How to Fix Your NES 72-Pin Connector by Boiling it - The Backlog with Joe Walker
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 31 ต.ค. 2013
- In this how-to video, Joe walks you through the process of reviving your blinking NES by boiling the 72-pin connector. No need to buy any aftermarket replacement!
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My NES was toast, did the lockout mod, cleaned the contacts with IPA to no avail
This method worked brilliantly. Didn't even need to bend the pins back. Thank you so much!
organize your screws? piffle! All but 2 of the screws are exactly the same. You just need to remember where to put the 2 long screws.
PFFT!!
Thanks for the heads up.
I noticed the 2 screws that hold the video ports down are slightly larger, but I mixed them up and made no difference. I actually cleaned my screws too.
The 2 long screws hold in the cartridge bay, the 2 long silver screws go on the black piece
Worked like a charm for me! Boiled for 5 minutes. Cleaned the connector with a cart. Boiled for 5 more. Took about 45 minutes of air drying and compressed air to get all the water out. Now the NES plays clean games almost 100% of the time. Thanks!
Tried this last night with a used NES I picked up a while back. It worked like a charm!! I was wanting to preserve the original connector if possible, and this does work. Before boiling I had cleaned the contact points on each and every one of my game cartridges and still would get the flashing power light and gray screen 90% of the time. I was somewhat shocked that it works so well now, even with the cartridge inserted but not pressed down.
It would seem that the reason you insert the cartridge into the freshly boiled connector after the first boiling is to clean off the pins after the grime on them has been loosened.
Also for anyone wondering the six screws in the base, and all screws inside the NES with exception of two are exactly the same. The two directly to the sides of the cartridge slot are typically painted black on top are slightly longer and instead of being brass, like the others, are silver in color.
I know that this video is almost two years old, but I just have to leave a comment.
After trying everything imaginable, I found your video as a last resort.
I have an NES that only played the games, when they were in a VERY specific position in the machine (sometimes took me 10+ minutes to get a game to work), and I managed to get it to work with about 80-90% reliability, by doing this!
I also have two NES's that I really presumed to be dead (or at least the pin connectors), but those two are now working with 80-90% reliability as well, thanks to this method!
So, I really just have to write and sincerely say thank you! This video was an amazing help :D
TheNM22 Awesome, I'm really glad it helped!
TheNM22 the games does it last working ?
Tip about the screws: All but the 2 long silver screws holding the connector are the same. Also, for the cartridge slot carriage, there is a little notch on the front of the carriage that the main board goes into. With it in properly, you don't have to worry about adjusting the screws too much.
Now I gotta try boiling mine. All I've done was pull the pins closer on the connector, which seemed to help. Thanks for boiling tip!
Thank you so much for this tutorial! I found my late brothers NES but it had that blinking light. I followed this and I was able to get it working. I haven’t played this system since the mid-90’s!
Just received my NES from Ebay two days ago. Went to plug it in and nothing but the constant blinking coming from the power button. Did exactly what the video said to do and I am now playing all of my games with no problems. Great fix!
Just did this while trying to repair my childhood NES and it worked perfectly. I am in complete shock that this actually worked. THANK YOU!!!!!
This boiling method worked for my old NES. I had 2 games that "worked" but the graphics and sound were glitchy. After boiling, it works as new!
I bought a blinking NES, I tryed everything in the 72-pin connector,but anything worked,so I deciced to buy a new connector... but, in the end,I found this video and ITS WORKS!!
Thank you so much
You didn't mention about how the pins become too loose overtime, which may also be a problem. Heating the metal straightens out. Just thought the viewers should be informed on this as well.
Ah thank you
Hadn’t even expected this to work - but it actually did!!
Thank you for showing me!!
I screwed up my screws because screw them, but the boiling part works like a charm. This technique resurrected even an NES that has presented a constant power light and the same mustard-colored screen for over 5 years. If this is witchcraft, now I'm a warlock. Thanks a million!
After boiling the 72-Pin Connector and disabling the lockout chip, my NES went from working 0% of the time to working 95% of the time. Thanks for the video!
