I'll tell you the exact and painless way, and even the fun way to get the 3 red lights (mine did this way, and I'm going to send it off):
Play games
Thats basically all you have to do, and you can be assured it'll go eventually.
I love my Xbox 360 though. No denying that. I just want it back...
Your console may actually not have the fault. You may be alright, but oh well... but yeah, read my first couple of lines.