SF4 Standard Edition FightStick - Problem / Defect Thread

picked up my 2 se sticks about a week ago from gamestop. the first occasionally kept sticking down left and the second had the turbo button tilted about 5 degrees and can’t register the down direction at all. i dreaded the thought of being without a stick during sf4 launch so i figured the loose washer was the problem, since at the time that seemed to be the general consensus regarding defective se sticks, nothing a mod wouldn’t be able to fix…or so i thought. so i gutted my old sticks for parts and went into replacing the stock parts. the first stick turned out fine but the second stick would not register down no matter what joystick i put in! it’s definitely a problem with the stick itself and not my parts as i cross checked each joystick i tried to put in by plugging them into my other sticks and they worked fine. i’m guessing the problem is not with the pcb inside the stock stick(the one that the loose washer scratches) but rather with the pcb labeled with the directional inputs or possibly the five pin connector. whats worse is that the first stick was actually for somebody else i just merely picked it up, and “no” i couldn’t just take the working stick because said somebody else was present during the modding so to this day i’m still stuck without a working 360 stick.

i really wanted to like these sticks, once i heard markman was behind the design i wanted to show my support for his efforts. don’t get me wrong i love the design, the case looks awesome(reminds me of those old dreadedfist cases) and the stock buttons are the best i’ve come across, i prefer them over stock hori buttons actually. i just wished everything worked as advertised.

@markman: hey mark this is erwin i still live in sd if you ever read this please tell me what i should do or if i’ve basically screwed myself over by voiding the warranty. will madcatz still help those of us that tried to modify our sticks? normally i’d search this thread for answers before asking such a question but the server is always busy it seems, barely could get into this thread to post. i’m sorry if this question has been asked already.

@Fade702: if it’s a problem with any of the stock parts then yes replacing them with new parts should suffice, however if it’s a problem with the connectors or wiring inside then simply replacing the parts won’t do much if anything. you’ll never know unless you get to the innards of your stick thus voiding the warranty. though if you know that your problem was caused by the infamous “loose washer” i do believe that replacing your joystick would be the answer.

Well, ended up getting tired of my second SE acting up and since I’ve already ordered up some replacement parts, I figured I would open things up glue down that stupid washer for now. Seems to be working well for now but it started to do a number on the PCB from just a few hours of play…

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/7915/dsc3760.th.jpg

I’m just hoping there’s not any further problems with the buttons or anything that couldn’t be fixed by just swapping them out.

Two of my buttons gave out. HK and 3K stopped working (I don’t use 3K). It began to work again once I plugged the controller back in. Luckily I was in training mode.

I’m going to return it though. I don’t even know if I want to call customer service to have it be replaced.

Well I have the washer issue like everyone else. Left, Down left, and up left are no longer work at all. I’m hoping to be able to do a temp fix, but my pcb board is pretty bad. Madcatz tricked me into thinking they care about their image and weren’t making crap these days. Never again will I buy madcatz. $80 dollars a pop and they didn’t playtest these things? Mine broke with about 10 hours of playtime. Ridiculous, and yes I know they have a warranty, but who wants to wait weeks when the biggest fighting game in a decade was just released? Ahh I feel better now.

thnx for the help
everything else works except for my left so im thinking that my wires are all good.
im gonna order everything next payday so im playing SF4 with my battle tested old tekken hori!

I just got my SE. Should I open it up an check the washer issue immediately?

I guess I am the only one having a tough time getting the ultras to come out…

nm that

I wouldn’t open it up unless:

  1. You are actually have a joystick problem or notice grinding, etc.
  2. You are absolutely certain you are going to keep the stick

I have not heard any success stories of someone getting Madcatz to warranty their stick after having opened it… Is there anyone out there who has tried?

Hey guys,

I opened mine and fixed it with some great results. I posted a ton of pictures on my blog with full directions if anyone wants more detail.

http://dancameron.org/general/how-to-fix-your-sf4-standard-edition-fightstick-madcatz-fightstick

I played all weekend on my SE (already swapped the stock stick fora JLF) and have not had anymore instances of my top row of buttons stopping to respond (all punches inluding the LP+MP+HP). This had happened twice prior. Makes me sketchy on the main PCB…

My stock buttons have gotten worse. 3-4 of them, if pressed on the edge of the button (as in you accidentally tap it anywhere near the rim instead of dead center), have resistance to the press. It’s definitely the plastic button catching on the plastic button casing. Annoying. At least the stock parts in my EX2 work fine out of the box… $80 is a steep price for something that is so flawed right out of the box - PCB, moddable casing, or not.

I expected to at least use the damn stick with a stock setup until I recovered from the purchases enough before sinking an additional $60 into it to mod the components…

Hi there i received my fightstick last week and the stick its self is fine but when i press any of the buttons it sometimes comes up as multiple buttons for example i use blanka quite a lot and i do his move where he slides across the floor which is press down and punch…but sometimes my HP picks up as 2 punches and sometimes even 3 punches which makes him do a taunt or what ever it is…i was just wondering if anyone else is having problem and if so would modifying my kit get rid of this problem as i am gonna mod it in the future.

I have been playing with my stick since last thursday and it has been working fine. I have ordered full replacement parts and just waiting for chad. But my main question is if its working fine should I continue to play with it? I am not sure if I am having the problem of the rubbing washer and not noticing it yet. I dont want to eat the joystick pcb away. I really want to open it up but afraid of voiding the warranty, but guess what the sticker looks like it has already been voided (where it creases, it looks like it has just been cut through and separated). I bought it brand new from Gamestop so i believe I am the first to play with it. What should I do should I open it up and check that the washer is not eating it away or should I just wait for the parts and not use the stick.
@ Markman- You made a post in the 1st page that if we open it up we will still be taken cared of. So the warranty still we be acknowledged?

You intend to mod it. You’re gonna void the warranty regardless so you might as well open it up beforehand and get acquainted with what is inside.

Seeming as you’re going to mod it it won’t hurt to take a look inside to see if you have the washer problem. Better safe than sorry.

Something of note:

The sticker does NOT actually say that the warranty is void if opened. The sticker says something to the effect of “Do not open unless qualified to do so.”

Oh you are right hahah I thought it said something about warranty.

Which in my opinion is good as you can always play dumb and say “I wouldn’t have opened it had the sticker actually said my warranty was going to be void…”

I, of course, consider myself qualified to tinker…

Just opened it up and i don’t think the washer is misaligned. So just going to keep playing with it until the parts arrive.

LOL:rofl:

Yeah, my sticks been sticking since I got it and the left motion just completely gave out. What a piece of shit, I’m so dissapointed, I had high hopes that mad catz had turned their shit around, but they’re still making shitty products.