Cleaning and Maintenance Guide

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Cleaning and Maintenance Guide
Topic Started: Jan 24 2009, 09:02 PM (180 Views)
alxbly	Jan 24 2009, 09:02 PM Post #1
Alxblymus Primus Posts: 8,722 Group: Admin Member #168 Joined: October 18, 2008	Cleaning and Maintenance Guide CLEANING THE CARTRIDGE CONTACTS Dirt and dust can prevent a cartridge from playing properly or, in extreme cases, the console might not recognize that a cartridge has been inserted into the system. In order to keep your cartridges clean do not touch the contacts, do not blow into them and don’t let them come into contact with anything other than the Nintendo 64 console. N64 cartridge contacts. To clean the cartridge contacts dip a q-tip or cotton bud in some rubbing alcohol (surgical spirit if you live in the UK), wipe off any excess liquid (you want to use as little as possible), then rub the q-tip along the copper contacts on the bottom. Use the other side of the q-tip to dry off any excess moisture left behind. Make sure to not get solution near the label on the cart, as it could make the ink run. There are different solutions that may also work, including nail polish remover and window cleaner, although I wouldn’t recommend any of these because it’s unclear if there are any long term effects on the cartridge. If in doubt then just use water, but be sure to dry the contacts thoroughly. An alternative method of cleaning the contacts is to rub a pencil eraser on them; this is not as effective as rubbing alcohol for a number of reasons. Firstly, it can be difficult finding an eraser of the right size to fit in the space where the cart contacts are. Secondly, unless you actually open the cartridge it can be difficult to apply the eraser to the correct parts of the contacts (it can also be difficult to apply force to the part of the eraser that should be cleaning the contacts). Lastly, the eraser method is messy and can leave a small layer of rubber on the contacts. This can be as detrimental as dust or dirt and, for this reason alone, the eraser method is not recommended. If you do use this method, ensure that you use a cloth or q-tip on the contacts afterwards to remove any traces of the eraser. If a bit of eraser gets stuck in the N64 consoles connectors, it could be very difficult to remove. CLEANING THE CARTRIDGE CASING & LABELS The tools you’ll need to clean the cartridge casing depends on how dirty it is and what it is you’re trying to clean from it. For general dirt and dust you will need: a basin of warm soapy water, a clean toothbrush and at least two paper towels. Do not use detergents or abrasive cleaners as these may damage the cartridge. You may also want to consider using a Gamebit screwdriver to open up the cartridge, making it easier to clean the plastic casing and lessen the chance of getting any water onto the circuit board within. If you don’t have a Gamebit screwdriver, you can buy one on ebay, Play-asia.com, etc, or you can try making your own. To clean the cart casing dip a paper towel in the warm soapy water and then firmly squeeze most of the water back out again. You want the paper towel to be moist, but not so moist that water will run from it when you use it to start cleaning the cart. Rub the paper towel over the cartridges casing to remove any dirt or grime, being careful not to get water on the copper contacts. You’ll often find that dirt or dust gets trapped in the indentations of the cart, especially the lines running over the cart and the embossed Nintendo logo on the rear. To clean these areas use a toothbrush dipped in warm soapy water, then wiped on a clean sheet of paper to remove excess water. The water will have a tendency to trickle down the cartridge, so ensure you have a dry cloth or paper handy to catch any water before it gets near to the bottom of the cartridge (and the contacts!). If you need to clean the labels on a cartridge, use an only just moist paper towel (squeeze out as much water as you can before using it), and have a dry paper towel to use after each wipe. This will keep the label dry enough to stop any ill effects, but be especially careful to avoid any rips or tears in the label. If you are going to try to clean the edge of the label be extremely careful, as the moisture can ruin them, making the colors visibly darker than surrounding area and producing a “bubbling” effect. If the cartridge has pen or ink on it, use a q-tip/cotton bud dipped in rubbing alcohol/surgical spirit. Wipe off any excess liquid on a clean paper towel then use the q-tip on the ink. Use circular motions on the affected area, being careful not to spread the ink as the alcohol breaks it down. Have clean q-tips on hand to wipe the affected areas, again being careful not to spread the ink. After a while the q-tip will become saturated with ink and will need to be replaced with a clean q-tip. Use the same process with this clean q-tip, dipping it in rubbing alcohol and applying it to the affected area. After a while all the ink will transfer to the q-tips. Some permanent marker may leave a “ghost” impression or a slight discoloration on the plastic of the cart. This cannot be removed. If there is any sticky residue or gum (from a labels, etc) on the cart casing you can use sellotape/scotch tape to remove it. Continually dab the sellotape over the affected area and it will slowly pick up any residue. You will probably need to use several strips of tape, changing them as they begin to become visibly dirty. Do NOT use this method for removing gum from the front cartridge label, as it is likely to tear it. Thanks to Mop_it_up for these other cleaning suggestions: "If there's some stuck-on dirt or gunk on the cartridge, I think that rubbing alcohol does a better job of removing it than soap and water. Rubbing alcohol can also be used to remove sticky residue left behind from stickers, although I don't know if this is better than using tape. Secondly, I think that a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is the best thing to use on pen or marker. It will clean it off a lot faster than rubbing alcohol". CLEANING THE CONSOLE CONNECTORS Connectors inside a Nintendo 64. The best way to clean your Nintendo 64 console is with a cleaning kit, which you can usually find on ebay. Failing that, you can use compressed air and/or a clean (preferably new) toothbrush, rubbing alcohol (surgical spirit for anyone in the UK), a strong thin cloth and a credit card or something of a similar size. First, make sure that your Nintendo 64 is unplugged. If you have compressed air use it to blow any dust out of the connectors inside the N64. Be careful not to point the can downwards as you might end up getting the liquid from the can in your N64, which is not good at all. It’s wise to experiment first. You could also try using a vacuum cleaner attachment to remove dust from inside the cartridge slot. Secondly, use the toothbrush on the connectors. Dry will work, but you can also dip the bristles in rubbing alcohol for better effect. If you do use an alcohol solution remember to remove any excess liquid by wiping the toothbrush on a sheet of clean paper (DONT use water on the N64 connectors, as they are very difficult to dry properly). Carefully scrub away at the metal connectotrs. If they are dirty then it will be visible on the toothbrush. Lastly, wrap the cloth around the credit card. You’re going to insert the credit card and cloth into the slot where the game would normally connect, so make sure the cloth is strong enough not to tear, but thin enough to actually fit in. Dab a little rubbing alcohol on the base of the cloth, wipe off any extra liquid on a piece of paper, then careful insert and remove the cloth and card. Dirt or dust still inside your N64 will transfer to the cloth and should be visible when you pull it out.
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