Ike's IMPROVED Guide to NES Maintenence
Sept 16, 2012 10:07:30 GMT -5
Post by Ike on Sept 16, 2012 10:07:30 GMT -5
Some number of years ago I wrote a short guide on how to deep clean your NES and games in order to make them play again so you don't have to go spend money on one of those awful "famiclone" machines or have to re-purchase your games because they don't appear to work anymore. I made the guide up very quickly using my crappy 8 year old camera and have since upgraded so I can bring you the goods in HIGH DEFINITION(!!!)
I'm going to re-write the guide to be a little more in-depth and get some better pictures.
This guide has several intended purposes. Those are:
1) To be idiot-proof and simple as possible. I'm going to cover the most basic method for cleaning your games and system. It won't require you to unscrew anything unless you want to. You're going to get a much better, deeper clean if you do, but I know there are at least a few of you who are a bit anxious at the prospect of opening your system up. I'll cover both methods here.
2) To be cheap. The total cost of supplies for this venture should be under or around $10 depending on your proclivities. Brasso will be your most expensive component, and that runs usually no more than $3.50 USD.
3) To be effective. A lot of people are under the myth that NES consoles are sensitive and break easily. This is total crap. These things are among the toughest electronics on the planet, but like all electronics, don't function well when they're dirty. There are a few things that contribute to a dirty console, the biggest one being people blowing in the cartridge. DON'T DO THAT. Your mouth is a disgusting, wet hole filled with bacteria and digestive enzymes that aren't meant to be found culturing in a Nintendo.
The thing of it is, blowing does work. It works because you blow moisture onto the brass contacts of the cartridge, thus increasing the conductivity between the console and game. However, when you wet the cartridge and then shove it into a damp, dark environment to sit for possibly decades, corrosion will occur.
I have also heard of people dipping their carts in water to improve conductivity. In fact, I purchased a copy of Kirby's Super Star that had been just one such victim of this method, because the outside screws were also corroded in addition to the inner contacts. I mention this because, using this cleaning method, I was able to get this copy of Kirby to work again. It still works perfectly to this day. This stuff is effective.
This method works for NES, SNES, N64, Genesis, and the Master System. I can't vouch for TurboGrafx stuff because I've never had the pleasure of working with one. However, I think the same method should apply, as I've gotten Master System cards to work using it. Use at your own risk on that one.
This guide will be focusing primarily on the NES.
There are two factors to consider before reading any further that could render the rest of this pointless.
1. Make sure the thing actually works. Plug it in, turn it on, and make sure that it's actually getting power. If it's not getting power or you're missing the power cord, borrow a friend's power adapter, ask at your local retro shop, whatever, and test it with that cord. If it isn't getting power from your own cord, test it with a second cord! It's possible the cord itself could be fried, and replacing the adapter is much cheaper than replacing the console.
If it turns on, great! If it doesn't, even after two attempts, don't bother cleaning it. It would be like polishing a turd. Test it first before investing any more time or money in it!
2. Test your pin connector. When you slide a cartridge into the NES, the long section that the game clicks into is the 72-pin connector. This is the major problem area, the thing we're focusing on, and the part people waste the most time and money on.
What's going on here? Well, people had a tendency to leave games in the NES for extended periods of time, even while not playing them. The NES works by reading data off of the game cartridge via the 72-pin connector making contact with the little brass teeth on the underside of your game. In order to get good contact, it has to press up against the pins pretty hard, and these pins tend to get bent downward. If all of the pins aren't making even contact with the board, the cartridge can't be read and you get a blinking screen, a garbled mess or a host of other issues.
Most of the time your pin connector is just dirty. Having dozens of dirty, possibly spit-covered games shoved into it repeatedly builds up a lot of muck inside. There are two factors that could impact the approach you should take to fixing your system.
a) If you slide your game into the system, it should give at least some resistance. If it does, you're good to clean using this method.
b) Your game should stay secured in the system. If you try to pull it out, it should pull back a bit. If you turn the console upside down and your game falls out, you're going to need to tighten up the pins, which requires you to open the console.
