That signature NES flashing screen & power light

I have a PAL NES that used to work sporadically, until recently, it's started doing that thing that NES consoles do.
You put in a game, power on, the red light and the screen both start flashing on and off...
So, I dismantled it and took a look - It's actually a nice NES.
Impeccable condition.
The board is tidy, no signs of corrosion or anything anywhere.
That's aside though, point is, I ripped my 72-pin connector out (DAMN they don't like coming off the board, do they?) and gave it a good ol' wash in Isopropyl.
I cleaned every contact point on the connector and put it all back together.
That thing didn't even look dirty before I cleaned it, so it was spotless afterwards.
Flashing light still.
So, at least I didn't BREAK it.
Now, though, I'm starting to wonder...
Is there anything else I should try on this 72-pin to get it to work before I buy a new one?
Is there anything else that could be causing the flashing screen?
Also, question on 72-pin connectors.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TTX-Tech-...G_Replacement_Parts_Tools&hash=item20de3ef1b9
This one is very cheap. Most others with a different picture are twice as much, obviously they're all third party, so I don't know who to steer clear of.

 

(can't stand the 'auto-text formatting' this site has going on, aggravating)
there's the 'boil the cartridge socket in water' video around but here's an old school repairs video. (service personnel)
may help?
.......
Nintendo Repair Maintain NES Video Electronix Corp 1992

 

Disable the lockout chip? You might need a repairman or somebody with a soldering iron to help.

 

Could the lockout chip be causing this error?
It's a PAL console playing PAL games within a region where PAL consoles and games were distributed.
I don't think region is the issue here, unless chips are known to malfunction in this fashion..?
I probably will do a lockout mod later anyway, seeing as I will need to disassemble it again regardless. IIRC it's just a case of snipping a single leg from the chip on the board, so I'm sure I could do that.

 

Indirectly yes, lockout makes worse an already unreliable mechanism.
The only long term fix would be modding NES front loaders into top loaders. I haven't seen conversion kits sold for that.

 

I'll do a quick lookup the next time I disassemble it to see about disabling the chip. I don't think it'll matter too much as here in this part of the UK, it's rare to get US imports, but hell, if the thing could be interfering and isn't needed, off it goes.
what about the chip makes it not read legit games?

 

Lockout.

 

To clarify the above comment, the blinking power means the lockout chip inside the NES hasn't managed to communicate with the chip in the cart. A dirty connector can stop the NES from being able to communicate with the lockout chip:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIC_(Nintendo)

 

That still does not fix the connector though, even with disabled lockout chip you might get corrupt graphics and glitchy games due to bad connection.

I tried boiling the connectors with water and laundry soap many times, it might helps but is certainly no miracle worker.
You can also try staightening the pins in the connector to give them more pressure. This is quite hard to do right though... I broke more connectors than I fixed doing this but I have one NES that works great now.
I have been thinking about making a tool specific for this purpose, I have an idea actually. It is in my list of projects...

 

Well, given that bending is a risky business, I think the plan of action is:
1. Boil the current one and disable the lockout chip to give this one the best chance it can get.
2. If that doesn't work, buy a new connector.
So, as per original post, does anyone know good or bad manufacturers/ sellers of new connectors?
I don't wanna go with a duff one, so any info on the good, bad and ugly would be appreciated.

 

Sounds good. Some use laundry while boiling, no idea if it really helps but it should not hurt if well rinced. I actually had two pots of boiling water, one with laundry and the other just water. I boiled it in laundry water then pure water and then I put it in a pillow case and I spinned it fast to remove the water. Good luck.

 

From what i have read, pretty much all the 72 pin connectors that you can buy today are not that great. They are probably all manufactured in the same factory in China.

 

Does the laundry powder leave a residue or anything else I'll need to rinse or scrub off?

So it shouldn't matter if I get the £5 or the £10 ones on Ebay?

 

I saw some that say they are better cause they were manufactured in Tawiian but who knows if they are lying about that or if theirs is actually any better. You cannot really tell with the ebay ones cause they are just going to send you the connector in a bag. They are not branded in any way so its not possible to tell one from the other by looking at it.

 

As I said I boiled mine in pure water ( like 2 min ) to rince them after the laundry. They looked pretty sparkly after.

 

Disabling the lockout chip sorted the blinking red light on mine. Tons of tutorials on youtube. I just bent the pin out with a safety pin, job done.

 

Yeah, I figured I'd snap the pin. I've seen some people solder a wire to earth it on another pin, which they say... helps somehow.
Not knowing electronics, I can't really comment on that.
Does that make any sense to anyone else?

 

Not that it helps, but it's good practice to ground any pins that are left floating.

 

just use a nes cleaning kit.

 

I don't think that's gonna work. I already dismantled it and gave it an isopropyl bath - As far as I'm aware, isopropyl is very suitable for cleaning electrical contact points - And I washed it pretty well. Got to areas you wouldn't get to by just repeatedly ramming that hunk of plastic back and forth. God, that sounds dirty.