Xbox 360 Reball service
Reballing is the best type of repair for the Xbox 360. The original solder used on all the chips inside the console is lead free, lead free solder is brittle and eventually cracks/fractures which is when you get the red light errors like 3 flashing red lights (RROD) and 1 flashing red light (E74). The fracturing is down to the repeated heating and cooling of the solder. When a chip is reballed, leaded solder is used, leaded solder is much more reliable and can stand heating and cooling far better than lead free solder.
The reball process
Once the console has been stripped and clean, the motherboard is mounted on a jig to ensure the motherboard stays flat and doesn’t warp.
The jig is then placed on the rework station, the motherboard is heated slowly to 217°C – 225°C. This melts the original lead free solder that is underneath the chip.
Once the temperature is correct, the chip is carefully lifted from the motherboard using suction.
The lead free solder from is removed and the BGA/GPU site is then cleaned thoroughly
Now on to the GPU BGA its self.
The GPU is placed in to a reball station and held in place. The reball station is like a small vice.
The lead free solder from is removed and the GPU and is then cleaned thoroughly
The correct stencil is the placed on to the reball station and positioned
Solder balls/Spheres are then poured on to the stencil, the balls measure 0.6mm. Ive used more than normal just for the picture, normally you use a quarter of what is in the picture.
Then the reball station is tilted slightly from side to side to ensure each of the holes in the stencil have a solder ball in. The excess solder balls are then poured off.
The stencil is then lifted off and all the solder balls should be in place.
The GPU is then placed on to the lower hot air nozzle of the rework station. It is heated to about 210°C to melt/attach the solder balls on the the GPU.
This is what the GPU looks like once the leaded solder balls have been attached
The GPU it then placed on the motherboard and lined up. It is then heated up to 210°C to attach it the the motherboard.
Once it has been attached, it is then reflowed with liquid flux to ensure all the solder balls have attached and the GPU is seated properly.
Excess flux is cleaned up
Heat sinks are placed on to the GPU and CPU for tested. If everything went as its supposed to, you should have 4 green lights
Click HERE to book your console in for a reball
Here is a Gallery to other reballed chips
HANA Reball Southbridge Reball
CPU Reball
Below is a video that was done last week (20/01/12) of a GPU replacement from start to finish. The fault was 0003 RROD, the GPU was short circuit and needed replacing.