EDIT by Kajiki - Step-by-Step guide to securing your washer and stopping your joystick from getting stuck. As well as more info on potentially repairing a damaged PCB.
EDIT by MarkMan - info added to OP
Original Post:
This thread is for standard edition stick owners. Discuss the condition that your stick arrived in as well as any problems you are currently having with your stick.**
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I picked up my two SE fight sticks today and they both have a similar issue. Its a small issue but somewhat annoying…
On both of my sticks the joystick tends to get stuck occasionally in a certain direction. (stick1: tends to get stuck in the down-right position… stick2: tends to get stuck in the left [slightly up-left but not enough to jump] position.) – It seems that the stick itself is getting snagged on something, somewhere inside. Its easy to fix and pull back into place but i would much prefer it to return to perfect neutral when i let go of the stick. – I dont want to open the stick yet because i would prefer not to void my warranty so soon.
Other than that my two sticks work fine on my PS3 and PC. The buttons are fine, feels solid and durable, nice long wire, came in good shape aesthetically. I’m very please with my first stick and now i just have to get used to playing with it 
. (and i cant wait to get some sanwa buttons and sticks to stick in them)
Post any issues you are having with your MadCatz SFIV Standard Edition FightStick here. If you have a problem with a TE fightstick, please refer to the other thread for TE sticks only.
Common Issues List: (will be updated as posts come in.)
**1.) Joystick gets stuck/caught. (Using strong glue, secure the large metal washer in the middle of the stick. It is located right above the PCB.)
2.) PCB is damaged from friction with the loose washer. (Possible solution: Redraw the damaged traces on the PCB with #2 Pencil lead and cover with tape/hotglue/other. This may work to some damage caused by the washer.) This problem can be avoided if you glue down the washer before using the stick… The loose washer in many sticks is grinding away at the PCB, so the more you use the stick without gluing down the washer the more damage will be done to it.**
Basic Guide to Fixing the Joystick Sticking Problem
1.) Remove the Joystick component from the case. - Unscrew the bottom panel from your FightStick. Next unscrew the four screws connecting the Joystick component to the case. Disconnect the 5pin connector from your joystick and unscrew the balltop by inserting a flathead screwdriver into the bottom side of the joystick and turning the balltop until it screws off of the stick. At this point you should be able to lift the stick out of the case.
***2.) *Remove the clear plastic restrictor from the bottom of the stick component. - You can take off this clear plastic disk by pushing in the four black tabs on each side and pulling upwards. The plastic restrictor on the madcatz stick is physically hard to remove and you may need pliers to push in the tabs, compared to a sanwa JLF that you can easily remove with your bare hands. I would recommend pushing in each tab on each side slightly instead of trying to take it off on one side before doing the other sides.
3.) Now you can easily slide the PCB/microswitches off. - It isn’t held down by anything and you can just pick it up and put it to the side somewhere. If you can see visible damage to your PCB caused by using the stick while the washer has been loose you may need to fix that also. If so, now would be a perfect time since you have the PCB right in front of you.
4.) Time to glue down the washer! - Notice the metal washer near where the stick is attached to the mounting plate. This washer is causing both the sticking problems and is also badly damaging the PCB of your stick. Also notice the small indent in the plastic base where the washer is meant to sit firmly. - You should now use superglue to adhere the washer into that indentation. (Make sure that the washer is resting in the indentation, and is centered.). Apply the adhesive evenly around the washer, apply pressure and allow it to dry completely before you do anything else with the stick.
5.) After the washer is securely glued down you may now re-assemble the stick and secure it back into the case of your MadCatz SE FightStick. If you did the process correctly, it should no longer get stick in any direction. If your stick is not registering inputs in a specific set of directions it is likely that your PCB has been damaged from contact with the loose washer. If that is that case, you will need to repair your PCB.
Basic Guide to Fixing a Non-Responding Joystick
1.) Remove the Joystick component from the case. - Unscrew the bottom panel from your FightStick. Next unscrew the four screws connecting the Joystick component to the case. Disconnect the 5pin connector from your joystick and unscrew the balltop by inserting a flathead screwdriver into the bottom side of the joystick and turning the balltop until it screws off of the stick. At this point you should be able to lift the stick out of the case.
***2.) *Remove the clear plastic restrictor from the bottom of the stick component. - You can take off this clear plastic disk by pushing in the four black tabs on each side and pulling upwards. The plastic restrictor on the madcatz stick is physically hard to remove and you may need pliers to push in the tabs, compared to a sanwa JLF that you can easily remove with your bare hands. I would recommend pushing in each tab on each side slightly instead of trying to take it off on one side before doing the other sides.
3.) Now you can easily slide the PCB/microswitches off. - It isn’t held down by anything and you can just pick it up and put it to the side somewhere.
*
4.) Pay attention to the conductive traces/wires on the face of the PCB.* - If you have an unresponsive stick component, it is likely because the loose washer has done minor grinding damage to the traces on your PCB. Depending on the severity of the damage, you may be able to fix the severed traces on your own.
5a.) This first method of fixing light damage is to draw the broken traces with a #2 pencil. Make sure not to connect two different traces. Each trace corresponds to each directional microswitch. - Apparently, the “lead”/graphite in common pencils is conductive enough to repair light damage to your PCB. - One you can verify that your joystick is working correctly, make sure to cover the exposed portion of your PCB with non-conductive electrical tape, in order to protect the new connections from getting rubbed or ground off.
5b.) ** Second method to be added a.s.a.p. **
Remember: Opening your stick will void the warranty and you will not be able to send your stick back to have it fixed for any reason if you do that. So do so at your own risk. If you intend on opening your stick, check it thoroughly for any other problems that might be return-worthy before voiding your warranty.
Also, many of these problems can be easily fixed by replacing the sub-par MadCatz parts in your stick with high-quality parts made by reputable companies. (Sanwa/Seimitsu/etc.) – Remember your options. You can send it in to MadCatz for warranty repair, fix the problems yourself with a little bit of effort, or replace the low-quality parts with better ones.
I’m hopeful that everyone will be able to find a solution that works for them and begin to use the sticks that they have spent their hard-earned money on. Good luck everyone!
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