Controller Repair
Ever use a controller that that doesn’t work the way it used to? Maybe you’re having trouble shooting diagonally in Contra, or firing hadoken’s in Street Fighter. Well, you’ve come to the right place! I’ll explain how to get your controllers responding the way they did when they were new!
DIY Repair:
The first thing you should do is perform the instructions in my “console cleaning” section on the controller case and buttons. In short: completely disassemble the controller and clean all non-electronic parts of it (read the section for exact details). Then, while you’re waiting for the plastic to dry, use a tiny bit of rubbing alcohol on a Q-Tip to clean the contact area of the controller circuit board and rubber pieces:
This will remove the really gross funk and stickiness that has collected on most controllers over the years.
After it’s all dried, re-assemble the controller and give it a try. If it works better, then you’re done! If not, you’ll need to find a “repair kit”, which is essentially, just the replacement rubber pads:
You can find these replacement pads all over the place, but my first choice for buying anything like this is always Console5.com. Please check their store first to see if they have a kit available for your controller and if not, I guess try eBay next: https://console5.com/store/parts/joystick-parts/controller-silicone.html
If you’re finished, I invite you to go back to the main page to see all the other retro-gaming awesomeness we have on this site…especially the RGB guide!