I appreciate the help! My brother found an NES on the curb about to get trashed. You helped me get it running again great and I have a free working nes that got saved from the landfill, woooo! I did bend the bottom pins a little just to make sure it's a snug fit. You da man.
Thanks so much. Used this video as a reference while doing my first ever 72 pin refresh and it worked like a charm. Now those ducks will finally get whats coming to them....and no....ducks is not a typo...
LOL THIS MAD ME LAUGH
Hope you still enjoying ur nes after 7 years
Thank you so much! It used to take me like 10 minutes of messing with the cartridge just to get it to ready, and now it works flawlessly!
You can indeed screw the cardridge holder all the way down. The thing you gotta watch out for is the little plastic tab on the underside, it has to go under the main board, if it doesnt the cartridgeholder cant stay down the way it's meant to.
I just tried this today, and I can honestly say it worked flawlessly. I ordered an NES about 2 weeks ago for my birthday, and the connector was a little too loose and dirty for my patience. After trying this method, all of my games work on the first try. Thank you for sharing your wonders! :)
I'm glad it worked for you!
This worked great. Thanks. The only thing that I would add is , make sure when you’re putting that black piece back onto the motherboard ...over the 72 pin connector, make sure that the lip of the black piece goes under the green motherboard otherwise the spring thing may not stay down or may stay locked down .....and it causes all types of issues hopefully that makes sense for anybody trying this out because I’ve had problems with that in the past and I could never figure it out until now
"if you did it right you wont have to push your cartridge back down" LOOOOOOOOOOOL!
YOU ARE A LIFESAVER, MY NES WAS SHOWING ONLY BLINKING GRAY SCREEN AND I TRIED EVERYTHING, CLEANING EVERY PART OF THE CONSOLE AND TRYING TO FIX PINS BUT THIS SOMEHOW WORKED, LIKED AND SUBBED
Very very interesting method. I have a broken 72-pin connector as well. Might try this out sometime. Really good explanation on how to do it as well.
SO much better than buying a new 72-pin! Thank you!
I am going to try this today with a bunch of pin connectors. Great video!
My nes hasn't started up first try every time since it was brand new.
Thanks dude.
I was pretty skeptical about this method, but I gave it a change, and it worked flawlessly!!
Thank you for this. Worked like a charm.
i didn't boil it but can confirm bending the pins made a huge difference. I had to clean the cartridges though, after that they worked perfectly. I also scrubbed the pin connector with a toothbrush and alcohol, but it didnt look like it made much of a difference.
there are cartridge cleaning kits on amazon for fairly cheap. comes with cleaner, polish, the bit to open the cartridges, an extra 72 pin connector in case this doesnt work, and some disposable cleaning cloths for about $20
Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now it works! Never done any technology repair before and first time was a success
Bro thank you! Gaming with a hot cup of coffee bc of you!! Love ya and thank you!!
my old old old NES was refusing to work, I tried this and worked like a charm. I watched the cloud of dirt coming out to the water, it was magic
As several people mentioned, you might have screwed the springloaded game housing in incorrectly, if that's the case you might want to at least mention somewhere about the little lip that has to go under the motherboard before you screw it on.
This tip definitely earned a sub. Well done!
Boiling 95% worked for me - increased the tension on all but the contacts near the edges. Still had bend up about 5 pins total, including the one connected to the notorious 10nes chip. Saved me a lot of time over bending all the pins up. The "gunk" left over from boiling is actually coming from the plastic not the pins, so make sure to clean after boiling to get the white powder off.
Great tutorial. I've used this method before too, with stellar results.
Thank you SO MUCH for this video! I was really afraid to do this when I heard about it but it totally works. Games from eBay I thought I was going to have to try to get refunds for now work!
