LebGeeks

shant

Member

How to fix your PS3 controller

Hello guys,here is an effective guide for fixing the random button press most people get from their ps3 controller when the cleaning with alcohol method does not work for you, before you begin i suggest being very delicate as breaking things inside the controller is too easy, i also don't take any responsibility in case you make it worse (which shouldn't happen anyway so don't worry).
This guide was prepared using my phones camera and ms paint.

The cleaning with alcohol method:

Step 1-Start by unscrewing these 5 screws.

Step 2-When you are done, push the L2 and R2 buttons simultaneously and life up slowly from the other side and the shell should pop up easily.

Step 3-Once you are inside there is only 1 screw that holds the board in place(which is incredibly stupid because that's the whole reason that causes this problem), anyway unscrew that also and lift up the board slowly.

Step 4-You will come into these connectors,use alcohol to clean them and put the board back into place,put the battery back on and put the screw holding the board back on, before you put the shell back,connect your controller to your pc, go to start menu and type "controller" in the search bar, then click on "set up usb game controllers" you will see the ps3 controller there, click on it and click on properties, from there you can easily test the buttons one by one and see if they are responding well, if it works fine then great! skip to step 8 on how to close the controller.

The foam method:

Step 5-If the steps above did not fix it then remove the board again, slowly and very carefully remove the ribbon cable, you will see a small piece of foam under there, this gets compressed over time which causes it to leave a small empty gap between the ribbon cable and the main board,buy a thin layer of none soft foam(or 2/3 layers of electrical tape) and glue a it on there, now put the board back on and tighten that screw(not too tight tho).

Step 6-now install the battery back on but i suggest adding a few layers of electrical tape on the top right leg of the battery so that the extra pressure wont damage the board.

Step 7-Now take a look at the back, there is a small,thin piece of black foam, sony thought they can just put a piece of foam there to push the board against the ribbon cable (instead of adding an extra screw on the board),this also gets compressed over time, add a nice thick layer of foam ontop of it, this will push the board against the ribbon cable and ensure contact.

Step 8-Now put the shell back on starting from this side (without pressing the L2 and R2 buttons this time) and push down, put the screws back on, your controller should now work perfectly!.

Step 9-In case one of the L2/R2 buttons fell off, this is how to put them back on (sorry the pic is taken from the wrong angle).

In case the methods above did not work or you have some buttons not responding at all then you have to clean or change the ribbon board and the key rubbers.
http://dx.com/p/replacement-board-ribbo … ack-139982
http://dx.com/p/5-in-1-replacement-wire … een-191507

Last edited by shant (May 19 2013)

AVOlio

Member

Re: How to fix your PS3 controller

hummm, nice work shant !
I actually have searched for tutorials to fix my controller, because the buttons are sort of unclickable anymore cz of all the dirt inside ...
I found a few, but never really did anything about it, cause lol i dont have the proper screwdriver size for the screws of the controller

yasamoka

Member

Re: How to fix your PS3 controller

Thanks a LOT Shant! I'll surely go into these steps when fixing my PS3 controller (it's having random presses).

enthralled

Member

Re: How to fix your PS3 controller

Thanks a LOT Shant! I'll surely go into these steps when fixing my PS3 controller (it's having random presses).

My DS3 has random presses only when used wirelessly. Connecting USB fixes it.

yasamoka

Member

Re: How to fix your PS3 controller

Thanks a LOT Shant! I'll surely go into these steps when fixing my PS3 controller (it's having random presses).

My DS3 has random presses only when used wirelessly. Connecting USB fixes it.

I'm using USB.

shant

Member

Re: How to fix your PS3 controller

Hey guys, i just wanted to say if you guys have a bad controller that you cannot fix yourself, ill buy it for a reasonable price, i need some spare parts off it,pm me if any

MotD

Member

Re: How to fix your PS3 controller

Hi,
greetings from Germany :)

Can someone tell me the Different between the circuit boards like SA1Q159A, SA1Q160A or SA1Q188A and else of them?

In my Dualshock3 Sixaxis is one SA1Q160A circuit board and it has a broken Connector.

I have compared the two circuit boards (SA1Q159A and SA1Q160A) largely of pictures and can find no difference.

Greetings
MotD

shant

Member

Re: How to fix your PS3 controller

could be a newer revision, you can easily fix the usb port tho!
here is a link of different revisions. http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php? … id=4384867

MotD

Member

Re: How to fix your PS3 controller

i have no problem with the usb port
My problem is that a contact of the ribbon circuit board  is interrupted, at the spot where it is pressed onto the controller board. the question is can i replace a SA1Q160A with a SA1Q159A or SA1Q188A?

shant

Member

Re: How to fix your PS3 controller

you can probably replace them if both boards match the screw holes, can you send a good focused pic of this interrupted spot?
did you try my advice of foams? what if its the ribbon cable itself and not the board?

AVOlio

Member

Re: How to fix your PS3 controller

ive spilled pepsi right all into my controller. its been a while.
Just had a little time to open it and start cleaning it up.
i removed everything right to the buttons and everything, cleaned them up with alcohol.

When i finished and after reinstalling everything.
the buttons were not working (sqaure,triangle,circle and x) Ps button was not working, and some issues still with L1 R1 L2 R2 .
I guess its a problem with that paper pad or something under ?

AvoK95

Member

Re: How to fix your PS3 controller

ive spilled pepsi right all into my controller. its been a while.
Just had a little time to open it and start cleaning it up.
i removed everything right to the buttons and everything, cleaned them up with alcohol.

When i finished and after reinstalling everything.
the buttons were not working (sqaure,triangle,circle and x) Ps button was not working, and some issues still with L1 R1 L2 R2 .
I guess its a problem with that paper pad or something under ?

I think the soda ruined it. But that's just my opinion ;)

shant

Member

Re: How to fix your PS3 controller

its probably sticky? did you clean the plastic sheet/paper/trace?
also make sure you installed everything in position, a slight misposition of that sheet could cause it not to work

Tarek

Banned

Re: How to fix your PS3 controller

can this work on the PS2 controllers?

shant

Member

Re: How to fix your PS3 controller

I don't think it will

Obviously

Member

Re: How to fix your PS3 controller

Hey Shant,

Where do you think I can find foam, screwdrivers, and electrical tape in Lebanon?

I've seen a video of someone doing this, and I want to try it out before I consider my controller dead and give it a proper funeral for the years it had served my hands.

shant

Member

Re: How to fix your PS3 controller

I usually go to Boujikian at Dora for electrical tape and screwdrivers, as for the foam im not sure where to get it, i had some lying around when i fixed mine.

Last edited by shant (March 15 2014)

Obviously

Member

Re: How to fix your PS3 controller

I usually go to Boujikian at Dora for electrical tape and screwdrivers, as for the foam im not sure where to get it, i had some lying around when i fixed mine.

Oh damn. Thanks :)

geekevo

Member

Re: How to fix your PS3 controller

You can get foam from libraries i guess. like fairco or so.

Salloum

Member

Re: How to fix your PS3 controller

If you can't find foam, just use rolled up electrical tape in the form of a small, narrow rectangle. Works like a charm.