Pin corrosion and broken board traces

theirontoupeetheirontoupee
in Help Wanted!
So I picked up a copy of Contra III at a thrift store today and was super excited because I've been looking for a cheap copy in the wild for a looooooong time. Anyhoo, I get it home, do my usual cleaning routine and it doesn't start up. I tried alcohol, the 1-Up cards, brasso, etc., basically everything I found on NA about cleaning a stubborn board. Aside from transplanting the chips, resoldering the pins, or just buying a new copy am I missing something?



Otherwise, I will probably just sell it at a hefty discount since I can't get it to work...







Comments

  • ctrujil24ctrujil24
    I will buy it from you if you can't get it to work. A video game store about an hour where I live fixed a few non-working games for me in the past that I added to my personal collection. Hopefully you can get folks to chime in but if not I want to line up to buy it. Thanks for the consideration. 
  • Nes FreakNes Freak
    ill buy it for sure. pm me if you cant get it working cause im intrested but! before selling it. try some 0000 super fine steelwool. that will get it working as long as its not another issue.
  • theirontoupeetheirontoupee

    Originally posted by: nes freak



    ill buy it for sure. pm me if you cant get it working cause im intrested but! before selling it. try some 0000 super fine steelwool. that will get it working as long as its not another issue.

    I'm guessing that is finer than the SOS scrubbers? Do you think those would be bad to use?




  • Nes FreakNes Freak

    Originally posted by: theirontoupee




    Originally posted by: nes freak



    ill buy it for sure. pm me if you cant get it working cause im intrested but! before selling it. try some 0000 super fine steelwool. that will get it working as long as its not another issue.

    I'm guessing that is finer than the SOS scrubbers? Do you think those would be bad to use?



     



    sos pad are thicker but it should be ok.  go on and try that.


  • ihavethatpmaihavethatpma
    There's a good chance the there is a broken trace looking at those pictures. If you have a multimeter, you can check the continuity from the pins to wherever they lead, it's really easy.
  • theirontoupeetheirontoupee

    Originally posted by: nes freak




    Originally posted by: theirontoupee




    Originally posted by: nes freak



    ill buy it for sure. pm me if you cant get it working cause im intrested but! before selling it. try some 0000 super fine steelwool. that will get it working as long as its not another issue.

    I'm guessing that is finer than the SOS scrubbers? Do you think those would be bad to use?



     



    sos pad are thicker but it should be ok.  go on and try that.

     

    Should I try to rinse out the blue chemical first or just go for it?




  • theirontoupeetheirontoupee

    Originally posted by: ihavethatpma



    There's a good chance the there is a broken trace looking at those pictures. If you have a multimeter, you can check the continuity from the pins to wherever they lead, it's really easy.

    I no haz multimeter...unfortunately




  • Nes FreakNes Freak

    Originally posted by: theirontoupee




    Originally posted by: nes freak




    Originally posted by: theirontoupee




    Originally posted by: nes freak



    ill buy it for sure. pm me if you cant get it working cause im intrested but! before selling it. try some 0000 super fine steelwool. that will get it working as long as its not another issue.

    I'm guessing that is finer than the SOS scrubbers? Do you think those would be bad to use?



     



    sos pad are thicker but it should be ok.  go on and try that.

     

    Should I try to rinse out the blue chemical first or just go for it?



     







    i would yes.
  • theirontoupeetheirontoupee

    Originally posted by: nes freak




    Originally posted by: theirontoupee




    Originally posted by: nes freak




    Originally posted by: theirontoupee




    Originally posted by: nes freak



    ill buy it for sure. pm me if you cant get it working cause im intrested but! before selling it. try some 0000 super fine steelwool. that will get it working as long as its not another issue.

    I'm guessing that is finer than the SOS scrubbers? Do you think those would be bad to use?



     



    sos pad are thicker but it should be ok.  go on and try that.

     

    Should I try to rinse out the blue chemical first or just go for it?

     

    i would yes.

    Since I've never tried the steel wool approach, is there a certain point that I need to be rubbing the pins to or warning sign that I've scrubbed too much?




  • Nes FreakNes Freak

    Originally posted by: theirontoupee




    Originally posted by: nes freak




    Originally posted by: theirontoupee




    Originally posted by: nes freak




    Originally posted by: theirontoupee




    Originally posted by: nes freak



    ill buy it for sure. pm me if you cant get it working cause im intrested but! before selling it. try some 0000 super fine steelwool. that will get it working as long as its not another issue.

    I'm guessing that is finer than the SOS scrubbers? Do you think those would be bad to use?



     



    sos pad are thicker but it should be ok.  go on and try that.

     

    Should I try to rinse out the blue chemical first or just go for it?

