PlayStation 3 PRAM Battery Replacement

Written By: Walter Galan
  • Comments: 60
PlayStation 3 PRAM Battery Replacement

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

17

Time Required

No estimate

Introduction

Use this guide to replace your PlayStation 3's proprietary PRAM battery.

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    • Use the tip of a spudger to remove the black rubber screw cover from the side of the PS3.

    • The screw cover may be underneath a warranty sticker. This sticker will change appearance, and show "VOID" after it has been removed.

    Fake repair. Real fault: How to Delid and fix the Yellow Light of Death for good (NEC TOKIN Replacement) https://gbatemp.net/threads/how-to-delid...

    Player -

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    • Remove the single 8.5 mm T10 Security Torx screw from the smart plate.

    How to Delid and fix the Yellow Light of Death for good (NEC TOKIN Replacement) https://gbatemp.net/threads/how-to-delid...

    Player -

    I need a tork screw bracket / holder A/E/B/E01- MG and security torx screw for a CECH-AO1 do u guys sell these?

    vuhx -

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    • Pull the smart plate toward the hard drive bay, then lift it off the body of the PS3.

    How to Delid and fix the Yellow Light of Death for good (NEC TOKIN Replacement) https://gbatemp.net/threads/how-to-delid...

    Player -

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    • Be sure to keep track of the small metal bracket loosely held in the top cover, if equipped.

    That small metal bracket/socket set up looks completely different in the ps3 I'm working on. Model: CECHK01.

    Any suggestions?

    Marcus -

    different in mine too, Model: CECHP01

    Link Adrian -

    mine does not have one at all

    ian.downard01 -

    1How to Delid and fix the Yellow Light of Death for good (NEC TOKIN Replacement) https://gbatemp.net/threads/how-to-delid...

    Player -

    Did not find in my CECHH01

    Philippe Morin -

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    • Remove the following seven screws:

    • Six 52 mm Phillips screws

    • One 30 mm Phillips screw

    2 more smaller screws (don't know what size...small) just below the top middle screw and top right screw (in the picture). Look for the arrows...

    E Goo -

    can confirm, might be the backwards compatibles only

    Jordan Giese -

    after you remove the screws, you may have to push a tab to take the cover off if you meet resistance on one side of the cover. Here is a link to a video that explains it, saved me lots of trouble:

    http://youtu.be/jZgekNsRB-A?t=1m54s

    ericksi33 -

    Thanks @ericksi33, this really helped me out.

    hogurt -

    1st attempt, fan loud. Ps3 lasted about 2 wks. 2nd attempt noticed very poor contact between heatsink & cpu,gpu when taking it apart. Research - Found a better way to apply thermal past. I personally disapprove of guide on this. A small bit about the size of a grain of rice in center of cpu is plenty. Clamp the heat sinks back on. Then take it apart & check contact area. Thermal paste should have spread to about the size of a quarter.(more is better. Less then a nickel size is poor contact) possibly weak clamps. Carefully applied pressure onto the cpu & gpu, pressing them into the heatsinks before clamping heatsink clamps on. Achieved greater then quarter sized thermal past spread. Fan silent in comparison & ps3 lasted about a yr. Rarely did I ever hear the fan go to high and get loud after that. About to begin my third fix on this same ps3. One of the first 80g backwards compatible. other then those notes and that this guide was for a different model ps3 (minor differences) I liked this guide. easy to follow.

    brettgomes -

    Although the battery is described as proprietary, it looks like it is the common CR2032 lithium coin battery that is used in calculators and some computers. I haven't had to replace mine but I suspect under the heatshrink cover is a battery holder which will allow the coin battery to be removed and replaced. Then wrap with electrical tape and reinstall.

