, but it does have all the gears, screws and springs so maybe it will help somebody just needing those cause it will go cheaper than the other drives for parts..

decided to sell the fixed ps3 as well. but not until I fully test for a while, I want to make sure nothing messes up cuz I wouldn't wish a busted ps3 on anyone. Got COD4 and GTA4, the 2 ps3 games that are known to screw up the ps3 if it is one to screw up lol, along with every other format disc. let the games begin lol.

 

I don't know about COD4, but GTAIV may cause problems because of constant referencing/loading. Placing a strain on what is not a real good quality part to begin with.

 

I guess it could be fixed if there's enough wire left outside the plastic connector, I would just try to solder it together personally. However, if it broke off well inside that connector, then I'm not sure it could be done easily. Usually the metal pieces inside which the wires connect to have a tiny tab that seats them in the plastic. Using some jewelers sized tools you might be able to pop those metal ends out and then, again, I would solder the wires to them.

Good luck!