When i turn on my ps3 the red light comes on then a yellow then turns off can i fix this myself..

I think this would be the Yellow Light Of Death problem. When it beeps is the light yellow then after PS3 turns off Yellow light will turn red and flash. I haven't seen this happen myself as yet but lots of other people are having this problem. Caused by your machine getting too hot. You can google YLOD and you will find thousands of comments on this problem. They say you can fix it yourself if you are good with tools or else you need to send it to one of the many places that can repair it for you.

The PS3 Yellow Light is the 360's cousin for the Red Ring of Death. My assumption is that you may have unintentionally blocked any sort of cooling the PS3 has. Here are some steps in correcting that yellow light. This information comes from HowtoFixyourPS3.com:

In order to fix your PS3 yellow light error, there are 3 things that you can do.

1 - Restart your Playstation 3.
2 - Check for loose cables.
3 - Unplug all cables, and plug them back in.
4 - Take out your hard-drive, and place it back in your console.

If these 4 tips didn't fix the PS3 yellow light problem, then it's high likely that there's something wrong with your hardware. In order to repair that problem, you can do 2 things. You either send your console over to Sony. Or, you simply fix the problem yourself while using a PS3 repair guide.

You have yellow light of death and need to reflow the cpu and gpu chips.

sorry but it sounds like your ps3 has overheated. aka the yellow light of death. I have fixed about 5 different ps3s with the yellow light. but it WILL overheat again. you can do the heat gun fix if you are computer savvy. here is the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_Ic1_TY-GU

it will work for a few days maybe a week or month if you keep the ps3 super cool, but it will still be damaged.

ultimately you will end up getting a new ps3.( get a slim)

If it makes you feel better, I paid 699 for a launch console, it got the yellow light 2 days over the 1 year warranty and sony made me pay 150 to fix it, thats 850$ for 1 ps3 !!! They ended up sending me another ps3, THAT one got the yellow light too! they wanted another 150 to fix it. so i fixed it myself and sold it to gamestop for 150 and got a slim.

You have yellow light of death. google gilsky method for fixing ylod

Hmm, that sounds like the "red light of death"
This article might be of use to you.

PS3 Red Light Fix

That is the infamous "YLOD - Yellow light of death". Your PS3 is most likely toast. If it is under warranty, call Sony and have it replaced. If not they charge $150 to fix it. If you are somewhat handy you could posibly fix it yourself by getting the PS3 repair guide. I have not used it myself but it has gotten rave reviews for saving people a lot of money. Here is a link to the guide.

http://www.squidoo.com/HowtoFixPs3YellowLightofDeath

Good Luck!

Here is a link to fix your self
http://www.fixya.com/support/r3643916-ps3_playstation_3_yellow_light_death

Yes, what you have here is called the Yellow Light of Death, or (YLOD) for short. On PS3's, getting a YLOD is a 3% chance, while the XBOX360 gets a higher chance for the RROD.

I'm not sure exactly how to fix it myself, but hopefully this will help you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_Ic1_TY-GU

The best way to fix PS3 light turns itself off and won't come back on is to fix by yourself! Learn the PS3 fixing technique by using this product here :
PS3 Ultimate Fixing Guide
This is a package of text and video tutorials written by a professional PS3 repairman. Follow his demo you can easily to unscrew your console and fix parts inside. When you have learned the repair skills, no need to ask anyone here again!