N64 Game Won't Boot - Fixing eBay Junk - ANOTHER Conker's Bad Fur Day

Yet another copy of Conker's Bad Fur Day. This time, there's a missing pin, and two broken traces to repair.
Want to buy me a beer? Or a broken console? Hit up the donate link (But only if you want, don't feel obligated). www.paypal.com...
Thanks for watching

[@PhelixTheSphinx]

"If you go all the way through you're f...looking at replacing the actual contact" Classic redirection. Well played.

[@lorenzomagnus2183]

@Ira Hamza yup, I've been watching on Flixzone for months myself :D

[@Draknfyre]

Thank you for actually cleaning the board as you work/finish up. It sets my teeth on edge when I see people doing PCB repair and the thing's dusty and grimy and they just apply no-clean flux, solder away, call it done and slap it back in the case. That's just unprofessional.

[@RetroRepairs]

I wish they'd call no clean flux something different, it still should be cleaned.

[@cheekitb]

your videos have really instilled confidence in myself when buying faulty retro games! i love your vids man, and your strange afflictions with the 5200

[@RetroRepairs]

I do this pretty much for collecting. I resell consoles, but don't really bother with most individual games unless they're worth some money, just not worth the effort to make ten bucks. Cheap ones such as mario or even pokemon are great for selling bundles though, people love the classics.

[@RetroRepairs]

I definitely do play them, i meant more to just build up my collection. It's expensive, especially to get good games that i want. Finding broken versions is a great way to build up a collection for cheap. I personally dont care if they're in great condition, as they're just for me. I recently got two conkers and all 3 mario party carts for about 100 combined in not working condition. Conkers itself is an $80+ cart and mario party ranges from 40-60 ea, so just an example of how to get pricier games for pretty cheap.

[@101Volts]

This fixed my copy of Paper Mario, thanks!

[@k0ngbuster]

It's so great to see such an amazing game brought back to life!

[@Gigadramon6]

Something to point out: you really don't need to worry about vinegar doing anything negative to a circuit board: copper doesn't really react to acetic acid under anything resembling normal conditions or timeframes. Copper is actually kind of infamous for only reacting with nitric acid. Really the worst thing you'll do a circuit board by exposing it to acetic acid is making it smell like cheap pickles.

[@johnc7642]

when cleaning the shells if you cannot get the rust out you may want to give it a coat of spray paint or acrylic seal to trap it and keep it at bay. Really like the nail polish trick. Great job.

[@TheLexx79]

For fine trace repair, I've always just tinned the trace and used a solder bridge to repair it. I think it is less intrusive and cleaner than trying to mount a small wire on the surface of the trace.

[@silenthill4]

Yea, same here. Also, Long live Lexx!

[@jacobsowles]

Is there a difference in durability/longevity between a solder bridge and a soldered-on wire?

[@RetroRepairs]

Yes. The wire will outlast the bridge. That's an area of high stress, the bridge is a weak point

[@EngineeringVignettes]

Solder does not provide a good mechanical bond by itself. Using wire with it improves the lifetime of the repair.

[@hexyoutubeaccount]

I'm learning so much shit from the game repair part of youtube, but so far, i've learned the most from you. Time to heat up my soldering iron hahah

[@ottersdangerden]

thankfully many of the n64 games use the same pcb, a copy of madden or similar game can be used if the board is too borked.

[@dregenius]

Pencil eraser is much kinder to plated contacts than sandpaper. I don’t recall if the N64 uses plated contacts but still would rather not grind away any copper if I could avoid it.

[@colinmartin9797]

North of 3000 grit and you should be fine. I'd probably use 7000 though.

[@silenthill4]

Eraser is god tier, nothing else should be used

[@yourfriendface]

I agree, an eraser make the pins look mint.

[@GGigabiteM]

@@silenthill4 Evaporust or krud kutter are better solutions. They'll neutralize oxidation and corrosion without being abrasive. Krud Kutter uses phosphoric acid and is a bit more aggressive than Evaporust, so parts shouldn't need more than a few wipes with a qtip soaked in it.