    RickP -

    I tried this with the heatgun and it ruined my PS3. The CPU and GPU are NOW RUINED!!! It did not work for and made things worst!!! I sent it to a place to get reballed and they said the HEATGUN had overheated my processor and killed them!!! So think twice about doing this. Just because it is already broken, DON'T THINK YOU CAN'T MAKE IT WORST!

    georgehollyoh -

    Why would you try it with a heat gun, no were is it mentioned to do that

    Phillip Pereira -

    There are 2 additional screws to remove , front center and front left , just behind the already marked screws.

    mikentc90 -

    As mentioned and I’ll add so detail too. If you have a model with the card readers there are two more small screws that also need to be removed before moving on to the next step.

    screech -

    2How to Delid and fix the Yellow Light of Death for good (NEC TOKIN Replacement) https://gbatemp.net/threads/how-to-delid...

    Player -

    I felt more comfortable with #2 screwdrivers.

    Philippe Morin -

  6. 6W1JbieOOEwEvj6Y

    • Lift the top cover from its rear edge and rotate it toward the front of the PS3.

    • Remove the top cover.

    • There is a plastic hook located in a hole on the top back right hand side corner. Carefully push the plastic hook a bit from the rear of the machine with a spudger to release the rear right of the casing.

    Disconnect the memory card ribbon cable.

    Tobias Stockmann -

    The top would hardly budge on the left back corner and was stuck on the right back corner. There is a plastic hook that needs to be unfastened to lift the top off. It is located in a hole on the top back corner on the right hand side, so the corner straight across the on off button. Just gently push the plastic hook a bit front the rear of the machine with a spudger. It gives easily and the top will be free to lift off after that.

    cornellg -

    I can confirm on CECHH01.

    Philippe Morin -

    Some more details here as well.

    The newer model without SACD support appears to have added that clip to the back right that needs to be pressed to release the top shell.

    If equipped with the card reader you can either have to disconnect the ribbon cable or unclip the reader from the top shell after lifting it up to get finger or tool in there to push clip to side and release reader from top shell. Note: if you failed to remove the card reader screws in the previous step these clips can break.

    screech -

    The original 60GB with the CF card reader on the front has a button protruding out. This will make it difficult to remove the top. You need to unscrew the memory card reader so it can come out easily.

    Brian Caines -

    Wow, this needs more attention. This isn't explained in any disassembly guide I've seen. You also need to be cognizant of the card reader cable when you're lifting off the lid.

    SolidSonicTH -

  7. OdxmYRCnAtAtZTiC

    • Disconnect the Blu-ray power cable from the motherboard.

    • Pull the connector straight up and out of its socket.

    I would add… “Be careful taking these type of connectors apart” …. its easy to pull the entire thing off the motherboard and rip pads !

    The pulled pads can be replaced but its extra work you don’t need :-) and requires equipment and skill to do and cold require jumper wires.

    asears -

    Pull the cables gently, the plug will come out of the socket. The plug is encased by the socket.

    A K -

    That’s also what I did.

    Philippe Morin -

    My PS3 is the CECHL01 and I had to remove the PSU to get to the disk drive ribbon cable.

    Benjamin Burden -

    I mistakenly ripped the whole thing out... I do not know where to begin on repairing it.

    Tom Gillis -

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    • Lift the Blu-ray drive from the edge nearest the power supply and rotate it away from the chassis enough to access its ribbon cable.

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    • Use your fingernail to flip up the retaining flap on the Blu-ray ribbon cable socket.

    • Be sure you are prying up on the retaining flap, not the socket itself.

    • Pull the ribbon cable out of its socket.

    • Remove the Blu-ray drive from the PS3.

    • If replacing the Blu-ray drive, transfer the power cable to your new drive.

    Not all systems look like this, some have tape instead of the flap.

    gatewaynomad -

    Every system that I have seen has had the ZIF connector, while some had tape over the connection as well. If your connectors are taped, be sure to remove the tape, then proceed with undoing the ZIF connector.

    Brett Hartt -

    The version 2 systems baseboard PCB started switching to the new narrow 24 pin ZIF header/ribbon and Blu-Ray drive connection.

