The appearance of the 3 red lights on the Xbox 360 console can be attributed to various causes and fixing the problem yourself with the help of a few tricks is not that difficult.

You have to first make sure that only 3 red lights are flashing on your Xbox 360. If the fourth red light flashes, it indicates a problem of video and audio cable connection. If the cable is plugged back tightly and both the cables are congruent with the gizmo, the problem of the flashing 4th red light won’t resurface.

When the 3 red lights flash on the Xbox 360, Microsoft popularly refers to it as the RED RING OF DEATH and this new term that has been coined has caught on. Microsoft ascribes it to general failure of hardware.

To fix the problem of the red lights, you may consider taking the following steps:

Often the red lights appear when the Xbox is kept running for long stretches of time and it cannot effectively cool down. The component parts get overheated. In case of such a possibility, you should immediately switch off the Xbox, pull out all the cables from the plugs and let it cool for a minimum of 2 hours in some shady and cool corner.

The red lights may also be an indicator of inadequate power supply to the Xbox. To fix this problem, you have to remove your arm candy gadget from the shared power bar and plug it in a dedicated outlet.

Or you may check out the internet to get hold of guides known as 3 Red Lights Fix to fix the problem yourself. It is a faster and cheaper alternative to dispatching the Xbox to Microsoft for repair, which will set you back by a whopping $140 and may take more than 4/5 weeks.

With the help of the 3 Red Light Fix guides, that has gained much popularity and garnered a whole lot of attention lately, you can easily fix your Xbox 360 red lights yourself and do it fast. You don’t need to be an expert to follow the unique instructions.

The Xbox 360 was released in the year 2005. Detailed graphics, wireless capability and an enhanced multiplayer networking system gave original Xbox fans something to drool over. However, the bad news is that the console is filled with problems. Some users do not get problems, while others are flooded with them.

One of the more major system problems is one called The Red Ring of Death

What is the Red Ring of Death?

The red ring of death refers the to flashing red lights around the console’s power button. The error message indicates that there is a hardware malfunction within the console. You will not be able to play games or even access the dashboard until it is resolved.

How Can it Be Fixed?

With my experience in gaming I have come up with two solutions. Both of them will solve your problem, but one may work better than the other for some people, it all depends on how you wish to fix it.

• Mail the Console Back to Microsoft – Microsoft repairs hundreds if not thousands of consoles each day. If your console is under warranty then you can have it fixed for free. If it’s not, then you will have to shell out $100 or more in order to have it fixed. Microsoft will not tell you how the problem was resolved and it will take around 4-8 weeks.
• Buy a Repair Guide – Repair guides are a valuable source of information. They cost around $20-$30, but often come with a money back guarantee. If you buy a repair guide you will learn how to diagnose and fix the problems yourself, so if it should ever happen again you will know how to fix it.

The Xbox 360 has a power ring which is nothing but the power button and the lights surrounding the power button. The lights are programmed to blink according the operating conditions of the console. The lights are arranged in a quadratic circle manner as a thin ring around the power button. The lights blink either in green or red depending upon the condition. Also the console is designed to display error messages on the screen when any problems occur within the console. Basically the codes are displayed in an alphanumeric fashion. The light blinks in green color when your console runs without any problem. But, in case any problem occurs it turns to red in color. Apart from this the number of lights glowing during an error also changes. There may be one, two, three or four lights glowing according to the situation.

DESIGN ASPECTS

Basically the hardware runs on two processors that are the CPU and the GPU. These processors are provided with heat sinks to absorb heat radiated from them. The problem now is many Xbox user have complained about hardware failure and also overheating problem of the console. The overheating is because there is no enough air circulation for natural cooling of the processor. Though the motherboard consists of an intercooler, the console is still facing the overheating problem. All these problems aroused because of poor design, insufficient testing and poor ventilation inside the console. This overheating has caused an error in the console. The error E 74 occurs on the screen when the console gets overheated. Also you can observe three red lights will be glowing in the power ring area. This problem is widely known as the ‘Red Ring of Death’ or RRoD.

REPAIRING

The console can be repaired in two ways. One is by giving the console to the Microsoft service centre or else repairing it by your own. Free service is provided by Microsoft for those consoles which are under warranty period. But, for others repairing is charged. One more draw back here is that you need to wait for up to 3 months to get your console back and hence you can’t even see your Xbox for the next three months. Few suggest a method called towel wrapping. This is done to ensure that the weak solder joints in the motherboard gets melted and gets fixed properly when you wrap a towel around the console and made it to run for an hour. But hardware experts say that by performing this kind of technique will damage the components in the mere future.

EASY WAY TO REPAIR:

The simple and the easiest method to solve this problem is by repairing the console by your own. For this you need to watch some videos from the internet which gives you a step by step instruction to repair the console. The main objective is that you need to remove the X clamp from the motherboard that supports the heat sinks. After which the heat sinks are fixed back in their appropriate positions with the help of a screw and blot. This ensures that your processor gets enough air and gets cooled naturally. The main advantage in this method is that you can do the repairing work within one or two hours so that it gets ready on the same day and you can start playing your favorite game.

Xbox 360 is a video game console introduced by Microsoft Corporation in the 2005. The Xbox 360 version is an advance version when compared with that its previous version. Basically, the Xbox 360 has been released with three different kinds of motherboard such as Xenon, Zypher and Falcon. The Xenon type of motherboard is the latest type released in the market. Many users have reported about hardware failure in the xenon type of motherboard. The xenon type motherboard has been affected by frequent overheating causing the GPU to fail and thus disturbs the working of the console.

RRoD

The RRoD stands for the Red Ring of Death. RRoD is a condition where your console stops working and displays an error E74 on the screen and accompanied by red lights glowing near the power button. The Xbox 360 has been loaded with some set of error codes in order to warn the user about its working obstacles. One such type of error is the E74. This error means that the hardware has been overheated due to long working hours or failure in the components in the motherboard due to weak solder joints. Apart from the three red light error there are also one or two or four red light errors. But, these errors do not affect the console very much when compared with that of the three red light error. The three red light error is considered to be the worst as it may permanently cause damage to the motherboard.

CAUSES FOR RRoD TO OCCUR:

The primary reason for the RRoD to occur is because of the overheating of the console. It is caused because of large power consumption by the inbuilt intercooler. As the power supply to the intercooler is taken from the motherboard’s main supply, the entire current flows through all the components of the motherboard. Another possibility to occur is because of weak solder joints resulting in failure of the processors to work in the motherboard. But, the major fact is that the heat sinks over the processors do not provide enough cooling as the heat developed over the surface is more than expected. The X clamp that holds the heat sinks are very tightly fixed to the motherboard causing less air to flow.

SOLUTION

The only way to solve the problem is to provide enough cooling to the processors. The X clamp are removed and fitted again by screw and bolt to the motherboard. This can be done by giving your console to the Microsoft service centers or you can do this at your own.  When you give your console to the service centre the cost for repairing is over $100 excluding shipping charges and moreover you have to wait for up to three months to get them back.

There is one more way to get rid of red lights in your Xbox 360. You can repair it on your own and hence the cost of repairing is very less. Moreover the repair work will not take more than an hour. Do not worry if you have not repaired any electronic consoles or gadgets before. All you need to do is remove the X-Clamps. You can learn about this with the help of a repair video. This video will explain each and every step to repair your Xbox and hence you can repair your Xbox in just one hour and start playing the games again today itself.