If you find your console too loose, go ahead and skip down to the next post, where I'll detail how to open up your system. You can attempt to clean it without opening it - it may work, but it may require more manipulation to get your games to work.
Step 1: Assemble your toolkit![/b][/u][/size]
Required
Optional[/u]
Once you get all your supplies ready, the first thing we'll do is clean the game itself.
Step 1: Clean your cartridge.[/i][/size]
Optional Step: Open your cartridge if you're able to do so. For the purposes of getting photos, I've used an open cart.
Grab your swab and apply a small amount of Brasso to one end. Just enough to cover 2/3rds of the head of the swab should do it. Swab lightly over both sides of the pin set, enough to cover it evenly over the board.
Once you've evenly coated the pins, vigorously rub your cotton swab over them. Press hard and use small, strong scrubs, as you're trying to rub off what could be years of grime and tarnish. The reason we use Brasso is because it's a powerful cleanser as well as a pretty good metric for telling how much dirt remains on the cartridge.
This one, pre-scrub, is pretty average. There's no rust, and not a lot of dirt, but mostly tarnish. This is what 90% of NES games look like when you buy them from a flea market or most stores. Also, take note of how little of the cartridge actually contains a game.
Swab it with both sides of the one you're currently using. After that, take your Windex or rubbing alcohol and wet a new swab. You'll want to keep scrubbing with fresh swabs when the head turns black. Eventually you should be able to rub your swab across it and not pick up very much dirt. You'll want to clean off as much as possible for best results. Dry it afterward.
This is after a scrub for a comparison shot. The right side is cleaned, the left side is not. The reason we're using Brasso is because rubbing alcohol, Windex, or whatever alone will not remove that tarnish, which is what's causing most of our problems.
Your cartridge should be nice and shiny. Ideally, you should clean all of your cartridges this way.
This is post-scrub. It's considerably shinier.
We're preparing to use this cartridge to scrub the inside of the console itself, and thus we need it to be as clean as possible.
Step 2: Clean your console.[/i][/size]
Take your cartridge and repeat the process with the Brasso. Apply a small amount of it to both sides of the pin board and make sure it's spread evenly across. You don't wanna glob on a whole lot of it, it won't take much.
Take the cartridge and insert it into your NES. Remove it and reinsert it 3-4 times. Afterward, swab off the remaining Brasso. Chances are, some dirt has come out of the console. Clean your cartridge in the same manner described above.
Take another swab and wet it up with your Windex/alcohol. Apply it to the cartridge in the same manner you applied the Brasso, but don't dry it. Repeat the process described above and allow it to scrub the 72-pin connector. After you've scrubbed it some, dry it with a swab and try to remove any excess dirt. You may have to do this 3-4 times before you get all the remaining polish out of it.
If you've got some compressed air, blow out the pin connector. Insert your cleaned cartridge and power on. Hopefully, it works on the first try. If not, repeat the last step. If it still doesn't work, insert the cartridge as normal, push it down and slide it back and forth slightly until it boots up consistently. If your pin connector is too loose, you're not going to get a good connection even with a clean system and will need to open your console. We'll cover that in the next post.
I'm going to re-write the guide to be a little more in-depth and get some better pictures.
This guide has several intended purposes. Those are:
1) To be idiot-proof and simple as possible. I'm going to cover the most basic method for cleaning your games and system. It won't require you to unscrew anything unless you want to. You're going to get a much better, deeper clean if you do, but I know there are at least a few of you who are a bit anxious at the prospect of opening your system up. I'll cover both methods here.
2) To be cheap. The total cost of supplies for this venture should be under or around $10 depending on your proclivities. Brasso will be your most expensive component, and that runs usually no more than $3.50 USD.
3) To be effective. A lot of people are under the myth that NES consoles are sensitive and break easily. This is total crap. These things are among the toughest electronics on the planet, but like all electronics, don't function well when they're dirty. There are a few things that contribute to a dirty console, the biggest one being people blowing in the cartridge. DON'T DO THAT. Your mouth is a disgusting, wet hole filled with bacteria and digestive enzymes that aren't meant to be found culturing in a Nintendo.
