Corrupted Super Mario Bros Deluxe cartridge? (Not SRAM)

[elcarajos666]

Yep, exactly as the title says, I got today a copy of SMBD for the GBC, but I noticed today it's seems to be corrupted? Not all is corrupted tho, album, records, and toy box is corrupted as you can see on photos. I tried to clean the pins on the gameboy cartridge and still it's there the corruption. I tried to wipe out the sram, it's still there. I also tried on six different gameboys (gbc and gba) and still. So it's the cartridge rom corrupted or anything? The cartridge motherboard is looking good.

 

[Shadow#1]

Yep, exactly as the title says, I got today a copy of SMBD for the GBC, but I noticed today it's seems to be corrupted? Not all is corrupted tho, album, records, and toy box is corrupted as you can see on photos. I tried to clean the pins on the gameboy cartridge and still it's there the corruption. I tried to wipe out the sram, it's still there. I also tried on six different gameboys (gbc and gba) and still. So it's the cartridge rom corrupted or anything? The cartridge motherboard is looking good.

U need to open the card and reflow all solder on all chips it's a common thing on GB/gbc carts

 

[elcarajos666]

U need to open the card and reflow all solder on all chips it's a common thing on GB/gbc carts

Okay, I will try that. Thanks.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Okay, I will try that. Thanks.

Cartridge looks pretty crusty. Get some pictures of the bare PCB, make sure there is no corrosion (evidence of liquid damage)

 

[elcarajos666]

Cartridge looks pretty crusty. Get some pictures of the bare PCB, make sure there is no corrosion (evidence of liquid damage)

Didn't work.

 

[Shadow#1]

Didn't work.

Did reflow the solder and possibly add more and making sure none of the chip legs r bridged?

 

[elcarajos666]

Did reflow the solder and possibly add more and making sure none of the chip legs r bridged?

Yup, I reflowed, cleaned cartridge motherboard, still there. I found something that I am not the only one that is suffering from this. This guy also has the same problem as me, as well others on the video comments.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Didn't work.

What didn't work? Still waiting for those pictures.

 

[elcarajos666]

What didn't work? Still waiting for those pictures.

Yup, I reflowed, cleaned cartridge motherboard, still there. I found something that I am not the only one that is suffering from this. This guy also has the same problem as me, as well others on the video comments.

Lazy edit: I found something interesing, when I use the print function, it's supposed to print the pic without the corruption, but still the gameboy printer prints corrupted graphics. Main code does works without any problem, I haven't remplaced the battery yet due I haven't got enough time, Album, Records, and Toy Box is only corrupted. Changelle, Vs. Game and Main game isn't corrupted.

 

[Octopather]

Lazy edit: I found something interesing, when I use the print function, it's supposed to print the pic without the corruption, but still the gameboy printer prints corrupted graphics. Main code does works without any problem, I haven't remplaced the battery yet due I haven't got enough time, Album, Records, and Toy Box is only corrupted. Changelle, Vs. Game and Main game isn't corrupted.

Hi guys, it's really convenient that this thread is still active since I have the exact same issue. I don't believe the cartridge uses a battery for the save data as my old data is all there, I have cleaned the pins thoroughly and no pins seem to be damaged at all. There's no visible damage but like OP I have the same problem, the actual SMB game and VS modes work perfectly but the album, record and toy box are completely corrupted.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Hi guys, it's really convenient that this thread is still active

Ok quick update, after leaving the PCB to dry and loading it back into my GBA, it's done... Something. For starters the record is now just a clear white screen/frozen rather than glitched. The album actually looks normal but the images are still glitched, and trying to flip the page crashes the game. The toy box is still glitched but I can return to the main menu and play the game no issues.
I will try reflowing the pins as soon as possible but I suspect this is something internal.

 

[KleinesSinchen]

Hi guys, it's really convenient that this thread is still active since I have the exact same issue. I don't believe the cartridge uses a battery for the save data as my old data is all there, I have cleaned the pins thoroughly and no pins seem to be damaged at all. There's no visible damage but like OP I have the same problem, the actual SMB game and VS modes work perfectly but the album, record and toy box are completely corrupted.

Super Mario Bros Deluxe uses SRAM+battery. All legit GB(C) games used SRAM to my knowledge (EEPROM/Flash were used in most GBA games).

Please open the cart and upload a high resolution photo of the PCB

 

[Octopather]

Here are a couple of photos. The soldering of the battery obviously isn't the nicest looking but it gets the job done and doesn't seem to have broken the path of the circuit anywhere

 

[CMDreamer]

I would check all those caps too. They tend to get damaged over time.

 

[Octopather]

Good news everyone, it's fixed! Just reflowed the solder points on all four chips on the board, it's good as new now. Records, the album and the toy box all open with zero issues. Now to find some batteries and print those pictures

 

[Blasingame]

Good news everyone, it's fixed! Just reflowed the solder points on all four chips on the board, it's good as new now. Records, the album and the toy box all open with zero issues. Now to find some batteries and print those pictures

I have a zelda dx cart with corrupted saves, and looking to do the same, how did you reflow the solder points? was there a guide that you followed?

 

[FAST6191]

I have a zelda dx cart with corrupted saves, and looking to do the same, how did you reflow the solder points? was there a guide that you followed?

Reflowing surface mount is much the same for electronics in general and does not particularly benefit from a guide -- sometimes things can be specific pins (had a car window switch once be that) but here it is probably going to be an all over affair for if no other reason it is quick to do and you don't really want to be back in 3 months doing the next pin along (if one has gone bad then others might not be far behind).

Anyway there are three schools of thought there.

1) Standard drag soldering. Can be done with normal soldering iron, or maybe a more dedicated tip.
2) Hot air. My preferred method these days but don't go buying a hot air station for this.
3) Infrared. If you have it then you already know all of what I have said, and more*.


Drag soldering is much as it sounds. Usually used more as a install and fix for accidentally shorted pins in surface mount devices. Anyway general idea is put some flux down, get a hold soldering iron and wipe along the individual pins (going down the line can work for some things but also risks bending a pin, solder shorts/bridges and such so don't).
You can poke pins individually to watch them melt and reform.
Clean the flux off with either IPA or some PCB cleaner.

Hot air stations are popular among electronics repair types for a number of years now. They literally send a stream of hot air that can melt solder through a nozzle. Point the nozzle at the appropriate place and you can see the solder melt under it. Bit more gentle (assuming you don't also have the air blow off small passive components at the same time) and hot air costs considerably more than a half nice soldering iron.







Some might also go one further and wick off/solder suck the old solder and install some fresh. If it is nasty lead free and I have the option to go for glorious leaded solder then I might take the option, here though a reflow will probably do the job.

*for instance you might note that it is the pins subject to the most stress under bending action that are going to be troubled the most and thus target them first/primarily.