[@silenthill4]

@@GGigabiteM I've actually upgraded to using a Dremel with a polishing bit. Best there is if you can afford it

[@HackerBilly13]

You should invest in some Magnet wire. It would help a lot better than just the random pieces of copper and a lot less chance of shorts

[@ratos74]

21:48 Oh it is actively rusting as soon as vinegar dries! using wd40 will prevent that to happen. 21:05 - the rust on the plastic will not be affected by vinegar. just scrub it! . vinegar will dissolve metal underneath the rust making the rust come out freely. respect!

[@antonnym214]

INTERESTING and well-done. I like your use of the wire to bridge the gaps. All good wishes for a great 2020! Good channel!

[@matt4193]

Slick and very informative. Good job! Really digging the series right now

[@andrevarnava6115]

20:07 lmao that made me laugh so hard! I love your videos you do a great job and showing different techniques and getting better with each video. Good job, keep it up!

[@RetroRepairs]

You caught that, eh?

[@lk0657]

I never thought in a million years I could put all my ugly green nail polish to a better use

[@dmtm]

Conker: "Marvellous" work Retro Repair! ✌😀

[@yup5581]

DMTM bro you’re fucking crazy you have a KZbin account from 2006

[@dmtm]

@@yup5581 Yep! ✌😀|🇸🇪

[@cris_crafter]

DMTM your Account is just 4 months younger then me... DAMN I am young...

[@dmtm]

@@cris_crafter Ello Cris.... hehe. On discord to. Hornyreaper#5726 if you like to. ^^ //Regards DMTM

[@cris_crafter]

DMTM i’ll message you in a few minutes.

[@HL2Striker]

Nice to see somebody putting some attention into old hardware. Keep it up!

[@dystheria]

I had no idea that watching someone repair busted games off of ebay could be so satisfying. Subscribed.

[@clerdman1]

20:05 lol you almost slipped

[@NuarStanger]

Lol I caught that too hahaha

[@JadenYukifan28]

@RetroRepairs Oh, I think I figured out the slip...nice catch

[@pointedspider]

You go all the way thru, you're fu......... looking at replacing the contract. That's great! That's worth a beer!

[@joeman5490]

I've repaired contact pins with coating them in a thin layer of solder. If you get too much on them just use desoldering wick, worked like a charm on my nes I repaired

[@tbbw]

I was going to recommend the same thing, glad someone else beat me to it :)

[@__1201]

Yeah i dont get it. He keeps using jumper wires for these repairs. Is there a reason for that? Why doesn't he just put solder on the trace itself to bridge the gap? The wire seems unnecessary.

[@1337Shockwav3]

That should be reserved to a last resort for a number of reasons.

[@weavilemaster123321]

20:05 if you go all the way through you're f-... gonna be looking at replacing the whole contact there

[@MuffyCakeMan]

Bam, and a $100 game works again!

[@trevor245]

a cart only us release conker's bad fur day is not wort 100 usd maybe if it's cib the pal version cart only goes for like 100 euros though

[@RetroRepairs]

It can be pretty close to 100

[@trevor245]

@@RetroRepairs really ? didn't know that just checked and it seems to be around 60-70...

[@RetroRepairs]

It may have come down now. In good shape they were regularly 80+ last year when i was looking.

[@NicB-Creations]

@@trevor245 I have a mint cib PAL version bought on sale in the late 90's for what must be around 10$. That was one hell of a good buy :p

[@ricothompson7451]

At 14:19 you can clearly see the break. I know sometimes things can only be seen in the right lighting.

[@eyeswideshut7354]

Clean your work mat/pad bro! lol Great videos btw.

[@shavashave]

yessssssssssssssssss!!!!! it is driving me crazzzy!

[@codypace3461]

“Remember to always use protection”

[@TheHeartlessAlchemist]

I'm not a dog person, but I gotta say, your dog is freaking adorable.

[@leomeror]

I wonder what breed she is. :3

[@instahawk8422]

You are a repair wizard giving life to all things retro and rare ⭐️⭐️⭐️

[@cjcj2940]

That being repaired is so satisfying to see!

[@evildiesel1709]

great to see these tips and tricks. soldered my first thing yesterday and it's not half as easy as it looks!

