Error 0012 - How to remedy?

[thunder47]

Hey, I made an account just to ask this question. I found this forum by searching for the solution to cut the temp tracer on my motherboard, only to find that there are multiple versions of one motherboard.

I dont know which motherboard I have. I took my Xbox 360 out of its box after moving and it gave me a red light. Upon research, I came across error 0012, which indicates a GPU overheat. Since the Xbox stays on for about 15-20 seconds, and then shuts off, I found it hard to believe it was an overheat to begin with. Since I found a rather helpful thread (but not helpful enough, it seems), I have put off cutting the temp tracer in search of new help. I don't know how to find which kind of motherboard I have, but it came out of an Xbox 360 Slim purchased about 2 years ago.

This is what I have tried to remedy the error:

Took off heat sync, cleaned and replaced thermal paste, replaced heat sink
Reflow-ed the board

I felt wary of replacing the X-Clamp, because I felt that it wasn't an issue

If I can get some help that would be nice. I reached out to a local store in the area that does repairs, and the guy told me that it was a temperature sensor problem, and it couldn't be fixed.

 

[gavin_darkglide]

Did you cut the trace? If you did, did you reconnect it? If you didnt disconnect the trace, you will probably need to replace the XCGPU, and flash the nand image from that XCGPUs original board to this board.

 

[thunder47]

I havent cut the trace yet. I was saving it as a last resort. How would I do the above steps? Do i need to get another slim board?

 

[ZBeeblebrox]

When you say you've replaced the thermal compound, do you mean just under the heat sink? There's more thermal compound under the IHS on the chip itself. You can cut the glue that holds the spreader to the chip with a razor blade (VERY CAREFULLY) to remove the spreader, then clean out the old thermal paste and replace. The old compound may have broken down during the reflow of the XCGPU, which would cause an overheat.

 

[thunder47]

I didn't reflow it with the heat sink on, and the overheat issue started before the reflow. I cleaned and replaced the thermal compound on the chip itself and the heat sink, but i didn't pry up the chip itself.

 

[gazcoigne]

you need to understand what the heat spreader is and how it works you clearly dont understand at all.

the silver covering on the xcgpu is the primary heatsink of the chip it has to be removed.

follow the advice given.

heres a pic showing it removed

 

[DBTarmac]

Can I ask what your using and how your doing your re-flow?

 

[jdoe91011]

If you decide to replace the thermal paste under the IHS (which you SHOULD try), make sure you have silicone adhesive sealant to reattach the IHS with.

I've seen some people suggest that the new thermal paste is enough to hold it on, but that is stupid.

I tried this fix on a Trinity board that was throwing 0033 about a second after hitting the power button, the fan barely turned one revolution, and it didn't work for me, but once again, you SHOULD try it.

 

[thunder47]

If you decide to replace the thermal paste under the IHS (which you SHOULD try), make sure you have silicone adhesive sealant to reattach the IHS with.

I've seen some people suggest that the new thermal paste is enough to hold it on, but that is stupid.

I tried this fix on a Trinity board that was throwing 0033 about a second after hitting the power button, the fan barely turned one revolution, and it didn't work for me, but once again, you SHOULD try it.

How exactly do I reattach the IHS to the chips, if you imply that some people have suggested that the new thermal compound is enough to hold it down, do I need to apply silicone around the edges, or directly on the chips themselves?

 

[jdoe91011]

How exactly do I reattach the IHS to the chips, if you imply that some people have suggested that the new thermal compound is enough to hold it down, do I need to apply silicone around the edges, or directly on the chips themselves?

Around the perimeter of the IHS, NOT ON THE CHIPS.

Where I have added yellow to the picture posted by gazcoigne.

 

[thunder47]

I reflowed using a X tronic 4000. I took the xbox apart and removed the silver cover, cleaned and replaced the thermal compound and silicone adhesive, replaced the thermal compound on the outside and put the heat sink back on. I made sure to not touch the processor with silicone and the xbox is still throwing the 0012 code