Cleaning and frying
Ok, i know this has been discussed ALOT of time, but i got a question about cleaning NES games. Usualy when i open a NES game to clean it i use cleaning alcohol. But no matter how much i clean some games they will still have that black "dirt" stuck to the pins. The games works great tho, but they are not shiny gold like new games.
I read in an earlier thread about cleaning NES gamesthat its possible to get the pins looking like new. Excuse me for being lazy and not look up this thread, but how is it possible and what do you have to use? How safe is this material that you use, like have you cleaned a game with it and tried it 1 year later?
About frying. Some days ago i was testing a NES console and it worked fine. The next morning when i was about to try it again i notice that the powerbutton is pushed in, but there is no light. I checked the powercord and it was plugged in. I think i've forgot to turn it off and it was running all night so i think i fried something hehe![:\](https://connect.gocollect.com/resources/emoji/confused.png ":\")
Now its impossible to turn it on, its totaly dead. Anyone knows how to eventually fix this?
I read in an earlier thread about cleaning NES gamesthat its possible to get the pins looking like new. Excuse me for being lazy and not look up this thread, but how is it possible and what do you have to use? How safe is this material that you use, like have you cleaned a game with it and tried it 1 year later?
About frying. Some days ago i was testing a NES console and it worked fine. The next morning when i was about to try it again i notice that the powerbutton is pushed in, but there is no light. I checked the powercord and it was plugged in. I think i've forgot to turn it off and it was running all night so i think i fried something hehe
Now its impossible to turn it on, its totaly dead. Anyone knows how to eventually fix this?
Comments
As for the black gunk on the pins, try using a white pencil eraser. I use Fantastic and a toothbrush after using the eraser and it gets most games pretty clean.
I did use the white eraser trick before actually, but i never manage to remove the black "dirt", atleast not down to shiny gold level
never used any other material after that, except for more alcohol sometimes.
More alcohol fixes a lot of life's problems!
never used any other material after that, except for more alcohol sometimes.
More alcohol fixes a lot of life's problems!
Haha. Bring on the Vodka!
Weiman's Cooktop Cleaner. It works wonders on game connectors.
Tnx for the tip. Does it make them shiny gold? If so, i might have to import
Are you using "official" Nintendo AC adapters or are you using a universal? Sometimes the wattage maybe right, but the voltage is wrong or the polarity of the tip may be reversed... just something to check.
Its an official AC adapter. I'm pretty sure i used it on the same machines, but it seems very strange. I dont dare to use that one anymore atleast. I hope its possible to save the consoles somehow
to get the nes game contacts to look like new and play like new every time here is what u do...
1. take cart apart.
2. scrub the gold part of the contacts only with steel wool (be very carefull u dont want to get any steel wool dust or strands on the rest of the chip!)
3. rub the contacts off with a clean cloth
4. q-tip and alcohol the contacts throughly (u may have to use several q-tips per game.)
5. use a dry q-tip and wipe the contacts down until the q-tips are clean after u wipe it.
6. put game back together (but do not put screws in)
7. test game
8. if game does not work take it apart (u most likely got steel wool fibers on the little metal pins above the contacts) u can either look at it closely for them or take a clean tooth brush and kinda brush in one direction on the the chip to get rid of them. this should fix it...
9. re-test game.
10. screw back together
useing this cleaning system u will have contacts that pretty much look brand new and totally clean... unless the gold color has allready been worn off from prior use...
note..... u must have a compleatly clean system (u may as well just get a new 72 pin connector) if the system is not clean the games will just get dirty again.
u must keep your system clean at all times also it doesnt hurt to q-tip and alcohol the games every so often if u use them alot...
i have done this and it works perfect...
anyone if u doubt the system please try it on 1 game and see for yourself.. let me know what u think....
Have there been storms in your area? Sounds like you could have a problem with power surges...dunno...any techies, is the regulator in the NES is the same quality as ones in your other consumer electronics hooked up to that circuit, is it possible it was enough juice to ruin your toasters but not the TV and stuff?
Nope, there was rain yesterday, but no thunder and lightning. I use a "expander" or what you call it, one of those things you connect to the socket to get more sockets. But i've used this for a long time without any problems at all so i hardly doubt its that.
I also tried to check the voltage out from the DC adapter and it shows 11.6V, which is right (i tried another one too just to cross check and it also showed 11.6V). Tomorrow i will try to open the NES and see if i can use the multimeter and find out something. It might be a coincidence, but so wierd that it happends with 2 machines in 2 days
to get the nes game contacts to look like new and play like new every time here is what u do...
Tnx for the tips
the black dirt will come off and in most cases the gold color will be fine but every now and then u get a game that was played alot and the gold is worn down under that dirt you see.
Ok, tnx for the tip
I have now opened one of the NES consoles to check. I used the multimeter different places and it did show that electricity was going through. I then unscrewed the power and reset button circuit board and checked under there. When the power button was out the multimeter showed electricity. When i tried to turn it on it showed 0 electricity.
I tried to remove the things around there, trying to fix it, but mission failed. I managed to get the red diod to light for a few seconds, but not more. Obviously some bad/faulty connection there. Most likely the same problem the other NES console also have.