Gates of Zendocon cart brand new, apparently not working

[Pavlovtiger]

New Lynx owner here, picked up a Lynx II after never having owned one. I grabbed a Zendocon off Ebay in a large box (I assume there was also a small-box release like most/all other Lynx titles?) and after opening it the cart refuses to boot. My Ninja Gaiden III (also bought new-sealed) and Xybots (not new) both work perfectly so I'm unsure what Zendocon's problem is. It's on the older/first version cart, before they added ridges to the back or the curved bit to help in removal. Though it was sold as New Sealed (and was, when I received it,) there seem to be a few barely-visible marks on the cartridge contacts, as though the shiny metal had 'rotted' or 'eroded' away, but they're so tiny I didn't think much of them..until the game didn't work.

 

As NG3 and Xybots don't have this issue I'm wondering if anyone can educate me a bit, or just outright declare "you probably just accidentally bought a rotted PCB" or something.

 

Cheers.

[Trew]

Let's get the obvious thing out the way... I'm sure you didn't, cos you'll have realised from the other carts... but make sure you're putting the game in with the sticker facing inward (ie, not visible when in the lynx)?

 

I only say this, as those flat carts are the only ones where you can do this, and I sold some on eBay once, and the person complained that they didn't work. When he sent me a video to prove it, I could see that he had put them in the wrong way round!

[Trew]

Failing that... could try giving the contacts a clean with pencil eraser or similar.

[Pavlovtiger]

Yeh, it looks like this cartridge just isn't going to run in my Lynx and I can't work out why. It's possible I simply got a bad cart, even though it was still sealed. The barely-visible 'flecks' missing from the metal contacts make me feel suspicious, that isn't present on my other two carts, but who knows.

[HoshiChiri]

Fiddle with the positioning in your system- I've found some of my games are more reliable slightly pulled out or tilted.

 

Also, sealed doesn't account for too much- depending on how it was stored, you can still have issues. Be sure to run the full cleaning gauntlet before you give up (you know, 1-up card, eraser, brasso/brite boy as a last resort.)

[GadgetUK]

Yeh, it looks like this cartridge just isn't going to run in my Lynx and I can't work out why. It's possible I simply got a bad cart, even though it was still sealed. The barely-visible 'flecks' missing from the metal contacts make me feel suspicious, that isn't present on my other two carts, but who knows.

I've seen this before in 'new sealed' Lynx carts that have been in storage for decades. Get an eraser, rub over the contacts, wipe with IPA - re-test. If the corrosion is bad you may need to use something more abrassive, like a fibre glass pen.