I think someone ruined this Battletoads cart

[KDub]

So I came across a Battletoads cart at a local goodwill and have had trouble getting it to work. So I decided to take it apart (discovering that I had not noticed someone had trashed the screws doing that before). Well it looks like some dummy decided to scrub the contacts with something real abrasive while probably using something like brasso or a harsh cleaner. You can see some definite wear and and scratches even some real deep scratches on the right hand side.



What do you guys think?

[cookie monster]

Try cleaning it hopefully it is just dirt in the scratches .

[Jontendo]

Among the uninformed, there are still some known to take sandpaper to their game contacts...

I see a lot of wear in the solder mask (green) area that makes me wonder if some pin traces may have been severed during the "cleaning" process.

[KDub]

Oh god sandpaper *shudder* such a scary thought that someone would do that to a game

A possibility that something "severed"

[sevin0seven]

the previous owner probably couldn't beat the game and had to torment it. the genesis version was known to be more easier than the NES version however..

[Duane Dibbley]

According to this thread, you could try coating the contacts with solder.

[KDub]

Hmm I might have to try and do that.

[Ziggy]

I see a lot of wear in the solder mask (green) area that makes me wonder if some pin traces may have been severed during the "cleaning" process.

I was thinking the same thing. That's my bet. What does the other side look like, same deal?

According to this thread, you could try coating the contacts with solder.

Hmm I might have to try and do that.

No, don't do that. You'll just be messing the cart up even more.

Tinning a contact pin with solder is a last resort kind of thing. Those contacts look perfectly fine. They shine, and are still gold. My first guess would be a busted trace. The traces on the front don't look like they're compromised (though I would still check them) but IDK what the back looks like.

Do you have a multimeter? If not, pick one up, they can be very cheap and will serve many purposes. I've had this cheap one for years and it served me well. It doesn't have a continuity setting, but you can still do continuity checks using a resistance setting.

Anyway, use a multimeter to check the connection of every pin on the cart (if you need instructions how to do this, just ask). That might seem like a long and tedious process, but it's actually not. The Genesis cart is a very simple cart, especially that one since it only contains one mask ROM. Or if you want, you can send the cart to me and I'll check it over for free (just pay shipping). Shit, if it's just a few busted traces, I'll even fix it for free.

[KDub]

Thanks! I should have a multimeter around here. I'll look into checking all the connections and if one is busted or I'm just not sure I'll contact you about saving this cart. The label for this thing was massively wrecked too so I guess I could just compensate you to do a full rescue :p

[CRTGAMER]

Hmm I might have to try and do that.

No, don't do that. You'll just be messing the cart up even more.

Tinning a contact pin with solder is a last resort kind of thing. Those contacts look perfectly fine. They shine, and are still gold. My first guess would be a busted trace. The traces on the front don't look like they're compromised (though I would still check them) but IDK what the back looks like.

Agree, only apply solder if really deep pits. Ziggy brought up a good point, maybe some traces were damaged during the heavy sanding process. I can see sanding marks at the green right above the contacts. With the rough treatment in cleaning, maybe the capacitor was bent back and forth too much?

The etch marks are against the grain of how a cart is inserted, at least the cart contacts are of softer material then the NES console contacts. I would smooth them up in the correct direction with a fine emery cloth.