How To Clean Your Ps3 Lens

snkplkn Member

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Has anybody tried any of these Lens cleaner CDs on your PS3 or PS4? Are they any safe? I read somewhere that Sony doesn't recommend using these products.
I have old FAT model and lens cannot be accessed without opening the BD Drive. I also wanna use Lens cleaner for my PC Blu Ray writer internal. What do you recommend?

I found that many types of lens cleaner CDs like Philips, Endust, Dr Clean, Uber etc claim to clean BD Lens. Which is the best product?
TBH it may add a little more life to your system but I wouldn't call it a fix. Try cleaning and greasing the sled. As md if need be adjust the lasers pot to get a little more life out if it. Just don't expect miracles and lasers aren't always the issue. Your could have a bad power/eject button and the PS3 laser be fine. They are easy to replace and cheap. I would check iFixit first to trouble shoot and diagnose your issue before spending cash that may or may not help/fix your issue.
snkplkn Member

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I don't have a significant problem with BD drive as of now. I bought old fat model which is reading discs but i think drive hasn't been cleaned since ever so i am looking for options.
I am concerned about dissembling BD drive as its complicated and can lead to problems (eject/insert problem, reading failures, no drive detection etc). I have tried cleaning my internal PC DVD writers and many of them developed problems after reassembly. So i am looking for less invasive ways for lens cleaning. I would also like to clean my Asus BD writer internal of my PC.
If you don't have an issue a simple cleaning the laser with some isopropyl alcohol 90% is best with cotton swabs can be good preventive measures as well as greasing the lasers sled once the lid and top is removed from the BD drive. No disassembly is needed aside from removing the case lid and four screwd over the drive. Really simple and good measures for any system to prevent issues. Much better then those cleaners. All they are is just a disc with a small brush on them. Sometimes they can be to firm and why they don't suggest using. You can do this and better the way I just described.
snkplkn Member

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I will try it. Yes, i have IPA 90%. What is Laser Sled greasing? You mean greasing the thin metal stick which is for movement of lens assembly?
The CD cleaners are not a good idea in general as a concept, they spins and have some fibers that are supposed to clean/polish the lens surface, but thats not the best way to do it
Dissassembling the BD drive is tricky (because is like a puzzle with small pieces), but is not specially dangerous, you need to be specially carefull when disconnecting the cables though
Some of them (like the tray disc presence sensor) have tiny wires and can break easilly if you pull from it

The laser pickup doesnt needs any calibration, if at some point you need to replace it the only thing you need to do is to release one of the "rails" (that metal bars at the sides with vaseline grease), remove the old pickup, put the new one and assemble everythig
Is easy and is not expesive... nowadays the laser pickups you are going to find "on sale" are not officially made by sony, but who cares ?, are cheaper and works fine

Take a look at this thread, i was talking a bit about how to perform some checks to your laser
https://www.psx-place.com/threads/p...y-changed-the-bluray-drive.21809/#post-149766

And in this thread i explained how i clean lasers with a cotton stick, is easy when you get used to it, and i do it with lot of devices, not only consoles
https://www.psx-place.com/threads/serious-laser-issues-scph-39003.22649/#post-160001

Is better if you have a PC reader for practising (or any old laser shit you have at home), the important rules are:
-dont push the lens too much (to avoid bending the coils)
-dont make fast movements
-move the cotton stick in circles, but not complete circles... is better half a turn, or one quarter
-do it under a lamp, and use a magnifyer glass (with lot of zoom) to check the surface very often, use the reflect of the lamp light (bouncing in the surface) to see the details
snkplkn Member

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You are right. I checked some Youtube videos and i believe there are 4 small bands that needs to be removed. If there is slight pressure on any one breaking it, specially the smaller ones, the BD drive will not work. And good luck with getting those bands.... here i can't find them anywhere in the market. Then only option is buying a dead fat PS3 and scavenging for parts (i am thinking about it because i also wanna practice IHS removal).
I am not comfortable trying to fix something whose spares are not available in the market anymore. Also i have tried fixing my faulty DVD writers (lens cleaning, greasing sliding assembly etc) of my desktop .... but without any positive results. Anyway, i don't really care about DVD writers as they cost around $15 here. I am more concerned about my PS3 and PC Blu Ray writer which i am looking to clean.

