DualShock4 Repair Help

sid41299

sid41299

Disciple
My DS4 v2's R2 trigger stopped working intermittently and then entirely within a span of a hour or so. I tried cleaning the rubber pad thingy as I read that it gets dirty/out of alignment pretty easily, but to no avail. Is the electronic contact pad dead? Is it replaceable? Or is the trigger (and to a certain extent the whole controller) a total write off?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers,
Sid
 
Can you share a picture of the actual rubber pad and the electronic pad. There are several internal model of the internal pads.

Most controllers can be repaired unless you actually break something [including the ribbon cable]. Ribbon cables and other pads are available but they are pricey and again vary a lot.

PS - If you are from Delhi / NCR I can do the repair for free. Just buy me a coffee. Lol :p
 
joy.das.jd said:
Can you share a picture of the actual rubber pad and the electronic pad. There are several internal model of the internal pads.

Most controllers can be repaired unless you actually break something [including the ribbon cable]. Ribbon cables and other pads are available but they are pricey and again vary a lot.

PS - If you are from Delhi / NCR I can do the repair for free. Just buy me a coffee. Lol :p
Click to expand...

Images down below!

And that's an extremely generous offer that I wish I could take you up on, but I live in Visakhapatnam.
(But hey, I'm going to be in Hyderabad soon, so any Hyderabadis feeling as generous? No? Wishful thinking?)
 

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sid41299 said:
Images down below!

And that's an extremely generous offer that I wish I could take you up on, but I live in Visakhapatnam.
(But hey, I'm going to be in Hyderabad soon, so any Hyderabadis feeling as generous? No? Wishful thinking?)
Click to expand...
Thanks for the pictures brother. But that's NOT what I was asking for.
Remove the battery cover and a single screw will be holding the black plastic cover. Remove that. Then remove the blue ribbon cable gently, as it is a fragile cable [refer picture]. There will be a MODEL number written on the front face of the controller. Like JDM-050 / JDS 055 etc etc. We need that number.

However it seems from the picture that both the pad and the film are okay. Just use IPA to clean both the surface and you should be good to go.

I am assuming its a JMD 050 [most popular V2 version] . These are the links for Ribbon Cable film sheet and Conductive Rubber Pad Silicone Button Pads.


New World Replacement Conductive Rubber Pad Silicone Button Pads for Sony PS4 Play Station 4 Slim Pro Controller JMD/JDS 050 055 2nd/3rd Gen V2 Controller : Amazon.in: Video Games

New World Replacement Conductive Rubber Pad Silicone Button Pads for Sony PS4 Play Station 4 Slim Pro Controller JMD/JDS 050 055 2nd/3rd Gen V2 Controller : Amazon.in: Video Games
www.amazon.in
 

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joy.das.jd said:
Thanks for the pictures brother. But that's NOT what I was asking for.
Remove the battery cover and a single screw will be holding the black plastic cover. Remove that. Then remove the blue ribbon cable gently, as it is a fragile cable [refer picture]. There will be a MODEL number written on the front face of the controller. Like JDM-050 / JDS 055 etc etc. We need that number.

However it seems from the picture that both the pad and the film are okay. Just use IPA to clean both the surface and you should be good to go.

I am assuming its a JMD 050 [most popular V2 version] . These are the links for Ribbon Cable film sheet and Conductive Rubber Pad Silicone Button Pads.


New World Replacement Conductive Rubber Pad Silicone Button Pads for Sony PS4 Play Station 4 Slim Pro Controller JMD/JDS 050 055 2nd/3rd Gen V2 Controller : Amazon.in: Video Games

New World Replacement Conductive Rubber Pad Silicone Button Pads for Sony PS4 Play Station 4 Slim Pro Controller JMD/JDS 050 055 2nd/3rd Gen V2 Controller : Amazon.in: Video Games
www.amazon.in
Click to expand...

Thank you for the reassurance. I'm not confident enough to go that deep, but I will try cleaning the pads with IPA. I've also gotten in touch with Sony, and while I don't have a proof of purchase (it's mandatory, seems like), I'm waiting to hear back from a service center to see if they'll make an exception for me. I will check the model number and replace them myself as a last ditch effort.

Thanks again brother!
 
joy.das.jd said:
However it seems from the picture that both the pad and the film are okay. Just use IPA to clean both the surface and you should be good to go.
Click to expand...
So that's a big nope.

Just got a bottle of IPA today (AFTER OVER A MONTH OF NOT FINDING IT IN A SINGLE MEDICAL STORE) and cleaned it, didn't work. The trigger is still very much inoperational
 
Mr. Das has given perfect advice. He has saved you 500 bucks and more than that he has given you the confidence needed. If you can open the controller you can do this, look at a youtube video, take your time, just keep track of the springs, how they go back and don't bend them. You will get immense joy (see what I did here) when it all comes together. Its great to read threads like this. Priceless.

Mostly liquid damage is the reason for these ribbons to go bad without warning. If aliexpress was still on it would have costed peanuts. All the best.
 