    You should not attempt to detach the taped ribbon cable from the drive end first as described above for the older wide 60 pin ribbons. You must remove the drive and ribbon as one unit to protect the fragile ZIF sockets.

    The slimmer fragile ribbon is taped to the drive housing to afford a more secure ZIF connection. The opposite base connection is slightly under the PSU.

    continued

    shadetree -

    From continued

    One should firstly remove the PSU: Disconnect the drive power cable as described above. Unscrew the 5 (3-P1 2-P2) PSU mounting screws. Now leaving the power cables attached, lift the PSU off the power baseboard PCB pins and move over slightly to access the baseboard drive cable end ZIF. Release the ZIF latch and slide the entire (drive and ribbon) strait away from the baseboard ZIF to disconnect.

    After the complete drive/ribbon removal, you can carefully remove the restraining tape on the bottom of the drive to release the ribbon ZIF, then remove the 24 pin ribbon from the drive logic PCB.

    Install in reverse order making sure to add new tape to secure the ribbon to the drive.

    shadetree -

    I needed to remove the PSO completely to reach the baseboard drive cable end ZIF. To do that disconnect the power and data (I assume) cables and then pull the unit straight up. To longish prongs are heading straight up into it from the baseboard and it is a bit tight, so gently pull until it's clear.

    cornellg -

    If you are replacing the Blu-ray drive, you must use the same daughterboard that came with your PlayStation 3. The daughterboard is paired to the motherboard, and the Blu-ray drive will not work with a different board. -------------- I understand however my daughterboard is not on the bottom of the blu-ray drive it must be on the inside. Is there any advice out there on how I go about doing this as I am not sure what I am doing???? If someone could post a link or any tips it would be greatly appreciated.

    jimmy -

    When I received my new drive there was a sheet that said you could keep the old boards but you have to 'flash' them with the ps3's digital information. Currently trying to figure out how.....

    Cheffy -

    My CECHH01 has its blu-ray drive encased in a shield plate. Only one ribbon cable is visible. (The one we have to disconnect). Mine had some tape over it.

    Also, I used a spudger instead of my nails.

    Philippe Morin -

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    • Pull the control board ribbon cable straight up and out of its socket on the motherboard.

    Some PS3 versions do not have a separate control board, since the buttons and LEDS are located on the motherboard (for example, in my PS3 model CECHG04). In this case steps 10, 11 and 13 are not applicable.

    markp -

    This is also true for my CECHH01. ?‍♂️

    Philippe Morin -

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    • Remove the two 12 mm Phillips screws securing the control board to the lower case.

    • Remove the control board and its attached cable from the PS3.

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    • Remove the following eight screws securing the motherboard assembly to the lower case:

    • Seven 12 mm Phillips screws (ph2)

    • One 30 mm Phillips screw

    On my machine (fat PS3 with no card reader and 2 USB ports), there is no upper right screw to remove.

    alansliu -

    That 30mm screw is the one lower down under the power cable, not the higher up one with the embossed arrow pointing at it.

    James Beegle -

    Hey guys, that red and orange you are using are not at all identifiable as separate colors to some of us with colorblindness. I had to get my buddy to tell me which one was orange and which was red. In the future, it would be most helpful if you stuck to contrasting colors. Great guide, thanks for making it!

    Aksel Barnes -

    Step 17 helps with the 30 mm upper left screw

    joshuavivelavida -

    For any further vision impaired people trying to follow along, the single 30mm screw is in the top left of the image.

    James Beegle -

    Voting up the comments about the orange v red colors on the images, I'm surprised that such a simple edit has not been done over the past three+ years.

    Palfrus Wyrmrest -

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    • Remove the control board bracket.

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    • Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the hard drive bay cover away from the lower case.

    • Remove the hard drive bay cover.

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    • Lift the motherboard assembly out of the lower case.

