Old console upkeep/repair general

Making this a general so there might be some discussion, but I REALLY need help with my SNES. I bought it at the start of the year and it seemed busted so I kinda gave up on it, came back to it this week and it JUST WORKED for some reason, but the AV cable was obviously super busted, so I bought a new one. Came back home and now the damn thing just won't start up. Everything is plugged in, all wires, controller, and a game, but the power light just blinks on and off somewhat randomly instead of staying solid and FUCKING NOTHING happens.
Did I fuck something up or was I sold a brick?

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Just get another one, they are dirt cheap. I have six of 'em, an european one and the smaller model too.

I have considered that, but if there's just something simple I'm missing it would be nice to know

HDMI modded SNES eventually

Just buy an adapter ya ding-dong.
Or buy a CRT

Without having a second SNES around to verify the Power Supply, I'd say open it up and inspect the capacitors.

A friend mentioned that my power cable might be overloading it, because the faggot who sold it to me gave me a "3-in-1 NES/SNES/Genesis" cable. Would breaking open the SNES and messing with parts take skill and/or money? I rather just buy a new one if the insides are fried

If anything, I'd recommend buying a SNES power cable and seeing if that works before opening it up.
And you don't need to break it open, there's a screwdriver that you can use on Nintendo screws.

I didn't mean actually BREAK it open, it's a figure of speech.
But ya, guess I'll just buy a real cable. If I end up needing to buy another SNES, I'll probably want it anyways

no one gets me anymore

I'm sorry, user, but sarcasm doesn't translate that well over text, surely you must have learned this by now?

I'd actually open the console to inspect the capacitors first. It costs you like $3 for the bit to open the SNES. Buying a PSU for a SNES with popped caps won't fix anything.

And if your caps are popped or leaking, I'd consider seeing if a local Retro shop will give you anything for salvage and get another one. Re-capping costs up to $100 and at that price point you might as well buy a new one. They might give you a few bucks in trade since they can recap the board and just resell it.

I honestly just want to buy and new power cord and try it, because if it is the SNES that's busted on the inside, than I can just test it, see current SNES is busted, by one off Craigslist that doesn't have cords (which is pretty often) for cheap and BAM I have a working SNES.
Or maybe just drop the 40-50 bucks on a fresh SNES off craigslist with cords. FUCK ME I WISH I HAD MONEY

...

ONE THREAD
TO ANOTHER
I'M GONNA FIND YA
I'M GONNA GITYAGITYAGITYAGITYA

Huh?

way to prove him right by getting upset that another user used the same image on another thread

I'm so upset that I made song lyrics for it.
Off topic anyways, my bad

More then one person can use the same picture user.

filenames narrow it down, man

magnanimous kek, please forgive my waste of trips and use it's power to end the jews

...

theres a snek inside

It's hissed at me for the past 5 years, I don't think a snake would be that dedicated to prevent me from using my SNES.

Because it's completely impossible to format your text in a manner that might indicate sarcasm, right?

Chinese power supplies aren't inherently shitty, but they are DEFINITELY cheap. SNES power supplies aren't hideously expensive, and they work with the VirtualBoy, so hey, two for one. Test, test, and test some more. You don't collect classic games unless you're prepared to learn how to keep that shit running.

No that's the snek's daughter
It's a family tradition
You have to break it, and there's only one way
SEX THE SNEK

Ya, I'm willing to test, I just mainly wanted to know if there was something really obvious I was missing also I have no money

If you have power and it is blinking it is likely the pins are dirty. Clean them up and you should be up and running again. You can try putting the cart in and taking it out a few times and see if it reacts differently as the leads on the cart and the pins are scraped making a better connection. If you some Isopropyl alcohol or some other kind of contact cleaner use that. For the isopropyl just put some on a qtip and dab it on to the top of the cart pins. Do not push hard. Contact cleaner can just be sprayed in to the pins. Either way let it dry for a few minutes before you power it up. If you do not have the alcohol or contact cleaner but do have a tiny flat screw driver you can lightly rub it on the pins in the cart slot to remove some of the corrosion.

not if you do it yourself. recapping is the easiest thing you will ever do with a soldering iron. recap kits for the various models are 5.00 at console5.com/store/ a soldering iron might cost you 20.00 and some soldering wick will make it easy for even the most basic autist.

Go bug the draw thread about that, I'm sure they'll satiate you.
Pervert.

I do have Isopropyl Alcohol, and just to make this clear, I'm putting some on a Q-tip and rubbing it lightly on the inside of the CART ITSELF, or THE SNES, or maybe both if one alone doesn't work?

This. It's the most basic thing to check, if you're gonna check anything. Bulging or leaking capacitors might be the problem. Check the caps. If your power supply is Chinese trash, that's even more likely. They very frequently use bad caps on their shit. Hell, even on good products it's common.

Overall, you can easily find more information on console repair if you look, as far as common issues go.


Soldering isn't an issue, and you can learn it very easily just by watching a good video, but you need a decent soldering station if you want it to be easy and lead to good results. It's probably not the best idea to tell you to do and buy something if you don't know anything about electronics, though. It would also require good solder, and something that keeps you from breathing the flux.

Well, you're probably not gonna do it. If you can just replace the power supply and solve the issue, that's what you should do. If that doesn't work and the console is the issue, maybe just sell it to someone that does know how to fix things and buy another one.


Avoid cheap soldering irons. They just make things harder and give you crap results. It's a very common beginner mistake (I am just a new hobbyist, and that was one of the first things that I was taught) Get a Hakko FX-888. It's fantastic, and it's cheaper than fuck. Then again, OP might only use it once.

Its a me, snake


inside the snes. The two rows of pins that make connection to the cart are most likely dirty based on blinking light.

The SNES doesn't blink on dirty contacts, it just stays on with a black screen.

Ya, I'll admit, the cart was pretty dirty, but I just tested it after doing that and it's still just blinking. I think I'm just going to do what suggested and get a new power supply and if that doesn't work just list it up online for maybe 10-20 bucks and just be upfront that the power is somehow fugged

Nah, that's the same fag.

depends on which contacts are dirty user.

Or just use a multi-meter.

Did it work?

The real problem I have found is replacing the AC adapter with something actually matching specification after you lend your SNES to your shitty sibling and they lose the official one. I'm afraid of using these 2-in-1 pieces of shit and damaging my SNES with the wrong power delivery.