Last updated: October 2026 · Status: in progress. The console is still torn down. This page gets updated with the final result.

Someone spilled a drink on this PS3. It was soda or beer, not water, and that difference is the whole story. Water dries and leaves very little behind. A sugary drink dries into a sticky white crust that stays on the boards and the metal shields until somebody takes it off.

I opened it up for two reasons: to see how far the spill got, and to try to fix the pins in the HDMI port. These are the photos from that teardown, what I found, and where the repair stands right now.

The Console

This is a fat PS3. The motherboard is stamped COK-001, the board revision from the launch-era fat models.

Fat PS3 with the top shell lifted off, Blu-ray drive on the left and the power supply on the right

With the top shell off you see the Blu-ray drive on the left and the power supply on the right. Both lift out to reach the main shield and the board underneath.

PS3 main metal shield exposed after the drive and power supply come out, with dust along the edges

Dust and grime collected on the PS3 main shield near the heatsink cutouts

A lot of dust had built up along the shield and around the cutouts, separate from the spill. If you ever have a fat PS3 open for any reason, it is worth cleaning this while you are in there.

Where the Spill Went

The Blu-ray drive’s controller board

White dried soda residue smeared across the metal shield on the PS3 Blu-ray drive controller board

This is the worst of it. The white streaks across the shield on the drive’s controller board are the dried drink. It looks a lot like old thermal paste at first glance, but it is residue. It is sticky, and it sits right next to the drive’s ribbon cable connectors.

Inside the PS3 Blu-ray drive: laser sled, rails and ribbon cables

The main board

PS3 motherboard section with dust around the voltage regulators and coils

Some of the residue also reached the main board. It is much harder to see in a photo than the white streaks on the drive shield, but it was there and it needed cleaning too.

Underside of the PS3 COK-001 motherboard with ribbon cables still attached

The rear ports

PS3 rear ports with dust and debris packed into the HDMI, Ethernet and optical audio openings

The rear I/O had dust packed into the HDMI, Ethernet and optical openings.

PS3 HDMI port close-up showing damaged and bent pins inside the connector

And this is the HDMI port. The pins inside are damaged. The plan going in was to straighten them. Up close, they look too far gone to bend back.

PS3 Wi-Fi antenna lead and connector on the wireless board

One detail for anyone doing their own teardown: the Wi-Fi antenna lead runs across the top of the shield, so mind it when you lift parts out.

The Cleanup

I used denatured alcohol, because it’s what I had, and it cleaned the residue up. Isopropyl alcohol is the usual recommendation for electronics. Denatured alcohol did the job here on the shield and the board.

If a drink goes into your console, the basics are:

  • Unplug it and don’t turn it back on. The sugar and liquid are the danger while power is flowing.
  • Open it and find every spot it reached. On this one, that meant the drive’s controller board, part of the main board, and the port area. Some spots are easy to miss because the residue doesn’t always show up white.
  • Clean the residue off with alcohol and a soft brush. Let everything dry fully before reassembly.

The HDMI Port: Where It Stands

The pins look beyond repair, so straightening them is off the table. That leaves replacing the port. A new HDMI port on a PS3 is a soldering job: the old connector comes off the board and a new one goes on, with a row of fine pins plus the shield tabs. Done badly, it can lift pads off the board.

So the choice right now is:

  1. Replace it myself. That takes a decent soldering iron like the Pinecil, no-clean flux, a replacement port, and a helping hands magnifier to see the pins.
  2. Send it to a repair shop. HDMI port swaps are a common console repair, and shops have the hot air gear for it.

I haven’t decided yet. Part 2 will cover which route I took, what it cost, and whether this PS3 powers on and puts a picture on the TV. I’ll update this page when it’s back together.

FAQ

Is a soda spill worse than a water spill?

Yes. Water dries and mostly disappears. Soda and beer leave sugar behind, which dries into a sticky film that stays on the boards until you clean it off.

Can I use denatured alcohol instead of isopropyl?

It’s what I used on this PS3, and it cleaned the residue. Isopropyl alcohol is the more common recommendation for electronics, so use that if you have it.

Can bent HDMI pins be fixed?

Slightly bent pins can sometimes be straightened. When they are damaged like the ones in this port, the usual fix is replacing the whole port, which is a soldering job.

Which PS3 is this?

A fat PS3 with a COK-001 motherboard, the launch-era board revision.

Repair log by Retro Drifter. Photos are from this teardown. Part 2 will add the port replacement and the final result.

Last verified: October 2026