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make your xbox 360 fans run at full speed for maximum cooling.
This modification will invalidate any warranty that you may have on your xbox, if you have warranty left on your box i strongly suggest you do not attempt this or any other modification that requires opening the xbox 360 unless you are prepared to face the consequences.
Yes this does make the xbox 360 quite loud, the use of a potentiometer could allow for a variable fan speed but i didn't have one to hand at the time of doing this mod.
This modification will invalidate any warranty that you may have on your xbox, if you have warranty left on your box i strongly suggest you do not attempt this or any other modification that requires opening the xbox 360 unless you are prepared to face the consequences.
Yes this does make the xbox 360 quite loud, the use of a potentiometer could allow for a variable fan speed but i didn't have one to hand at the time of doing this mod.
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This modification will invalidate any warranty that you may have on your xbox, if you have warranty left on your box i strongly suggest you do not attempt this or any other modification that requires opening the xbox 360 unless you are prepared to face the consequences.
The writing below is the theory on why i did this mod... it is not necessary for you to read it.
My xbox 360 was getting extremely hot and causing my games to freeze and at one point even gave me the red ring of death, so I set about trying to find a way to keep it cooler after doing some looking and probing with my vault meter. After looking at the fans in the back of the xbox i noticed that theyre listed as 12v, but when i attached my volt meter to the fan pins they are only drawing a 5v current. This is because when the xbox is relatively cool the fans are kept slow to keep the xbox quiet, and as it heats up the fan speed should increase, however this doesnt always work properly so i set about finding a 12v source to power my fans, i settled on using the dvd rom drive power cable. Well thats the background covered now to set about opening the 360.
To start with we will need some tools:
Torx screwdriver size T-10
2 small flat blade screwdrivers
Wire strippers, or sharp knife
Electrical tape
The writing below is the theory on why i did this mod... it is not necessary for you to read it.
My xbox 360 was getting extremely hot and causing my games to freeze and at one point even gave me the red ring of death, so I set about trying to find a way to keep it cooler after doing some looking and probing with my vault meter. After looking at the fans in the back of the xbox i noticed that theyre listed as 12v, but when i attached my volt meter to the fan pins they are only drawing a 5v current. This is because when the xbox is relatively cool the fans are kept slow to keep the xbox quiet, and as it heats up the fan speed should increase, however this doesnt always work properly so i set about finding a 12v source to power my fans, i settled on using the dvd rom drive power cable. Well thats the background covered now to set about opening the 360.
To start with we will need some tools:
Torx screwdriver size T-10
2 small flat blade screwdrivers
Wire strippers, or sharp knife
Electrical tape
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http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j9/CornWallis13/xbox5.jpg
I did this much more simply, I found the speed control transistor within an inch of the fan connector and soldered a wire from the 12v side to the output side on the motherboard, took an inch and a half of wire.
Just use a continuity meter, or Digital meter set to Ohms. The 12v at the DC in connector will show a connection to one leg of the transistor, the large tab on the transistor will connect to the + side of the fan.
This way you are using the intended power traces for the Fan and adding the minimum of wire to an out of the way place. I would be careful of jumping the bottom wire and make sure not to pinch it in the case.
I did the GPU side fan, it is the transistor on top of the motherboard, the CPU side transistor is on the bottom of the motherboard.
For what its worth this is an original console and it seems to have a memory problem. I have clamped and overheated the GPU and CPU, but it will freeze randomly without regard for the temperature of the heatsinks.
I put some heat transfer pads on the bottom mem chips, and graphics card "ramsinks" on two of the top RAM and the two other chips toward the back.
It played for 4 hours without a crash after the ramsinks, I might turn up the other fan to 12v as well, for a $15 console it is doing pretty well actually.
FYI, on 360 Elite model the component is not a transistor, it is a MOSFET. The three legs of the devise are as follows. The leg on the right is called the Source, that’s from where you’ll be picking up the 12 volts. The center leg you’ll notice is not connected, that’s because the top tab is actually the same point and it called the Drain, that’s the output of the device. The leg on the left is called the Gate. That’s what allows the connection between the Source and the Drain of the device. IE… the more current that’s present on the Gate the higher the output voltage and the more air flow there should be.
Here’s what I discovered on the Elite: The Gate and the Drain are connected to one side of two resisters on the top side of the board. The other sides of these resisters are tied together and head off toward the Graphics chip, PN X802478-003. This chip controls the HDMI section of the Graphics chip set. The way these two resisters are connected creates a voltage divider network that the graphics chip set is somehow using as a cooling feedback reference voltage and is testing it.
IE… the higher the feedback voltage the more cooling should be supplied to the unit, the lower the voltage the less cooling.
With this in mind I’m wondering if this will affect using the HDMI output to the monitor or if one is using the Red, White and Yellow leads from the A/V cable does this make a difference. As there’s no Data Sheet on this chip set, thank you Microsoft, will it affect the unit’s ability to operate in the either mode? So I’m asking if anyone has tried this on a 360 in both the HDMI and the Composite video modes and does it affect it? This would be great to know information for all of us.
Thanks
http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=637955
http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=609659
Not affiliated, just providing some info for people curious about it.
I recommend this instructable if soldering irons on computer boards isn't your favorite thing to do.
The GPU transistor is on the top side and is identical.
I just used a jumper wire to connect the 12v + leg to the Output tab for the fan.
I recommend this PDF of all the Headers and Connectors on the board:
http://dwl.xbox-scene.com/tutorial/Xbox_360-HandC-V1_4.pdf
Picture sources:
http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=661299
http://www.edn.com/photo/267/267174-pry_360elite_20079.jpg
However, the xbox i did that to red ringed believe it or not! So i took my mods out, used the dvd data cable's 5v wire to keep everything INSIDE the box, shoved the warranty sticker back on, and sent it back into the store! hahaha and i traded it in for one of the new jasper chip xbox's. I think i'm going to leave it be this time and hope it was revised PROPERLY so i don't have to touch it! I even bought the store's extended warranty, so after a year of it being microsoft's responsibility - if it red rings next year, all i have to do is send it back to the store, and i get a new one! (Figure that one out!). But if it red rings this year, off to microsoft!
Anyway, the only way i could tell a jasper is from the outsides - i don't know what the new motherboard looks like and how they've re-arranged things (I do know the specs though). One easy way of telling is my power brick is half the original size!
Interested in making an instructable about it? :)
I might make a "USB - 3 pin fan connector adapter" instructable if a few people ask for it.
Thanks for the comment though! i really appreciate it!