Sega Saturn 3D Analog Pad help!

[emurozii]

I have a Saturn analog controller that keeps moving on its own. At first it did so only occasionally, but it has gradually exacerbated to the point that it is now moving on its own constantly in-game (i.e. in NiGHTS the human characters always walk in different directions on their own, rendering it unplayable).

I opened up the controller to have a look at the analog, but I now have the analog and its spring no longer attached together. Is there a guide on putting them back together, repairing and cleaning the controller, etc.? I really have no clue what I'm doing, which is a shame because I have other Saturn pads with faulty analogs from over the years too.

[TheSegaSaturnGuy]

Was your controller dropped on a hard surface recently? Sometimes analog stick just wear out( I have a 360 controller that always reads that I am walking left very slowly because the left stick is just wearing out from heavy use). I am not sure if there is already a guide for this but I will type one up tonight if I don't see one in the Guides forum.

[emurozii]

It might have been knocked recently, as I've just moved. I did my best to ensure all my gaming stuff was well packaged and safely transported, but still, a knock or two is definitely not out of the question.

If you do write a guide then that would be fantastic, because there isn't one online, and there's little information at all about the Saturn's analog stick. Couldn't even find any of the usual online videos either. Specifically, I can't put the spring that goes into the analog back together. It should be really simple, but I just can't get it back into shape... Hard to explain, but I think the spring might be bent and out of shape. Not sure though.

[emurozii]

Any updates on the guide, or anyone else's input? I will take photos if needed. I have several controllers that all need repairing.

[TheSegaSaturnGuy]

Well I took my controller apart and examined it closely. The controller is very simple and there is only really one thing I can see that would go wrong. Under the analog stick on the board you will see 4 small capacitors. Check the solder joints to make sure that none of them are broken. It is possible that when the controller was transported it may have caused the analog stick to force down on one of those and broke a joint loose. As far as your analog spring goes this thing looks like a pain to get back on. The spring itself is very short and it looks like the larger end has to go under the lip on the large white circle that the stick itself sits on. The smaller end has to go over the lip on the stick itself. I attempted to take pictures of what it should look like but they would not turn out well and there isnt much room. I hope this helps!

[Mad_Hatter]

I had similar issues with one of my Dreamcast controllers. Cleaning it fixed the issue.