Best way to clean a Game Boy system's Connectors?

OakTeaOakTea
in Help Wanted!
I've done some searching around NA and with google looking for a way to clean GB connectors, but haven't found an agreed upon way.  One thread mentioned putting a cleaner (brasso?) onto a cart, inserting it and cleaning it off the game and out of the game boy, but I don't want to risk damaging the system by getting anything inside.



I'd also prefer not to dismantle it quite yet if I can avoid it.  I'd like to be able to do a "maintenance" cleaning rather than a "repair" job. 



Thanks to anyone who reads this!

Comments

  • NightowljrmNightowljrm
    If it's just dusty, maybe spraying compressed air will work? Typically if you're gonna clean something on the inside of the system, the only way to do it is by putting something inside.



    While I haven't done this, maybe you can try doing what some people do with top-loading NES systems...



    Get a piece of cardboard (or a credit card if it's long enough, don't know if it will be or not) and either a coffee filter or a clean, plain t-shirt that you don't need. Use the coffee filter or t-shirt around the cardboard and repeatedly insert into the pin connectors and remove. The t-shirt might be better than the coffee filter since it can't get torn and stuck inside. I haven't done this myself, but people have reported it to work on the top-loader, so I don't see how this will be much different. Don't hold me to it, though.



    Sorry I don't have any other advice other than that. If you figure something out, lemme know!
  • OakTeaOakTea
    Thanks! I'll try that out in a couple of days and update the thread with how it goes.
  • NightowljrmNightowljrm

    Originally posted by: OakTea



    Thanks! I'll try that out in a couple of days and update the thread with how it goes.



    Alrighty. I hope you get a more concrete answer before you clean anything.
  • RetroHackerRetroHacker
    Don't use a t-shirt or coffee filter, they could snag and bend/rip out one of the pins.



    A credit card (narrow dimension) is the perfect width to fit into a Gameboy slot. Preferably, use a gift card or hotel key - something without the raised numbers of a credit card. Wrap the end of it in a couple layers of clean white paper to get it to the same thickness as a the bottom of a Gameboy cartridge. Wet the paper with 91% isopropyl alcohol, then insert straight into the cart slot and pull straight back up. Repeat a couple of times, change the paper, repeat until you don't get any more little black lines on the paper.



    -Ian
  • StarwanderStarwander
    You can also use the cleaning kit released by Nintendo just for this purpose. They are pretty well priced and can be an excellent first step.
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