[@omikronweapon]

keep at it, the first time is never as easy as you'd like. takes practice.

[@lordsleazebaggino4667]

"If you go all the way through your fu-" *Doesn't want to be smited by the hand of KZbin* "Your lookin' at replacing the actual contact."

[@Gamefever_10]

My fav N64 game, thank you for saving its life and please take good care of it T_T

[@Echo3_]

the Puppy is too cute! I been watching your videos a lot i think i`m going to give it a shot! I know my way around a bit, I rewire guitars all the time

[@angelicstorm4985]

1:08 - 1:12 This was her way of showing what she thought about the 64 console in general.

[@ericsaldana6994]

Awesome video man! Now when my girlfriend wants to watch some nail polishing videos, I can show her this😂😂😂

[@RetroRepairs]

Perfect! Win-win

[@mjc0961]

Because it's a rare game, or because it's a Rare game? 🙃

[@eliel_360]

Both

[@Tvv1SteR]

It's a rare Rare game. ;)

[@eliel_360]

@@Tvv1SteR now what rare is rareware and what rare is rare

[@dmtm]

That's "Rare" 😂

[@Arz2003]

It's a Rare game

[@Copper20]

Nintendo had a message on the back saying "do not blow into the edge connector" and these broken traces are the reason why.

[@Talmiior]

Have you tried CRL in getting out the rust off plastics? even to some degree on the metal shielding, though it's not the best idea to use it on metal, it would get rid of the rust in under 2 minutes

[@EngineeringVignettes]

30 Ga wirewrap "Kynar" wire makes for a good repair, the wire is pre tinned. I find that using a bit of superglue is great for holding the larger "bodge" runs down to the PCB. I have also seen others using magnet wire but I have no experience myself with it... Nice job on the repair. Cheers,

[@davidbermudez7704]

If only I knew that knowledge when I was a kid

[@NotSoCommonSense88]

You should invest in a dremel to help cut down on the cleaning time of those metal and plastic parts.

[@elvsrbad2]

Nice job, the wires you used to connect the traces looked really well done

[@RetroRepairs]

Thanks. I've been guilty of a butcher job, the videos still here on my channel, super mario world, but as always, practice makes perfect.

[@Nevoness]

@@RetroRepairs any reason why you use wires though instead of just tinning the traces?

[@_Louis322]

All of your videos are a treat, thank you for uploading :)

[@scribe8630]

the G/F's nail polish will be going down rapid at this rate of repairs ;)

[@SkyArtJack]

I’m bad with english so i didn’t understand why he used the nail polish. Can you explain please ? :)

[@MarvMavro]

@@SkyArtJack to cover up the work he has done and protect the tracers.

[@SkyArtJack]

smallfaces okay thanks you :)

[@UrskaFur]

then you find out hes gay and its his, lololol

[@elephystry]

Urska Jinx don’t need to be gay to use it my man

[@TheSlackassCrew]

I say conductor pain would work as well since i do TSOP with on on all my xbox Edit: yes indeed the Bare conductive/ electric paint does work as well. It's easier to put the pain on it and mess with shoulder and wires

[@HobkinBoi]

This looks like fun... I should get into this.

[@daveweston5158]

I'm curious - Would the addition of a light box (typically used to view slides) assist in locating broken traces? Your continuity test(s) will alert you to the presence of a broken trace, but from there, it appears a fair amount of guesswork is involved. By placing the PCB on a light box (or other significant light source), the broken trace location becomes easier to spot, as light will show through the gap in the trace. Just a thought.

[@RetroRepairs]

It can, but sometimes the breaks are very fine, tough to visually identify

[@SolluxDivide]

In breaks on thicker boards with heavy traces for high power applications this is great idea but for this thin of connection the human eye couldn't see it without a very strong magnification.

[@MatthewMaulwurf]

Ur vids r fun to watch with lunch!

[@joshua199628]

retrorepair, i need your help, my N64 majora mask cartridge has no broken traces but it still wont boot up.. any ideas ?

