NES Cartridge Slot Failure

[bluejay]

I just traded my Famicom for an NES, and after 20 minutes, the cartridge slot is already killing me. I got it to read a cartridge(SMB/Duck Hunt/Track Meet) once just barely, but it won't work anymore. The pins don't seem to be bent, and I've cleaned both the slot and the cartridge with contact cleaner, and it still doesn't work. I know replacements and new improved slots are available these days, but I want to stick to the original cartridge slot for now. Can using a Game Genie help? Thanks.

[Tanooki]

Contact cleaner won't cut it.

 

I'm going to assume the following and give you a process to do that'll make things nice and has not failed me ever no matter how awful things looked.  You have the original real 72pin which is made from aluminum, not after market gutter trash with poor brittle metals.

 

You've removed it from the system, and while doing that tear down.

1) Place a paper towel or two in the bottom of a pot, filled with water, now heated to a boil.

2) Using safety pin, needle, whatever thin and pointy individually raise the lower row of pins the CART touches (not the motherboard) to touch the upper for an instant, it'll pop back

3) Using tongs or something, put the connectors in there, set a timer for 5min

4) Remove, shake off, using a NES cleaning kit or a mock up (credit card+silk etc glasses wipe cloth tightly around it) IN-OUT that thing 10x

5) Look at your cleaner, by now you should be seeing something from a bit of staining up to a ectoplasm snotty gray goo out of ghostbusters

6) Go back to set 4 and do this again, and again until step 5 comes clean

 

The trick here between the two things is simple from my experience.  The heat and boiling action combined loosens up caked on crap that's been there since the 80s no cleaning kit or contact cleaner etc will remove.  The bonus is the heat kind of memory metal/re-strengthens the pin array so it's firm but accepting like from a factory fresh system from the day when it was new.

 

While in there, find that 10NES chip, using a pic online to figure it out, find PIN 4 and cut or otherwise pull it off the board breaking contact and kiss the blinking good bye, and as a bonus you also get PAL support for most games making it an equal to the top loader.

[DragonGrafx-16]

I tried everything... gave up an installed a Blinking Light Win and my toaster NES works every time... though my Famicom adapter keeps getting stuck... I really need to find a better one that is full cartridge length...

 

There's this one but it won't work with oversized carts...

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/My-Arcade-NES-Cartridge-Converter-Adapter-for-Nintendo-Famicom-to-NES/283483310472?hash=item4200ec0988:g:e9cAAOSwkAJc2VB5

Edited January 3, 2020 by DragonGrafx-16

[0078265317]

Game genie always works for me.

[bluejay]

I put the connector in hot water for a few minutes, cut off pin 4 of the lockout chip, and it works 95% of the time now!

Edited January 3, 2020 by bluejay

[DJ Clae]

I very much reccomend Blinking Light Win. That along with the expansion audio mod made the frontloading NES my favorite to own. I was kind of sad to give this one back to my brother after I installed it: