N64 Expansion Bay Doors: Which Lid Your Nintendo 64 Needs (and What Lives Under It)

Almost every Nintendo 64 in Australia is missing the same part: the small lid on top of the console that covers the memory expansion bay. It is not screwed down — it simply clips in — and three decades of being lifted off has separated most of these doors from their consoles. We now stock six replacement doors: the classic solid grey, and five translucent colours. This guide explains what the door actually covers, how to tell whether you need the door alone or the module that lives underneath it too, and which colour suits your console.

Looking for cables instead? The Cable Finder narrows the whole range to your console in four taps.

First: what is under that door?

Lift the lid (or look into the open bay, since the lid is probably long gone) and you will find one of two modules seated in the memory expansion port. Every Nintendo 64 shipped from the factory with a Jumper Pak installed — a small terminator module that closes the console’s RDRAM bus. Some consoles have had it swapped for a 4 MB Expansion Pak, recognisable by its red top, which adds memory for titles like Donkey Kong 64 and the expanded modes of Majora’s Mask.

Here is the part that catches people out: the console will not boot with an empty bay. Without either a Jumper Pak or an Expansion Pak seated in the port, an N64 produces no video output at all — just a black screen. The door on top is cosmetic and protective; the module underneath is essential.

The ten-second check before you order

Turn the console on and look at the top of the unit.

Console boots and plays fine, but the bay is uncovered? The module is doing its job and you only need a replacement door. It clips straight in by hand — no tools, no screws — and keeps dust out of the port.

Black screen and the bay is completely empty? Someone has removed the module itself, which is common on second-hand consoles. You need a replacement Jumper Pak first, and most buyers add a door at the same time since the two usually go missing together.

The door fits every Nintendo 64 worldwide — PAL, NTSC and NTSC-J share one bay and one door shape — and it closes over the bay whether a Jumper Pak or the taller-sitting Expansion Pak is fitted underneath.

The classic: solid grey, embossed like the original

The standard replacement door is moulded from ABS plastic in a textured dark grey chosen to match the original console shell, with “Memory Expansion” embossed across the front exactly like the factory part. If you want the console looking the way it left the box in the nineties, this is the one.

The translucent five: a colour for every shell

If your N64 is one of the coloured or clear-shell variants — or you simply want the tinted look on a grey console — the same door is available in five translucent colours, each with “MEMORY EXPANSION” moulded into the top face and the same two sprung retention clips and latch tab as the original:

Translucent Blue · Jungle Green · Fire Orange · Watermelon Red · Smoke Grey

All five are brand new aftermarket parts — not used pulls — identical in shape and fit to the door they replace.

The module underneath: the Jumper Pak

The Jumper Pak (Nintendo also called it the Booster Pak) is the standard terminator module, compatible with all N64 consoles worldwide. To install it, slide it into the expansion port on top of the console until it seats. One thing to be clear on: it is not an Expansion Pak — it does not add memory, it simply lets the console boot as standard. If a game specifically requires the 4 MB Expansion Pak, the Jumper Pak will not unlock those modes.

While the console is out of the cabinet

Most doors go missing alongside a few other originals, so it is worth checking three more things while you have the N64 in front of you. If there is no power supply, the AU-plug replacement power supply delivers the N64’s correct dual DC output (3.3V and 12V) from any Australian wall socket, with a universal 100–240V input that suits imported consoles too. If the AV lead is gone, the composite AV cable plugs into the N64’s Multi-Out port — the same cable also fits SNES and GameCube, though not the original NES, Wii or Switch. And because the N64’s controller cables are notoriously short, a 180cm controller extension sits between pad and console — it passes through controller-port accessories like the Rumble Pak and Transfer Pak, and multiple extensions can be daisy-chained.

Quick reference

Bay uncovered, console works: door only — grey or any translucent colour.
Bay empty, black screen: Jumper Pak, plus a door to close the bay.
Red-top module fitted: that is an Expansion Pak — leave it in; the door still fits over it.
Any region: every door and the Jumper Pak fit PAL, NTSC and NTSC-J consoles alike.

Where to start

Everything above lives in the Nintendo 64 parts range, alongside the rest of the console’s spares. Not sure what is missing from your setup? Send us a message — a photo of the top of your console is usually enough for us to name the parts, and it beats waiting on a return.