16
Remembering the old way to clean a NES cartridge versus the modern fix
Back in the day, when my NES would flash that gray screen, the fix was to blow into the cartridge. We all did it, even though we knew deep down it was bad. The moisture from your breath could speed up corrosion on those gold pins. A few years ago, my old console from 1987 started acting up again, and I decided to try the proper method I'd read about. I opened a cartridge, got some 91% isopropyl alcohol and a cotton swab, and gently cleaned the contacts. The difference was night and day. The game booted up first try, no wiggling, no blowing. It was a simple, dry clean versus a wet, damaging one. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed their games work more reliably now?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
felix_coleman871mo ago
Ever try that on a Sega cartridge?
2
coleman.jade1mo ago
What do you mean, @felix_coleman87? That trick only works on Nintendo stuff. Blowing on a Sega cart never fixed anything for me. It just left spit on the connectors. You had to actually clean those things with a q-tip. The whole blow on it thing was a weird habit we all picked up. It never helped the real problem.
-1