Good for you making this video. I've known of this method but never really had to put it into practice until today. I'm surprised at the amount of junk that came off of the thing. I had used this old GOLF cart and after putting it back in the boil again I wanted to try the game off, used a q-tip and it came back dark gray and muddy a bit due to the water. SO much for the NES cleaning kit and using 91% alcohol on it pulled out of the system. That usually has always worked along with the pin trick but this one I'm working on now is just being evil. You'd have to do the hot breath trick and angle it to fire the thing up which is unacceptable. I'm still cleaning the pin now, but figured you may want to amend a pop up note about cleaning the game as the thing will get nasty.
EDIT: I had to triple dip the thing to get all the funk off. Oddly now, the connector only works on games not locked, and I have no idea why, but they work every time. I killed the lockout while I was in there too, so now it's as reliable as a top loader and like that runs PAL games too.
Very cool video. ;) I don't have any pinconnector issues right now, but I'll keep this video in mind if I ever do. And by the way, I came over here from 8Bit Eric's channel and just subscribed. :)
Thanks so much! I hope you enjoy the rest of my videos! I think I owe Eric lunch or something now.
This works every time. Thanks for sharing.
It's PART of the solution. It makes it so the pins make contact, but boiling it also will get rid of any dirt or grime that's built up over the years, just from natural wear or by putting dirty games in the system.
Thanks! I was kinda iffy when I first read about it but my NES went from barely working at all to being basically brand new. I just wanted to pass the knowledge on.
This video is a massive help! Thank you :D
3:20, I had this issue too, but it turns out that the drop cage has a lip on the front underneath. If you get this lip underneath the motherboard correctly, you can tighten the screws all the way down and the cage will drop and lock with no issue. If you leave the lip on top of the motherboard, it causes it to warp when you screw down, resulting in it not locking correctly.
Thank you so much! It worked perfectly.
I first heard about this technique from your collection tour videos. If I come across another NES, I'll definitely try it, as I dislike the feel of the one I have with the replacement 72 pin connector.
Hey Joe, this worked great! Kabuki Quantum Fighter refused to work in my Nintendo. It booted right up after I did the boiling! Thanks!
Awesome, I'm glad it worked for you! Go forth into this world of new opportunities, filled with games that boot on the first try!
also how tight did you make all the screws when putting it back together? I know you said dont put the cartridge ones too tight
Last thing I was going to try before ordering a new connector. How does this of all things work? Of course, I'm not complaining. Thanks for the help!
Joe... THANKS! Should call you "Boiling Joe"... No, that's stupid. Anyways, this was a GREAT tutorial man!
The step by step process made me feel a lot more comfortable going forward with the boiling... it was scary, but I did it!
That being said, I did watch another more detailed video on how to bend the pins, and researched more on Nintendo Age. Overall, though, this video was extremely helpful!
It sucks that people are buying and putting new, aftermarket, reproduction, parts into their NES when they could just give it a little love and clean it up.
It was fun, too!! Thanks again!
OMG this worked!
Thank you so much!
Good deal man! I've got mine working well enough no but will have to try this in the future!
I was skeptical, but now I'm a Believer!!!! Thank you sir. May the god Lord bless you with many Children.
oh gosh, not sure if he wants them lol.
I subbed and I was number 1,000. Great vids bro
Congrats, you're my new best friend!
You said in the video you can't tighten the screws down too tight on the cartridge slot. I encountered this and it turned out that the small lip on the edge of the cartridge holder closest to the front was resting on top of the system board. It should sort of 'clip' around the system board as there is a small space for the system board to insert into it. It's tricky but fairly easy to do. Once that is inserted properly, it shouldn't matter how tight the screws are, it should still go down.
Thanks for your earlier response. Did you bend just the bottom row or did you bend the top row as well?
Just the bottom. The top pins don't really get bent when you push the carts down.
How long do you boil it for and at what temperature?
How did you get the game to work without pushing it down in the NES? at 4:02
For the record, this doesn’t work simply because it “removes all the dirt and grime.” It works because the bottom row warps upward into an arch which tightens the connector, particularly in the middle (highest point of the arch). It’s so obvious when looking at a connector pre/post boil that I really don’t see how so many miss this obvious change.
