Both PS5 controllers just gone funny

[bainbridge]

Hi all

I'm still using the original controllers that came with my PS5 about four years ago, dual sense they are I think.

Within the space of a week, firstly the grippy rubbery bit on the left thumb stick peeled away, leaving is smooth and slippery.

Then, on the other controller, the left thumb stick started behaving erratically and moving left on its own.

I bought some silicon thumb stick covers but it's a loose fit, presumably due to the rubbery bit on top being missing.

With the other controller I could look at increasing the dead zone on games that have this option, but really I want fully working controllers.

Also I cannot see any screws to dismantle the things if parts are available.

Any ideas guys?

Or is it new controller X2 time?

 

[bainbridge]

Thanks guys, just ordered a couple of sets of replacement sticks and will give it all a squirt of contact cleaner.

 

[bainbridge]

Update on this. Bought some OEM analogue sticks online, there's a company that mods the dual sense controllers so they have a stock of the sticks that they remove.

I started on the non-drifting controller, the one where the rubbery bit came off.

Taking the thing apart was straightforward, as was changing the sticks, but I found reassembly very difficult because one of the ribbon connectors had a tiny plug which must've been held onto the board by tension alone.

It fell off when I removed it.

The pins were miniscule and I bent one trying to reinstall the plug.

Even with a magnifying glass I could barely see the pins.

Largely by feel I got the thing plugged in and by some miracle it all works fine.

I'm scared of tackling the other controller.

 

[bainbridge]

Further update. I changed the sticks on the other controller. Rather than pulling the tiny plug from the board, there was a stiff plastic puller/pusher on the ribbon I'd not previously noticed, so pulling that with needle nose pliers kept the plug in place.

Once apart I doused the drifting analogue mechanism in contact cleaner and did lots of rotating, then reassembled once dry.

At first then controller worked perfectly with no drift, for about ten mins, but then the drift returned

So it's likely to be new controller time.

There's eight soldering points on the PCB and although I can solder basic stuff, this stuff is tiny and I won't be able to do it myself.