[@RetroRepairs]

Could be a bad cic chip, or traces between chips can also go. I might reflow all the solder joints and make sure the cart contacts are extremely clean

[@joshua199628]

@@RetroRepairs alright, im gonna try reflowing the whole cartridge.. and how can i test if its the CIC it self ?

[@joshua199628]

Update: THANK YOU RETROREPAIR, YOU HELPED ME REVIVE MY LOZ MM GAME! 😭😭😁😁, ITS BEEN A DECADE. Bless you, man !

[@RetroRepairs]

@@joshua199628 what ended up being the issue? Just needed reflowing?

[@joshua199628]

RetroRepairs after reflowing the whole board, 1 trace suddenly went out ( trace at a pin to a chip) and i just bridged it with a speaker wire strand and it works now 😄👍🏼👍🏼 and it seems reflowing helps too.

[@SianaGearz]

I no longer use vinegar; instead citric acid that i buy powdered. Would have had an urge to apply a piece of Kapton tape across the board where it might rub on the plastic piece. It's very difficult to wear or punch through so it provides good mechanical protection. Really anticipating what you'll about the pins, obviously they're in a terrible condition. I would have had an urge to tin them right away, but i understand if you want to plate them, the tinning might interfere. Normally gold is very soft, but the plating is supposed to be hard gold, a gold-based mystery alloy.

[@AnOfficialAndrewFloyd]

Siana Gearz Vinegar is better. Don't use citric acid.

[@Ben3299]

Is Kapton Tape safe to use on an N64 game board? Would it be wise to use it as a precaution to prevent board damage from occurring from the plastic board protector?

[@SianaGearz]

@@Ben3299 Don't see how it could damage anything, it is the most commonly used type of tape in electronics - it's a high dielectric and the glue never becomes conductive nor gains any parasitic properties with time.

[@KISSbestfan]

Citric acid is harder to dispose of, so its not a good stuff for cleaning electronics

[@andymouse]

@@KISSbestfan citric acid is not hard to dispose of ...just eat it, lemons are full of it...its good for you ….are you thinking of battery acid?

[@a13xlaircey666]

I want to learn how to do this. I'd love this as a career.

[@krisbleakley9455]

If the game was really worth saving I probably would have bought a cheap N64 game (in good working order) that uses the same PCB and swapped the rom chip. That board is a mess.

[@gustavefrankfurter6462]

Yes, and repro stickers on a clean shell.

[@krisbleakley9455]

@@gustavefrankfurter6462 Sorry man but restoring with genuine replacement parts does not make it a Repro (counterfeit). The cart is still 100% genuine, no stickers required.

[@gustavefrankfurter6462]

@Kris Bleakley: I think you missed the point of my comment. I agree with you that the chip should go on a clean original board in a clean original shell. The STICKER is the only needed repro. Would you put the chip in a shell that has a Madden sticker???

[@Xgozu999]

@@gustavefrankfurter6462 if you do add a new sticker and/or shell and want to sell it, be sure to take a pic of the PCB so people know the game is authentic.

[@techmouse.]

Tons of rust? Pins are worn, missing, and look like they've been sanded into oblivion? I'm just curious, did you order this cart from Venezuela? Cause that certainly seems to be the case with carts I've gotten from Venezuela.

[@imnotimportant]

Don't buy any electronic from Venezuela... that's just people fixing junk as cheaply and quickly as possible and trying to make a buck. Their economy is in such shit right now that a guy doing what Retro did in this video is making more than any job within the country.

[@alexstoyo7850]

Might have been found at a dump and sold.

[@WeaselJuice]

What you’re actually doing is changing the oxidation state of the iron from Fe3+ (rust) to Fe2+. Cheers!

[@varno]

You need to neutralise the vinegar after cleaning with bicarb so stop future rust.

[@christophercagley]

Bro I’m lit asf but at 23:58 does the alcohol on the table not look like a dog like jumping around and running?

[@jasonriley3070]

Christopher Cagley can I get some of what your smoking?

[@christophercagley]

jason riley lmfao negative 👎🏻

[@HawkeyeDFPV]

Great video, but I think a simple solder bridge would work too

[@RetroRepairs]

That would be a good point if there were ground next to the trace, which there isn't

[@KevinTwiner]

This was great, thanks for sharing your skills!

