# N64 won't turn on, what could be the problem



## EnigmaXtreme (Jan 18, 2012)

My sister borrowed the N64 and later told me it wouldnt turn on, her boyfriend said it may be a dead capacitor. But i won't to cross all possibilities before i have to drop down god knows how much for a new one on ebay. How can I tell if its not the power adapter


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## Foxi4 (Jan 18, 2012)

EnigmaXtreme said:


> My sister borrowed the N64 and later told me it wouldnt turn on, her boyfriend said it may be a dead capacitor. But i won't to cross all possibilities before i have to drop down god knows how much for a new one on ebay. How can I tell if its not the power adapter


Get a Multimeter, place one needle in one hole of the adapter and the other in the other hole, check whether there is any electricity flowing through the console's end of it. Rinse and repeat until you're sure. Check the power cord pin-out to check which holes you should check.


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## olleb (Jan 18, 2012)

EnigmaXtreme said:


> My sister borrowed the N64 and later told me it wouldnt turn on, her boyfriend said it may be a dead capacitor. But i won't to cross all possibilities before i have to drop down god knows how much for a new one on ebay. How can I tell if its not the power adapter


i got a 64 for under 50$ used but it looked good inc shipping, with 2 controllers, zelda OOT, 007, WLS and Mario 64. with all cabels. they are not too expensive yet. but yes, try a multimeter, try to borrow one from someone who knows a lot about electronics, some people have them.


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## Foxi4 (Jan 18, 2012)

It's entirely possible that the console is fixable, if you do not wish to "deal" with that sort of thing then at least sell it/give it to someone who will if you plan on purchasing a new one.


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## Hyro-Sama (Jan 18, 2012)

Same thing happened to me and I sold my N64. I should have kept it and tried to fix the not turning on problem.


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## EnigmaXtreme (Jan 18, 2012)

Im looking at ebay and all im seeing are ones going for 100+ well considering those are the but it now prices


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## DrOctapu (Jan 18, 2012)

EnigmaXtreme said:


> Im looking at ebay and all im seeing are ones going for 100+ well considering those are the but it now prices


Jesus, seriously? I'm pretty sure I've got at least two of them sitting around my room with around 30 games. Might have to sell them if prices are that high.

You might be able to buy just an AC adapter or something for pretty cheap on some retro gaming sites if you look. I'd try that first.


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## DanTheManMS (Jan 18, 2012)

EnigmaXtreme said:


> Im looking at ebay and all im seeing are ones going for 100+ well considering those are the but it now prices


Is that in USD?  I'm seeing more in the $30-$50 range here.


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## EnigmaXtreme (Jan 18, 2012)

No aussie dollars, but atm that isnt really different


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## Whacka (Jan 18, 2012)

If the capacitors were dead the console would turn on but crash midgame.
Assuming you mean the LED at the front doesn't turn on go with what Foxi4 suggests; a voltmeter would be the best bet for testing the power supply.
The other option is to open it with a security bit and check to see if anything's blown. Otherwise I think new power supplies are relatively cheap, you can get them from the UK with a travel adapter if you need the same voltage.

Check the pinout for testing the voltage here http://www.allpinouts.org/index.php/Nintendo_N64_power_supply
where the pins are arranged;
1,2,3
4,5,6


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## EnigmaXtreme (Jan 19, 2012)

Ok borrowed a multimeter from my neighbour, i noticed the metal sticks are too big to fit into the ac adapter holes, does that matter? I was getting like no reading and trying all 3 - and + holes. Is there any special way on testing this


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## EnigmaXtreme (Jan 27, 2012)

Ok i bought a new AC adapter and it arrived today. It worked once, unplugged it and now it stopped working FUCK!

EDIT: Ok now it is working wtf


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## tbgtbg (Jan 29, 2012)

I hooked my n64 back up recently and it seemed okay, then started just resetting randomly, so I shut it off, looked it over, and apparently the power supply wasn't connected quite right. So maybe disconnect and reconnect that being careful that it goes in at the exact right angle.

Before you said you got a new AC adapters I would have made the suggestion that you make sure there's either a jumper pak or RAM expansion in the system, as without one or the other it won't run. 


Now, if only I could figure out why my rumble pak isn't working (yes changed the batteries!)


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## huma_dawii (Jul 15, 2020)

I think I shorted mine out tonight trying to install an RGB mod... I accidentally inserted the expansion pack backwards and after that... I'm not sure if I shorted something with my horrible soldering skills or was the just the memory expansion.

Im kind of mad at myself for not waiting to get the flux to install that stupid mod.


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