how to clean the SNES' cartridge slot

I agree on both points... but that means they'd have to get IPA, so they might as well have saved themselves some time and just used IPA in the first place!

They were never shiny or polished in the first place. If you want to remove the protective coating to have shiny contacts that you can't see anyway, go ahead. It's there for a reason, though.

 

What I meant was remove all the marks on the contacts so they look as good a new. Now that I look closely, they're probably scratches, not much can be done about those I guess

 

Sure, you get wear and tear from inserting and removing the cart. No big deal there, really!

 

Bump!

Would something like this work better? I've tried the credit card trick with isopropyl alcohol, but no luck. Maybe I need something more aggressive? Or would this stuff damage the gold plating?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Contact-Cle...o_Audio_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c83b57e99

 

Some connectors are very oxidized and mere alcohol will not do.
I have recently joined the DEOXIT church, that petty contact cleaner you linked is of much lesser pedigree.
DEOXIT contact cleaner is in another league. I use it to restore NES ZIF connectors to near new functionality without bending pins.

But I have seen connectors that were litterally green in the past. You might need a toothbrush and some Silvo for something like that. Or coat a thin cardboard in silvo and rub the contacts of the connector with it.

 

Well, I bought some cheap contact cleaner today. What I did:

1. Unplug the SNES, turn it on for a while to make sure there's no current flowing through.
2. Sprayed some contact cleaner into the cartridge slot, and after a minute some toothbrush scrubbing action.
3. After that, I sprayed some more contact cleaner into the cartridge slot, and went to work.
4. After work (several hours later), I cleaned up the contact cleaner that leaked out of the bottom of the cartridge slot with some isopropyl alcohol. I was very thorough in this step.
5. I sprayed a last round of contact cleaner into the cartridge slot, had dinner, and half an hour later more scrubbing action.
6. I cleaned all traces of contact cleaner I could find on the board surrounding the cartridge slot, including the other side of the motherboard (it's got little holes that leak the stuff), and I basically went nuts with my toothbrush and isopropyl alcohol.
7. Cleaned all traces of contact cleaner in the cartridge slot with a piece of kitchen paper and a creditcard.
8. After double, triple, and quadruple checking that there was absolutely no more contact cleaner on the board, I let it sit for another hour, then put the SNES back together and tried it.

My SNES lives, and doesn't give a black screen when I try to launch a game anymore. Mission accomplished!

 

Like Maxware I'm using a similar product to DEOXIT: KONTAKT 60.

 

That's the same one I used!

 

Contact cleaner IS isopropyl alcohol! Sometimes it has a lubricant in it, too. And yes, some have anti-corrosion properties.

 

To clean a cart slot I use a toothbrush and iso. alcohol, get the toothbrush wet turn the board upside down (so the cart slot faces down) & gently scrub the pins with a flicking action. Grabs all the hair, dust, fingernails & other assorted grime out of the bottom of the cart slot.

 

+1 This- its so cheap and easy. I typically use coffee filters rather than cloth but either way works.

 

I just recently used Silvo ( silver cleaner/polish ) on a cart contacts and it worked awesomely. It seems to be less harsh and less abrasive than brasso yet cleaned perfectly with no visible damage whatsoever to the gold plating.
The only inconvenient is it is annoying to rince, I think I will try it on a NES ZIF connector next, just apply Silvo to a piece of cardboard, insert it rub it against the pins. I will just shove the connectors in the dishwasher to rince them, then finish with two steps Deoxit, I bet they will work like new.