Replacement rubber pads for select and start buttons

[DragonmasterDan]

I have a couple controllers where select and start need to be jammed in to be recognized. I've gone through, cleaned out the PCB of the controller and reassembled to no avail. Having repaired many NES controllers in the past I've had to replace rubber pads on select and start buttons however for regular TG16 (and PCE) pads the start buttons stick out further than for NES. So those replacement rubber pads are basically stock with the controller and as a result not a good replacement. Has anyone else found (besides sacrificing other pads) good replacement rubber pads for TG16/PCE pads?

[Keith Courage]

What I have found is that the problem is the rubber that contacts the board in the controller that is messed up. I've used some sand paper to scrape the rubber pads a bit and it fixes them. Almost like removing a thin layer of dirt or something. So give that a try.

[Duo_R]

I have had a couple NES controllers that worked fine, some 3rd party controllers had a very similar shape, sometimes I had to trim the rubber pads.

[DragonmasterDan]

What I have found is that the problem is the rubber that contacts the board in the controller that is messed up. I've used some sand paper to scrape the rubber pads a bit and it fixes them. Almost like removing a thin layer of dirt or something. So give that a try.

Are you sanding the magnetic part or?

[Keith Courage]

i am sanding the little black circle on the underside of the rubber pads. Not the motherboard.

[DragonmasterDan]

i am sanding the little black circle on the underside of the rubber pads. Not the motherboard.

I gave it a try on one of the two pads I have with a bad start/select rubber piece, no noticable difference after spending a few minutes hand sanding it.

[Necromancer]

You can paint on a new coating of the conductive stuff if the rubber itself is okay.

[bust3dstr8]

I gutted a NOS Genesis 6 button pad for parts and it worked well.

[vestcoat]

Funny, I just fixed two pads with this problem earlier today. They go bad with disuse, but are easily cleaned: gently clean the run & select contacts on the PCB with cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol. Don't rub too much, because the q-tips seem to erode the contacts after a while. Then, very gently, clean the little black circles on the under side of the rubber. I've had success with dry or barely damp q-tips (alcohol is bad for the rubber). I've restored my TG and SNES start and select buttons countless times this way.

[DragonmasterDan]

Funny, I just fixed two pads with this problem earlier today. They go bad with disuse, but are easily cleaned: gently clean the run & select contacts on the PCB with cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol. Don't rub too much, because the q-tips seem to erode the contacts after a while. Then, very gently, clean the little black circles on the under side of the rubber. I've had success with dry or barely damp q-tips (alcohol is bad for the rubber). I've restored my TG and SNES start and select buttons countless times this way.

I've thoroughly cleaned the contacts on these, sometimes it fixes them. Sometimes it doesn't. These are two where it isn't helping. I may try the conductive glue that Necro and another poster who PM'ed me about it suggested.

[DragonmasterDan]

I gutted a NOS Genesis 6 button pad for parts and it worked well.

The Genesis 6 button pad doesn't have a select button, so I think the select/start rubber insert would be different than what's in a stock TG16 or PCE pad.