Need help diagnosing controller problem

[THX11381973]

I just purchased a 7800 on ebay. Was supposed to be fully tested and working. I have tried three different controllers on on two different games. All it will do is fire and go up and down. It will not go left or right. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks Tyler

[Jeremy Popp]

I just purchased a 7800 on ebay. Was supposed to be fully tested and working. I have tried three different controllers on on two different games. All it will do is fire and go up and down. It will not go left or right. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks Tyler

 

Have you tested both player 1 and player 2 ports? If only one of the ports has failed, try wiggling the controller connector near the console, and see if you get an intermittent response. It could be that some of the solder joints have cracked from rough use or age, specifically left and right. You can tell if you take it apart, and look where the controller port is connected. Here is what the ports look like:

 

https://console5.com/store/male-joystick-port-atari-2600-7800-colecovision-new-old-stock.html

 

All 9 of those pins should be soldered to the board, if you look closely you can usually tell when they are loose. Even though it's a pain in the neck, it might be easier to just return it to seller, ebay and paypal will most likely back you up.

[jmaclerran]

Could be that your left/right dome switches have gone bad. After a lot of play time these dome switches tend to flatten out, or shift their position, so they don't make contact with the circuit board when the controller is toggled. You will need to open the controller to figure this out. It can be repaired, and there are a number of threads on the topic.