DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for what you do to your own hardware, I am only showing you what
I did to suit my own purposes. If you want to try this yourself, you WILL void your warranty, and
I cannot be held responsible for any error on your part.
Please do not steal my work, but rather link to it. If you want to tell others
about it, please mention my name

Questions/Comments?: Email me at neal0007@tc.umn.edu

A question was posed on me in my post showing my GC Controller mod:

The mod can be found here: /tendomod.html

Why does the B-button stick?
It is a question that has been asked a thousand times over, and I looked back into it and I
know why it sticks. First, look at this picture here, pay attention to the area where
the B-button resides(right above the C-stick):



The B button goes on the risen part of the rubber nearest the C-stick. I messed around pressing
on it for a while with literally nothing happening, but after a while I was able to get it stuck.
The reason? The rubber part nearest the C-stick that touches the circuit board catches on the
circuit board itself. The rubber there gets hot from repeated pressings( Tony Hawk, the most
common culprit, uses the B button all the time. Hmmmmm). This heated rubber expands a little bit,
and becomes "stickier", thus enabling it to grip the circuit board and hold tight. Our thumbs don't
normally press the B button straight down, and we end up pushing the rubber ever so little. The
concept is no different than how heated tires in a car grip the road better. The button often doesn't
come unstuck by itself, because the expand rubber grips the board as it cools. The slipped rubber
base isn't the final cause for the stuck button, but its what does it in. After the rubber slips
and sticks there, this makes it impossible for the raised part of button(the part that actually
has the springiness to it) to retake its semi-conical form. It ends up binding and staying down(just
like a pop bottle does when you press it in far enough. Relieve its pressure somewhere else and the
bottle pops back to normal).

The "twist" method works because it relieves the pressure on the binded rubber, thus allowing it to pop back into place.

Why does the twist method lose its effectiveness after a while? Why does the button start to stick
more and more frequently? Well this is due to the fact that this repeated heating slipping, and popping
back starts to wear ever so slightly on the rubber, leaving pockmarks in the rubber(not really visible
to the naked eye, the area effect of it however, is what hurts it) and residue on the circuit board.
This residue gums up the area, and makes it more prone to sticking.

Can it be fixed?
Yes it can, but I haven't tested it enough(it took a while for it to start sticking in the first place)
to know if it is a final fix or only temporary. Heres what you do:

1. USING WATER ON A ONLY SLIGHTLY DAMP LINT-FREE CLOTH, Clean off underside of rubber, and the area of the circuit board where the B button contacts.
Especially clean the area of the circuit board near the C-stick position,
as that is where the problem lies. DO NOT WASH OVER THE CIRCUIT WIRE LEADS!!!!

2. Let the area dry for a good while in a non-dusty area. Any dampness will only make it worse for you in the future.

IF you go as far as step 2 you should notice an improvement for a while(I sure did). But I'm sure the problem will return, so I took it a controversial step forward:

This next part has not had enough testing to observe longtime usability and effects, so be careful.
Update: I have found and tested silicon grease(found at your local hardware store, to work splendidly and I haven't had problem's with it since!!

3. After dry there can be one more step. And this is one you have to do
at your own risk as I haven't had enough time to test the long term effects
of this. Put a lubricant of some sort in the area I have highlighted below on
the CIRCUIT BOARD underneath the rubber. I am reusing a picture I took during
my control stick mod so the rubber isn't removed, but do the area in red underneath
the rubber. USE SOMETHING NON-ACIDIC, and nothing too liquidy, as you don't want it
to travel beyond where you put it. I used vaseline for my experiment, BUT DON'T USE
THIS, as it WILL eventually degrade the rubber(I took it off after success).

UPDATE: USE Silicon grease, found at your local hardware store.
Silicon grease won't mess with the rubber, and you shouldn't worry about it conduction
electricity either.



Result? Marked improvement! It just WILL NOT stick anymore.

That said, my mission was a success, and I hope you have found this to be as helpful as some of you have found my other mod to be(linked above).
For those that cannot stand the sticky B button problem, I highly recommend
you do steps 1 and 2, but do so very carefully as you should not touch the wire
leads at any time! Use a very slightly damp lint-free cloth, and take it VERY slow.

Any and all responses are welcome.

-Pete

Questions/Comments?: Email me at neal0007@tc.umn.edu

Copyright © 2002 Peter Nealy.