     

    i would yes.

    Since I've never tried the steel wool approach, is there a certain point that I need to be rubbing the pins to or warning sign that I've scrubbed too much?



     





    well  its already in bad shape so  just rub it till the rust spots turn to a copper color  but only the spots  not the pin its self.  generally it takes alot of rubbing to damage the pins.  just do like 10 scrubs on each side or so.  once your done take a paper towel with windex and clean the pins of the steel whool debris
  • batboardbatboard
    It does look like you might have some broken traces. In that case you could try to repair them but its a little more indept than im going to go into. but it my fix it. Definitely check with a multimeter. get the cheapest one you can find if all your useing it for is continuity. It could just be the solder mask.....but it looks iffy to me....
  • D~FunkD~Funk
    Originally posted by: theirontoupee


    Originally posted by: ihavethatpma



    There's a good chance the there is a broken trace looking at those pictures. If you have a multimeter, you can check the continuity from the pins to wherever they lead, it's really easy.

    I no haz multimeter...unfortunately








    Looks like a broken trace to me as well. You'll need to reconnect the trace with a mod wire. On the 10th pin from the left in the 2nd pic, look at the green trace coming off the pin. Looks severed. And possibly the 13th pin trace as well though it could just be corrosion. Do you know how to solder? I'd try reconnecting the broken trace on pin 10 by scraping a little of the masking off on each side of the break and connecting a little wire.
  • ProveauxProveaux
    Originally posted by: ihavethatpma

    There's a good chance the there is a broken trace looking at those pictures.


    Quite a few suspect ones in pictures.
  • theirontoupeetheirontoupee

    Originally posted by: nes freak



    well  its already in bad shape so  just rub it till the rust spots turn to a copper color  but only the spots  not the pin its self.  generally it takes alot of rubbing to damage the pins.  just do like 10 scrubs on each side or so.  once your done take a paper towel with windex and clean the pins of the steel whool debris

    Welp, I tried scrubbing it with steel wool and no luck. I would scrub a handful of times, clean it, and test it like you said with no luck each time until I felt like I was about to do even more harm...






    Originally posted by: batboard



    It does look like you might have some broken traces. In that case you could try to repair them but its a little more indept than im going to go into. but it my fix it. Definitely check with a multimeter. get the cheapest one you can find if all your useing it for is continuity. It could just be the solder mask.....but it looks iffy to me....


    Originally posted by: dqualls187



    Looks like a broken trace to me as well. You'll need to reconnect the trace with a mod wire. On the 10th pin from the left in the 2nd pic, look at the green trace coming off the pin. Looks severed. And possibly the 13th pin trace as well though it could just be corrosion. Do you know how to solder? I'd try reconnecting the broken trace on pin 10 by scraping a little of the masking off on each side of the break and connecting a little wire.

    Definitely could be...I have close to zero soldering skills




  • batboardbatboard
    damn, if we weren't like 3000 miles apart i would do it for you for free....personally, i would sell it to someone who wants it, or can fix it and roll that into another one. Not sure what the difference would be but i think it could be salvaged......
  • Uncle MeatUncle Meat
    In theory could you place a teensie weensie bit of solder on top of the rusty area to try to get the current to flow? If not isn't there some kind of pen you can use?
  • theirontoupeetheirontoupee

    Originally posted by: ToxieRules



    In theory could you place a teensie weensie bit of solder on top of the rusty area to try to get the current to flow? If not isn't there some kind of pen you can use?






  • Uncle MeatUncle Meat

    Originally posted by: theirontoupee




    Originally posted by: ToxieRules



    In theory could you place a teensie weensie bit of solder on top of the rusty area to try to get the current to flow? If not isn't there some kind of pen you can use?





     



    Hahahaha I was more directing it at the experts dude.....would just hate for you to have to ditch a Contra III...


  • theirontoupeetheirontoupee
    While I appreciate the generous offers for me to send this to others to fix it (one of the many reasons I love this community) I don't really want the hassle at this time and I know my wife would probably appreciate the money back that I spent on this in the first place...haha



    Cart has been sold and is going to a better home that will heal it...lol



    I also changed the title of the post so that it might be easier to find in the future if someone searches the same issue.
  • D~FunkD~Funk
    Originally posted by: ToxieRules

    In theory could you place a teensie weensie bit of solder on top of the rusty area to try to get the current to flow? If not isn't there some kind of pen you can use?




    Yeah, you could definitely do something like that. Would just need to expose the trace a little by scraping the masking off with an xacto knife to have something to solder to. Either way, if you were to just put a little solder blob or a wire, for something that tiny i'd add a drop of Super glue over it after to help keep it in place. I've never used the pens before but it could work I just don't know how long a connection would last with one.
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