Kitsch-Bent Cartridge trouble

[Thatbraziliann]

@Chedda yeah I do, If I just put the Micro SD card straight into the PI it runs normally Ill have retro pie and emulation station run and I can see my games on there. but If I do it with the cartridge reader the PI turns on but the screen stays blank.. I dont know what else to troubleshoot.

[Chedda]

My guess is that you have a short somewhere or a cross solder point and messing with the connection. I would validate and test everything pin for pin just to make sure.

[Thatbraziliann]

If the light is blinking, it is booting. Are you using your display and not mini hdmi? Try using a known good output like a computer monitor. I thought the same thing on my pi3 once I desoldered everything, the hdmi cable wasn't plugged in all the way. DERP!

Blinking means activity. Solid means power but not doing anything. This is only during boot.

Yeah I mean when I remove the same SD card from cartridge reader and insert it directly in to PI without changing the HDMI output (my tv) just taking out power and putting it back in the boot up screen is seen and retoropie is seen on my tv.. I just get a black screen when its in cartridge but light is active so it recognizes that theres an OS there to boot up correct?

[Chedda]

I don't even have words.

Looking back at your first images on the sd card, it looks like you have cold solder joints. Meaning there is solder in between the actual pads and they are gooped on there. try getting as close to the pad as possible on the sd card reader.

[Thatbraziliann]

I don't even have words.

Looking back at your first images on the sd card, it looks like you have cold solder joints. Meaning there is solder in between the actual pads and they are gooped on there. try getting as close to the pad as possible on the sd card reader.

So take the solder off the SD card and try having the wires soldered on with as minimal as possible? so its not like clumped on?

thanks for the Tip Chedda you really are a lifesaver.. will be testing this out tomorrow or friday !!

[Chedda]

Glad to help out where I can.

The thing about soldering is that you are making a connection on a wire or a pad. You want those pieces to touch to make the best connection. Solder can make a connection but it is very weak. So the closer if not connecting, the better.