Wow, cleaning NES carts actully makes a difference

[Atari freak 1]

I cleaned all my carts, and it works great now! It only takes a couple tries to get the games to work, and when they do, they never crash or screw up! I'm happy! I am going to get a new 72 pin connector and then see what happens then!!!!

[Dones]

Yeah, qtips and alcohol do make a difference....

[JB]

Yeah, qtips and alcohol do make a difference....

But not near as much as cleaning the connector will, if you can get at it.

[Kialan]

I cleaned all my carts too, and took the connector out and scrubbed it with a toothbrush+alcohol. Now the games work on the first or second try.

 

This is a guide you can use on how to take the connector out to clean it:

http://www.gooddealgames.com/articles/NES_Repair.htm

[Dones]

That's where a NES cleaning kit comes handy. Personally I use a combination of a kit for the 72-pin connector and an eraser for cleaning cart's pins.

[mechanized]

There's a simple, handy piece of medical equipment called a hemostat (at least, it better be called that, since I've been calling it that for years). It's like a mix of needlenose pliers and a clamp, with the length of scissors.

 

Grab an old shirt or some other cloth, fold it once, fold it twice, then bite the folded edge with the hemostat and wrap the cloth around it. Wet it with some alcohol and it's great for cleaning carts. It should still be thin enough to slide around the connectors, but snug enough to rub the oxidation from the connectors without much pressure. Swipe it around like a madman, or until satisfied the cart is clean, and let it dry.

 

Then, of course, there's the Electric Eraser for tough jobs, like opening controllers and cleaning the sensor pad connection points (Warning!: some cheaper membrane foils [especially thin, flaky stuff] can come off with Erasing). They can be purchased in the drawing aisles of most arts and crafts stores, and many office supplies stores.