Xbox Power Trace Repair

A problem often encountered in early versions of the original Xbox is that the trace which carries the power-on signal from the power button to the PIC chip becomes corroded, breaking the trace. Other nearby traces may also be affected, such as the eject button and the front panel LED, but usually the power trace is first affected.

Symptoms associated with a broken power trace include

• The Xbox powers on as soon as the AC power cable is inserted.
• The power button does not work, either to turn the system on or to turn it off.
• The Xbox will turn itself off randomly during gameplay.
• If you do manage to turn the Xbox off with the AC power still connected (which can be done through software such as EvoX or waiting for a random shutdown), the Xbox will eventually turn itself back on.

The first symptom you may experience, at least in my case, is that your Xbox will randomly turn itself on. If you see this happen and then go to turn the console off, but the power button is unresponsive, then most likely corrosion has just eaten through the power trace. If you repair the trace quickly after first noticing these symptoms, you may be able to get away with just scraping off the corrosion instead of soldering in a bypass wire.