On Side note. Super Slim PS3 are simple to work with. I mean you just open the flap and lens is accessible right there.
The band are usually named "ribbon cables" or "flat cables", the only thing you need to worry about them is the connectors have a mobile part that works like a "clip" to hold the cable in place
You need to "open" the clip in the connector with your nails then the cable is loose and you can remove it
And to reconect it is made in the other way... you prepare the connector clip in the "open" position, insert the cable in it, and "close" the clip
By doing it like that they will not suffer any damage
And btw... incase one of your cables is "folded" from factory... dont try to "unfold" it ! (this could break the copper lines inside it)
Additionally to that, the only place where can be damaged is at the borders when you see all the copper "traces" aligned
The other cable i was mentioning (that lot of people breaks) are 2 thin wires that goes from the center of the disc tray... to a side of the BD drive
Is a sensor with 2 wires that detects when you "insert" a disc (and triggers the motor that "sucks" the disc)

And yeah, in this case you need to watch a lot of youtube videos, try to watch some where appears your exact BD model... the goal is to try to see how are the inside parts before opening it yourself, also to start getting an idea of the correct order to remove every piece of it

To cleanup the laser lens is not that hard though... you just need to remove some screws at botton to open the top metal cover
After that you need to remove 4 screws or so that holds all the mecanical parts at top that does the "sucking" / "eject" movements
All that is like a single "plastic frame" and you remove it entirelly in a easy way

And after that i think you should be able to see the laser lens and clean it
There is no need to remove more parts
snkplkn Member

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Yes i have seen the bands. I know the clips. I changed thermal paste (without delidding). And for that i did complete disassembly of console. Yes, the main band connecting BD drive to PS3 motherboard is folded. You are right, it should be left in that position. Trying to untangle it will definitely break it. I removed the main band and put it back during my clean up. I left the BD drive for later. I am really hoping to get a spare dead console for parts. I will try to get something around $15-20. I wanna scavenge parts including system fan, BD Drive bands, PSU and for practicing IHS removal.
umart666 Senior Member

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sorry for hijacking the thread,but can i do something to fix my bd?i have standard problem,i can install regular cfw but when i launch anything i go straight to black screen.drive itself makes noises,and i'm pretty sure everything is connected properly.
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Just curious. Will PS3 work if BD Drive is unplugged? You can pinpoint the problem to BD Drive if you can launch PS3 Programs without BD drive connected.
Also there are several "NO BD Drive" firmwares that you can try. Who needs BD Drive these days with usage of internal hard drive, External hard drive, USB Sticks, FTP server running through multiman or webman? I hardly use Game discs on my PS3.
Naked_Snake1995 Senior Member

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The BD Drive its not really important, what its important its the BD Logic Board, what's underneath the BD Drive, of course you will need to have a NoBD Firmware or else any homebrew or app will fail to launch due to the dead or missing logic board, and launching any Title has to be preformed via the PS3_APP from the XMB.
If you have a 2500 and Upwards, the BD Logic Board isn't necessary, as its no longer integrated to the BD Drive itself, thus eliminating the need for a remarry, and application launch fail on both CFW and OFW.

