Is a HOT NES and cart a warning sign? (aka You're Nintendo's dead, Jim!)

This may seem obvious but I really want to know whether I should be concerned.

I am using an NTSC NES front-loader with an official Nintendo brand NES power adapter.

I fell asleep playing my NES, woke up hours later, turnws off the system, and found that the cartridge was very warm. It didn't burn me, but I could warm my cold hands in the morning with it. The same went for the back right of the NES where the power supply was plugged into it.

I understand that there are voltage regulators in systems and that they heat up when setting voltages to the desired amount, with some having huge metal heatsinks attached. However, I am also aware that cartridge ROMs can be destroyed by prolonged excessive heat.

My questions are: is there such a thing as too much heat while running your Nintendo / cart-based system and do any of you have an NES that can be used to warm bread?

 

Excluding a possible electronic problem that makes the console draw more current, It is possible the console is dusty inside and in a not so well ventilated place. In such circumstances it could accumulate more heat than usual. Hard to say how much heat is too much. Electronics can support a hot place but the cooler the better of course.

I would just clean the console and let it run topless for a while and try to see where the heat comes from.

 

The heat is located where the power adapter plugs into the NES. This is adjacent to the 72pin connector and thus the cartridge heats up as well.

I am curious if other people feel the back right corner of their NES is quite warm after a few hours of play.

 

That'd be the voltage regulator, it's most likely a liner one which will get quite hot..
my famicom's Vreg get so hot it can burn you (my guess about 65c) after 5mins.. Need to fix that haha
anyone know what current rating it is? You could swap it out for a higher amperage one I guess, in theory it will run cooler as your not going to it's limits...

 

What kind of power brick are you using?

 

My friend had a famicom where the 7805 would get so hot it would freeze his famicom.

I threw in a 7805 switching voltage regulator and it works great now as they barely generate any heat.

 

If you famicom users still use the original 100v AC adapter on 120v, that might cause some overheating of the console. The famicom does not have much for heat dissipation.

 

240v (PAL) MegaDrive unit

kinda ironic don't you think haha