N64 doesn't detect controller. Broken controller or port?

[Kitten Mittens]

Hey this is my first post so go easy on me if this isn't the right place for this (figured you guys would be the most knowledgeable on this subject).

Long story long, I have recently "re-acquired" my N64 that I bought when I was young, it was loaned (behind my back) to a family member of mine a few months ago along with all my games and controllers, and sadly all I got back was the console and the cables. It was pretty dirty so I took it apart and cleaned it, I was careful with the electronics, and most of the cleaning was the plastic parts which I set aside to make sure I didn't get the electronics wet etc. It still works as far as I can tell, but at the time I had no controllers, and after searching my house only found one game, Pokemon Snap (OUT OF ALL THE GREAT GAMES I HAD >:O). Now I need to re-buy everything.

So I bought a couple controllers online, one of which came today, the guy said it was like new and fully working. So I plugged in the console put in Pokemon Snap, and plugged in my controller, and the game boots up fine but says "No Controller Connected." I've tried unplugging everything and plugging it all back in, tried different controller ports and made sure everything was connected, and it still won't detect the controller for some reason. I assume I have to have a controller plugged in to the first controller port for this game, and sadly I don't have any other controllers or games right now so I cannot test if it's the first player controller port of if it's the controller. I opened up the controller and everything looks fine inside nothing to note, the internals seem to be in good shape. I will have another controller in around Monday of next week, but as of right now I have no way of telling if the guy sold me a broken controller or if my N64 needs fixing and for now I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt and waiting to be sure it's the controller that's broken before I contact him. Any ideas? Is there any other way to test this out? I'm hoping someone knows how to fix this if it's a common issue.

[budnespid]

Open up the console and check the solder pads of the controller ports to make sure you don't have any broken joints. Did you try cleaning out the port itself?

[Kitten Mittens]

Open up the console and check the solder pads of the controller ports to make sure you don't have any broken joints. Did you try cleaning out the port itself?

Everything looks alright, how do I clean the controller port?

[budnespid]

Look inside it with a light and see if it is dirty or possible ebb broken on the inside. How you remove the dirt or whatever is your decision. I would use canned air or if it was something solid, tweezers.

[blaze3927]

small wire brushes are also a good idea, look for a saxophone cleaning kit, i bought an extra one just for console maintenance and stuff.

[Kitten Mittens]

Tried cleaning the inside of the port itself, doesn't seem to do anything. Looking at the the metal parts inside the port going down to the board, they look a little dirty almost look rusty but certainly nothing that looks like it would cause any interference since they are really thick. I can post pictures of the ports. Honestly, after checking everything out, I really have no idea what is causing this, I'm getting another controller today and I'll test it out and if it appears to be a problem with the port, I'm debating just buying another console they're pretty cheap after all.

Edit: Got another controller and it works just fine, so I'm in the process of getting my money back for the controller, I would attempt to fix it, but for the money that I paid for it, I'd much rather get one in much better condition, this one was listed as like new but was far from it. Thanks for the help anyways guys!