@joy.das.jd the ribbon cable arrived, and it worked great... for the first 2 minutes. Now the analog sticks seem to be interfering with the rest of the controls. I can't explain or detail all the behaviour and the interference is not showing up this nuanced in any online testing websites, so here's a clip from Forza Horizon 5 showing how wonky it is. And yes towards the end that weirdness is changing because I have the R-Stick pulled to the 7 o'clock position. Should I return the board, or is this an analog stick problem?
 
sid41299 said:
@joy.das.jd the ribbon cable arrived, and it worked great... for the first 2 minutes. Now the analog sticks seem to be interfering with the rest of the controls. I can't explain or detail all the behaviour and the interference is not showing up this nuanced in any online testing websites, so here's a clip from Forza Horizon 5 showing how wonky it is. And yes towards the end that weirdness is changing because I have the R-Stick pulled to the 7 o'clock position. Should I return the board, or is this an analog stick problem?
Click to expand...

Analog sticks are soldered onto the motherboard of the controller. The conductive film has nothing to do with the sticks. If all the buttons are working properly then i doubt that the film is to blamed here. Just make sure to check that the board alignment is proper. In rare cases, the alignment is not proper and might cause issues [refer the pic attached]. Also while you are at it, give the analog stick a nice bath with IPA and cotton bud. And blow it dry like you used to for old Nintendo cartridges. Dust might have accumulated there. And let it dry completely.

Then reassemble the controller and check for it. Also one more thing to note , have you played FORZA Horizon 5 before with this controller? I don't know , but I think some games have issues with DS4 controllers (For eg Elden Ring). I am not sure if Forza has any such issues.
 

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Try another game like got or gta. Move the sticks around and then let it be. It will be easier to tell if its stick drift. Do the sticks move smoothly? Open the controller again and check if everything fits right.

Its been a while since I opened my ps4 controller but I think the analog sticks are independent of the ribbon.
 
MrB said:
Try another game like got or gta. Move the sticks around and then let it be. It will be easier to tell if its stick drift. Do the sticks move smoothly? Open the controller again and check if everything fits right.

Its been a while since I opened my ps4 controller but I think the analog sticks are independent of the ribbon.
Click to expand...
joy.das.jd said:
the alignment is not proper and might cause issues [refer the pic attached]
Click to expand...

I will check it

joy.das.jd said:
give the analog stick a nice bath with IPA and cotton bud. And blow it dry like you used to for old Nintendo cartridges. Dust might have accumulated there. And let it dry completely.
Click to expand...

Just like that, from the outside?

joy.das.jd said:
have you played FORZA Horizon 5 before with this controller? I don't know , but I think some games have issues with DS4 controllers (For eg Elden Ring). I am not sure if Forza has any such issues.
Click to expand...
Absolutely, both 4 and 5. I was playing 5 when I started having issues
 
joy.das.jd said:
From the inside. Open the controller and take out the motherboard. remove the analog cap and then clean the actual analog stick. You can pour a small quantity of IPA inside that stick.
Click to expand...
Right that's what I meant to ask, sorry. I meant to ask if it was okay to directly pour IPA on the potentiometers


That's it, this is my villain origin story. Sorry for the late night ping @joy.das.jd @MrB
 

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After your button ribbon (it is actually conductive film, amazon listings say button ribbon) change, give it some time. Connect the controller with usb cable to ps4, it might update firmware and fix it self. Wishful thinking.

IPA will not damage components, is quick drying (evaporates) and should leave no residue. Water/moisture on the other hand might stay for days even weeks and cause corrosion even if its not visible. Best is to use q tips (ear buds) soaked in IPA to clean. Still it's always better to wipe off to be sure. There are different ratings/percentage for IPA and I take the label with a grain of salt unless bought from a chemist/medical store. I have fixed a bunch of controllers (snes, n64, og xbox, xbox 360, xbox one) just by cleaning them, only a single ps3 and ps4 controller required this ribbon change.

Wrote the above last evening and forgot to hit send.

The power ribbon is damaged. This probably happened while opening/closing the controller and is separate to your trigger problem. Oh well, still user replaceable and fairly cheap, now you know what to do. There are a few of them on amazon. If you can count the number of pins otherwise joy will have to help you here. If your caps are damaged/worn out you can replace them too while you're at it. It'll basically be a new controller at this point. Beats buying a new one for 4k+. You'll become a pro in no time. DIY is very fulfilling.

Just hope you don't have stick drift. If you have another same controller try swapping the power ribbon out first to check. If you have stick drift you will need soldering skills and is still difficult to align properly. We were trying to save you the hassle of going to a professional for which you will have to. For me aftermarket sticks (experience with wii classic controller pro) leave a lot to be desired, just don't feel right.

Lastly I'm no expert, just had a lot of time on my hands. I also need help with a ps3 controller, once your problem is solved will ask here.

PS - I don't know Joy but he has been super helpful on the forum. Kudos.

edit Oh the retainer popped off. This is beyond my scope. Feel like I jumped the gun and caused your bad luck.

edit 2 Just a thought, maybe you can superglue it but now we'll enter jugaad territory. There should be a better way to fix this.
 
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