Problem with scuf back buttons jdm 030

[Seldom]

Hello, first of all I want to say thanks for all the help this community is giving to me and secondly I apologize in advance for this long and confusing post but I really miss the electronic basics and technical language.

I've never seen on this forum a topic regarding a scuf controller, so if it is against rules just remove this post. I'm asking for help cause I'm new to this and I really can't understand what I'm doing wrong.

So, I bought a scuf controller with two not remappable backbuttons (X was on left and circle on right) of which the X was perfectly working while the circle backbutton only registered sometimes. I checked the circle switch and it had some small signs on it, for this reason I thought that in order to improve the contact with the metal dome to apply some tin on the circle switch (see image).



Well, after doing it both the backbuttons stopped working but the normal buttons and analogics were still fine.

Then I tried undo what I did and removed as much tin as possible but the most superficial layer, to free the copper, was impossible to remove. My question is, applying the tin on the switch was a stupid move and the reason my backbuttons stopped working?




After all this has happened I noticed that the flex board was cut where there is the ground trace (see image).



So I thought that maybe that was the real cause of the malfunctioning. So I followed the trace and I soldered a wire from the ground pin in the board to another ground pin in the flex board (btw I don't know why there was a pin there)(see image).



After doing this many front buttons stopped working except for some arrows buttons and the analogics. What I'm doing wrong?? Any help is very appreciated

[RDC]

Putting solder on the contacts there didn't do them any favors. They are lightly gold plated, but that's gone for good now as you'll never get the solder off it. Just clean those off with rubbing alcohol and a Q-tip if you have any issues. As far as that one goes now, best you can do is just clean it up and it should still work alright, it'll just be more likely to corrode and cause issues down the road now that it is lead/tin instead of gold is all.

Before trying to figure out what the problem is, find out where it is. First thing you should do now is take that entire mess out of there and put the controller back together 100% stock and see how it acts. If the controller isn't working correctly on it's own, then nothing you put in there is really going to act right either.

[wickated]

you dont need all connections since it dont have controller to remap any button. so you need only 3 wires. 2 buttons and 1 ground. go look sticked thread with pcb scans, and wire really thin wires really accurately to ds4 pcb and then to button pcb. not very hard, just be accurate.

[Seldom]

Thank you for all your answers, it really means a lot.
So, putting the controller back together 100% stock, the controller works fine but the backbuttons don' t work. For sure the flex cable was very damaged in some points and today I decided to cut it and recreate the traces using 3 wires as suggested. One is for ground, one is for circle and one for cross (see image).



I checked continuity with a multimeter from the switches to the final pins and there is. I did this way because I refuse to connect directly to the motherboard pcb since the bonds to it are too
weak. What I did is correct?

Well, if I do this way and I test the controller all buttons don't work but the analogs work and I really don't understand why.

Anyway if you can and if this follows the rules, I would like to understand something more theoretical not directly regarding my problem but about the functioning of this thing in general.

Basically the switches are made of 2 areas (see image), one internal (blue arrow) and one external (red arrow).



If I understood correctly when these 2 areas are connected together by pressing the metal dome the circuit closes and the button act like pressed. So, the external area is connected to the flex board but the internal area I don't understand what it is. It just has a via that goes to nowhere.. Is that a ground? I think this is a noob question

Secondly, what is the utility of the pins in this image circled in yellow? Why they have been created? Since the circuit would work fine  even without them.



My last doubt is if it is difficult to create and print a pcb like that to substitute this one. I would need it just of the same dimensions, with 2 switches of the same dimensions and position linked to a pin each. Have you a program to suggest for beginner and also a site to send the file to print it.

Thanks for your time.

[zis2104]

If you want another pcb you can try this site jlcpcb. Or buy machine and item for 1000 dollar.

[RDC]

The 2 connections are shorted together when the alternate button is pressed, making the button line ground and activating it, provided it's any of the face buttons. L1 and R1 are active Hi buttons and would connect to the 3.2v rail instead of Ground.

The Analog and buttons are independent of each other.

All of the jumpers on the board, R1 ~ R12, are so you can change the alternate buttons function and placement. As it is there, R1 and R3 are 'hard wired' with a trace, so those jumpers are closed. The ones on the FPC itself are for who knows what, probably just test points, or they designed that in for those that did not want to use the existing button board and could instead hack that part off and use Tacts.

Make sure you are putting the controller back together for testing, as that whole setup and the controller connections are dependent on everything being pressed together properly.

[Seldom]

Thank you, you helped me so much

[Seldom]

So, I retried to repair this scuf and I was able to make it work perfectly except for one backbutton. In fact the same backbutton on which I put the tin it doesn't work most of the time (but sometimes it takes the command). Fun fact is that if I clean that switch with isopropyl alcohol the button starts to work perfectly fine but after some minutes it begins to work worse and worse. What is happening to that switch? Is it gone or can be repaired? If not, is it hard to create a similar scuf board? Thank you

[wickated]

use sand paper

[RDC]

Make sure the other part of that button, the metal part that snaps, is also clean.

Making a replacement board, the rigid part (green board) with an ENIG finish wouldn't be that difficult, and if all it would ever do is the same 2 buttons then it could be slimmed down a bit as well.