Okay, who's good with electronics?

[Turnsky]

because i'm seeing if i can't fix my 360's RROD issue (it's out of warranty anyway, so what do i have to lose?) upon finally getting the whole shebang opened up and prepped for when i get the thermal paste and such for it later. i noticed some oddities with it.
namely.
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/kF4CxI_5FCR6Mzw4v2MT3ruiYkqsXVDdY36LJnGcX4c?feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/jP30Bg4RE-IRQSjgNShqM7uiYkqsXVDdY36LJnGcX4c?feat=directlink

excuse the quality of the shots, but hopefully they'll be sufficient.. the first shot shows what looks like some congealed stuff on the capacitors (that brown splotch) and as well as the odd discoloration of the copper along the "bottom edge" (where the bottom would be were the 360 vertical) of the main board.


the real question is: should i be worried?

[Tapewolf]

Any chance of a top view of the capacitors?  If they've leaked, they're designed to leak from the top.  Modern electrolytics have a sort of tear line cut into the top so that if they suffer a major failure and the electrolyte boils, they open up and vent.
Older ones would tend to explode violently and shower the internals of the with equipment with goo.

[RobbieThe1st]

Also, I might add: If the caps are bulged /at all/ at the top(it's not flat), they're probably shot. I've run across quite a few power supplies in various things with a couple of slightly bulged caps; replacing them got the device working again.

[Ghostwish]

Well Turn, I gave fixing my xbox a shot, and came up to nothing. Good luck to ya man, but judging by the shots you've shown so far, you don't have an xbox anymore. You've got a paperweight.

But hey, who knows, maybe someone here knows how to revivify that thing. Undo the curse of microsuck!

[ShadesFox]

From what I hear one of the usual problems with a 360 is the graphics unit, and since that is an IC you really have no hope of repairing it.

[Turnsky]

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/EkV6bPfIh9bTYOu9aHk8PbuiYkqsXVDdY36LJnGcX4c?feat=directlink

here's the top of the mainboard. Note: haven't cleaned the old thermal gunk from the tops of the processors, and judging by the differences on the sinks between the release board and later models, i'd say all the previous RROD repair consisted of was a replacement of the sinks/thermal paste and such.

so that's what i'm going to do, and refer to various guides that suggest i actually get screws and washers to properly secure the sinks onto the board rather than the clamps the current setup had. Which i'll concede that given my time building PC's. the sinks weren't all THAT secure.. at least in comparison to how nerve-wracking most sink installs are.

edit: the shot itself is a miracle given i'm ol' mr shakyhands. 

[Tapewolf]

Not quite sure what to suggest, really.  It's not quite clear enough to see whether any of the caps have ruptured.  Frankly, those are about the only easily replaceable components on the board, as far as I can see.

[VAE]

If everything fails... perhaps heating the thing up somewhat?
Badly soldered joints can do stuff, especially after time... no need for an exceptionally high temperature - the hot air pistol that you use for paint removal  can do this sort of stuff.
Some guy at the electronics shop fixed this way a playstation chip.
I mean, better use that if everything else fails, i am not much of an circuits expert, but since everyone is at fault for advice, as last resort thing it could be.

[Turnsky]

the solder does seem all intact, thankfully, i'm thinking (thanks to a suggestion over IRC) that it might just be flux from when it -was- overheating.

[VAE]

Just for clarification : the problem i am mentioning is caused by the solder kinda separating or not being joined well with the surface  - this manfests as high resistance joints, but it isn't really visible.

Not saying it's the case ,though.