cleaned cartridge won't work...bum E-bay purchase!

[paladoris]

! I recently purchased Fast Food from a guy on e-bay. The cartridge arrived yesterday, and it wouldn't play. I cleaned it using the alcohol and q-tip method, and it still won't play! Can anyone tell me what's going on, and if I have any options? My 2600 is just fine, it plays other cartridges perfectly. Please help!

 

Is there any hope, or have I just been had? I was seriously looking forward to playing this game . Thanks for any replies!

[brett6400]

did the listing say "cartridge tested and working" on the auction?

 

contact the seller. he or she may have tested it before selling it. in any case, good sellers will offer refunds for non-working items.

 

try not to jump to conclusions and leave negative feedback before contacting the seller to resolve the issue.

 

hope everything works out for you.

[paladoris]

No, it didn't say "tested and working," but it did say "this rare game is in excellent condition." Are there any other options for me to try and clean this thing, or might that be the problem? Any other things that might work?

 

I plan on notifying the seller that it didn't work. I'm not an evil person, per se , but I think he needs to know it. Should I tell him I cleaned it, or not? He might think I screwed it up if I did that, negating any refund I might receive...whatdya think?

[Raijin Z]

If it's the wrong format, it most likely won't work... but I only have experience with PAL VCRs, not game systems.

[Atari2600Lives]

This has worked for me 11 times (yes I actually kept track!).

 

Use a flexible nail file to scrape away (green) oxidization.

 

try a nail file on the contacts...use common sense and do not go overboard or you will take conductiveness out of the mix...make sure you blow out the contents of your "dirty" work with an air can and slap it in the slot.

 

carts 99.9% of the time will work if cleaned properly.

[brett6400]

Should I tell him I cleaned it, or not?  He might think I screwed it up if I did that, negating any refund I might receive...whatdya think?

 

I seriously doubt you could have damaged the cartridge by cleaning it, unless you used a scouring pad or something like that. Look at the excellent Atariage guide to cleaning cartridges.

 

http://www.atariage.com/howto/clean_cartridges.html

 

Good luck.

[Atari2600Lives]

one more thing. Ship it to me (I'll arrange for shipping) and I will test it free of charge. If I can not get it to work it's truly dead.

[MegaManFan]

I got it from a local store in Omaha and tried it in both a 2600 Jr and a heavy sixer. Priv msg. me if you want it; I'm sure I'm cheaper than eBay was.

[Trey]

i had a similar experience. i bought a cart on e-bay and it didn't work. it turns out the carts were PAL format.

 

does the picture roll? any sounds?

[paladoris]

Hi everybody and thanks for your replies. In response to the nailfile suggestion--is that a nail file, or an emory board? An emory board has two sides, a darker side and a lighter one and can be easily bent. A nail file is usually metal with a plastic handle and is not as malleable. I'm willing to try this...will I have to crack the case? How would I do that?

 

For Trey: I have no picture or sound, just the vertical multicolored bars and the usual strange, monotone buzz or hum. Sometimes just black screen and buzzing.

 

As for my method of cleaning it, I used the alcohol and q-tip method listed here at atariage.com.

[broncoman]

u said fast food right ok if u have a 2600 and fast food is for the 7800 it won't work unless i am wrong ?

[MegaManFan]

u said fast food right ok if u have a 2600 and fast food is for the 7800 it won't work unless i am wrong ?

 

* Fast Food is for the 2600

* Food Fight is for the 7800

[Trey]

ok.

 

i had a pitfall! that did this. i was playing it in a darth vader when someone gave me a heavy sixer. it work flawlessly in the heavy. the cart just "sat" better in the sixer.

 

if need to play in the meantime, have you tried the emulators?

[broncoman]

opps sorry i nkew that

[Cap5750]

Well this might sound dumb, but I've had several games like this...

 

That is either I get a completely black screen, or I get multi-colored bars.

 

What I've done is just to continually turn off the power, remove the game and try and "reseat" it and turn the power back on. Usually within 3 - 5 tries it'd come on.

 

Who knows...worth a try.

 

Cap

[broncoman]

i have a question how do u tell if a cart had what's called bit rot ? when it has totally given up the ghost ?

[Xot]

i have a question how do u tell if a cart had what's called bit rot ? when it has totally given up the ghost ?

 

I thought bit rot only affected EEPROMs and that very few production carts used them? I remember Time Pilot being one of them...

[DanBoris]

Yes, true Bit Rot only effects EPROMs, and most carts did not use EPROMs, they used mask programmed ROMS. But any electronic device is susceptible to deterioration.

 

Dan

[somePUNK]

i have a vader which will only play warloads its crazy

[CPUWIZ]

ROM's deteriorate just as EPROM's do, the colored bar and sound humming is a perfect example of a chip gone bad. I just had the weirdest thing happen to me, I cleaned and tested a cart and then sold it on eBay. Well, I always re-test carts before I put them in the shipping box and BANG, same thing - color bars and humming. I tried everything and it was a no go. I refunded the guys money and now I have a dead London Blitz cart, great. I don't know if you guys know this but Avalon Hill cart cases are fused (no screw), so in order to open it you have to destroy the case. BAH !