Repairing gamepad: need help!

[Dark Fact]

Okay guys, I've got a little problem with one my PC gamepads.  It is a NEXXTECH Illum FX USB cord gamepad.  I purchased it from a Radio Shack a couple of years ago and by now the warranty has expired.  Just a few days ago, I had a friend over and we were playing MAME emulated arcade games on my PC when my friend jerked down hard on the right direction on the directional pad.  Needless to say, the hard press on the direction caused the direction to f*ck up majorly and now I can't move right whenever I press right on the direction pad.  Tomorrow, I'm going to attempt to repair this but I need some pointers or advice.  What must be done to get the direction to start working again on the pad?

Any help will be appreciated, thanks!

[termis]

If it happened suddenly, sounds it could be some plastic piece of some sort that somehow makes contact with the appropriate traces shifted or broke off.  Any sounds from the controller when you shake it? 

Other than that, try cleaning the rubber seals (if it's like all other pads) that makes contact with the boards with isopropyl alcohol - but that'd be a last ditch effort for me, as this is usually to trying cure symptoms when your controllers slowly get less and less responsive.

Basically, I say just open the sucker up and let your intuition guide you -

[Michael Helgeson]

If it happened suddenly, sounds it could be some plastic piece of some sort that somehow makes contact with the appropriate traces shifted or broke off.  Any sounds from the controller when you shake it? 

Other than that, try cleaning the rubber seals (if it's like all other pads) that makes contact with the boards with isopropyl alcohol - but that'd be a last ditch effort for me, as this is usually to trying cure symptoms when your controllers slowly get less and less responsive.

Basically, I say just open the sucker up and let your intuition guide you -

Ditto.

[Dark Fact]

If it happened suddenly, sounds it could be some plastic piece of some sort that somehow makes contact with the appropriate traces shifted or broke off.  Any sounds from the controller when you shake it? 

Other than that, try cleaning the rubber seals (if it's like all other pads) that makes contact with the boards with isopropyl alcohol - but that'd be a last ditch effort for me, as this is usually to trying cure symptoms when your controllers slowly get less and less responsive.

Basically, I say just open the sucker up and let your intuition guide you -

Sorry for the delay.  Christmas and all.  Anyways, the problem is when I use the control pad, it "clicks" when it makes contact with the circuit points so it transfers the movement instructions to the system.  However, when I press the directional pad to the right, it doesn't "click" and using the pad results in no right directional movement.  I never tried shaking the controller but I think I'll need to unscrew the whole damn thing and look inside.

UPDATE: Okay, I looked inside the controller and it appears that the plastic panel used to make contact with the circuit board on the right side of the directional pad had indeed broken off.  I applied some crazy glue to keep it in place but when I put it back together, the whole pad now is uneven with the up, down, and right sides making contact and the left side not making contact.  In addition, the right side action buttons aren't even.  What do I do now?

[Michael Helgeson]

Well,for one,superglue as it is,if you use it and dont let it sit for about 4-5 days in air,if whatever you placed it on gets placed in a enclosed area its fumes get locked in close and it can cause stuff to fuze together in the surounding area. As for the other probs your having,I dont even know what type of game pad this is,maybe you should consider posting pics of the problem and all because I cant seem to find any on the net. Pics of the broken area would help too.

[termis]

I might have suggested GOOP glues over super-glue, because:
1.  It's not brittle like super-glue, so it's less likely to break if it's a part that get continued contact.
2.  It's in gel-format and doesn't harden up instantly, so you have more flexibility if you need to somewhat mold the glue and/or the broken parts in a certain fashion. 
3.  But once it hardens, it holds like a mo-fo - stronger than super-glue IMHO.

Either way, it sounds like you may need to take apart again anyway, as it sounds like things might not be evenly glued, so try the goop glue next time around, if you can.

...and even if that doesn't work, it's not a bad glue to have in your toolbox as it gets a lot more usage from me than super-glue around the house.

And yeah, pics would certainly help.