Mine was a stick that wasn’t catching or grinding, and I was playing with it extensively these past few days. Lately, my strong button doesn’t work. If I keep mashing it, it will “wake up,” so to speak. I just ordered some Sanwas to put in, but it sounds like after you replaced the buttons, they’re still acting up?
This does not bode well for me.
I took mine apart tonight and the washer was infact very loose. I was able to get at it pretty easily and I threw some really good super-glue that I have under the washer. I let it dry and put it all back together and now my stick doesn’t catch anymore.
The problem seems to me that the groove that the washer sits in isn’t deep enough, causing it to move around. Seems if washers “seat” was a little deeper then all these problems would be avoided. Looks like some manufacturing specs were a little off.
Still have a new JLF stick on order tho. 
Thanks!!! Sorry for being such a noob lol. :pleased: So I can basically play the crap out of the stick and mod the buttons/stick and still have the stick running like it is brand new :smokin:
Okay so here is the issue i’ve been reading on, the mounting plate. Since it is impossible to remove it from the stock joystick, how will we fix that issue for the noobs out there?
Thanks again for your time and effort to explain!!! 
Again if anybody has any idea on how to use the JLF wiring harness on the SE (without soldering…) it would be very helpful. My joystick didn’t register moving to the right, but when i wiggled the wiring harness’s middle wire it would work fine. I have to replace the included wiring harness with the one that’s bundled with the JLF.
Quick question: the JLF wiring harness has one end with like a plastic cap, and the other end is bare wire. Is the bare wire stranded? (Replacement parts still haven’t arrived)
I thought everything was connect/disconnect? Why would any soldering be involved? :xeye:
Everything is just connect/disconnect, but the issue is that the wiring harness that my SE uses needs replacing.
To anyone with an SE stick.
If your direction inputs stopped working after a period of time, you have two possible solutions.
Send your stick back to madcatz for repair.
or
If you have any soldering knowledge, you can open it up and fix the micro switch pcb your self.
[COLOR=“Red”]Here is the issue at hand, everyone knows by now that the washer in the stick is loose, but, it also destroys the trace lines on the pcb that controls the microswitches on your directions. It just rubs them off eventually from play.
My friends SE stick stopped working after 10 days, and prolly 12 hours or so of play.
Easily fixed, but the fact that so many people have this stick means,(and they are having the washer issue) that they will have to chose one of the two options I said, in a matter of days.
Good luck.[/COLOR]
I don’t know how thoroughly this has been discussed, but I’m fucking pissed right now that I had to fix this shit, so I’m not gonna bother reading.
I got my SE in the mail recently and I am also experiencing this washer problem. The joystick just doesn’t move smoothly. Buttons DO work and they’re surprisingly good. I am not going to contact madcatz. I was gonna mod it anyway.
This really worries me. I had a button go dead for a minute on my SE. It fixed itself somehow, but might this be a problem that doesn’t go away with fresh buttons? What are some reasons this would happen, and is it fixable by a novice?
I’m about to drop 50 bucks to mod my shoddy SE, but I think I’d rather just return it and get an HRAP if there’s a chance it could be irreparably fucked even with all new buttons and stick.
I’ve been having real issues getting the mounting plate off of both of my sticks, because on both of them had a few stripped screws. This means that you wont be able to get into the middle of the stick to glue the washer down.
However, if you buy a new stick, many of them come with a new mounting plate.
like that one.
Just make sure that the sanwa stick you plan to put in comes with its own mounting plate, or if you can get your mounting plate off the original it should work fine too.
Good Luck.
Quick question. I don’t know much about sticks/buttons, but my square button makes a different sound than the others when I press it now. It doesn’t sound “clicky” like it used to. Now it makes more of a dull “thud” sound. It’s strange, but the button still seems to work fine. Is this button about to go out? If so, is there something simple I could do to quick fix it?
My microphone port doesn’t work. Anyone have any clue why?
(looks at thread title)
Imma go with QC, for starters.
if its only the sound i dont think you should think about it … but you can be on the save side and buy 8 sanwa/seimitsu buttons :bgrin: and if it breaks just change them …
I just opened my SE and inspected this washer issue myself and sure enough, there it was, sliding around in all its glory. It was definitely wearing down the pcb. Good thing i got to it early. Even after light use I could see the trail of destruction it was leaving.
Now that its working properly its not such a bad jlf knockoff.
More than 50 people just in this thread.
Ahh great as long as the joystick comes with their own mounting plate, I’m good!
Thanks again for your help! I’ll probably just purchase the joystick and buy the buttons later down the road when they start to have issue since the joystick is really the main problem anyways!
You actually got the mounting plate off to reach the washer?
I’m starting to think maybe our problem is a result of the washer damaging the pcb possibly… I don’t have any technical knowledge in the matter but could anyone clarify if that could be possible with the way the guts of the SE work?
you dont have to take off the mounting plate. Remove the gate and the switches and boom…there it is. You can either glue it in place or straight up remove it. The evidence of the washer scraping against the pcb is very apparent. Either way a sanwa’s replacing it eventually.
Thought I’d add my woes… stick stuck a lot until i took it apart and kinda blew it out…after a good bit of use, it now poorly registers the left side… for example, if i place the stick in the upper left corner (exactly in the corner of the square gate) often times I will only jump up and down instead of up and back.
Oh well…new stick and buttons ordered on the 17th…waiting for my shipping confirmation.