The thing of it is, blowing does work. It works because you blow moisture onto the brass contacts of the cartridge, thus increasing the conductivity between the console and game. However, when you wet the cartridge and then shove it into a damp, dark environment to sit for possibly decades, corrosion will occur.
I have also heard of people dipping their carts in water to improve conductivity. In fact, I purchased a copy of Kirby's Super Star that had been just one such victim of this method, because the outside screws were also corroded in addition to the inner contacts. I mention this because, using this cleaning method, I was able to get this copy of Kirby to work again. It still works perfectly to this day. This stuff is effective.
This method works for NES, SNES, N64, Genesis, and the Master System. I can't vouch for TurboGrafx stuff because I've never had the pleasure of working with one. However, I think the same method should apply, as I've gotten Master System cards to work using it. Use at your own risk on that one.
This guide will be focusing primarily on the NES.
There are two factors to consider before reading any further that could render the rest of this pointless.
1. Make sure the thing actually works. Plug it in, turn it on, and make sure that it's actually getting power. If it's not getting power or you're missing the power cord, borrow a friend's power adapter, ask at your local retro shop, whatever, and test it with that cord. If it isn't getting power from your own cord, test it with a second cord! It's possible the cord itself could be fried, and replacing the adapter is much cheaper than replacing the console.
If it turns on, great! If it doesn't, even after two attempts, don't bother cleaning it. It would be like polishing a turd. Test it first before investing any more time or money in it!
2. Test your pin connector. When you slide a cartridge into the NES, the long section that the game clicks into is the 72-pin connector. This is the major problem area, the thing we're focusing on, and the part people waste the most time and money on.
What's going on here? Well, people had a tendency to leave games in the NES for extended periods of time, even while not playing them. The NES works by reading data off of the game cartridge via the 72-pin connector making contact with the little brass teeth on the underside of your game. In order to get good contact, it has to press up against the pins pretty hard, and these pins tend to get bent downward. If all of the pins aren't making even contact with the board, the cartridge can't be read and you get a blinking screen, a garbled mess or a host of other issues.
Most of the time your pin connector is just dirty. Having dozens of dirty, possibly spit-covered games shoved into it repeatedly builds up a lot of muck inside. There are two factors that could impact the approach you should take to fixing your system.
a) If you slide your game into the system, it should give at least some resistance. If it does, you're good to clean using this method.
b) Your game should stay secured in the system. If you try to pull it out, it should pull back a bit. If you turn the console upside down and your game falls out, you're going to need to tighten up the pins, which requires you to open the console.
If you find your console too loose, go ahead and skip down to the next post, where I'll detail how to open up your system. You can attempt to clean it without opening it - it may work, but it may require more manipulation to get your games to work.
Step 1: Assemble your toolkit![/b][/u][/size]
Required
- Brasso. This is absolutely necessary as it's the main component of our success. You can find a good size bottle of Brasso at any Wal-Mart, typically in the grocery section where you can find the other cleaning solutions. It's with the other metal polish and usually runs about $3.50 a bottle. (prices may vary at different locations.)
I recommend Brasso because it is specifically for brass. I wouldn't recommend other polishes because most of them are intended for silverware or silver jewelry and tend to be grittier.
It looks like this: - A metric fuckton of double-sided cotton swabs. You're going to go through a lot of these. Be mindful of which kind you pick up. In this case I actually recommend going with a cheaper brand because they tend to have coarse fiber that doesn't break apart easily, while Q-Tips tend to be too soft. I regularly buy packs of 100 of the cheapest available swabs at my local Big Lots for $.50 cents each. They're terrible in your ears but awesome on games.
Try to get ones that have paper sticks instead of the plastic ones. A lot of the cheaper ones use plastic and they tend to break and bend, and since you're going to be using some force here you'll want some tougher swabs. You can get packs of swabs for anywhere from $.50 to $3.99 or so depending on how fancy you want to be. - A reasonably clean NES game. Obviously, the cleanest games are going to give us the most success, but regardless, we're going to give the game itself a deep cleaning as our first step. Details will come at the bottom of this list. Basically, though, you'll want a game that's not filled with spiderwebs and roach legs.
