DIY repairs cleaning etc

[Unseul]

Thought I'd start a thread seeing if people have experience with this?

Cleaning the controllers I've generally used contact cleaner, but I read on Reddit that actually this can still slowly degrade the potentiometers, and there's special cleaner for those! I've bought some of it now.

I've been working on my boys old q2 controllers, really bad stick drift and I'd already used regular contact cleaner, as I had a spare pair of controllers (my dad gave us his headset as he can't use it anymore), I figured I'd really go for it and try and replace the joystick itself. Buggered the up by snapping a cable connector clean off the motherboard. New joysticks are only a few quid for 2 on a chinese site, motherboards though, they're expensive!

Managed to get hold of a pair of q2 controllers, well used, and stick drift, just used the potentiometer cleaner on the drifting one, and it's like new, very pleased since I obviously got them for a bit cheap. Now looking at getting another one with a smashed ring, for price of postage, in order to try and make one more whole one, and see if I can sell the surplus pair for a bit of pocket money.

I do need to practice putting the controller back together again though, if it's a big repair job (well that and not ruining it beyond repair).

Might even try grabbing a few more "broken" controllers and seeing if I can fix them up.

The spares I'll have will likely end up on the members market here if anyone is interested.

 

[Unseul]

I'll see what I can do. Hopefully get the smashed ring one by the start of next week. I'll take photos of both of them then, with descriptions of what's wrong, what the plan was, and how I screwed it up.

 

[Unseul]

So from two broken controllers I now have one working one. Bit fiddly and photos to come, but quite enjoyed it.

 

[Unseul]

So, for those interested:

Below is the controller I was sent for free (well, paid for postage. The entire ring was covered in micropore tape, the trigger popped off whilst I was getting that off. You can see that the ribbon from the ring on one side is not connected, it was also a twisted upside down (found that out later) and the latch was up, so it wasn't holding onto the motherboard.



Both the controllers, stripped of faceplates, you can see the one I'm holding has a broken screw fitting from the ring.



Here you can see the motherboard of the controller I tried to fix first, replacing the joystick, but ripped off the connector for a tough to reach ribbon. It's just blow the joystick, which is the silver square on the right. I've unplugged the ribbons from the ring, the thicker cable to the ring on the left hand side pops off like a cap, and is also held in a clip, I presume to stop it wobbling around.



Here you can see the ribbon leading to the clamp that I broke off my original controller, this is the replacement one. A bit of a bugger to get out, a real terror to get back in, the side trigger makes it ridiculously awkward to access.



Here's the replacement motherboard, with the side wire still in place, and the clamp for the ribbon coming from the base of the controller still intact.



Here you can see the pin that holds the trigger in place, it's a bit fiddly, I found that I had to get the spring back in place by loosening the screws of the motherboard, so it slipped over a plastic separator, then try and align the trigger, the spring and the internals before sliding the pin back through. Not as bad as I thought it would be, but not easy.



The really nasty bit. The controller is tough to get back into one piece, but at the same time, the ribbon isn't long enough to fit into the clamp until the controller is basically back together, so you can't place it, then try and put it together, you have to try and fit in. I think in the end I mostly got lucky, with it lining up properly when I put it back, and all I had to do was close the clamp.



Finally all back together, I know it's a bit grimy, but it's a backup set and I don't care that much. I gave the joystick a good clean with potentiometer spray. The faceplate sits a little proud, but it's only slightly noticeable with the menu button, and doesn't interfere with function.




Overall that was quite good fun, definitely got me interested in trying it again, but now I have less good parts, since more and more of my "spares" come from broken pieces, and aren't in good condition themselves. Not 100% sure I put all the screws back in that were there originally, but I did enough not sure if the leftovers were from the now disassembled one, or from the one that I put together again!

 

[Unseul]

You have my full admiration! I wouldn't want to tackle that.

Now try fixing a Pro controller!
£150 controllers with the same drift prone sticks!

I've looked at some of the breakdown video, looks a lot worse! Have to say, I am tempted to try though!

 

[Unseul]

Good report and description above Unseul. It seems extremely fiddly to take apart and put back together. The bit where you say you got lucky it lined up as you were putting it together. For me, that bit would be the final frustration where I lose patience and throw the controller in the bin. Still, something worth trying if you do have a faulty controller.

