Hey everyone! I'm having some trouble with my Xbox pro controller. The shoulder buttons were acting up, so I thought I'd give WD-40 a shot to fix it. It worked for the shoulder buttons, but then I sprayed it on the face buttons too, hoping to improve those as well. Unfortunately, now the face buttons aren't registering properly and feel sticky. I'm really stuck and could use some advice on how to fix this mess. Thanks a bunch!
2 Answers
Using WD-40 as a lube instead of sticking to a contact cleaner like the WD-40 Specialty Contact Cleaner is a recipe for disaster. Unfortunately, it's known to cause all sorts of issues with controllers. You'd be better off cleaning it with something more suitable, like isopropyl alcohol, to avoid further problems.
First off, I'm curious where you heard that WD-40 was a good fix for controllers. Here's what I suggest doing to get things back to normal:
- Take out the batteries immediately.
- Grab some isopropyl alcohol (the stronger, the better).
- Disassemble your controller to get a good look at the internals; you might need to remove quite a bit of plastic.
- Use the isopropyl alcohol to clean off the WD-40, since it can attract dirt and grime. You can even dunk it in the alcohol if you're careful.
- Dry everything off with some compressed air and ensure it's completely dry.
- Give it 24 hours to be really sure it’s dry before putting it back together. And for the record, maybe think about more informative titles next time!
It's wild to think they didn't bother to check what they were putting in their controller. You'd think they'd do a little research.
Haha, that was a good burn! Seriously though, it's great advice.