Technofyed

We got in a Sony PS3 for a dead drive.

I'm curious if anyone at the forum has any experience with replacing the KEM-400AAA or KES-400A?

All research points to testing the drive motor with separate power to confirm the motor vrs the controller card.

Have you done anything with the drive since you posted this, no2? I haven't worked with a PS3 or even played one, so I'm afraid I might not be able to help with this one. Testing the motor does sound like a good place to start working after verifying it is indeed a dead drive.

Yeah, we've torn the unit apart & are going to test the motors & laser tomorrow. Pending those results I'm most likely going to order a replacement unit, as it doesn't look like they make individual replacement parts available.

yeah, best thing to do is usually to send it in for replacement. make sure you specify "replacement" so they dont just repair it and send it back to you. (well i guess, that would only be if it's under warrenty. they make you pay for the new replacement if it isnt.)

Actually we took a separate approach 1st. We've gutted a bunch of broken/defective DVD drives & are currently going through the motors to see if we can find a like match. Above that, we arn't sending out the unit for repair, we'd buy the replacement motor & swap it. This isn't my PS3, it's for a customer.

I didn't really have any good reason for starting this topic, other than there was a blank section for consoles, so I thought I might throw this out for topic of conversation.

(09-29-2009 03:53 PM)no2pencil Wrote: [ -> ]Yeah, we've torn the unit apart & are going to test the motors & laser tomorrow. Pending those results I'm most likely going to order a replacement unit, as it doesn't look like they make individual replacement parts available.

I was going to ask if it is still under warranty but never mind. My guess is that they have a lot of proprietary parts but I've never used one much less taken one apart. Maybe there is some literature on them somewhere. Surely there is. Ebay for parts? One thing to consider is that it isn't just a dvd drive. I don't know if that makes a difference. I suppose the only difference is the laser. That would be an awfully expensive paper weight. Good luck.

(10-02-2009 11:14 PM)townsbg Wrote: [ -> ]One thing to consider is that it isn't just a dvd drive. I don't know if that makes a difference. I suppose the only difference is the laser.

That's exactly correct. As long as the laser works when powered up, it should be good to go. The customer says that it doesn't detect a disk, so we're checking the motors 1st, & the difference between a DVD motor & a Blue Ray motor should be none.

I can't believe we still have not gotten to this yet Things are starting to pile up a little.

Quick update : The drive motor is fine, it appears that the laser is what is defective.

Why don't you make it look like this???

No2's thread on a PS 3 he is working on got me interested in finding pictures of a PS 3 autopsy. I also found some videos. Warning, some computer people might find this to be graphic. Part 1 just deals with taking the top panel off so that can mostly be ignored. These people even take apart a controller.

Because it's not mine. I'm pretty sure the customer wouldn't appreciate getting back a hell-spawn of Satan when he turned in an OEM PS3.

But that's just me. I could be wrong.

The part came in today. Don't ever let anyone tell you that proper procrastination is a bad thing. I was able to find a rather large wholesale supplier of console hardware repair parts at an extremely discounted rate! Plus they are local, so I can get the parts same day, as well as I don't have to worry about them being lost in transit.

All that being said, the new part went in smooth, & unlike the defective laser, during POST the new one will actuate, back & forth, the laser pops out, back in, & then illuminated blue. So if you find yourself staring at the guts of a PS3 wondering wtf is wrong with it, a simple power on self test will show you the drive motor & laser in motion. If either of those are inactive, they are probably dead.

Glad you found a local supplier that can really simplify things. This is good information to know about the PS3!

I'm glad that I found that supplier. I've got another PS3 coming in for repair.

This time I'll document the process & provide some photos.

That sounds very interesting. Maybe we could put the final result in the guides section?

I'd be alright with that. I suppose it's a question if you want members of the site voiding their PS3 warranty.

That's their choice. We could provide the information with a warning that the steps mentioned would void the warranty.

Its already in our terms that we aren't liable but I suppose that another warning won't hurt. Also warn that they could hurt themselves.

I was looking up the PS 3 on wikipedia and I found this picture of a special edition.


Now they have redesigned them and they look like the one on the right.

I never got the photos of this. We had a couple of break in attempts at our house & I didn't get around to taking the photos.

Inadvertently I used the power kill in the back & corrupted the hard drive. So now I have to get a controller so I can hit "X" to start the restore process. Lame.