Cleaning Nintendo Carts
I was searching the dorums awhile back and saw a how to with the weimans cleaner but I did a search and couldnt find the actual discussion.
I mainly had one question. Do I have to open each and every game to clean it with this? I thought u could just clean it inside the cart plastic.
Because I just bought a brand new 72 pin connector and I was advised to clean every game before I put them into the new connector. I just wanted to do it right. Does anyone have a how to?
thanks guys
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
Well the stuff will rub the gold and everything else away if you let it, so I would imagine that leaving any type of residue on it could only do harm in the long run. I always wipe down the contacts with alcohol after using weimans.
The truth is, use a q-tip dipped in 91% isopropyl alcohol and clean the pins (and surrounding inside plastic) until no more residue comes off. Then every 6 months or so clean your 72 pin with a toothbrush and alcohol. Its WAy less work than opening your carts and 99.9% as good.
If a cart wont work at least 9/10 times on the first try, may be worth opening that one and cleaning it with something stronger.
Plus with opening your carts....those NES security bits only last maybe...100 carts (that is if you get the good silver ones, not the crap black ones) before needing to be replaced.
The black ones most likely wont even open a single cart before they are stripped and unusable.
Plus with opening your carts....those NES security bits only
last maybe...100 carts (that is if you get the good silver ones, not
the crap black ones) before needing to be replaced.
I dunno about that, I've had this same one for 10+ years now and it works just fine. It's also one of those black ones, if that counts for anything.
Maybe you should share where you got your bit!
^ Hmmm...I had 2 black ones and they both failed to open ONE cart, Ive had 3 silver ones that all eventually became too stripped. I suppose itshit and miss then? Although, I have heard a TON of stories that are similar to mine.
Maybe you should share where you got your bit!
Yeah I am sure a lot of newer ones are no good because they are made so cheaply. I would just recommend on looking into where the bit is made and what it is made out of (no china/hong kong!). Remember, anything cheap is cheap for a reason, normally because it's made out of cheaper materials.
And I ordered mine from MCM 10 years ago....so unfortunately I couldn't say ordering today will result in the same bit I have
open it up clean it put it back together takes 3 min. and it's good to go
Well see thats the thing. I have always opened the ones with a flat head screwdriver, but some games dont have that and Im wondering how to open those? I just want to get the best cleaning possible.
For the others use weimans, and open the carts up unless, its an unlicesed game that you would have to ruin the label.
60% of the time, it works every time.
that doesn't make any sense.......great movie!
I've sold a fair share of games over the past year or so...and I tell you that I've only had ONE cart not work (using Weiman's and not opening the carts). One.
I think I might try without opening them because I dont have all the tools to do it
Cheap, and easy. Ive gotten over 500 carts use out of the bit and its still nice and snug, and you can buy the screwdriver that comes with it, and its a multi tool as well, so you can open the ones with a flat head. As for unlicensed games, take the 4 corner screws out, then spin the back until the center screw loosens up, clean, then spin it the other way, and put the screws back in. The shipping is fast with those guys as well. The cleaning stuff in the kit is brasso and 90% ALC, and i just refill the bottles when they are empty. I have a small little fishing lure kit that holds extra cart screws, bits, swabs, pads, windex, brasso, weimens, pink erasers, everything you need, and i put it together for about 20 dollars. I have bought tons of games off of craigslist and eBay that were labled "Non working games", and in 3 minutes they were all working 10/10 with these same materials. Hell if you wanna go cheap, take an old rag or shirt, find the hem (the thick part around the collar, or ends of the towel), get a big ass bottle of weimens and brasso (ive only bought one, that stuff goes a long way) get some pink school erasers (use those and rubbing ALC for the easy jobs, brasso can be bad sometimes.) and a big ass bottle of 90% rubbing alcohol (or ALC as i like to call it ). The only thing you might have to get online is the gamebit, but some game stores that sell old games have them. Then get a pencil case or binder, even an old lunch box from the garage, no need to spend extra money! I clean all my games with all these things, and I have only had one cart out of all of them that refuses to work (WWF Wrestling, and it had water damage and was corroded into the cart).
http://www.nintendorepairshop.com/products/160-NES-Repa...
Cheap, and easy. Ive gotten over 500 carts use out of the bit and its still nice and snug, and you can buy the screwdriver that comes with it, and its a multi tool as well, so you can open the ones with a flat head. As for unlicensed games, take the 4 corner screws out, then spin the back until the center screw loosens up, clean, then spin it the other way, and put the screws back in. The shipping is fast with those guys as well. The cleaning stuff in the kit is brasso and 90% ALC, and i just refill the bottles when they are empty. I have a small little fishing lure kit that holds extra cart screws, bits, swabs, pads, windex, brasso, weimens, pink erasers, everything you need, and i put it together for about 20 dollars. I have bought tons of games off of craigslist and eBay that were labled "Non working games", and in 3 minutes they were all working 10/10 with these same materials. Hell if you wanna go cheap, take an old rag or shirt, find the hem (the thick part around the collar, or ends of the towel), get a big ass bottle of weimens and brasso (ive only bought one, that stuff goes a long way) get some pink school erasers (use those and rubbing ALC for the easy jobs, brasso can be bad sometimes.) and a big ass bottle of 90% rubbing alcohol (or ALC as i like to call it ). The only thing you might have to get online is the gamebit, but some game stores that sell old games have them. Then get a pencil case or binder, even an old lunch box from the garage, no need to spend extra money! I clean all my games with all these things, and I have only had one cart out of all of them that refuses to work (WWF Wrestling, and it had water damage and was corroded into the cart).
Well thanks for the detailed reply. I just went to walmart and bought the following items.
^ Hmmm...I had 2 black ones and they both failed to open ONE cart, Ive had 3 silver ones that all eventually became too stripped. I suppose itshit and miss then? Although, I have heard a TON of stories that are similar to mine.
Maybe you should share where you got your bit!
Are you using a bit-driver with it or just the bit? If you're just using the bit, that may be part of the problem...
60% of the time, it works every time.
Awesome.
Disassemble the game, clean with 91% isopropyl (or denatured alcohol), and scrub well with something soft. That's enough to clean just about any game and it won't damage the plating. Really crummy ones I use the Weiman's on, but sparingly. And whatever you do, don't use Brasso - that's much more abrasive than the Weiman's. You can easily take pins down to the copper with that stuff.
I also wouldn't use Weiman's unless you disassemble the game. Going at it "blind" with a q-tip is going to leave cleaner crud all in the edges, and on the board between the pins. You really don't want that abrasive stuff getting in your Nintendo either. And always clean with alcohol after using the Weiman's to remove all of the residue.
It's just frustrating, because I have a stack of games that have been utterly destroyed by other people cleaning too vigorously with the wrong cleaners. And there's no fixing them. Fortunately, I haven't run across anything too rare that wasn't salvageable.
-Ian
http://www.nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=8&threadid=85553