The infamous 72 pin connector, solutions?

[Xexyz]

The big cheese, and only design flaw of the NES IMO is ruining my gamign experience. The pins are finally out of place to the point that I cannot get a game to work no matter how many attempts I make. This is somethign that usually affects every toaster NES made. I am posting this in some need of advice. WHat should I do?

Should I have someone repair it? I don't know who repairs these things now days. Would Nintendo repair it for me for a ridiculous price? What about United Radio, they have that the certified Nintendo fixing logo (Mario with the screwdriver). I live 15 minutes away from a United Radio building.

Should I repair it myself? I found a well detailed site on how to fix the 72 pin connector myself. I am however, not a very technical person. Is it easy to take apart and put back together without messing the thing up for good?

Should I do somethign else? (Besides buy another one, of corse I'm going to do that! Backups rule!) Any help is appreciated.

[jetset516]

The big cheese, and only design flaw of the NES IMO is ruining my gamign experience. The pins are finally out of place to the point that I cannot get a game to work no matter how many attempts I make. This is somethign that usually affects every toaster NES made. I am posting this in some need of advice. WHat should I do?

Should I have someone repair it? I don't know who repairs these things now days. Would Nintendo repair it for me for a ridiculous price? What about United Radio, they have that the certified Nintendo fixing logo (Mario with the screwdriver). I live 15 minutes away from a United Radio building.

Should I repair it myself? I found a well detailed site on how to fix the 72 pin connector myself. I am however, not a very technical person. Is it easy to take apart and put back together without messing the thing up for good?

Should I do somethign else? (Besides buy another one, of corse I'm going to do that! Backups rule!) Any help is appreciated.

Replace it definetly. My dad gave me three NES units, all had the same problem. I got three new 72 pin connectors and now have three working NES's. One I bought from someone, the other two I got from Nintendo (free!)
And believe me...there's not a bigger non-technical retard than me and I replaced all three very easily. If I can do it anyone can!

[NESVIDIOT]

The new pins are super easy to install after you take out about 20 screws. New pins will cost you less than 10$ check on ebay if you can't find them local.
If you do take it to a authorized Nintendo repair center they will fix it and give you a 90 day warrenty as well.
Definately repair it though!! Long live the king!! :D

[Xexyz]

Okay thanks. Looks like I will most likely repace it then. I have 2 more questions, thats all. Using the search thread on this site, I came across discussions about MCM connector pins. Are these the best replacements out there? Also, if you could fill me in, what is MCM and do they have a website? If there is a more preffered 72 pin connector out there, a link to a site would be appreciated :)

The other question is a biggy. The 72 pin connector, does it just connected to something (Like a gamecontroller plugged into a controller port) or is it soldered to something? If it is soldered, I won't be fixing it myself. I do not own a soldering iron nor do I have any access to one.

[NESVIDIOT]

MCM is a company that makes pins- not the greatest- 3 in 10 don't work. The company I get them from is called Simple Jet (in Canada) Talk to OMNEDON here on the "Technical and Restoration Society" forum here. He operates a repair business and is VERY knowledgeable on repairs and can probably help you out.
The pins simply attach to the main board like a cartridge plugs in. No soldering required.

[sniperCCJVQ]

Nothing is soldered.

[Xexyz]

Okay thanks! Off to the tech forum.

[jetset516]

...And be sure to hit your local Gamestop. Normally they aren't the best, but all NES, SNES and Genesis stuff is 50% off.

[Xexyz]

No Gamestops in Syracuse :(

[slayer123]

I repair the Nintendos all the time. PM me and I'll explain what to do. If you feel uncomfortable with doing it, let me know and I can do it for you.

[Jagasian]

Is it possible to repair the actual 72-pin connecter instead of replacing it? I think I remember somebody saying that you can simply clean the connecter and bend the pins. Does anybody have any more detailed info on repairing the connecter instelf?

[ubersaurus]

I do that. The pin bending, and cleaning. It takes me about 40-60 minutes to get it as good as I want it, but yeah, it works pretty damn well after that. I use a flat edge jewelers screwdriver to bend the actual pins, and some of the standard rubbing alcohol to clean the connectors themselves.

I fixed my friends George & Jen's NES like this over a year ago, and not once have they said they've had a problem with it. Same with a couple other people's.

[Xexyz]

Well, I already ordered a new pin, installed it, and tried it out... a big waste of time. I used a cleaned NES game and noticed that it was a tight fit. I must of gotten one of those MCM pins. Anyway, I still had a blinking screen. I think the pin is a dud but that doesn't explain why I still have the blinking grey screen syndrome. Oh well, after fighting to take the cart out (MCM pins are too tight) I kind of said "f it".

Today, with a clear head, I sat down and spent an hour on the old pin. I've read the guide on fixing the old pin connectors at: http://www.classicgaming.com/features/articles/nesrepair/ again and decided to do this. The guide is somewhat confusing to me. I had to figure out what he ment by bending the pins myself (luckily, this only took 5 minutes). I don't think the guide is descriptive enough for non-technical people like me when it comes to the bending proceedure. Anyway, I figured out how to bend them and spent about 25 minutes doing so. I have faith in my connector now because there doesn't seem to be any corrosion (the pins are a little bronzed, but there is no copper like green corrosion on any of them). I then cleaned the thing with q-tips and 91% isopropyl alcohol. I also re-cleaned the game cart that I previously cleaned to make sure it was as clean as possible with the same method.

Tommorrow, or maybe the day after, I plan on taking the system apart again and putting the old connector back in. I'm a little worried about all this reassembling though. Three of the screws that hold the plastic casing down don't really hold it well anymore. They just kind of sit in there, like the plastic might have been worn too much by taking them out and inserting them back in again. I also loathe the front 2 screws that hold down the spring loading tray as they seem to be much more of a challenge to unscrew than the rest. I really don't want to strip the screws :angry:

Oh well, I'll update my progress in the future.

[Master Chu]

Well, I already ordered a new pin, installed it, and tried it out... a big waste of time. I used a cleaned NES game and noticed that it was a tight fit. I must of gotten one of those MCM pins. Anyway, I still had a blinking screen. I think the pin is a dud but that doesn't explain why I still have the blinking grey screen syndrome. Oh well, after fighting to take the cart out (MCM pins are too tight) I kind of said "f it".


I feel for you, i got some of the MCM ones from a guy online. They "work" fine, but no matter what i do it's such a tight fit to get a game in i actually scratched the sides of my Clash at Demonhead wiggling it back out again. :(

I'd always heard MCM was where u went for that dammit! :hmm:

[Xantan the Foul]

Does this problem ever happen to Top Loading NES systems, or is it front load only?

[Xexyz]

Update: Fixed the NES by bending the old pin connectors pins. The top loader doesn't have this problem which is probably one of the factors as to why it is more sought after. Too bad it doesn't have AV support.