Dead NES Carts

[Indy96]

First of all I have disabled the 10nes, cleaned, refurbished the 72 pin and have a GG to play games through to cure some boot issues. All test were with/without the GG.

I have 4 carts that are dead that I got off the bay.

1) Contra - will not boot up at all. Game has been cleaned with 70%/q-tip, Brasso. I did one at a time not together. The PCB part doesnt appear to have any loose connections but the connectors are worn.

2) Castlevania - The PCB is mint as well as the connectors......Looks like it has never been played. Its been cleaned as well even though it didnt look like it needed it. Im clueless on this one.

The rest I dont care about. What causes a Game Cart to die? I think I would at least get some glitchy graphics but I just get a gray screen. What can I do with dead carts?

[Sunnyvale]

Take them apart, and look for signs of corrosion on the contacts. Alcohol or contact cleaner won't touch it. Get the finest sandpaper you can find, and be careful. If you see corrosion, of course. Beyond that, maybe a component? I've never has a trully dead NES cart that didn't have obvious signs of water damage.

[Indy96]

Take them apart, and look for signs of corrosion on the contacts. Alcohol or contact cleaner won't touch it. Get the finest sandpaper you can find, and be careful. If you see corrosion, of course. Beyond that, maybe a component? I've never has a trully dead NES cart that didn't have obvious signs of water damage.

Ive already taken them apart...Contra had a little corrosion on a few of the contacts. Castlevania was mint, not one single flaw. I could see Contra being messed up but not the other. It looks like it just came out of the box. I've cleaned the crap out of both.

[Duke.Togo]

I have yet to run into an NES cart that I couldn't get working. They do die, but it is a real rarity. Have you tried these in another system? Game Genie's are rough on your pin connector and I don't recommend them.

[Indy96]

I have yet to run into an NES cart that I couldn't get working. They do die, but it is a real rarity. Have you tried these in another system? Game Genie's are rough on your pin connector and I don't recommend them.

Haven't tried them on another system yet. Gonna take them to a buddys house just to confirm. I'm leaving the GG in the toaster to act as a solid connection point for the games. Im not pulling it in and out. I cleaned the 72 pin and bent the connectors back into place. Its old so Im not worried about it messing up.

[joshnickerson]

I had the same issue a few years ago with a Ghosts N' Goblins cart. No matter which system I tried it on, and no matter how much I cleaned it, it just refused to boot. Recently I picked up a copy of Quarth for the Gameboy, and faced the same problem. Been actively collecting for a decade, so two dead carts out of God knows how many isn't bad at all, but it does happen, though rarely.

[wiggyx]

Don't ever use sandpaper. That's insane.

000 or 00 steel wool will remove pretty much any corrosion and won't damage brass contacts.

[Sunnyvale]

Don't ever use sandpaper. That's insane.

000 or 00 steel wool will remove pretty much any corrosion and won't damage brass contacts.

I can't think of the gauge off hand, but I use the stuff they buff the finish of freshly-painted cars with. It doesn't beat them up, as long as you take it apart first and pay attention. Steel wool just sounds scary, but I'll give it a try...

[wiggyx]

I can't think of the gauge off hand, but I use the stuff they buff the finish of freshly-painted cars with. It doesn't beat them up, as long as you take it apart first and pay attention. Steel wool just sounds scary, but I'll give it a try...

Even 2000 grit would be too much IMO.

Give the steel wool a try, I bet you'll be surprised at how easily it removes the corrosion/debris and doesn't damage the surface of the brass contacts

[ApolloBoy]

Try reflowing the pins on the ROM chip inside the cart if all else fails. I actually had a couple of Game Boy carts that died on me and then came back to life when I reflowed the ROM chips.

[treismac]

I've yet to stumble across a dead cartridge and I'm 244 cartridges and counting. If I do find one, I hope it is a Super Mario 3 'cause I've already got four of those bastards.

[raylydiard]

I had a sega 32x game i had to resolder all the ponits on the chips try that mate.

check for bad traces i know some mega drive games die the chips do i am unsure about nintendo carts as there custom chips but maybe the same.

[FABombjoy]

I just found my first truly dead NES cart - an SMB/DH with glop-top chips.

[thegamezmaster]

I've had luck with just a pencil eraser to clean the contacts.

[omp!]

You could try re-flowing the solder on the chips. I have bought back to life a few SNES, N64 and Game Boy games this way.