My N64 is dead :'(

[Sacred Jellybean]

The little bastard was just working last night. I had an impulse to play an N64 game. You ever get that vibe like old 64 games are like fever dreams? There's a kind of beauty in their imperfection, in the same way that certain weirdos like listening to record players or cassette tapes. I think that's part of the reason the first Silent Hill is the favorite (I know, PS1, but you get the point). The primitive graphics and gravelly sound all lend themselves to a nightmare world.

I rummaged through a bunch and settled on Rayman 2: The Great Escape. Nothing was amiss. I thought I might try to see the game through, as I've never been able to in the past, for one reason or another. Damn it, the game is actually pretty good, albiet the controls and camera are meh. But I like the overall aesthetic it has going for it.

So anyway, every time I turn on the system, it just flashes a black screen. The power is on, but there's no audio or video. It's something that's pretty typical, honestly, but it usually works after a few tries of removing/reinserting the cartridge. I've tried several games, and games that recently worked, but this is the first time that I can't start any of them up. I even tried swapping rubbing alcohol on the cartridge and in the system itself.

Y'all are smart. Any idea what the issue could be?

[Dark Jaguar]

There's a whole lot of things that it COULD be, so unfortunately I can't really pin it down just yet.  Here's a few things I'd suggest.  Based on what you said, it seems like power is coming on and your TV is getting a signal, but it's just a black image, correct?  If you leave it on, do you hear any game sounds?  If not, well there's a few things.

First, check the RAM expansion port.  Let me know if you have either the expansion pack (the "red top" as only Derrick says) or the original "jumper pack" which merely shorts the connection so the system can still boot.  Pull out and reinsert the pack if you would.  Double check the power brick in back as well.  Pull it out, check the pins, reinsert.  If you have the expansion pack inserted, replace it with your old jumper pack, if you can still find it, and try again to see what happens.

Secondly, let's double check the controller ports.  Unplug all the controllers and attempt to boot.  If it boots, plug in each controller one at a time until it does not.  Once you find the controller at issue, check what accessories are plugged into that controller, and unplug them and see if it boots.  If it doesn't with a specific accessory or controller plugged in, you found the cause.

Lastly, let's double check that cartridge port one more time.  I know you tried to swab with alcohol, but do you have one of those "cleaning products" designed to be inserted into the cartridge port?  If so, wet that cleaning edge with some alcohol and insert and remove a few times.  Also, take a strong light and a magnifying glass and get a close look at the port.  Are any pins misalligned or is there any loose debris, especially something metallic, in the cart?  If you find something, before doing anything let me know.

Those are all the basic things I can recommend.  Beyond that, it will get a little costlier.  You can purchase a replacement N64 power supply, for example.  Be VERY careful about third party replacements.  The only one I can promise will work for you is:
https://www.game-tech.us/product/ren64/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013EU0AQQ

You will need both products.  I only can recommend these because they're the only UL certified options I've seen.  But, you may also try finding a replacement OEM (official) used one off eBay.  Be SURE to get one from someone with a high review score and which they have confirmed and tested themselves.  Avoid "as is" listings.

Beyond this, if nothing else works, you can ship it to me.  I'll do a full capacitor replacement and see if that will fix the issue.  Now, N64 caps shouldn't yet have gone bad by and large, but there's always the possibility one has.  The exception is the ones in the power supply.  Nintendo made so many different revisions and models of that little black brick that I'll need to order specific caps for each one it could be.  Hmm... if you can't find a working replacement, I can check them all out on my own hardware and see what's up.  If you have a local used game store, see if they'll let you test their system with your power supply as well.  It'll help rule things out.  Last resort still involves shipping the console to me.  If I can fix it, I'll send it on back, and if not, you can hunt one down off of eBay.  The consoles themselves have gone up in price recently though, but the expansion packs are oddly more expensive.  Here's a sale listed on the lower end, since it's console-only.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/225996429900?ep...Swa1Rlxskc

[A Black Falcon]

Yeah, I hope that it's only something in the cart or cart port that can be cleaned and it's not some worse failure... the N64 is generally pretty reliable hardware-wise, but if it can't read a cart it will just display a black screen.  Of course, if somehow something DID go wrong on the board that also will display nothing so... here's hoping it's not that. :(

[Sacred Jellybean]

tips and a kind offer

Oh WOW. Thank you. I'm a little stunned that you're offering to personally work on it for me. That's very kind, thank you. :)

I'll try those tips first, hopefully later tonight. N64 is easily the console I've most played out of any in my entire life, which ostensibly makes it my favorite console of all time. So I'm really hoping I'll get it working again. If all else fails, I'm sure a replacement isn't outside of my price range.

[Sacred Jellybean]

IT LIVES!! :D :D

It's actually been living for a few weeks. I just went back just retried Rayman 2 again, and... it magically worked. Hurray! I did have trouble with another cartridge (Chameleon Twist 2), but replacing the expansion pack with the jumper pack fixed that one too.

Thank you again for writing all this up anyway, I'm saving it because, on a timeline of decades to come, at some point I'll probably need it.

[Dark Jaguar]

Just to clarify, swapping out the expansion pack resolved your issue reliably?  Fortunately, the expansion pack can be replaced, but right now they cost around $50 for an official one, so that could be a bit much.  I'm glad you've gotten it working thought!