What size screwdriver do I need to unscrew the Nintendo to get the 72 pin out
You Sir are awesome
When I did this, that blue thing ( at 3:25) was above the piece of metal, and I cant seem to fit it back under there ...do you think this matters? I put my nes back together and it worked great first after boiling, but it wouldn't click down any more, so I unloosened the screws a bit and now its back to not working at all :( I think I am just going to order replacements since I cant figure out how to bend them back...
+Josh Parsons There's also a tab at the FRONT of system where the board and cart slot join. If you take a flashlight (I used my phone) you can see where they are supposed to meet.
It's just to the right of the POWER/RESET buttons. If THAT tab isn't in the right spot, the entire cart slot will be raised/unable to be screwed down properly.... if out enough it would pop that blue tab out as well....
When I put mine back together I put the cart slot (black thing) back on without the tab at the front being in the right place. When you do that you can see a gap between the black slot and the green board. There should be no gap obviously.
Get your little flashlight out and maneuver BOTH those tabs into the right spots. Then the cart slot with fit snuggly on top pf the board.
do u have to refurbish the pins cus i just boiled it
It works :D Thanks!!!
Keith Kit, I wished that was me, but sadly, no.. but hey, that's the charm of the system, yaaaay for blowing cartridges :D
Thanks a lot! My wife's NES has the aftermarket connector and it drives me nuts! It's too tough to pull the games out. The song is actually Wave Man's stage from Mega Man 5. :)
Oooh, good to know! Thanks!
What's the song used in this video titled?
I want to do this, but I'm unsure on the best ways to bend the pins back to position before boiling. I've looked up other videos but can't seem to decide on the best method. What worked for you?
I used an Exacto knife and carefully bent them up about halfway, one "prong" at a time. Anything with a small point should work, you just need to be super careful not to bend them too much, because they could break OR wind up making it hard to get carts in or out.
I'd have loved to do it on camera, but since they're so small it's really hard to film clearly.
Boiled my NES and it works like new, bought it off ebay, worked like crap, boiled the pin connector, all games start first try, wow, just wow.
I did a full alcohol cleaning on my NES but it didn’t play games until I took it all apart again and followed this video exactly
It totally did it! Glitches and grey screen gone
if you cant screw the screws down as tight as they will go without breaking or stripping thhen you have the alinmit off on the card holder
It's Wave Man's stage from Mega Man 5. I wanted something that fit the water theme. :)
my old old old NES was not working reliably, I tried everything (even bending the contact pins) just to get my games playing 75% of the time. I told myself why not?, if it was an internet troll (like charge your phone in microwave) I could afford it.
so I made myself some NES soup, the second I dropped it into the boiling water, a cloud of dirt came out of the connector.
funny thing is, it worked 100% reliable. thank you
+042873E I'm glad it worked! There's nothing like getting something working again that you thought was dead.
DO i have to dry the 72 Pin connector BEFORE jamming a game in it?!?!?!
It works! Thanks!!!
Well, after doing all that I am happy to say that my screen changed from being gray, to slightly blue. (for about a split second)
@Wyatt Sutton I just replaced my 72 pin connector with a new one, so kudos to me? lol
Thnx man :D works like a charme Still have 4 8Bits to work on
would this work for the nintendo 64? mines being flakey and cant find a way to fix it.
I don't think the pin connector comes off of the Nintendo 64 board easily. I'd try swabbing it with alcohol the same way you'd clean a cartridge, but I've never tried it personally.
Hey Joe , Have you heard about the kickstarter for the redesigned 72-pin connector? It supposed to make it so you dont have to push the game down, I think most people should just do this instead. I kinda do see the merit in it though, the original way of loading the games is flawed, all to make peopel think its more like a VCR or something like that. The term "Video Game" was a dirty word after the crash
I have seen that Kickstarter! I can't back it right now but I plan on ordering one once they're available for purchase. Seems like a super cool idea!
this actually works with a refurbish 72 pin connector too....If its way to tight, boil it and it does the same thing.
dear random youtube persons, I have a technical issue I need some help with, I was pining for some oldschool nes action, but mine was way past the point of repair, So I went out and bought a yobo 3rd party nes player that supports classic controllers (of which I have two). However, after a month or two, The machine refused to acknowledge the nes original controllers. It still works with the default controllers the machine came with, but its just not the same. what can I do to fix this?
