Several unresponsive N64 cartridges

Hi all, a friendly local game store tasked me with getting some N64 games working. All of them are unresponsive, as in nothing happens at all when I turn the system on. I've cleaned them, opened them, checked for broken solder joints, to no avail. Any tips you have to troubleshooting a cart?

The carts in question (warning: reading these will make you cry):

Starfox 64
Super Smash Bros
Killer Instinct
Paper Mario

Only the good games break...

 

Have you tried them on another system? Maybe the edge connector in the N64 is dirty.

 

I know the system works with mygames, and the game store would not give them to me if they were sure they didn't work. I do not have another system to check them.

 

Can you swap a known good CIC chip on to one of the dead game boards? I wonder if it's just the lockout chip that is keeping the game from starting.

 

I imagine they would just toss the broken games that aren't worth anything.

If you post some high res pics of the boards on imgur or someplace, maybe someone will be able to spot the problem if there is one with the board and not the chips.

 

Good idea. I'll ask if they can spare one of the following games for Paper Mario. Crappy sports games would be best.

1080º Snowboarding
Banjo Kazooie
Diddy Kong Racing
Excitebike 64 Kiosk
Excitebike 64
Ken Griffey Jr's Slugfest
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside
Major League Baseball featuring Ken Griffey Jr.
Paper Mario
Pokémon Snap
Pokémon Stadium
Pokémon Stadium 2
Super Smash Bros.

 

Ohh...that's right. Just looked at this list: http://n64.icequake.net/mirror/www.elitendo.com/n64/usa_boot_save_list.html

Most of these games do not use the common 6102 CIC. Super Smash Brothers and Paper Mario both use the 6103 CIC, and Starfox 64 uses the 6101 CIC. Only Killer Instinct uses the common 6102 CIC. I guess those 1st party sports games have some utility after all!

 

I doubt the CICs have failed. I've never heard of that happening for the N64. Also, the game store doesn't have an N64 to use for testing?

 

How severely did you clean them? I've known some carts in really bad condition to not respond at all to the cotton tip and alcohol method. Only way I as able to get these working was to give them a scrub with some magic eraser. Be gentle though, magic eraser is still an abrasive, but it's worth trying if they're not working at all. Make sure you clean the contacts with alcohol after though.

 

On the off chance that you've got access to a copier, try reading and comparing them to a known-good dump. That would at least rule out cart connector issues. (Also there's always a slim chance you run into an undumped game variant this way :b )

 

As requested, images of the Paper Mario PCB: https://imgur.com/a/qxjDu

The board looks immaculate to me. Maybe I'm missing something though...

 

Try replacing the cap, and reflowing all the chips.

 

some of the traces right above the pins look like they may be bad. especially pin 18 and 36, but 3,15,37,40, and 41 also look suspect. may just be the lighting, but make sure these have continuity to where they are supposed to go.

 

I think you're right. When I first opened the carts I noticed that line and checked the continuity. My multimeter gave definite connections on the pins I checked, so I moved beyond that. However I may be missing some pins, or the connections are there but too weak.

The three other carts have the same corroded line, some thicker than Paper Mario. Looks like the black plastic protection piece might be scraping the PCB. To double check, I opened some working carts and that line is not there.

I'm going to trace out the pins, and even if they all have continuity, I might solder in wires anyway. Can't break it further!

 

Success! Pin 18 was the culprit. A simple jump and the game works! All of the saves are on there as well. Pic: http://imgur.com/U7VXXMu

Any advice on the soldering job? The game plugs in fine, but I'm afraid too many inserts and the wire will come loose. Also, should I do some preventative maintenance and jump the other corroded but functioning traces?

I'm going to look at the other 3 carts and see if I can fix them.

Thank you very much!

 

Interesting, I have an excite bike 64 that refuses to work. I cleaned it real good and pcb does not look damaged but maybe I should look batter for bad connections.

 

you should probably scrape the solder mask from right above the pin and connect it there instead of on the pin. its probably ok though if that part is not going into the slot.

 

I fixed all four games using the same method! Sorta. Killer Instinct suffered water damage and the gameplay was screwy.

I tried scraping the solder mask but couldn't get anything to stick. I'll practice on other stuff.

 

Congrats mickcris for discovering the issue and josiah for fixing it. Glad those games were brought back to life

 

you could pick up a fiberglass scratch brush to make sure all the solder mask is gone. like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Economy-Fiber..._sim_hi_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1E366QNRJHETV67DDPDR
wont damage it like scratching it too hard with something metal.

maybe try some flux also.