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Depending upon the model. The newer systems have the logic board in the main board now. The 2500, 3000, 4000 & 4200 will work without the drive attached. Phats and the first model slims have to have the daughter board working and connected to launch games otherwise the No-BD firmware is needed. Luckily all those that need it can have CFW. The models that do not need them can have HEN installed now.
As far i know thats very rare, what people usually reports is both functions (installing firmware, and booting apps/games) not working
Is the first time i see someone reporting problems in one of them only
Not sure why could happen this, but just to say something to start searching for the problem... i think it could be a single (or a couple) of lines disconnected
If i where you i would check in this order.
1) the pins inside the connectors, take a magnifyer glass (with lot of zoom) and a lamp to look inside the connectors, maybe you have one pin bent or deformed... or some "shit" inside, i guess is rare but is needed to check it

2) the ribbon cables, take them to a table, and use some weight (some books) to keep them quiet laying of top of the table with the copper contacts aiming to the roof. Then use a multimeter configured in "continuity" (where the multimeter does a "beep" noise) and start checking all the lines of the ribbon cable, one by one touching with the multimeter in the sides
All them should make a clear and continuous "beep" noise... incase one of them does weird noises (not continuous) is because the copper line is partially broken internally inside the ribbon cable
https://www.psdevwiki.com/ps3/Bluray_Drive#Bluray_Drive_Revisions
The component that is "paired" with the main PS3 motherboard is the BD controller chip, is the biggest one of the board and is a square branded "sony" or "renesas"
Since PS3 slim CECH-25xx models (and newer) that chip is located on the main motherboard, so you can remove the BD drive completly and there is no need to make any "remarry" because the chip stays in the main motherboard

In previous PS3 models (all PS3 fats and first slim models CECH-20xx and CECH-21xx) the chip is located inside the BD drive
In my oppinion, if you want to remove the BD drive in this PS3 models the best thing you can do is to dissassemble the BD drive and remove the big circuits board of it
Then use that board (and the power and data ribbon cables) to keep it inside the PS3
Is a very thin board... to isolate electrically it (and avoid shorts) you can make like an "envelope" with plastic
The board inside the envelope, and the envelope sticked to the metal plate that covers the motherboard with tape

A better mod is to use "kapton tape", is an special tape used in electronics, is the same tape used in laptops to isolate the ram modules and wifi/bt modules, etc... Resists very well the heat and is not conductive

the normal tapes doesnt resits well the heat, after some months inside the PS3 suffering lot of cycles of heating/cooling the glue starts degrading and becomes like gummy (and the whole thing becomes dirty), the tape could move from his original position, etc...
I had this issue with my CECHL PS3 the ones with the PATA drive not SATA. They are troublesome systems with weird issues.
I alwas thought both problems (installing firmware, and booting apps/games) was caused exactly by the same reason, but if what he is saying is true then i guess im wrong
When installing a firmware, there is a swu.self (software updater self) inside the PS3UPDAT.PUP that performs the firmware installation
Inside the PS3UPDAT.PUP there are also some PKG's that are specific for the BD controller chip (are the firmwares of the chip), and are applicable only to specific BD controller chips and versions

So.. the instaler needs to communicate with the BD controller chip... first it needs to know his revision, and also it needs to know his firmware version
Based on that info the swu.self decides if some of the PKG's included inside the PS3UPDAT.PUP are "applicables" to that chip

--------------
When you boot an app/game i guess is not made the same checks, is not needed to know the version of the BD controller firmware, but for some reason is needed to check his presence
umart666 Senior Member

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i'm sorry,i should be more clear,ps3 in question is cechc and i'm using nobd cfw already,i was just curious what i can do to fix it,as it's making noises.as i said i'm sure as i can be that is connected properly and cables are ok.
In the noBD CFW's are removed the PKG's inside the PS3UPDAT.PUP intended to be instaled in the BD controller chip
This way the swu.self doesnt makes the check to the controller chip to know his revision and version
This allows to complete the firmware installation successfully
But to try to find the cause of the problem and repair it (by hardware) is needed to install a normal CFW as a start point

Edit:
Not sure if installing a normal CFW first is the best idea... i guess i would check the ribbon cables and connectors first
umart666 Senior Member

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as i've said,i'm able to install regular cfw but when launching anything i go straight to black screen.
Naked_Snake1995 Senior Member

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That's because your logic board its dead, you need to install a NoBD CFW if you wish to use any game or application.
Install the NoBD Firmware, like a normal update, there are plenty of NoBD CFWs, Rebug, Overflow, Starebuged pick your flavour and install it.

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