Nintendo 64 reliability?

[pakopako]

Just dug mine out of... Jeebus, VHS tapes, a boombox, a box of audio tapes, and more nostalgia than I care to recognize...

But to the topic, how reliable are these supposed to be? Most of my carts look clean, I even swabbed their contacts with 60% rubbing alcohol just for good measure, but most of the time they just aren't loading.

I have to re-seat them, wiggle them... sweet Betsy Ross, I even took them out and blew air into them to get them to load (compressed air surprisingly failed). Is it the cart, the system, or just my dumb luck?

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

Pull out your Jumper pack and re-seat it.

[Ziggy]

You said you cleaned the carts, but did you clean the system's cart connector? Also, you said you swabbed the cart's contacts. Sometimes swabbing isn't enough and a good scrubbing is needed. Depends how dirty they are, they could even be corroded. But I can't stress enough, the carts can be brand new from the factory but if the cart connector on the system is dirty you'll still have the same problems.

[Jamisonia]

I agree, most likely the connector is dirty.

[pakopako]

Hm. Game contacts look clear; some look very scratched up though.
Other than looking for a cleaning kit, any idea how to get into that slot?

(In my mind, I'm wedging the flaps open, wrapping a flattened piece of cardboard with a cloth dampened with rubbing alcohol, and wedging that contraption through the cart slot.)

Also... re-seat the jumper? Would that really matter? (Or is the jumper connection screwed up?)

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

Hm. Game contacts look clear; some look very scratched up though.
Other than looking for a cleaning kit, any idea how to get into that slot?

(In my mind, I'm wedging the flaps open, wrapping a flattened piece of cardboard with a cloth dampened with rubbing alcohol, and wedging that contraption through the cart slot.)

Also... re-seat the jumper? Would that really matter? (Or is the jumper connection screwed up?)

If the jumper comes loose then you can get random resets and general calamity.

Simply pull out the jumper and re-insert it.

[ChuChu Flamingo]

I would get a old toothbrush+rubbing alcohol and scrub the contacts on the system itself. After that, I would do what you were doing with cardboard to get it dry. I recommend electrical contact cleaner, than 91% rubbing alcohol, preferably denatured.

60% rubbing alcohol is pretty weak and will take a lot more elbow grease than 91%.

Best of luck.

[SegaJunkie]

I know the systems are reliable. I was drunk one time and threw it in the pool. Still play it NFL Blitz on it sundays before football.

[Ziggy]

Speaking of crazy things that happened to our N64 systems, the cat once knocked over a can of Mountain Dew Code Red that spilled on the top of my 64. The sugar caramelized and made the power button very hard to slide, but the console still worked perfectly. That's when I bought my first security bit, I had to open the console up to clean it. Works perfectly to this day.

[Croooow!]

I know the systems are reliable. I was drunk one time and threw it in the pool. Still play it NFL Blitz on it sundays before football.

Reading that made my morning.