A tough game to clean - any suggestions?

AquanisticAquanistic
in Help Wanted!
Alright.  So I've had this game for a while, and I'll try once in a while to clean it again, and it just seems uncleanable.  I've even bought the security bit off of eBay to be able to clean it easier.  However, every time I put it back together and back into the system, I get a steady gray screen.  

What I've tried:
-Rubbing Alchohol
-Green Scrubby Pad thing
-Eraser

Nothing seems to work.  Have you guys run in to games that are just fated to never work again?  If it helps, I can take a picture of the contacts.  

Thanks!

Comments

  • HerbalistHerbalist
    When you open it is it visibly dirty still?

    Have you ever replaced your 72-pin connector, or is this the only problematic game?

    Try adjusting the carts position. Try powering on the game without pushing it down, just slide it in (assuming your using a toaster). If it still doesnt work try pulling the cart out very very slightly like 1mm, try adjusting its position slightly and try again.
  • AquanisticAquanistic
    Originally posted by: NES HERBALIST

    When you open it is it visibly dirty still?

    Have you ever replaced your 72-pin connector, or is this the only problematic game?

    Try adjusting the carts position. Try powering on the game without pushing it down, just slide it in (assuming your using a toaster). If it still doesnt work try pulling the cart out very very slightly like 1mm, try adjusting its position slightly and try again.


    I was able to polish one of the sides really well, but the other looks pretty nasty, and I can't seem to remove it. It looks like rust or something.

    I have definitely tried the tricks you suggested, but thanks for reminding me. This is the only game that is giving me trouble.

    Here are photos:
    image
    image
  • nesdudenesdude
    I dont know you may be better off just buying a new one thats a super common/cheap game. But I know what you mean, it bugs you if you cant get it working. People on here swear by some oven cleaner, I have not tried that so I cant say much about it. I have always had great luck with a pencil eraser followed by rubbing alcohol. When I ran into boards that bad I usually just tossed them in "the pile", although it wasnt very often.
  • KartKid28KartKid28
    Looks like the rust ate through the gold in spots, nasty.

    Have you tried rubbing the rust spots off with say a flat head screwdriver? If so, is there gold underneath or some other color?
  • AquanisticAquanistic
    Thanks for the advice starwarsarcade and Adam. I tried with the scraping first with a flathead, then with a knife, and it turns out that the rusty color is actually what is underneath the gold. This game might just be toast.



    (oh yeah, and your avatar is awesome starwarsarcade (big Starwars fan image)



    Does anyone have a bright idea to save it?
  • dr.robbiedr.robbie
    yeah, that rust looks pretty bad. if a few cleanings didn't work, it's probably not going to survive. I know I had 2 carts I can think of in the last 5 years that I couldn't get to work, and one of them looked like that one right there.
  • HerbalistHerbalist
    Those pins look pretty beat. Corrosion is sometimes uncureable, this may be a case. As a last resort you can try taking some fine grit sandpaper to the "rust", if its not helping up the grit.
  • TNTN
    Originally posted by: starwarsarcade

    People on here swear by some oven cleaner



    Weiman is the cleaner, works wonders.  That game does look really bad though, I have had a few that could not be fixed as well.
  • CUSTOM NES GUYCUSTOM NES GUY
    Thats definitely rust. You need to take some 500 grit sandpaper to it, maybe even lower grit.

    If it doesnt work after that its toast.

    I just had the very first game I couldnt get to work just last week. I think my problem was with the board and not the pins. Luckily it was only XEYZ or whatever that crap game is called. First game I ever threw away. It was tough.
  • AquanisticAquanistic
    Alright. I guess I'll just accept I bought a bogus cart. Thanks for all of the suggestions!

    Edit:  next time I come into contact with a sandpaper source I will try that as well.
  • nesdudenesdude
    I suppose you could try and clean the rust out of the pits and fill them with solder. Dont know if or how well that would work but i'm guessing that cart is F-ed either way.
  • arch_8ngelarch_8ngel
    If the thing is already corroded, hit it with a metal brush bit on a Dremel tool. It will clear it up quick. That will work a few times until you eventually wear the contacts down to the board.
  • AquanisticAquanistic
    HOLY CRAP!

    Who would've thought?  So this morning, as a final test to see if the cart was dead, I slid it into the toaster, pushed it down, and pressed power.  It booted instantly.  Weird!

    I guess that the knife scrapping I did last night actually did the trick.  Thanks for all of the suggestions!
  • nesdudenesdude
    Quick, play it all the way through incase you dont get another chance. Then you can feel like you got your moneys worth. image
  • AirlockAirlock
    I've also had tremendous luck using a brillo pad (steel wool, not the kind with soap in it) on the contacts. What I do is take the board out of the plastic case and place one side of the contacts flush on the edge of a table with the rest of the board projecting upward as to not injure any chips and whatnot by pressing against the table or recieving gravity-fed metal dust. Then, lightly sand off all of the crud on the contacts with full lengthwise swipes, wipe off the dust afterward with a damp paper towel or q-tip, flip and repeat. It's worked every time for me, even on the nastiest of contacts, and it seems to cause minimum injury. It even cleans off the white plastic spaces between 'em nice and dandy.
  • dangevindangevin
    This is what happens when you blow on your cart repeatedly. The latent moisture on the contacts is what completes the connection...but also shortens the lifespan of the cart.
  • arch_8ngelarch_8ngel
    ^^^ I thought that factory coating was a thin layer of gold plating. That won't corrode...ever. It has to be worn off physically, and the underlying metal can then corrode.
  • dangevindangevin
    I thought it was copper, and the connectors underneath were a silvery lead/nickel alloy. Reason I assumed copper was because I've seen the trademark verdigris on some really nasty corroded ones.
  • arch_8ngelarch_8ngel
    Not sure why you would bother plating it with copper, rather than making it solid copper. The stuff isn't really all that expensive relative to the alloy you're referring to.
  • AquanisticAquanistic
    Well, even weirder: I did get it working, and it worked several times. I tested turning it on, resetting it, and taking it out and then putting it back in. It seemed like it was going to work permanently. So I played through the game for a while. After saving, I held reset and turned it off and I came back to it a few hours later and I get the gray screen again.



    Weird.

    Edit:  and then I cleaned it with alcohol and now it works again.  I think this is just a temperamental cartridge.  
  • HerbalistHerbalist
    Originally posted by: CUSTOM NES GUY

    Luckily it was only XEYZ or whatever that crap game is called. First game I ever threw away. It was tough.

    Xexyz is a good game image

  • MogMog
    Originally posted by: dangevin

    I thought it was copper, and the connectors underneath were a silvery lead/nickel alloy. Reason I assumed copper was because I've seen the trademark verdigris on some really nasty corroded ones.


    Its copper. Copper turns green when it corrodes just like the contacts.
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