Controller broke after cleaning?

[ZOMBLUE]

Hiya - I had some sticky buttons on controller that came with my PS4 Pro. I took it apart and cleaned it (like I have xbox controllers in the past), but it doesn’t work anymore. Any ideas? It’s a simple operation but it just quit working after disassembly . It was only a few months old, and only used as a backup to my cool blue one (or second player) - so I’d like to get it working again. I watched YouTube videos -took it apart and reassembled exactly as shown. Any help appreciated!!

 

[Titan]

Describe broken. Like doesn't turn on? Buttons feel off from normal? Turns on but buttons don't work?

I've got much experience in breaking apart PlayStation controllers (especially PS3. Those controllers sucked ). The more info you give me, the more I can help. "Doesn't work" doesn't help me diagnose the problem. Doesn't work could mean many things.

EDIT: Also, is it a custom controller? I just tore apart mine a couple weeks ago because I'm a moron and spilled beer on it. See this thread ( https://ps4forum.com/threads/titans-psa-of-the-day-dont-spill-beer-on-your-controller.11700/ ).

My disassembly was more complex because of the amount of wires added in for extra buttons and features and trying to figure out how Cinch put it together. But the theory is the same. Mine didn't work when I got it back together either. I tore it apart again and there's a thin plastic circuit board in front of the control board that is a type of button receiver. It makes contact with the rubber backs to the buttons to register the button presses. That folded over in reassembly and also popped off it's home pegs, so the buttons didn't make contact. I took it apart again, reseated everything and put it back together (very very carefully) and it works fine now. But, I noticed the triggers and thumb sticks were quite worn out so I'll be disassembling again in the future for a rebuild

 

[ZOMBLUE]

Hiya just saw this. It looks & feels normal but just wouldn’t charge or power on. I’ll try taking it apart again and looking at that plastic part by circuit board. It’s the controller that comes with PS4 Pro n barely used - but sometimes i have a second player (who was eating candy and he got the buttons sticky). I’ve taken apart entire xbox systems n controllers but never the ps4’s so figured I must’ve missed something. I’ll repost my results. Ty for your reply, much appreciated!

 

[Titan]

This also might sound stupid, but check to make sure you plugged the battery back in first. I made that mistake once, lol.

If the ribbon folded over, you'd feel stiff buttons (at least I did when I did it by accident).

 

[ZOMBLUE]

well, I've taken it apart (again) and everything looks great! I've watched several videos and made sure I have done everything exactly - but still gotta dead soldier. This is the CUH-ZCT2U 4th gen V2 that came with the ps4 pro.

Could I have shorted the battery out? That's the only thing I can see that could be wrong. Every solder looks solid and I was very careful, but I was on carpet and heard that might've happened. I'd take the battery outta my other to test that theory, but I'm afraid to open it n leave myself with none - OH THE HORROR! that would be lol.

 

[Titan]

Oh god! Never fix anything electronic on the carpet. Static discharge from your body will fry electronics and circuits. And you moving around on a rug charges you like a battery. I mean, back in the PS2 days I cracked open my PS2 multiple times on the carpet to fix it (the launch 30001 model was notorious for disc read errors), but I wore an anti-static wristband clipped to the case to ground the electricity. I still use it when I have to do something with my computer and I can't get it on a table which it's so big and heavy that's 100% of the time, lol. If you must do electronic repair on the floor, always use a wristband. Although to be honest, it is good practice to use one anyway. I don't anymore unless I'm on the carpet or working on something that's relatively cheap to replace (like a blu-ray player or my controller).

I assume your controllers are the same model, right? If you have another controller, swap the battery and see. Easiest trouble shooting to do. Otherwise if it doesn't work, my intuition says you possibly fried something through static discharge.