I think my N64 may have died

[mikeymikec]

The power light comes on, but nothing else. The other odd thing is (since the main problem started) that using the power switch to switch it off again doesn't consistently work, but I'm wondering if that's a mechanical issue because it usually goes off if I push the switch a bit harder into the off position.

I've done a bit of googling and read solutions such as blowing on the cartridge contacts or trying different games, or removing the expansion pack. I've also powered down the console from the wall, vacuum cleaned it out (without disassembly) the best I can. I haven't tried cleaning the cartridge contacts with alcohol, but I would have thought that if it was cartridge specific then trying a different cartridge would have done the trick.

It may be time to say goodbye to it.

Any other ideas for fixing it would be appreciated, but I guess I used up my last bit of console luck the other day when I cleaned the crap out of one of its controllers and got it working.

Occasionally in the past the console has hung during gaming or not switched on the first time, but it's been consistent today.

 

[CZroe]

I’ve worked on a lot of really crappy N64s and still never found one that was truly dead. Amazingly, even one with a missing pin on the CPU (corroded away) still worked after I cleaned it up! It seems to have just been one of many ground pins that weren’t absolutely necessary. Another one had a thick layer of stuff growing in it and looked like a Chia Pet. Worked great after cleaning out a few thousand dead roaches.

I have found bad power supplies though and I’ve encountered a ton of SNES consoles that were somehow RF-only (S-ENC video encoder chip and multi out are very similar in earlier N64 models). Very strange because I traced the same traces to the RF modulator and the multi-out and it all checks out. N64 doesn’t have a built in RF modulator so I don’t know if you’d be able to diagnose a similar issue by using one.

Do you have another power supply to try? You mention removing the Expansion Pak but did you replace it with a Jumper Pak? It’s RDRAM so it requires a continuity RIMM just like an old Williamette Pentium 4 on an i850 (or Tualatin Pentium III on a recalled i820). It won’t boot with nothing in the slot.

If you took the heatsink off it’s very easy to rip the RDRAM chips off the main board when you lift from the front because their TSOP packages only have pins on the back side except for a couple ground in the corners (very weird package). Luckily, the pads and legs are usually intact and it can be soldered back down.

Check the reset button. If it is stuck down or something inside is shorting then the system will not boot. You don’t have to take the heatsink off to check this because it is one of the few through-hole components (just ports/slots, LED, and switches... unless you want to count the heatsink anchor points). Just take the whole board out and see if you have continuity across the switch under the reset button. Make sure your reset button cap physically pops all the way up too. It should protrude a little over the top of the housing. You can unclip it from inside and clean/lubricate if it needs it. I often find them pried and marred from people who spilled something sticky and tried to unstick it without disassembling.

If you don’t have a gamebit for opening it, I suggest the full shaft ones from Kitsch-Bent and Console5. One of them has it for $3 (forget which)! The short bits for a bit driver don’t work for Virtual Boy or GameCube and if you ever see yourself going in one of those then $3 is totally worth it.

Now, I should probably ask what color it is and discourage you from fixing it in case it’s one of the colors my UltraHDMI customers are looking for (I can always board-swap it). If you don’t want to get your hands dirty with it and it’s one of the special colors in decent shape I have plenty of working units to trade (several Charcoal, a ratty Watermelon, a fair Jungle or two, ...).

 

[mikeymikec]

I have a horrible feeling that I threw out the Jumper Pak recently after moving house. I've had the memory expansion for years before it and couldn't honestly see any reason to keep its predecessor.

I'll wait for the finances to cool down then I'll probably give a new PSU a try. It's the original grey N64, though I live in the UK so I doubt we can trade for cost and compatibility reasons.

I haven't tried opening up the console because a teardown guide mentioned the gamebit which I don't have.

 

[CZroe]

The Jumper Pak is cheap but dead Expansion Paks are uncommon. Flaky 3rd party ones are prone to overheating, but that’s different. I’d just ask if I could try a local’s before buying anything.

FWIW, most bad PSUs trip an internal protection that requires you to unplug it for a little while before you can even get the power light to come back on. I did have one that would cause crashes and blank screens but it seemed sensitive to power in one room. Other PSUs worked fine there and it worked fine elsewhere. I’ve seen bad NES and PC power supply location-specific issues like that in the past as well.

I’ve seen some modern displays that have trouble syncing to an N64 or other 240p game console. Do you have another audio device you can connect the N64 to in order to hear if it boots?

Also, what game are you trying to boot? Some earlier games have trouble with the Rumble Pak inserted. Killer Instinct Gold will give you a black screen and Blast Corps will complain about a corrupted Controller Pak. Pretty sure the Rumble Pak was out in the US around the time the U.K. was getting the N64 so I’d hope PAL games don’t have that issue.

On that note, is this a PAL or NTSC console? It seems that half the Euro N64s I hear about are gray market (grey market? ) NTSC imports, so it’s probably worth asking.

 

[mikeymikec]

I haven't had to remove the PSU to get it to boot again; the power light always comes on when I switch it on.

The TV is the same one I've used for years, nothing has changed in that respect or its configuration.

How would I connect an audio output device to it?

Usually Mario Kart 64. I've tried Goldeneye and a racing game whose name I can't remember. I'm pretty sure it's the PAL version of the N64 I've got as I have one game that won't physically fit in the console and I have to use an adapter for it. I've bought one or two games for the N64 in the UK without problems so I assume it's PAL.

I haven't had any rumble pak or memory card type add-on for the controllers plugged in. Most of the testing I've done was without any controllers plugged in.