Trying To Fix An Old Nintendo (And Somehow Succeeding)

My co-worker was trying to get rid of her old Nintendo Entertainment System, with multiple classic NES games (including Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt, Super Mario Bros 3, and The Legend of Zelda) and different kinds of controllers. Being a sucker for old nostalgic electronics, as well as having an old analog TV in our house, I decided to take the goods off her hands. She informed me that the console does not work, but I figured I would try to make it work regardless.

With my boss's permission, and with an A/V cable to HDMI converter he lent me, I attempted to hook up the NES to my computer monitor in my office. After many bouts of wire untangling and accidentally turning off my computer, I was not able to show the game on the monitor. There was power going to the NES (which is a good thing), but there was no picture or sound. I was going to have a closer look at home.

I once again hooked up the NES and powered it up on my analog TV (both through the A/V cables, and with the coaxial cable, which meant I had to turn to channel three). The NES kept trying to reset itself while the picture on the TV kept stuttering trying to display the game. I figured that the problem with the console is where the metal pins inside the console met the metal pins on the game cartridge. I do not believe they connected properly, and therefore I had a reason to believe that there was damage to the metal pins (the pins were either bent, corroded, or both). I went on Amazon, ordered a replacement 72-pin connector for $15, and set to work.

I have had limited experience in fiddling with old electronics, but I thought that replacing the connector would be an easy job. Taking apart the outer cover, heat shield, and the game-loading mechanism was the easy part, but then I had to separate the connector from the motherboard. The motherboard bent, but thankfully, did not break and I was able to pull the old connector from the motherboard. I inspected the old connector for damage, and just as I predicted, there was some bending of some of the pins. The bent pins meant that there would not be good contact between the console and the game, and as such, the console would not show the game.

Installing the new connector was a balance between gentle force and hoping that the motherboard would not shatter. I managed to fit the new connector into the motherboard and tightened the screws. Installing the game-loading mechanism and the heat shield was a challenge, as I was using the same 35-year-old screws to tighten the components in place, which required a great deal of effort on my hands. Once I placed the outer cover on the NES, the console was ready to go for testing.

I went back to the TV and hooked up the console once more. I slotted Super Mario Bros. into the NES and timidly pressed the power button for the decisive moment. The sliding frames of the titles of Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt blessed my screen. I was ecstatic! The picture and sound quality was like a time warp back to my youth, with the unresponsive button presses on the controller, and the 8-bit glory of Mario on my TV.

When I was finished with the game and wanted to take the game out, another problem presented itself. The loading mechanism fit so tightly with the new connector that any game you put into the console would require a great deal of effort to take out. I had to keep a pair of pliers on hand anytime I wanted to take a game out. I tried some of the other games in the bag of NES goodies, and I had to come to the terms of blowing on the games in order for the games to work on the console.

I took on a project of trying to give CPR to a dying console and I succeeded!

Do you want a newly repaired NES to give to your children?