It’s very frustrating to sit around playing your favorite game only to find the PS3 flashing red light. What’s more frustrating than that is trying to get a straight answer on what problem this light indicates! You’d think that with all the advancements in technology they could offer consumers a prescribed list of problems and corresponding flashes of light, sort of like a code so to speak. Well, if they have that code, they have secretly dialed it for now!

PS3 flashing red light the problems can be any of a number of problems. The first step in fixing everything is to find out what the light is trying to communicate, outside of the obvious fact that your system is not working. First, unplug everything from the unit, power cord, HDMI, component cables, controller charging cables, or whatever else you may have connected.

Let the unit sit and cool for a few minutes before reconnecting all component cables. It’s a good idea to start with just connecting to the television. You can also try a manual system reboot if the steps above don’t work, just press and hold the power button for ten seconds.

If none of the above works, it is a serious PS3 flashing red light issue. This could be a faulty power supply, a dead hard drive, or a malfunctioning CPU, just to name a few. You will need to check all of these components and determine if they are still working properly. Screwdrivers and some other common household tools may be required.