With the right tools, cleaning your SNES cartridges is both very easy, and very rewarding. Cleaning dirty cartridge contacts makes a big difference when trying to load your game on your Super Nintendo console. With a few inexpensive tools that can be purchased via the links below you can have your SNES games cleaned in seconds!

Open SNES Cart

Locate the two security screws on the front of the Super Nintendo game. For your reference we have indicated the location of the security screws with red boxes in the image below.

Using our 3.8mm Security Bit, unscrew the 2 screws from the front of the cartridge. Our 3.8mm gamebit is designed to fit in Nintendo Game screw holes easily. Other gamebits require a good deal of pressure and risk damaging the game, as they are too wide. Lift up the front side of the cartridge. Be careful not to lose the screws!

With the cartridge open, you can simply pull up the gameboard and remove it from the cartridge case

Cleaning SNES Gameboard Connectors

The red rectangle indicates the area needing cleaning. Remove the gameboard from the case, and apply our specialized Game Cleaning Paste on one of our Non-Static Cleaning Pads and rub over the metal contacts. You should notice quite a bit of brown/black residue coming up, which is due to dirt and corrosion having built up over time. Make sure to clean both sides of the contacts until dirt and grime are no longer visible. Any hardened deposits will effect gameplay, perhaps even preventing your game from playing, so be sure to scrub any deposits until they are gone (you will know a deposit when you see it). Once clean, quickly dampen a fresh cleaning cloth with our Game Cleaning Rinse, and rub over both sides of the contacts to remove any left over residue from the paste. Your contacts should be smooth and shiny. Be sure to dry the contacts with a part of the cloth that is not wet. Once dry, you are ready to reassemble your game!

Reassembly of the SNES Game Cartridge

Reverse the order for assembly. The gameboard only fits into the game case one way, so if it doesn't fit, flip it over and try again. Make sure to screw the security screws in snug, but don't strip them! Once reassembled, pop it in your SNES and it should come right up with no blinking! If your system powers on, but your game still will not play, the issue may be your Super Nintendo (SNES) System connector. In that case, you should consider sending your system in for us to clean and repair.