I reckon it's worth the effort with q2 controllers, pro controllers? That looks like a whole different kettle of fish. The trigger and that one ribbon are the hardest parts, and neither felt impossible, just awkward. The pro controller teardown looks horrendous. Still tempted to try and grab a broken set and try, but not sure if I want to just basically throw the money away.

 

[Unseul]

Well done indeed for attempting such repairs. How much did any of the strip down and repair videos actually help for guidance..?

I have seen one related to the Q2 controllers and to be frank the "instructional" video to guide you on making repairs was ten times more useful than any warranty warning sticker or tamper screws to tell me not to open it...!
On one such video, for a Quest 2 battery replacement, I commented something similar. The YT'er replied back "if it was easy I would not have a job". Fair point, the amount of stripping down needed for a battery replacement was horrendous..!

I think I overcomplicated the tricky ribbon to be honest, I suspect I could have dissembled the controller more to allow easier access, but I could be wrong on what I think I was seeing in another breakdown video.

The one I used was good except for that ribbon, that I ended up breaking in my first attempt. Basically they showed it after it had been taken apart, and said this can be tricky... Thanks guys...

I'd be pretty confident now with quest 2 controllers to be honest. With the right parts, I suspect I could strip and rebuild in 30 minutes without much difficulty?

Trying to buy a pair of broken quest pro controllers, but if the guy won't sell them for a lot less than he wants, I'm not bothering, they look horrendous to take apart, and probably not worth the effort.

 

[Unseul]

This is one I watched the other day, not sure why I don't even have a Ques t2...!

Do you own these headsets to attempt the repairs on the controllers..?

I have two quest 2s and now 3 pairs of q2 controllers.

I had one, then my dad gave me his as he can't use it anymore. The left controller was getting very bad stick drift so I was going to replace the joystick. Unfortunately I pulled the ribbon connector off.

Bought a pair of controllers with stick drift from Facebook for £30 (a steal). Just used potentiometer cleaning spray and they're good as new. So I had a spare broken controller, got offered one of the other broken left controller I'd asked about for the price of postage, figured for £3.50 I might as well take it. That's the one pictured above, and why I've now got a backup set of q2 controllers.

 

[Unseul]

Well done. Good to practice and get a positive result.
Some items, thinking of the Q2 battery replacement, are not designed with ease of access to replace such parts. I was surprised at how much stripping down there was to do that.

Q2 battery replacement? You mean the bit of the handle where the batteries go?

 

[Unseul]

Ah the quest 2 itself, sorry I thought you were talking about the controller!

I've not watched the video, but regardless, if my boys headset started dying instantly, I'd probably give it a go. It's that or sell it for very little. If it goes wrong I can still sell it for very little!

 

[Unseul]

@Unseul I've dismantled a Q2 controller as it had intermittent power issues depending on the length of the AA batteries fitted. My energiser rechargables are 2mm taller than energiser non rechargeables.... who knew.
Anyway, I have the negative terminal battery plunger spring extracted from the battery compartment, but the positive terminal is surrounded by a white floating insulator ring which goes into a tiny compartment at the other end of the battery compartment. Do you have a controller in bits to see how to release the pos terminal?

I'll try and take a look tomorrow or Monday.

If you look on YouTube there's a channel called fix my oculus, I think. They have a load of videos, check the shorts as well, they have a lot of stuff.

 

[Unseul]

Bit of a amateur repair, but have you tried padding it with some kitchen foil?

 

[Unseul]

Yeah, my brother's been doing that. So while it's in bits I'll-re tension the large negative terminal spring and re-solder the joints and it should be good to go. It seems they made the pos terminal disassembly impossible without destroying it. Half tempted to replace the joysticks with hall effect sticks while it's in dry dock.

Yeah, I can't see anyway to take it apart. Looks like the terminal is attached through the white bit directly onto the connection. I couldn't manipulate it clear. There's a possibility that you can push the the metal through enough to slip under the plastic ring, but I'm not confident and couldn't do it myself. There's a hint of a clip on the back of the ring too, but again I'm not sure.

I can post photos of what I got to, but by the sounds of it, it's no better than what you'd found anyway.