NES Composite Failing, Any Ideas? (Video)

hey guys, i just hooked up my nes after not using it for a while and its acting different then before. im getting a lot of wavy lines through the composite video out and i fear the system is failing. heres a video i took:
i tried 2 different power supplies, different composite cables and different games, all the same problem. i also know its not my tv since the composite input works perfect with everything else. is my nes starting to die? i replaced the pin connector a couple years ago and everything was fine until now, should i try reseating the pin connector and see if that makes a difference? or does this look like the motherboard is failing? any ideas guys? thanks!

 

I would start replacing the caps on the motherboard.

 

thanks for the quick response. if that's the solution i will probably just end up buying a new nes.

 

I would also check the voltage regulator. My NES had some video issues. Swapped the voltage regulator and now its like new.

 

thanks guys. sounds like i gotta buy a new nes. replacing caps and a voltage regulator is more time and work then im willing to deal with considering i can get a new nes for 60 bucks. shame, ive had this nes for 20 years!

 

Well, please don't throw it away or anything! If it is something like bad caps, that's a pretty easy fix (if you have a soldering iron and solder of course).

 

i wouldn't throw it out, id sell it on ebay as needing repair. if you guys have any youtube guides on replacing the caps and regulator i would be willing to watch

 

Had the same problem on my NES. Replacing the caps fixed it right up. You don't need to replace the voltage regulator, but they're so cheap and more efficient that there's no reason not to, especially if you use one of those switching voltage regulator replacements.

It's really easy and only requires basic soldering skills.

If you do not know how to solder, I'd recommend bigclive's video on it:

 

ive never replaced a capacitor of any kind on any motherboard so i am unfamiliar with the process. is it easy?

edit- i don't see any super noob guides on youtube, this looks fun but i don't know if i have enough info to be confident doing this. ill keep looking

 

Honestly it probably won't be worth the price if you are just going to be repairing a single console, but once you are comfortable with a soldering iron doing a cap replacement on an NES would be a good first project. As long as you don't get the iron too hot you probably won't break anything, and even if you do it isn't a huge loss (and depending on what gets damaged likely nothing too hard to fix).

 

i have a soldering iron so it would probably be cheap but the more i research the more things are recommended to replace. console 5 sells caps and they say:

If you have hum bars present in your video and/or a strong humming sound coming from the audio, you may also consider replacing the bridge rectifier diodes or diode bridge:

• Mitsumi power modules use an RC203 rectifier bridge
• Alps power modules use 4 discreet diodes

so now i need to replace all the caps, the voltage regualtor and the bride rectifier diodes bridge! im quickly getting turned off from this project bruhs!

 

If you don't feel confident, don't do it. If you want to learn to solder, buy some cheap diy projects on eBay. Like the amplifiers and LED things or something like that. They're good ways to learn soldering different things and provides something that can be used after, which makes it satisfying.

 

thanks for all your help guys. i found more videos on youtube showing the process. i might attempt a fix in the next couple of months. if i have any luck ill bump this thread. thanks!

 

Soldering is such a valuable skill to have. I would highly recommend giving it a try and practicing it. I've gotten so much better at soldering over the year simply through practice.

 

im still researching and im getting more confident. now im seeing something about capacitor safety and that i need to discharge higher voltage capacitors before touching them? is discharging a capacitor as simple as unplugging the board from power? do i have to worry about getting fried replacing these things on my nes? thanks dudes

 

The NES doesn't really have any dangerously high voltage capacitors in it but you can usually switch the console on while it's not plugged in and that will discharge them.

 

thanks andehX, that's what ill do. thanks everyone for your help!

 

this is 100% for sure the caps and the voltage regulator, and if youre lazy, there is a minimal/no solder fix, you need a much cleaner power source that basically does what the failing components do for them... i use an 8.5V ps2 slim power supply on my NES to achieve this, clears them right up, youll need to swap an end on to the power cable via soldering or some other *safe* way of connecting the new end, and IIRC, polarity doesnt even matter because the NES is designed to take in A/C, but for portabilities sake (this is a tester power supply for me) i recommend matching the polarity on the plug to the requirements of a Genesis model 1 so you can use it on those as well (for testing purposes), as the plug you attach to the end will also fit in one of those. soon ill be ordering the HDMI nes kit for the front loader running this power supply, and when i take it apart to install that, ill be recapping it/new regulator as well so i can go back to the official power supply... but this works fine for now.

 

i got the caps today from ebay. im looking into replacing the voltage regulator but im unclear on the process. theres a screw to remove, looks like 3 blobs of solder on the end of the pins:



im reading you want to put thermal paste on the back of this thing? or are people crazy? also i like buying from ebay, would this work perfectly in my nes?

please help me out bros, im gonna attempt this in a few weeks!

edit- does anyone have any other guides besides this one?

 

Yup, unscrew that screw. The screw holds the heatsink to the regulator. There is thermal paste between it and the heatsink. Unsolder the 3 pins of the regulator. I don't remember if the heatsink comes away from the board or not... If it does, then unscrew the regulator after you've desoldered it.

Those regulators you linked will work fine. It's an easy job to be honest. I enjoyed doing it the last time I had to.