Repairing 32x with stuck ribbon cables

Hey all. I've been trying my hand at a 32x i got in a trade with no luck to get it working.
On my model 1 va7, model 2 va0, and model 1 non-tmss I get the same result. It will boot to the tmss screen and then nothing.
Only twice have I gotten it to boot with sonic 2 but never with primal rage 32x. That was with adjusting the ribbon cables on the side with the cartridge slot. But the side with the pins, the cables are stuck and no matter how much force they wont come out.

I started to go the way of hardwiring the pins. But after the first 40 pins i really dont want to continue with this way if its avoidable.

Sooo. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.

Only thing I could add is that with the model 2 it would sometimes boot to the sega chime in sonic 2, but freeze mid-chime, which graphic errors.

 

I have not worked inside a 32x yet but Ribbon cables of this type often have a locking mechanism on their connectors.

 

No locking mech on any of the 6 or so 32x's i have had over time. Might be some old mate glued them in....awesome.

 

some times bad solder joints on the chips inside the cart have you tryed other 32x game.

 

Bwahaha, pesky old mate!

 

I don't have any other 32x games right now. I have been testing it with gensis games and I get the same result. I've put the project down for a bit since its extremely time consuming. I have one side finished.

I would not be surprised if someone glued them in before. Maybe I should take a heat gun to it. ... Actually why haven't i thought if that before.

 

Probably because using a heat gun is a stupid idea.

 

Well. It doesnt work. And It'd only be enough heat to melt some glue. Not like I'd lose anything. It'd be more worth it to buy a working one honestly.

 

Can't you just test the connections with a multimeter before you melt the ribbon cable for the sake of it?

 

before you use heat to remove the glue try a solvent or something instead. Acetone on a cotton swab should remove it fairly easily I should think, don't let it drip onto the PCB though, I'm not sure how it'd react.

 

I have tried the acetone. Issue is that I think glue has been set inside the actual clip where the cable rest in. So unless I drip it inside it wont make a difference and I' afraid to mess up the pcb contacts.