Rounding out order 9912 was a Nintendo 64 sent in for a straightforward refurbishment! This one had an unexpected surprise with the shell…
Got it completely disassembled and shell soaked/washed and set out to dry overnight. Then proceeded to tear down the mainboard and internals and remove the cart slot to get easy access to the board and all caps. Recap went quickly, removed all old solder from pads and deep scrubbed both sides of the board with 99% iso and especially around the cart slot area as it always gets super filthy.
Customer had sent along PSU as well and I happened to have matching cap kit on hand so replaced those caps and wiped down the power supply.
Got all new caps from Console5 installed, cleaned up any extra flux and then snapped the cart slot connector back on after cleaning it out. Shell was dry by that point so got bottom shell and shielding/mainboard re-installed so I could do a quick test. The N64 relies on the thermal pads and large heatsink to keep chips cool so its perfectly ok to test without as long as its quick, which is exactly what I did. Wanted to be able to confirm operation so I could apply the sticker before full assembly.
System booted up and showed video and audio and power LED so then proceeded to cut some new thermal pads and install and get the rest of the shielding and heatsink screwed back into place so console could be closed up!
Got it all back together, applied some 303 Aerospace UV protectant and the console staged for final pics. At this time I noticed a large chip on the right console leg… TBH I service so many N64 and usually they are tanks so didnt even think to check beforehand, I dont recall noticing it but I also wouldnt have given it much thought. Seems very unlikely it would have chipped simply during a gentle wash or reassembly but I checked the box and didnt find any piece in the bubble wrap either, so unless it was already cracked and the scrubbing made it fall off (and was lost in tub) could have always been there, customer was not sure.
Since both of us were unsure, didnt feel right sending back a system with such a large chip so I ended up donating my personal N64 top shell to the cause and I will im sure find a suitably decent donor at some point in my travels to shops
Lesson learned though, I need to assess ALL consoles immediately on unboxing even ones that are known for being sturdy. Either way, order all done and shipping back!