The primary reason for the xbox 360 3 red lights error is overheating inside of the X360′s GPU (general processing unit). When the xbox 360 was originally designed, the designers (surprisingly) decided to rely strictly on convective heating to dissipate the heat generated by the various electrical components inside the xbox console. The great graphics produced by the xBox 360 are a result of specialized graphics chips inside the xbox that are designed specifically for this task. In fact, in terms of raw processing power the 360 is probably the most powerful computer you have in the house. While it’s a very powerful computer it can really only do one thing well, produce exciting high-quality gameplay.
All of that heat the Xbox 360 produces has to go somewhere. In hindsight, the designers choice to use heat’s natural tendency to rise as their cooling system was a mistake. In hindsight, this clearly was a mistake. A different design to the cooling issue clearly should have been taken since 30% or more of the early Xboxes suffered from the 3 red lights problem. So if you’ve been hit with the Xbox 360 3 red lights problem what are your repair options? It’s not complicated, you have basically three options choose from:
Microsoft took far too long to admit the mistake before they finally put in place the two year warranty for the 3 red lights problem. If you experience this problem within the first two years of owning your Xbox, your safest course of action is to send it back to Microsoft for repair. If you are still covered under this two year warranty period and you open up your Xbox for any reason, you immediately void your warranty. Don’t bother with other repair options, just send your xbox back to Microsoft and get it done right and for free. The one or two weeks you’ll have to wait may seem like a long time while you’re waiting, but it is is worth it to save your warranty coverage.
Your second option, if you are past the two year warranty period is to use a third party repair service to fix the 3 red lights problem. The services will charge between $40 and $50 and will usually have your Xbox back in about a week. This option avoids having to open up the Xbox yourself and is best for those who just want to get it done right by someone else. It’s also a good option if you don’t mind waiting the week or so that the repair will take. These repair services can quickly be found by either by Googling them were looking on eBay.
Third, you can fix the xbox 360 yourself in an hour or two using one of the many xbox 360 3 red light repair guides that have become available as this problem became so widespread and so widely known. For just $25-$30 and can be taken through the entire repair process including video tutorials that make the repair pretty much idiot proof. The repair is not difficult and the videos make it that much easier. This is a good option if you don’t mind opening up your Xbox 360 and taking it apart. If all goes smoothly, you’ll be back playing in an hour or so.
