View Full Version : Do All Pre-NES Consoles Smell Like Axle Grease?
mobiusclimber
03-20-2010, 06:51 AM
So far I've purchased two Atari 2600s, a Colecovision, an Intellivision and a boxed Odyssey2 and only the Odyssey hasn't smelled like an auto parts shop. Why is that? Do most non-collectors just store their old game systems in the garage??? I've never bought a NES, Genesis, SNES or any other console that smelled like grease, and I've bought probably a hundred non-Pre-NES consoles by now. On a related note, what's a good way to make this smell go away? LOL
Enigmus
03-20-2010, 08:20 AM
Yeah, I noticed this while repairing a pair of Atari VCS paddles. It might depend on things such as the garage's humidity and if it DOES use axle grease (found that in the paddles, it's a bitch to clean) because plastic absorbs odors, y'know? Why do you think 98.3% of used systems on eBay smell like personal property of the Marlboro Man? LOL
Battlehork
03-20-2010, 08:24 AM
Electrolytic capacitors can smell rather foul when they fail.
A lot of collectors of vintage audio amplifiers replace the caps as a matter of course when they get new pieces. These early consoles are getting old enough that we may have to consider doing the same.
mobiusclimber
03-20-2010, 10:26 AM
Electrolytic capacitors can smell rather foul when they fail.
A lot of collectors of vintage audio amplifiers replace the caps as a matter of course when they get new pieces. These early consoles are getting old enough that we may have to consider doing the same.
Hm, I never considered the smell might be CAUSED by the consoles. XD
Steve W
03-20-2010, 12:53 PM
I've never bought a bad smelling pre-NES console. Or post-NES console, for that matter. It all depends on how the previous owners treated it. I did once buy a TI Home Computer monitor from a guy in the back of a Micropendium magazine, and it reeked of cigarettes. I aired it out and used it, and it was fine.
Me neither, and I now know why my Turbo Duo smells like axel grease. It has the sound capacitor problem.