5th 360 broke... Am I doing something wrong?

Ok, I do not know why, but Xbox360(s) hate me, today, I have recieved my 6th 360 from EB, allong with some interesting news:

"EB Store CLerk Cameron: Your previous 360 was covered under our old warrenty, however our new warrenty is different. This is the last time you will get an new 360 for your Warrenty claim. from now on you will get a refurbished one"

Not only that but the a-holes have increased the price of the warranty for $50 - $90.
Anyway, what the heck is wrong with all my consoles, after a few months (in one case weeks) I turn it on, play for a bit, and then my console Redrings, (you know theRed-Ring-Of-Death... general hardware fault..) and shuts down. I turn it back on, and again play for a bit, and Bam! same thing... This has happened EVERY time with EVERY one of my previous 360's, the exact same thing. Honestly, what is going on? I dont think that it has overheated, I have a Nyko Intercooler thing and a Pelican Cooling staand... I tied swapping Power supplies, HDD's and even games, same thing. One thing of note is the previous exbox's front (not sure about the rear) USB inputs are toast, they dont give power or even run any components.

Any idea why this happens?

Thanks! (PS: could dust have something to do with it?)

I wouldn't be using any non-official microsoft acessoriesfor a start

Your Intercoolers are the problem. There not licenced by Microsoft!!! They kill 360s, Stealing power from importaint components and reaking havoc on power flowing to power the 360.

it has to be something you are doing. number 1 scap the extra cooling stuff. number 2 get a battery backup surge protector so the power remains constant. your house probably has inconstant power, it spikes and surges. it could be your breakers/wireing or it could be the utility company. dust can insulate and raise heat. spray canned air thru one side and a vaccume on the other side. if your dust is that bad you should get an air cleaner like ionic pro. if it's doing that to consoles think what it would be doing to your lungs. i live in phoenix and my launch 360 works fine. i have it horizontal for stability but that should affect cooling.

also for you refurbished wouldn't be a bad thing, it would be that the problem was found and fixed. maybe they warehoused a lot with bad solder and the refurbished would have a better sloder job.

My 360 is hooked up to my home theater system wich is hooked up to a Monster Powebar (some kind of advanced "clean Power" thingy, I doubt that it wouldnt prevent spikes (I payed like 400 at Best Buy for it). Secondly, You are right, My 360 is kinda dusty (but just for the past bit because of renovations, and the dust from the drywall and stuff...).

Another question, In order to cover your 360 under the MS warranty, do you have to register it?
And if you claim n the warranty with MS does the warranty then expire? And if not, once you get your console back from MS does the 3year warranty start over or continue?

My 360 is hooked up to my home theater system wich is hooked up to a Monster Powebar (some kind of advanced "clean Power" thingy, I doubt that it wouldnt prevent spikes (I payed like 400 at Best Buy for it). Secondly, You are right, My 360 is kinda dusty (but just for the past bit because of renovations, and the dust from the drywall and stuff...).

Another question, In order to cover your 360 under the MS warranty, do you have to register it?
And if you claim n the warranty with MS does the warranty then expire? And if not, once you get your console back from MS does the 3year warranty start over or continue?

EssaregeeX

You dont need anything. Since the 360 has not been on the market for 3 years yet. All 360 have 3 years guarantee from the day they were bought. After november 2008 you'll probably need to show proof of some kind that it is not older than 3 years. If you get a new one you do not get 3 years more.

nyko intercooler

BINGO! there you go. That thing sucks power from the 360 and doesn't cool anything, just because it brings hot air out doesn't mean its cooling a damn thing. And being that it sucks power from the 360, the 360 itself doesn't get the effictient power.

plus IT VOIDS YOUR WARRENTY WITH MICROSOFT! but call them up and don't tell them that, remember that whole thing where if you get 3 red lights they'll fix it for free, send it to them and never use the intercooler again.

get rid of the Nyko intercooler, it basically shorts out the power supply going into and out of the 360. if you want better cooling from your 360, raise it about 4 inches off the ground making sure the vent holes are not blocked and that the 360 is in a horizontal position, or just try running with just the pelican cooling stand, but definitely get rid of the Nyko.afmsquid

do what everyone says andget rid of the nyko cooler...

You need to call microsoft and get your 360 REPAIRED. Because ALL of them are defective. Mine red-ringed, they sent me a new one and that red-ringer. They then FIXED that one and i haven't had any problems at all ever since. Getting a new one is just getting another machine which has the same fault, which WILL break.

Also, intercoolers were debunked as being crap months ago. You really shouldn't use those at all.

Microsoft has admitted that the 360 has a fundamental hardware fault in it's motherboard. and there is around a 30% failure rate but it sounds like in your case, you're getting refurbished ones over and over which are even more prone to failure. It's just pathetic man I know. It seems like companies these days think they can get away with anything no matter how outlandish.CaptainCrazy

No, they arent refurbished (well not yet anyways) the ones that I get eplaced are brand new, factory sealed and everyting, and they replace it in front of my eyes, so I know its new.

About the other options here is what I have done to date:

Threw out the intercooler
Lifted the console abou 3" from the ground
Plugged it into a separate power supply w/ a gurge protector.

Hopefully this fixes my issue,

and BTF thanks to all who helped me out, I really appreciate it!