Bending the pins is what fixes the NES, I can see the line of thinking involved with boiling but I feel it probably doesnt do much. Ive fixed quite a few of these connectors and all they needed is for the pins to be bent back into place. Next cause of flashing is the game its self. They have years of grime and corrosion on them. You need to open up the games and polish the contacts with brass or silver polish, not cleaner. For many cartridges, you need a special screw driver bit which can be found on ebay. When done right, the contacts will be bright and shiny and look new. push in the cartridge and theres no need to push it down, it works. Ive have had 100% success rate with this method. Your games are unlikely to bother you ever again.
Has anyone tried the Nintendo NES 72 pin connector boil method to restore any other console cartridge reader?
Good video! My NES came from a thrift store but I think someone put a new 72-pin connector in it because DAMN is it tight! Also, the music sounds like it's from a golf game. Is it?
Pretty sure that is from a Mega Man game.
You disappoint me Joe. It's Waveman's theme from Megaman 5
I know I'm late to this, but it's Waveman's theme from Mega Man 5
Wait I just realized some one else already said this, my bad
@@picotus Not really a Megaman fan, except Mega Man 2.
What temperate do you boil it?
boiling. boil it. 100 degrees C.
That thing about having the cartridge tray screwed too tight and not staying down it's because there is a little tab under the tray that needs to be slided UNDER the circuit board it may take many tries but that's the way it should be placed, this way you can screw it all the way down without having any troubles.
I think this same problem can also be caused by some wiring being directly under the mechanism, I think the controller wiring, not sure.
MrJaggerson
Wow, your comment was such a relief. I could not get my system to close in the front, was bending the black plastic tabs on game holder, not realizing that it slides under the motherboard, just in front.
I jist bent all the pins upwards, definitely helped some.
Thanks for posting, might save someone from the trouble I had.
I boiled it and it didn’t work. But then I remembered to push it down. BOOM! Works first try noe
I'm really curious about the first guy to come up with this method. "My pin connector won't work. LET'S BOIL IT."
I just fixed a broken one by doing that. Plays mint
Not quite sure why, but this did seem to fix my NES at first. But after a week or two, the NES went back to the blinking light.
Try Disabling your lockout chip. If you take it apart and flip the motherboard over and have the AV connections at the bottom right you should see a chip labeled CIC. Cut the 4th pin from the left and ground what's left. There's video tutorials if you can't figure out what I mean. I'm bad at explaining.
Thank you sooooo Much !!
I tried, it worked ! Oh my gowd so easy to play now ^^
I was trying to play TMHT, only 1 on 19 times to work !
Now, it works all the time ^^ THANKS THANKS !!!
And how hot do you boil the water?
I let it get to a rolling boil.
magic of physics is all boiling water is the same temperature.
Does anyone know if I can boil a 62 Pin Connector for a supernintendo?
The super Nintendo cartridge connector is soldered to the motherboard
Can you use tap water?
Hunter Russell I wouldn't. There's all kinds of things in tap water that could lead to corrosion. Distilled water is only a couple of bucks at most grocery stores.
Thanks
Now to see if R.O.B. works
I've got three nes systems, so I'm soooo trying this sometime, the one I'm using (the good looking one is getting kinda buggy and glitchy, haven't watched your videos before, but will do now, by the way, you wanna show people how to make the nes region free and BLINKING free by cutting the 4th pin connector from the bottom right on the NINTENDO chip inside? but like I said, I haven't watched your videos yet, so maybe you have? If not, give me a call and I'll make a video for you showing how to do it, although I'm sure do know how to do it, you guys usually do XD
aaaand yes, I'm an amateur collector, sorta.. weeeee :D
If the tray isn’t going down because the screws are too tight, it’s because you installed it wrong. The bottom of the tray has a hook that goes around the main board. board. If the tray doesn’t stay down, it’s because the clip is on top of the board.