Since this guide is also for cleaning the games themselves, I will provide demonstration photos of a reasonably dirty game. - Windex and/or Rubbing Alcohol. Windex is the preferred substance, but it can get kind of expensive for how little of it you're going to need for our purposes. If you decide to use rubbing alcohol, it's important that you get some with a high alcoholic concentration, preferably 70-90%. Most stores sell 50% solution, which is too much water to use in a device prone to rust. Alcohol is a drying agent and thus evaporates more quickly than the water in the solution, which creates problems down the line. Windex works a little better because it has detergents that break down dirt, and it evaporates quickly, and it kind of smells nice. You can get rubbing alcohol for about $.99 to $1.99 per bottle.
Optional[/u]
- A Nintendo cleaning kit. Ideally, you own one of these lovely devices in good enough condition that it can be used. These come in several types; the official Nintendo kit comes with two or three paper swabs that you can clip into the cleaning cartridge. Some of the more generic models instead have an insert covered with a thick, rough plastic scrub. For our purposes, the plastic ones are preferred. The paper ones used by Nintendo's kit tend to fall apart quickly and are difficult to clean.
- Security bits. You'll need a 3.8mm bit to open most NES carts. Older carts can be opened with a small flathead screwdriver. This is only if you intend to give a thorough treatment to both your games and your system, but is not necessary in most cases. It looks like this:
Once you get all your supplies ready, the first thing we'll do is clean the game itself.
Step 1: Clean your cartridge.[/i][/size]
Optional Step: Open your cartridge if you're able to do so. For the purposes of getting photos, I've used an open cart.
Grab your swab and apply a small amount of Brasso to one end. Just enough to cover 2/3rds of the head of the swab should do it. Swab lightly over both sides of the pin set, enough to cover it evenly over the board.
Once you've evenly coated the pins, vigorously rub your cotton swab over them. Press hard and use small, strong scrubs, as you're trying to rub off what could be years of grime and tarnish. The reason we use Brasso is because it's a powerful cleanser as well as a pretty good metric for telling how much dirt remains on the cartridge.
This one, pre-scrub, is pretty average. There's no rust, and not a lot of dirt, but mostly tarnish. This is what 90% of NES games look like when you buy them from a flea market or most stores. Also, take note of how little of the cartridge actually contains a game.
Swab it with both sides of the one you're currently using. After that, take your Windex or rubbing alcohol and wet a new swab. You'll want to keep scrubbing with fresh swabs when the head turns black. Eventually you should be able to rub your swab across it and not pick up very much dirt. You'll want to clean off as much as possible for best results. Dry it afterward.
This is after a scrub for a comparison shot. The right side is cleaned, the left side is not. The reason we're using Brasso is because rubbing alcohol, Windex, or whatever alone will not remove that tarnish, which is what's causing most of our problems.
Your cartridge should be nice and shiny. Ideally, you should clean all of your cartridges this way.
This is post-scrub. It's considerably shinier.
We're preparing to use this cartridge to scrub the inside of the console itself, and thus we need it to be as clean as possible.
Step 2: Clean your console.[/i][/size]
Take your cartridge and repeat the process with the Brasso. Apply a small amount of it to both sides of the pin board and make sure it's spread evenly across. You don't wanna glob on a whole lot of it, it won't take much.
Take the cartridge and insert it into your NES. Remove it and reinsert it 3-4 times. Afterward, swab off the remaining Brasso. Chances are, some dirt has come out of the console. Clean your cartridge in the same manner described above.
Take another swab and wet it up with your Windex/alcohol. Apply it to the cartridge in the same manner you applied the Brasso, but don't dry it. Repeat the process described above and allow it to scrub the 72-pin connector. After you've scrubbed it some, dry it with a swab and try to remove any excess dirt. You may have to do this 3-4 times before you get all the remaining polish out of it.
If you've got some compressed air, blow out the pin connector. Insert your cleaned cartridge and power on. Hopefully, it works on the first try. If not, repeat the last step. If it still doesn't work, insert the cartridge as normal, push it down and slide it back and forth slightly until it boots up consistently. If your pin connector is too loose, you're not going to get a good connection even with a clean system and will need to open your console. We'll cover that in the next post.