[@branham7761]

I would highly suggest investing into a Ifixit tool kit, they have all kinds of these strange bits and they come with a lift time warranty on all the bits.

[@freddybgbg]

Did you ever test out the product you mentioned? The one to restore contact pads?

[@AngryBananas]

This channel is awesome and im learning so much thanks and you got my sub dude

[@RetroRepairs]

Awesome to hear!

[@CanadianMason85]

Thanks for the vids, very informative. Be careful w vinegar on those granite counter tops, the acid will buff out the sealant and etch and chew the surface ;-)

[@RetroRepairs]

Good to know, thanks

[@JuHraj]

You should have left it in the vinegar longer and use a metal brush (on the metal parts).

[@THEQueeferSutherland]

I feel like I want to make a bunch of these pcb's someday, so basically, the IC's could just be transferred on to a fresh, new pcb. Maybe sell them with the resistors and cap already soldered in. I don't even own any old consoles, I just make guitar pedals and make pcb's and thought it looks like fun to recreate these maybe. Somebody has to be doing this already.

[@rissa7913]

Another thing, to neutralize the vinegar, baking soda neutralizes acids.

[@KountryKowboy29]

I use an S.O.S pad and barely dust it with it with a little force they do quite well.

[@JakeforJesus]

Not nearly as notable but I got my hot wheels turbo racer to work with these instructions 😂💯

[@JakeforJesus]

Ps your dog doesn’t know shiiiii about conker’s badass

[@Arz2003]

You sir have earned a new subcriber Keep up the good work! Cheers!

[@mrd7262]

My parents thought this game was for kids, oh boy they were so wrong. Great game!

[@cdoublejj]

call me ignorant but, i'd have thought with breaks that small just tinning the trace with silver solder would bridge the break. i've never tried it though.

[@criztofe]

I often ponder this, seems less work for the same job and would certainly suffice

[@michael1stay251]

I would like to see how you fix the pins. :) love your vids btw

[@yourfriendface]

How does everyone feel about replacing labels? I have taken a label clean off with lighter fluid and replaced it. I like to keep it original, but some are just too trashed.

[@RetroRepairs]

My opinion, is if the full label is there, but worn, I'll leave it, if the label is torn off or in really atrocious condition, id replace it. I wouldn't sell a replacement as genuine, and by personal collection isn't for show, so i personally don't care if the labels are mint

[@yourfriendface]

@@RetroRepairs I mainly only do it for my personal copies. If I intend on selling it, I don't do it. I have replaced a label on Power Rangers for Sega. Not a very valuable game, but valuable to me ya know?

[@SiggyPony]

I used to do my nails, but now I am feral :P I mostly use whats left of my nail polish for uses like this also :)

[@1kreature]

There's this great invention called a microscope :) You should get one of those with usb interface so you can film through i. We'd like to see the faults in full HD :)

[@Muslim_011]

When I had 13 years old when fixing things like you did

[@daazya1374]

What?

[@Muslim_011]

@@daazya1374 I mean when I was a kid. I did fix some video game consols

[@charlesroberts8144]

nice job and I'm supporting your Channel very interesting stuff gives me ideas

[@Jonnynot1plate]

Wouldn't using a big pink rubber eraser work as well? Just hurts me using the sandpaper as I feel it's pieces of the game going away.

[@dregenius]

Jonny eraser is definitely the preferred method as they contain a very small amount of light polishing media which cleans oxidation well but won’t wear through any plating. If you’re working on newer or nicer stuff with gold plated contacts, even fine sandpaper will destroy it and cause oxidation to re-appear after a short time. The eraser trick will not cause that problem.

[@andymouse]

" it's pieces of the game going away "...…...your on the wrong channel

[@Jonnynot1plate]

@@andymouse nah, I'm good right here. YOU'RE on the wrong channel

[@silverblack110]

Question: I picked up a MJ Moon walker the other day and got unlucky with a broken copy. I got it cheap enough so I'm not upset, however I figured if it might be possible to fix. I already cleaned the contacts like crazy with alcohol, eraser, and a few other internet suggestions. I figured I might need to de-solder the mem and replace it possibly to work (I didn't notice any broken traces but I could check again) any advice to fix this?

