NES Game not working (Pics)

[Jeppen]

I bought this from Amazon.co.uk in "acceptable" condition, but it wasn't working at all.

First i got the blinking red LED, knowing it was a UK region game i snapped the 4th leg to make my machine region free, now i only get a white/grey screen when i put in the game.
All other games works fine, but this one doesn't.

I think the cartridge was in a bit bad condition with some strange darker marks on the circuit board (corrosion?)

I checked all the connectors and they have a connection, except the one i re-wired, that one was dead so i by-passed it.
It may look a bit messy due to me using a bit heavy cable, but it isn't overlapping to any other solder- or connector points.


What could be wrong? Could the game's chips really be dead on the inside or am i missing something?

[Zets13]

Hard to tell for sure from a photo, but some of those pins on the edge connector look awfully dirty. Might be worth giving them a few good cleanings if you haven't already.

[Fudoh]

blue erasers (as in rubbers) are best for cleaning cart contacts.

[ApolloBoy]

Those black splotches in the first photo look like corrosion, have you tried a continuity check on those pins?

[leonk]

What game is this? What I would do is dump the game using my copyNES and compare pry and CHR dumps to a good known nes rom dump. This will tell you which chip is bad. Work from there.

[Jeppen]

It's R.C. Pro Am

I have cleaned the connector plates and checked the continuity by dragging the Multimeter pins back and forth over every connector and they are perfect all over the plates.
It still looks awful, but the dirt seems to be under the green coating, not sure how to get to that or even if i should try since the continuity is there?

I haven't tried the rubber eraser or WD40 type spray, you think that could make a difference?

WOW! I youtubed copyNES and that seems like a great debugging tool!
I will def be looking at getting one of those, not sure it will work here as the game isn't making a connection, NES still seem to think there's no game inside?

[Jeppen]

What game is this? What I would do is dump the game using my copyNES and compare pry and CHR dumps to a good known nes rom dump. This will tell you which chip is bad. Work from there.

Ah but i could actually see if i got a connection and dump it, even if the data is scrambled it should still create a file i think?
Hmm, but if the connection was there and, but with scrambled data i should probably receive more than a white screen.. hm

[leonk]

A copyNES will dump the prg and chr indipendantly. Because the game is not booting I put my $$ on bad prg. But because it's rc pro am, why not just get another one? Should be a 3-5$ game. You can always swap pcbs if you got nice clean case.

[Jeppen]

A copyNES will dump the prg and chr indipendantly. Because the game is not booting I put my $$ on bad prg. But because it's rc pro am, why not just get another one? Should be a 3-5$ game. You can always swap pcbs if you got nice clean case.

Yeah i might do that actually thanks, i also emailed the seller letting him/her know, i mean who knows maybe they're in a goodwill mood

[Jeppen]

A copyNES will dump the prg and chr indipendantly. Because the game is not booting I put my $$ on bad prg. But because it's rc pro am, why not just get another one? Should be a 3-5$ game. You can always swap pcbs if you got nice clean case.

Yeah i might do that actually thanks, i also emailed the seller letting him/her know, i mean who knows maybe they're in a goodwill mood

Ok so the seller refunded me in full including international shipping, i think that was pretty awesome!

[Zets13]

Hmm I can't tell from the photo for sure, but have you made sure that the exposed part of that jumper wire isn't bridging some solder points that it shouldn't be?

[Jeppen]

Hmm I can't tell from the photo for sure, but have you made sure that the exposed part of that jumper wire isn't bridging some solder points that it shouldn't be?

I just checked again to make sure and there weren't any bridging on anything on that left side of the circuit.

[leonk]

that game is coming on 30 years old. Who knows what weather extremes the ROM was exposed to. It's rare, but I've seen it on some NES games where the ROM chips have failed.