HRAP EX 360 can't hold "right" (need Sanwa help)

8 1/2 · Post by **8 1/2** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:16 am

Hey guys, I got an HRAP EX for the 360 on ebay. Everything seems to work fine in the menus and on the 360 dashboard, but when I get into gameplay pushing to the right registers a dead angle. The ship doesn't move at all. Diagonals still work fine. What's puzzling me is why pressing right works when on the on the menu. I can navigate the options and pick my ship just fine, but when I get into the game I can't move the ship to the right.

I opened it up, and it definitely looks to be messed with. Should the wires for the joystick directionals be soldered to the stick itself? There are quick connects on the buttons, but the stick is all soldered.

8 1/2 · Post by **8 1/2** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 2:14 am

Update:

So it actually is registering movement to the right, but the problem is that you can't hold down the direction. If you hold the stick to the right, it makes one small tap to the right and then stops dead. You have to continually tap like crazy to move the ship to the right. All other directions work fine.

This is a Sanwa JLF and seems to be stock, though for some reason the person selling it cut off the quick connects (I think) and soldered the wires to the joystick directly. Does anyone know which wire on a sanwa JLF relates to pressing right? Perhaps that wire can be resoldered.

croikle · Post by **croikle** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 2:51 am

I doubt that's wiring, it seems more like a mechanical issue, or possibly the PCB. Does holding to the right work if you don't go all the way to the restrictor (i.e. don't move it any more once it activates)?

LuckyDay · Post by **LuckyDay** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 2:57 am

Yeah, sounds like you need a new PCB. It's not a big deal to solder directly to the stick.

8 1/2 · Post by **8 1/2** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 4:02 am

I can't find any sweet spot where I can keep it moving to the right. How hard is installing a new pcb? I've heard you can cannibalize a 360 controller? I think I'm probably going to try for a refund though most likely.

Baron · Post by **Baron** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 5:45 am

I'm almost certain that the HRAP EX sticks for the 360 are soldered in and don't use a 5-pin harness like some other Sanwa sticks. It's still a JLF, it's just a different variant. I have an HRAP EX-SE and the Seimitsu stick is soldered in as well. I seriously doubt that the stick has been tampered with.

This is different from the PS3 HRAP sticks - they have Sanwa JLF sticks with a 5-pin harness.

It sounds like there is something wrong with the microswitch for the right direction. I would remove the joystick's PCB and rotate it to see if the issue follows the rotation. Just replace the stick with another JLF. Or, if you don't care to do any soldering, you can buy the Sanwa JLF PCB separately and switch it out.

I also doubt that there is anything wrong with the main Hori PCB - try replacing the stick or stick parts as I mentioned before replacing the Hori PCB.

LuckyDay · Post by **LuckyDay** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 6:29 am

Yeah, I was assuming it's the pcb on the JLF, not the Hori's pcb.

8 1/2 · Post by **8 1/2** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 7:35 am

So I took your advice Baron and removed all the wires and rotated the stick 180 degrees. After resoldering I started it up... and it works fine. I was expecting left to now be dead, but to my surprise it's hitting perfectly. I'm confused, but excited at the same time. I can only assume the soldering was bad on the right side, though it looked fine before and I had even tried resoldering the right side initially before making this post to no avail. The shmup gods work in mysterious ways.

Baron · Post by **Baron** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 2:01 pm

Good to hear everything worked out. One more working stick in the world can only be a good thing.

brokenhalo · Post by **brokenhalo** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 4:09 pm

probably just a cold soldering joint, like you surmised. good job fixing it