admiralriker Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 Hey everyone! I'm new to the forums but I've been scouring for an answer to my issue. I recently got two systems, 10 games, four controllers, and two Wico Command Joysticks for $100. Out of the four controllers, after cleaning and swapping the flexboard out on one of them, two of them always make the player go to the right and the fourth controller doesn't work at all. I've completely stripped the controllers down to individual components, cleaned them, and still have the issue of the player going to the right all the time. One of these controllers worked perfect for about 30 seconds and then went nuts. I've tried swapping out the right-moving controllers mid-game with my working one to confirm its the controllers (which it is). I just can't find an answer anywhere. The player character always moves right, even if the controller is stripped down to nothing but bare plug (with no flex board or pots connected at all). The controllers do this on both consoles. Any idea? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onemoretime Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ryan Witmer Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 It could be that the problem isn't the controllers, but the console itself. If a game tries to read a controller value from a port with no controller connected, a very large value is returned and this usually corresponds to a hard press to the right, or down on the other axis. If something is wrong with the controller ports themselves and the controller can't be scanned, you would get this large value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 Yeah... I don't think the pokey adjust is what is needed. Sounds more like the mux controller IC or ICs is the likely issue. I've had to replace those out in my case, more often than the flip flop IC for power. They are socketed in the 4-port variants, but I believe they are soldered in on the 2-port unless they have been replaced before and the previous tech repairing it, installed a socket as they should have. https://console5.com/store/cd4052-analog-multiplexer-demultiplexer.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 4 hours ago, -^CrossBow^- said: Yeah... I don't think the pokey adjust is what is needed. Sounds more like the mux controller IC or ICs is the likely issue. I've had to replace those out in my case, more often than the flip flop IC for power. They are socketed in the 4-port variants, but I believe they are soldered in on the 2-port unless they have been replaced before and the previous tech repairing it, installed a socket as they should have. https://console5.com/store/cd4052-analog-multiplexer-demultiplexer.html This. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Kai Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 You guys might not think its a simple pot adjustment, but my advice is to open the case and test the pot anyway. It can't hurt and would at the very least eliminate a variable, not to mention it won't cost money or high skill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
admiralriker Posted October 30, 2019 Author Share Posted October 30, 2019 Would this explain why one controller works 100% and the other three are borked? Button presses on the two borked controllers are spot on, but no matter how much I spin the controller pots, it's always going right. I'll try cleaning all contacts and try again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 Could be a broken wire in the cable for both controllers. Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 1 hour ago, admiralriker said: Would this explain why one controller works 100% and the other three are borked? Button presses on the two borked controllers are spot on, but no matter how much I spin the controller pots, it's always going right. I'll try cleaning all contacts and try again... I missed that part. I did see where it looked you plug in a working one after first powering on the 5200 with one of the broken ones. That could be a MUX IC that has issues and isn't starting in the right states. But when you plug in a controller, it temporarily fixes the issue. That I have seen before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
admiralriker Posted October 31, 2019 Author Share Posted October 31, 2019 This happens on two different generation systems too. Plug in working controller, works fine. Plug in broken one, player goes right. If I have a broken wire in a controller, that's basically it then, right? Slice open the cable and find the break? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles N Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 (edited) 4 hours ago, admiralriker said: This happens on two different generation systems too. Plug in working controller, works fine. Plug in broken one, player goes right. If I have a broken wire in a controller, that's basically it then, right? Slice open the cable and find the break? Must be broken hardware-part(s) in the controllers. Before eventually slicing and dicing the consoles themselves, if you have the money, buy a separate guaranteed-to-work refurbished controller, and try out everything with that. If it all works well then, you will know its the controllers. If everything moves right still, even with a guaranteed-to-work refurbished controller, well, you have lot of repearing to do. Edited October 31, 2019 by Giles N Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 4 hours ago, admiralriker said: This happens on two different generation systems too. Plug in working controller, works fine. Plug in broken one, player goes right. If I have a broken wire in a controller, that's basically it then, right? Slice open the cable and find the break? Or buy a replacement cable. If you have a way of testing continuity on each wire that would help verify that it is bad before you cut up the cable. Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 I missed the part about some controllers working perfectly fine. Knowing that, it's more likely than not something simple to fix on the controller not the console (obviously ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClausB Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 The mux chips are part of the keypad circuit and have nothing to do with the joystick pots. Always right means too much resistance from the horizontal pot, so, yes, broken wire or some bad connection to that pot, or even within the pot. Old pots go bad, like the crackly volume knob on an old radio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
admiralriker Posted November 3, 2019 Author Share Posted November 3, 2019 Hey everyone, Thank you all for your help. I really really appreciate it. You've been awesome and I'm glad I stumbled upon these forums! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari-dna Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 Simplest explanation is the best place to start. Try aligning the potentiometers first. Particularly as you explained the condition traveled to another console. There’s a controller red flag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CZroe Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 Being stuck to the right is a clue, since resistance on the L/R pot moves UP and you move the stick right. Either you have no connection across the pot or the terminals are connected incorrectly. You can measure the pots with a multimeter connected to both contacts of the controller cable. As you move the stick left and right it should measure from something less than 90k ohms to something well over 450k ohms (0-500k ohms specified). Your meter probes won't fit in the holes so I just drop in little nails if paperclips and measure across them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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