Controller port problems

[Duke]

Hey, I looked but haven't found anything on this issue. Maybe somebody will recognize the symptoms.

I've got a fat PS2, about 4 years old. Recently it developed an oddball problem:

The D-pad and the buttons don't work on any controller in slot 1. The analog sticks work, and so does the START button, but the circle/square/triangle/X buttons are dead.

Not only that, but if there is a controller plugged into slot 1, it kills the buttons on my DFP wheel. With no controller plugged in, the wheel seems to work normally. The symptoms are the same for any one of several different DS2s I tried.

It seemed to happen when somebody plugged in a multitap so we could play a 4-player game; at least that's when I first saw the problem. Could that have somehow damaged the contoller bus? We've played tons of games using the multitap with no problem before.

What do you think happened?

Is there a fix other than going to Gamestop and buying a used PS2 for $75?

Any info will help. Thanks!

 

[Pako]

Have you seen the inside of your PS2 before? Those connections (plugs) are pretty modular if I remember correctly and should be able to be replaced fairly easily. It doesn't seem very likely that something is broken, probably just need the contacts cleaned more so inside the unit then the plug end themselves. Anyways, some things to look into that are free if you are so inclined to take apart the PS2 yourself.

Good luck.

By the way, opening up your PS2 will void your warranty, you know that, but I still had to have a disclaimer so as not to get blamed when you brake your PS2.

 

[Jedi2016]

Yeah, sounds like the pins in the port are going bad, one way or another. At first glance, I'd say some pins are no longer transmitting data (i.e. the ones that carry the input from the d-pad and face buttons). But, since you say it also interferes with the DFP, I would say that it IS sending information, but that the information is getting distorted or garbled. The PS2 is getting a bunch of input from what it thinks is a controller, and it's causing problems.

Does it happen on any DS2 plugged into Slot 1? If it's more than one, I'd suggest what Pako said.. open 'er up and check out the contacts in that controller port. Clean 'em up real good, make sure they're positioned like they ought to be (use Port 2 as a reference for pin position, since that one still works normally, I'm assuming).

Either way, it's probably something simple.. a bent pin, some dirt in the wrong place, etc. I doubt it's actually "broken".

While Pako is right about the warranty, your system is out of the warranty anyway.. hehe. I've opened up mine to clean the lens once or twice, it's not a big deal.

 

[Duke]

Yeah, OK, guys. I'll open 'er up and see what's up in there. The warranty is loooooong gone anyway. If I bust something permanently, I'm no worse off than I am now.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Dave A]

The problem is definitely the connection inside the PS2, most likely as said the pinds. Check the wiring, it might simply be that one of the wirse has come loose or off that connects to the pad slot. Almost at worst what you can do (if you soldering skills are good) is swap the socket 1 and socket 2 slots around, it'll mean no 2 player but that's the next worse thing up from the PS2 needing replacing altogether.

 

[Duke]

Actually, I took the console apart and it was fine, though I cleaned it all up. Turns out I have 2 dead controllers, apparently, though I thought I checked them all that night - in fact I'm certain I did.

Is it possible that the multitap killed the two controllers? I don't remember having any bad controllers at all until suddenly now *bam*. All 4 controllers were plugged into it, but the 2 bad ones are bad in exactly the same oddball way. Makes me suspicious of the tap, which always worked fine before.

 

[Pako]

I just can't imagine that there would be enough voltage there to kill a controller..... Well, at least everything is all cleaned up though. That's just weird.

 

[opendriver]

New controllers are a dime a dozen these days on ebay...

Have you ever used a third pary controller like madcatz or some other off brand?

 

[Wolfe]

Never buy third-party controllers -- they won't last longer than a couple months. I've had nothing but bad luck with third-party controllers. First-party ones are much more durable...

...on the other hand, Sony products are really crappy. There just might be a better third-party PS2 controller out there.

 

[GM]

All I can reccomend is to buy a new PS2 when you get some spare money, about 90 quid for a slimline, mine has fallen around 1 meter of my shelf servral times and works fine still.

 

[opendriver]

Never buy third-party controllers -- they won't last longer than a couple months. I've had nothing but bad luck with third-party controllers. First-party ones are much more durable...

...on the other hand, Sony products are really crappy. There just might be a better third-party PS2 controller out there.

I have a logitech wireless DS2 and its ok so, ive only had it for a few months.

I figured out why my WRS split times were slow...It was the controller!! I plugged in the regular wired DS2 from sony and gained almost 1 second on a T-time

As for buying 3rd party controllers, I agree completley. I bought a MadCatz wire controller and it was dead in 3 weeks, just my luck because thats when the limit is to return things at target..

All I can reccomend is to buy a new PS2 when you get some spare money, about 90 quid for a slimline, mine has fallen around 1 meter of my shelf servral times and works fine still.

I too have just bough a slimline and im quite impressed. The sound the the old fat ones made is gone. Its quiter that a laptop computer and it takes up a lot less room than my old PS2

 

[GM]

Only Slimline problem is overheating
Not that it happens often, but if your going for a crazy challenge on GT4 or something like 1 week non stop racing then it'll be likely to overheat.

 

[G.T]

Only Slimline problem is overheating
Not that it happens often, but if your going for a crazy challenge on GT4 or something like 1 week non stop racing then it'll be likely to overheat.

https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showpost.php?p=2004337&postcount=106

 

[Duke]

I actually went to Gamestop and bought a used slimline PS2 as part of my diagnosis. I didn't really like it.

First off, it wouldn't even acknowledge my GT4 disc.

Second off, it actually took up more space for me, because I keep my center-channel speaker on top of my PS2. With the flip-top disc acess on the slimline, that didn't work, and I had no good place to put the speaker.

On the subject of 3rd-party controllers, forget it. When we bought our PS2, for some reason DS2 controllers and mem cards were in short supply. We bought a Madcatz controller and an off-brand memcard.

The Madcatz contoller wouldn't work when the real Sony one was plugged in, and even by itself it felt like crap. And the memcard went corrupt in less than a month.

Until now, I've never had any trouble with any of the genuine Sony bits.

 

[GM]

https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showpost.php?p=2004337&postcount=106

Great post, if there was no signiture limit, I'd have 100's of Famine posts in my signiture