NES repair question

[singlebanana]

I took apart my NES a few days ago to put in a new 72-pin connector and now I am having trouble getting games to play.  From what I can tell, it seems that contact with the game is fine and my problem seems to be that the spring-loaded tray that the game sits inside, is not going down far enough (when I hold the game down in the system with my hand, it works fine).  Anyone know what causes/might fix this?

[Duke.Togo]

New 72-pins scare me a bit, they don't seem to have great quality. Most of them will work better in the up position.

If you have to hold it all the way down, at least one of the pins isn't connecting. You can open it up, loosen the 6 screws that hold the tray in place, and do some minor adjustment with its position. Keep trying it with the cover off until you get it in a spot where it works best.

[Shadow Kisuragi]

...my problem is that it doesn't fix the issue with reading the game, and my game's mostly clean. Did I just not clean the board well enough, or do I need a different 72-pin connector?

[blcklblskt]

I've had problems where the loading mechanism doesn't stick down.  It turned out that the board/mechanism weren't seated correctly, and it was causing the loader to keep springing upwards.

[NES_Rules]

I've had problems where the loading mechanism doesn't stick down.  It turned out that the board/mechanism weren't seated correctly, and it was causing the loader to keep springing upwards.

This.
When you reassemble, you have to make sure it sits completely flat on its own. You kind of have to have it forward a bit, then it goes down and slides back into place. Its kind of hard to explain, but if you take the board and cartridge tray out and play with them a bit, you'll see what I mean.

[Duke.Togo]

So two separate issues being discussed here:

The tray mechanism:

When re-assembling, the front part of the mechanism with the spring has a small lip on the underside that will slide under the main board when properly installed. If that lip isn't under the main board when it is tightened down, you will get the "won't latch" issue because the latch will be bent outwards.

With the tray mechanism properly seated, I loosely place all six screws, then try the cart in different positions from one side to the other until I find the best response. At that point tighten all the screws. Always retest after tightening before you further re-assemble in case you need to adjust again.

The 72-pin connector:

No doubt most folks have read/seen videos about bending the pins back into position to increase tension. This is definitely something I recommend, but ensure that all pins are bent up evenly.

There are particular pins that must make contact in order for the game to boot the program ROM, so if you don't get boot/grey, green, blue screen/flashing light there are pins that aren't making proper connection.

Similarly, if you have a game that plays, but has "scrambled" graphics the pins that connect to the character ROM aren't making proper contact.

As you may have heard in the "cleaning" episode of the podcast (ep. 5 I think) I go through this process for the pin connector:

1. Boil water, drop in the connector, and let it set for around 10 minutes stirring occasionally
2. Pull the connector out, scrub the contacts thoroughly with a tooth brush
3. Drop the connector back into the water for another minute or two
4. Pull it out, shake thoroughly to remove as much water as possible while wet
5. Let it dry thoroughly (some people dry them in an over, never tried but shouldn't hurt on low heat; I have used a hair dryer sometimes)
6. Bend up the bottom set of pins on the cartridge end of the connector evenly

[techwizard]

is the problem any different based on the colour your screen goes when it doesn't work? mine rarely shows anything but solid non-blinking pink when it doesn't want to work. i just recently replaced my connector too and it's been working great but the last few times playing zelda II i've had to wiggle the cart around a little to get better pin contact. i've sometimes seen the garbled graphic problem, and blinking, but mostly just a solid colour and never any colour except pink.

[Duke.Togo]

Yes, any solid color is the same issue almost all of the time.

I really recommend people disable their lock out chips for convenience sake. It is really simple to do, and there are a lot of instructions out there on doing it. I don't go the fancy route, just clip pin 4.

[inRainbows]

not the answer you're looking for, but the best solution for me was a top loader. haha.

[Duke.Togo]

not the answer you're looking for, but the best solution for me was a top loader. haha.

That is a great way to go, but if you're going to spend that amount to buy one, I'd say spend an extra few bucks for an AV Famicom and a 72 -> 60 pin converter.

[singlebanana]

I have a top loader, but my TG is running through my VCR instead of my NES.  Hard to believe they didn't put A/V in the top loader.

[Shadow Kisuragi]

I have a top loader, but my TG is running through my VCR instead of my NES.  Hard to believe they didn't put A/V in the top loader.

Hence, why I wasn't so sad to trade mine to Bil. I'd rather get an AV Famicom, but just haven't had the money to pick up a boxed one.

[Duke.Togo]

I have a top loader, but my TG is running through my VCR instead of my NES.  Hard to believe they didn't put A/V in the top loader.

Hence, why I wasn't so sad to trade mine to Bil. I'd rather get an AV Famicom, but just haven't had the money to pick up a boxed one.

Excellent decision.