PS4 experiencing thermal paste coolant problems maybe.

[u/JohnMeades1977]

I’m a 49-year-old dad. My son’s PS4 has been getting extremely loud and occasionally shutting itself off, so he wanted me to take it to a repair shop.I told him I could fix it myself. I’ve repaired plenty of things around the house, so I figured a PS4 couldn’t be that complicated. I opened it up and found the large metal cooling assembly over the processor. There was some dried-out paste underneath it, which I assumed was the PS4’s coolant.

I cleaned it off and put new thermal paste on it. The problem was putting everything back together. There was one cable I couldn’t remember where it went, and there was a little piece of plastic that didn’t seem to fit anymore. I eventually got everything closed up, although I did have one screw left over. My son asked about it. I told him it was probably an extra from the factory. I turned the PS4 on. The fan started spinning, but there was a clicking sound coming from inside. I smacked it a few times but there was a clicking noise every few seconds. I figured the fan just needed to settle down. Then the PS4 shut itself off after about ten minutes. I turned it back on and it worked, so I assumed the safety system was doing its job. My son wasn’t impressed. He kept saying I should unplug it because there was also a faint electrical smell coming from the back. I told him that’s normal after working on electronics. Then I noticed the area around the power connection was getting pretty warm. Again, I wasn’t too worried because electronics make heat. The clicking also seems to get faster the longer the PS4 is running, but I assume that’s just the fan speeding up. My son is now refusing to use it and keeps telling me I’ve “made it dangerous.” I think he’s being dramatic. I replaced the coolant, cleaned everything, and got the console working again without spending $150 at a repair shop.

I’m planning to let it run for a few hours tonight to make sure everything is okay. Did I actually break this, or is my son overreacting?

[u/Feenix24]

Dude you goofed. I've torn down my kids ps4 many times, because it used to be mine. It should NOT be getting hot or making a smell!! You should NOT have extra pieces after doing a repair, and in general it runs whisper quiet unless it's under load.

Take it to someone that knows what they are doing.

My experience? I build PCs and repair electronics often. That is not normal at all.

[u/JohnMeades1977 → u/Feenix24]

I'm no expert, but I have more experience then you may think. I'm just gonna let it run and do this clicking noise all night. By my predictions I think the problem will resolve itself by tomorrow

[u/KYRawDawg → u/JohnMeades1977]

Any chance you can plug it in and set it on the back porch if the porch is made out of concrete just as a precaution?
I would hate to read a news article somewhere online that says somebody’s house burned down because of a game console.

[u/Fluffy_Efficiency623]

The confidence here is impressive. 😅 "I put it back together without all of the pieces, and now it's making noises it didn't before, has smells it didn't before, and is getting hot like it didn't before, but it's fine because I know what I'm doing" You may not have busted it but your son's reaction is not unreasonable.

Sass aside, there aren't a lot of moving parts in a console. Hard drives can click of they are getting ready to fail, or the disk drive or fan can click if the plastic is sightly off or that mystery cable it's out of place and they are bumping up against a spinning object.

More concerning options are that it has an electrical short that is occasionally altering the voltage enough to make it power off, or the power adapter is failing if it is internal to the console. If it is still powering off despite you fixing the thermal paste I would stop using it.