Original NES Game Loading Issues

[smack2k]

New to this site and forum...hoping someone can help:

I have tried to fix the pins on the 72-pin connector my NES already had and got them back to looking pretty close to new...I have tried a newly bought 72-pin connector that was un-used and have this same issue.
 
When I put games in the NES and hit power, the screen is blue most of the time (sometimes the game will start fine), the dreaded blue screen of death! BUT, if I push down on the cartridge, holding it down, and dont let it pop-up the little bit it does after you release it , the game loads fine and can be started nearly every time.
 
What else can I look at on my system?  Its driving me nuts as two different connectors do the same thing..and one was new!

To add - I have cleaned the connector the 72-pin connects to on the main board of the NES with QTIPS and 91% alcohol and got a lot of stuff off of it.  The pins look shiny now, but do appear to have some marks on them still that the QTIPS and alcohol cant get off, not sure if those are just from age or what.

[mrfoxhound]

Is the pin connector from an original NES console or is it a generic pin connector?

[smack2k]

The old one is from the Nintendo (original one).

The newer one I am not sure as I bought it at a gamestore.  But the pins all look good and its a TIGHT fit for the carts...

[mrfoxhound]

The old one is from the Nintendo (original one).

The newer one I am not sure as I bought it at a gamestore.  But the pins all look good and its a TIGHT fit for the carts...

I'm going to assume the one you bought from the game store is a generic pin connector and those aren't the best. I can only recommend salvaging an original one from another NES that isn't worn down.

[rayne315]

this may be a dumb question but, Are you sure its the pin connector and not the games your using? reason I ask is I have 1 game that acts similar to this but I literally have to jostle the system for it to boot properly. in other words it may be a loose component/cracked solder not making the proper connections.

[smack2k]

No, its every game I put in and sometimes the game will work fine on intial try but most I have to hold it down to get it working.

The original 72 pin has a very tight now and I bent up the pins on the bottom and bent down the pins on the top.  The other one is also very tight but I again dont know what it was from.

Any chance its the board connector and the extra pressure helps it or no?  I cleaned it and a LOT of grey stuff came off of it, but I can still what looks like "stuff" on it, but the Q-Tips and alcohol dont seem to get anymore....

I can look for another connector at the store just to see....

[mrfoxhound]

this may be a dumb question but, Are you sure its the pin connector and not the games your using? reason I ask is I have 1 game that acts similar to this but I literally have to jostle the system for it to boot properly. in other words it may be a loose component/cracked solder not making the proper connections.

This is also a possibility. I had over 50 NES games and even after thoroughly cleaning the pins to a shine, I'd still get blue screen or problems loading it up.

EDIT: You could buy a hundred pin connectors but if it isn't a official NES one that hasn't been worn down, I don't know what to tell you. NES pin connectors are a hassle. I'd invest in a top loader if I were you.

[thecrypticodor]

It's a bit more expensive but there's the blinking light win which replaces the zero force insertion connector for a traditional cart slot. It also bypasses the 10 nes chip without having to lift pins and defeats region lockout.

https://www.arcadeworks.net/blw

[smack2k]

this may be a dumb question but, Are you sure its the pin connector and not the games your using? reason I ask is I have 1 game that acts similar to this but I literally have to jostle the system for it to boot properly. in other words it may be a loose component/cracked solder not making the proper connections.

This is also a possibility. I had over 50 NES games and even after thoroughly cleaning the pins to a shine, I'd still get blue screen or problems loading it up.

EDIT: You could buy a hundred pin connectors but if it isn't a official NES one that hasn't been worn down, I don't know what to tell you. NES pin connectors are a hassle. I'd invest in a top loader if I were you.

I have a top loader, but as a collector am trying to get the original NES to work properly to, but I totally get where you are coming from...

I cleaned the crap out of the board connector with eraser and brasso last night, testing today to see if that made a difference.

[mrfoxhound]

I'm also assuming the 10 NES chip is disabled on your console.

[smack2k]

Is not, I havent done that yet...was trying to keep it original, but could definately do it...

Wasnt sure if it was good for this issue or not...some said yes, some said no...your thoughts?

[mrfoxhound]

Is not, I havent done that yet...was trying to keep it original, but could definately do it...

Wasnt sure if it was good for this issue or not...some said yes, some said no...your thoughts?

Yes, it could help read your games better. If possible, get a tool to open up the NES and disable the 10 NES chip.

[smack2k]

I can do that pretty easily...will give it a shot when testing this evening.

Thanks for the heads up.

[mrfoxhound]

Keep us posted.

[smack2k]

So I took my original 72 pin connector and boiled it for 15 minutes.

Took apart 5 games and cleaned them thoroughly with an eraser.

I disabled the 10 NES Chip as well

NES worked perfect for all 5 games and had no issues loading or anything else and is working like new again!  Tried some not as clean games and they played as well with only 1 or 2 having issues (which I took apart and they were filthy on the contacts)

Thanks for all the advice in getting this fixed for me, appreciate it.  Not sure which did the trick, but I am thinking it was 10 NES Chip as I had boiled one of the other 72 Pin connectors with no luck.  But that could also be that it was a crap connector as well.