[@RetroRepairs]

I'd check all the traces. Issue could be on the vias too which brings the trace to the other side of the board. If it's a bad ic you're probably out of. luck, but try reflow all the solder points, and test the capacitor or resistor (I'm not sure what that board looks like)

[@timmyv694]

I’m a new subscriber to your channel. I really find this entertaining. I have An N64 that I modded to have rgb video . It was a fun little mod and picture quality is much better on the newer flat screen TVs

[@Bloodbound89]

nice vid i have to say i always use those fat grey ide bus cables for fixing traces they are pretty cheap and it works for me pretty well x)

[@douglashurrell4766]

Clean all the edge pins with a pencil rubber to erase arc carbon

[@amonfermoso]

I wonder since so many carts are getting old and damaged is it possible to make a flashable cart which you can program the rom imagine direct to the cart and play on original N64?

[@RetroRepairs]

Yes, it is possible. I've never done it, but it is doable

[@Ckbtony1983]

24:12 subtle lol

[@alijabbour1]

subscribed because of cute dogger

[@BeanoJosh]

6:45 Your mom's a fine break. HEYOOO! No but seriously, great vids. Keep up the great work.

[@tnielsen1992]

Damnit. I wish i still had my copy.

[@rafaelhernandez4766]

What kind of wire do you use to make the bridge on the trace?

[@SuperRealsolid]

i like those videos rescuing some diamonds from trash. i am no expert for soldering but is it really nessesary to use a jumpercable for those small bricks? i just would try to bridge it with solder

[@RetroRepairs]

It might bridge it. Depends on the break. The traces are so small you can't get alot of solder on them. Plus, that's an automatic weak spot so any stress to the board will likely result in that part breaking again.

[@lawrencegonzales3534]

Very entertaining I learned a lot good instructions

[@toxicavenger6172]

One thing I've never heard you mention in your videos is what your soldering station settings are. I've been watching and learning from your videos because I have some older consoles and games.

[@mariushmedias]

If you do these repairs a lot, wouldn't it make sense or be cheaper/faster for you to just remake the base circuit board at JLPCB or some such company? Basically, make them with thicker traces less prone to breaking... and gold plating on the fingers is free. You can probably make 3-10 boards for 2$ or something like 100 boards for around 10-20$ ... so you'd just desolder the chips and transplant them onto the newer board.

[@BroadwayNexp]

What do you use to scrap off the connection to expose the copper

[@RetroRepairs]

You can use a knife, or they make abrasive fibreglass pens that work great for that

[@BroadwayNexp]

@@RetroRepairs know any good quality fiber class pens thats good with boards like this?

[@EvilWiffles]

Could have just ran a 38+ gauge enamel wire from the pad to the solder joint, completely replacing the trace in between.

[@Douglie007]

I've got a conkers same issue but all the traces are good, and cap replaced, and suggestions?

[@RetroRepairs]

Could always be a bad rom or cic chip

[@Douglie007]

@@RetroRepairs I could move my rom chips from the good one to test

[@RetroRepairs]

I'd move them one at a time to try and isolate the issue

[@Douglie007]

@@RetroRepairs I will, it will just be a pain to try and find the roms. I dont think you can make them like on the nes and SNES can you?

[@RetroRepairs]

No, i believe there's a lot more protection around them, which makes it difficult to write roms. I really dont know too much about it though

[@norxcontacts]

The previous owner sanded the shit out of those contacts.

[@josephnealeUKscratchcards]

Another awesome fix on video as always

[@DarkGT]

Last I think you said that you can just tin the copper trace directly without a wire, if is possible why you bother with wires?

[@RetroRepairs]

Doesn't always fix the break, and is not guaranteed to hold. The area in question experiences stress and friction, so a wire creates a stronger fix.

[@nickcarr2645]

Awesome video man. Do you think it would be good to take that plastic guard off all n64 games so they don’t rub the traces?

[@wuSmoker]

How do you get those ''not working'' n64 cartridges, can't seem to find any on ebay and I would really like to try and repair some of them :)