    My Ps3 was a little different..

    The rear backing plate is connected to the fan shroud beneath the unit that is screwed into the bottom of the case.. And these large chrome pieces attatched to the fan were stuck to the tray that the board is on. Came a part pretty rough, guessing the ps3 got so hot it turned the grease into glue lol

    intotec239 -

    If you already suspect you may have a slightly different PS3 model to the one pictured here STOP RIGHT NOW! Do not try and lift the motherboard off the lower casing if it is not coming easily. On mine, the cooling fan and heat sinks have extra screws directly into the lower plastic case and you will not be able to lift the motherboard out until after you have done Step 27. So skip this step, continue through the guide, skip 18-23 (you probably don't have a memory card reader). After unscrewing the 4 screws in Step 27, pull hard to separate the motherboard from the heat sinks (they will be attached with thermal paste like a glue). Only then will you be able to access the screws to separate the large fan and heat sinks from the plastic lower case.

    Incidentally I totally smashed mine trying to get the lower case off here at step 15 - I broke the screws off, warped the metal on the heat sink and snapped pieces of plastic. But I continued and did the heat gun stuff and it still actually worked!!

    Fat Albert -

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    • Disconnect the PRAM battery from the motherboard.

    • Be careful when separating the connector from its socket, as the socket easily breaks of the motherboard. If possible, hold down the socket as you lift the connector.

    broke the battery off the motherboard what now?

    brody -

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    • Rotate the PRAM battery counter-clockwise and remove it from the chassis.

    My battery is completely different. It is Quarter sized flat battery, Panosonic CR 2032 3v. No plug, looks like it just slips in. My issue is, tho it looks as if it should pry and pop out, it stresses it's mounting a bit to much. I know what to do, I was just hoping I could find some re inforcement to what I think, or a trick I haven't figured out.

    Rs -

    On old models, it seems that the battery is not in a heatshrink tube and with a plug, but just an ordinary CR2032 battery in a holder.

    Be careful when taking it out, there is a metal cradle that you need to push with a finger or screwdriver so the battery pops out. Do not use extensive force in order not to break the holder!

    Then make sure to insert the new battery with the correct polarity!

    Björn Wolters -

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Author

Walter Galan

685236 Reputation

7 comments

Ok…tell me why the !&&* the PRAM battery doesnt last in these %#*@ ps3's…they should have to replace this $@$* for free. My ps3 is lucky if it has 60 hours on it…I made sure it didn't go more than 2 months without playing it. Now I have to pay Sony to fix this $@$*. I'm !#^&@@ cause I paid $500 for this %#*@ thing when it came out. If anyone knows anything I don't…please email me at tadheath95@gmail.com put in the subject…..”about ur broken ps3’. Thank you in advance!!!

Tad heath -

Hey Tad the ps3 was made 9 years ago a cmos battery lasts 8-10.

Steven Van -

The PS3 is over ten years old, way past the average life span of a lithium battery (up to 10 years). Maybe a tad shortsighted of them to embed it so deeply into the console but at least they put it somewhere that decreases the chances of damage if it leaks. That’s worlds apart from the original Xbox where they used capacitors that failed and trashed the motherboard. Xbox 360 I believe doesn’t even have the facility to retain the date/time and had far more serious issues.

alexatkin -

its insane that its buried so deep on the ps3, the Wii and Wii U both had a draw on the side with one screw to remove to replace the battery!

Steve Fox -

This guide didn’t work for my PS3 (fat). I dismantled the PS3 up to the motherboard, and found the PRAM battery there, directly on the motherboard itself, no connector attached. The video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn1OqCw-... was a huge help in combination with this guide.

Johan Janssens -

the ribbon cable for bluray drive is hard to get back in

DRAKE LARSON -

As I was trying to remove the PRAM battery, the connector on the motherboard came off with it. Is this an easy fix?

Kyle Kelm -