Fixing Colecovision controllers

[7800fan]

I have 11 controllers that all has issues. Keypad on all of them works 100% but all of the controllers have problem with either 1 direction or a fire button.

 

I took one apart, it had issue with right direction (no response) and when I looked, the metal leaf was bent out of place. I had just touched it when it popped out so it seems it may have broken loose due to metal fatigue and was barely hanging on. I have no doubt that some other controllers are not this bad, a little bending and slipping thin file under to clean corrosion. Or has someone found alternative solution like using thin push button in place of leaf switch?

 

What about fire button? It looks like regular momentary push button and I don't see an easy way to clean it.

 

Lastly, how can I fully check the roller controller? When I have it set to roller, I can get response from all 4 fire button and it shows roller direction like SAC rollers. But when I set it to joystick mode, the ball does nothing. Maybe I need a different test ROM or a game?

[Jeremy Popp]

I took one apart, it had issue with right direction (no response) and when I looked, the metal leaf was bent out of place. I had just touched it when it popped out so it seems it may have broken loose due to metal fatigue and was barely hanging on. I have no doubt that some other controllers are not this bad, a little bending and slipping thin file under to clean corrosion. Or has someone found alternative solution like using thin push button in place of leaf switch?

I always desolder those leave switches so I can get a better cleaning under them. One upgrade I like to do is add solder to the middle contact, then file it flat. Gives it a fresh new clean surface. There is a mod you can look up on youtube that replaces the leaf switches with microswitches - looks interesting, but requires some irreversible mods/changes.

 

What about fire button? It looks like regular momentary push button and I don't see an easy way to clean it.

For the fire buttons, I spray some DeoxIT in the little opening on top of the switch and press the switch a bunch of times. Works every time for me - some people use wd-40, or other solvents, but these can leave behind residue and are not necessarily designed for cleaning switches. The is also a mod out there that replaces these with microswitches.

[ColecoNoob]

The (irreversible) mod is quite easy to perform if you have ever had a soldering iron in your hand. Desolder all the plates and solder little tactile switches in place. Bridge the contacts with short wire, cut the plastic ring in the middle and remove the spring. Reassemble and enjoy. Only annoying thing might be the click of the switches. One can also cut the fire buttons down to the metal housing and hotglue tactile switches as well. These then have to be soldered also to get contact and the buttons have to be a bit "refurbished" to work. A video of this can be found on YouTube. I guess it's from a member of this forum

[coleconut]

For joysticks with keypad issues, I imagine one should first try cleaning the contacts and looking for broken traces or cold solder joints but I have not really found anyone documenting troubleshooting diode issues and the idea of having to desolder them to test seems a little daunting. Anyone had success with fixing keypad issues

[7800fan]

I haven't experienced any issue with keypad but I did see something about using heat to soften the glue in the keypad to make it easier to peel the layers apart. But that is assuming the contact somehow got dirty or oxidated, if there's internal break in the circuit, it's hard to repair those on plastic sheet.