A detailed walk-through of an Original Xbox trace corrosion repair. This is a rev 1.4 Xbox as determined from he graphics chip and serial number. The Xbox is torn down, motherboard cleaned and analyzed, clock capacitor removed, and traces jumped with Kynar wire.
This is an original Xbox that a long lost friend gifted me. I have young children and reviving the old Xbox has proven a great way to ease them into the console games. When they get older ( and learn how not to destroy stuff ) we’ll get a new console of the current generation. I have found the original Xbox to be of good solid construction, this defect not withstanding.
The symptoms to look for are:
- Clock set screen appears on startup
- Xbox turns on by itself automatically when it is plugged in
- Power button fails to turn off the Xbox
- Occasional and random automatic power-downs
I hope this video is helpful to some out there. It’s a project that requires some patience and care, but for those so inclined I think you will find this guide provides all the information needed to make the repair on your own.
Some useful part links:
Small Weller soldering tip: http://geni.us/wTJF0L3
Kynar wire: http://geni.us/VVN7ixk
Super Capacitor: http://geni.us/kci7
NOTE: If your solder is not sticking to the board… apply some liquid rosin flux to those areas & it will flow. You can try one of these:
MG Chemicals microtip rosin pen: http://geni.us/YvZCQ
Kester rosin flux bottle 2oz: http://geni.us/OoFG5hX
MG Chemicals rosin bottle 125 ml: http://geni.us/mAhR1S
Original XBox Hardware Revision Info:
http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=367210&seqNum=2