Tools Required
Tri-point Y1 Screwdriver
Phillips #0 or JIS #0 Screwdriver
Dissasembly Guide
(Left and right in this guide always assume standard orientation)
Place down a couple Paper Towels for later
Locate and remove the 6 tri-point screws.
(Use appropriate before turning the screwdriver in order to not strip the screws, too little force and the screwdriver will slip over the 3 grooves of the screw and round off the screw making it very difficult to remove)
The back will now be able to be removed with light force, set aside for later
Remove the Z button and place on the paper towels
Unhook the cable from around the inside of the post near the cable tie
Using the left and right of the controller board lift out of the front shell and set aside for later
Remove the 3 button membranes (D-pad, Start, ABXY) from the front shell, these may be stuck to the front of controller motherboard and place on the paper towels
Slide the buttons (D-pad, Start, A,B,X,Y) out from the front shell and place on the paper towels
On the inside of the back shell there are two trigger guards with 2 Screws in each use a PH0 or JS0 Screwdriver to remove these
(Use appropriate force before turning the screwdriver in order to not strip the screws, too little force and the screwdriver will slip over the 4 grooves of the screw and round off the screw making it very difficult to remove)
Take note as to which trigger guard is from either side the left Trigger guard will have a hole in the center
Remove both trigger guards
Remove the trigger button, spring and trigger bracket by compressing the button and easing out from inside the shell, keep the trigger bracket with the corresponding trigger.
Remove the membrane from the bottom of the trigger bracket.(These just pull out from behind the 2 small plastic holders) and place on the paper towels.
Note: The rumble motor is loose and can fall out of its holder easily be careful it doesn’t dangle and pull off it’s own solder connections to the board.
On the motherboard of your controller there will be two thumbstick stick caps, the Left control stick and C-Stick, these sticks can be removed by pulling directly away from the board (Phob Users be careful not to apply pressure the magnet holders surrounding the stick box under the thumbstick caps)
This guide now diverges based on if you need a deep clean or are preforming regular maintenance.
Regular Maintenance
- Toothbrush or similar small brush
- Plastic Polish (Furniture Polish like Mr. Sheen etc. please read the warning labels on your polish prior to beginning, make sure it is suitable for plastic or lacks any mention of not being suitable for plastic)
- Paper Towel/Kitchen Roll/Blue Roll (Toilet Roll is not recommended)
Apply a generous amount of plastic polish to the front shell and work in with a Toothbrush being sure to focus around the Thumbstick holes, button holes and the edge of the controller where the back shell and front shell meet
Once happy with the result, use paper towels to clean up all of the liquid dirt lifted from the previous step until dry. Reapply polish and repeat this step as necessary
Apply a generous amount of plastic polish to the back shell and work in with a Toothbrush being sure to focus around the trigger button holes and the edge of the controller where the back shell and front shell meet. There also may be a buildup of sweat on the back handles and grooves near the c-stick and d-pad where the Nintendo logo and Gamecube controller information reside.
Once happy with the result, use paper towels to clean up all of the liquid dirt lifted from the previous step until dry. Reapply polish and repeat this step as necessary
When cleaning the button membranes for L/R, ABXY, Start and D-PAD, be careful not to scrub the carbon off the black sections, a light wipe with a paper towel and a small amount of polish here is fine. For the reverse side with the rubber tips clean with a toothbrush and polish then wipe dry and set aside.
For the A , B , X , Y , Z, Start, D-Pad and L/R Buttons apply some polish and scrub with toothbrush until clean and wipe off liquid dirt and set aside.
Clean both the Joystick caps in the same manner as the buttons focusing on the under side of the rubber tip that connects to the stem.
Move onto Reassembly
Deep Clean
Tools Recommended
Bowl of hot soapy water (Be careful using a sink as the start button can easily fit down the drainage plug)
Isopropyl Alcohol wipes or Liquid
Cotton bud/Q Tip
Carefully remove the Rumble motor from the holder and do not let it dangle this is soldered onto the board. Remove the trigger bracket using the clips near the trigger sliders and slide out the trigger digital pads from the bracket
Place everything but the motherboard into hot soapy water and leave for 5-10 minutes
Using a toothbrush clean all the parts vigorously apart from the button membranes
Take care not to scrub the black sections of the membranes as this will affect performance
Rinse all items with fresh water and leave to dry completely
Using Isopropyl Alcohol and some cotton buds wipe the motherboard down until clean
If you have a standard rubber wire, Repeat this step with a small cloth for the controller cable and GameCube connector plug, this may take multiple passes depending on the condition of your rubber cable.
If you have a Paracord or Knitted cord please talk to your controller modder for the best action of care for the wire.
Continue to reassembly…
Reassembly
Place the L Membranes back into the Trigger Bracket, replace the spring back onto the stem of the brackets, and add the L Trigger button. Compress and replace these into the controller, so that 2 black plastic pins are facing towards you.
Repeat the step above for the R button
Place the trigger guards back on and the black pins should slot through the 2 small holes
On the two trigger guards with 2 Screws in each use a PH0 or JS0 Screwdriver to replace these
(Use appropriate force before turning the screwdriver in order to not strip the screws, too little force and the screwdriver will slip over the 4 grooves of the screw and round off the screw making it very difficult to remove, too much force before the screw is partially in the screw strut and it can fall to the side and possibly damage the strut)
Make sure the guards are secure and tighten the screws if needed using the appropriate force
Set aside the completed back half
Note: The rumble motor is loose and can fall out of its holder easily be careful it doesn’t dangle and pull off it’s own solder connections to the board.
Replace the Thumbstick caps on the Motherboard, these only go on one way due to the shape of the stick stem.
Set the motherboard aside for now
Replace the A , B , X , Y , Start and D-Pad buttons into the front shell
Add corresponding membranes over each button so the black circles face you, the D-pad has a hole that sits over a strut, the ABXY has a small one too. The start button membrane has two struts,
Make sure these are secure before continuing and if these are not in position the controller will not go back together correctly
Place the motherboard back into the front shell making sure the holes of the board line up with the supporting struts of the shell, the c-stick might need some adjusting to line up into the small struts.
Put the wire back in place around the stress relief strut, the rumble bracket may be in the way, you can lift the board slightly and place the cable around the strut below the bracket and above the board or lift the bracket itself up a small amount. Be careful that the button membranes do not shift during this process.
Ensure the Trigger Sliders are in the upmost position closest to the cable
Check the rumble motor is in the correct orientation, which is the pin on the barrel is pointing towards the controller cable.
Replace the Z button into position
Place the back shell back onto the controller adjusting it slightly from side to side until it slides over the rumble motor and into position, The Top shell should be flush with the button shell at this point.
Locate and replace the 6 tri-point screws. Check if each screw is fully screwed in by attempting to slightly pull apart the controller near the screws location. After each screw move to the other side of the controller to screw in the next one and repeat until fully reassembled
(Use appropriate force before turning the screwdriver in order to not strip the screws, too little force and the screwdriver will slip over the 3 grooves of the screw and round off the screw making it very difficult to remove, too much force before the screw is partially in the screw strut and it can fall to the side and possibly damage the strut)