I think someone ruined this Battletoads cart

[KDub]

I checked the capacitor over pretty hard to make sure there weren't any cracks in the leads but it seemed fine and the soldering is fine on the back too.

[Ziggy]

If you have the ability to remove the mask ROM, it'll make checking all the traces easier (but of course, you'll have to put it back). Otherwise, you'll have to look up a pinout diagram of the edge connector and mask ROM so you know what goes where. If you have any questions, just let me know!

[Hobie-wan]

Yes it looks like someone took sandpaper to the contacts, but they don't look too bad. There's still green varnish over the traces, it isn't bare metal. I Imagine the problem lies elsewhere.

I've seen worse carts. I have a NES game that it looks like someone used a dremel with a wire wheel on it. Exposed traces and the contacts are pretty much copper now.

Amazingly it still works, but I'll probably have to clean the cart more often as it tarnishes in the lovely humidity here. The whole point of gold plating contacts is that it is more resistant to tarnishing in a normal atmosphere.

[Jontendo]

The whole point of gold plating contacts is that it is more resistant to tarnishing in a normal atmosphere.

Thank you Hobie!
I've even seen some cleaning guides proudly display shiny nickel (or even copper) contacts after having stripped the gold (and deeper) plating. Restoring (and preserving) electrical connectivity does not require polishing contacts like they were a Borg-Warner trophy.

[KDub]

Didn't feel like making another thread, just be as easy to ask here.

I have a Castle of Illusion cart that is acting up now (never had this many problems with carts in a week). It simply just resets its self after a little while! I'll be playing and everything is running smooth but then it just resets back to the main screen. I've scrubbed the contacts down a few times. Could it be something on the board?

[Jontendo]

Didn't feel like making another thread, just be as easy to ask here.

I have a Castle of Illusion cart that is acting up now (never had this many problems with carts in a week). It simply just resets its self after a little while! I'll be playing and everything is running smooth but then it just resets back to the main screen. I've scrubbed the contacts down a few times. Could it be something on the board?

Sounds like maybe an issue on the console side.

P.S.- I don't like the sound of that term "scrubbed".

[SirPsycho]

Didn't feel like making another thread, just be as easy to ask here.

I have a Castle of Illusion cart that is acting up now (never had this many problems with carts in a week). It simply just resets its self after a little while! I'll be playing and everything is running smooth but then it just resets back to the main screen. I've scrubbed the contacts down a few times. Could it be something on the board?

I had almost the same problem with my copy of Sonic & Knuckles a few months ago. I just let it rest for awhile, cleaned it every week and now it works fine. I don't remember which one of my Genesis (Genesi?) I played it on, so I might hook them all up and see if there's an issue with playing on any one console.

[KDub]

I haven't had any issues with another game so I doubt it is the system. But I could try playing a few more for a good hour a piece and see to be sure.

I'll keep giving it a little clean here and there and see if it helps.

As for the Battletoads cart, I'm not seeing any for sure broken connections. I'll have to go buy a multimeter.

[Ziggy]

You should clean the console cart slot anyway, it's not like it will hurt. But if the console doesn't exhibit the same behavior with other carts, and just Castle of Illusion, then I guess we can assume it's the cart. If the pins are thoroughly clean, and don't look worn, then you can start to look for other signs (any corrosion on any parts of the cart). It could also be the beginning of bit rot, though you really don't see that with mask ROMs. The only time I've seen a cart with a bad ROM chip, first hand, was a Majeco re-release.

[Jontendo]

I haven't had any issues with another game so I doubt it is the system.

I don't know if all the pins on those carts are connected, but take for example this case with an SNES system. It plays all games fine except 2. Those 2 happen to be SuperFX games which use additional pins, and the extreme edges of the cart slot are dirty.

It's just an example, but even with 99 other games working, there could still be an issue at the console for that reason. Same goes for the Neo Geo with low-meg games that don't use the upper address lines.

I'm not sure if this is at all applicable to the humble Genesis, but thought I should explain why I suggested it.