fixing my joystick...

[Beeblebrox]

I have a broken joystick. in the Gaming Options window it says Not Connected...
This joystick stopped functioning when a bunch of my young cousins were playing MSFS2002... first it wouldn't turn to the left, so we tried recalibration, which didn't work... when we restarted the game, the stick wouldn't work at all, and surprise surprise, it was Not Connected... but I'm sure this time it wasn't the main cord being ripped apart (that's how my previous joystick broke, after a dozen of times falling from the table, the cord catching it in mid-air...) This stick has never fallen and has a long enough cord to be child-safe... The stick does receive power, cause a led lights up when I turn on the turbo switch (turbo makes it click a button at a fast rate when holding it down)
However, if I turn the joystick down (as in takeoff), the led goes off... when I push it forward (crashlanding), the led stays on... so I presume it's a contact problem, and maybe fixable...
I've tried opening the joystick, but there's one more screw left that simply won't come off... I've been trying to get it off so hard that the screwdriver has almost completely worn out the hole in the screw (that's an example of my english vocabulary...) Now i've managed to get it moving a bit, but when I turn it, at one point it just says click and falls back in... I guess I might have to open it by force, unless you have any tips... the difficulty is the screw is in a deep hole, very hard to hit the screwdriver correct when you can't see it...
and then I also ask what could be wrong... I'm no electronics expert, so I need your advice... where should I look first?, what's the most probable cause for the problem?

Thanks in advance

 

[norton850]

First you should start with the idea that this joystick is broken and you need a new one. That way you have nothing to lose by taking it apart and either destroying it further or not fixing it. The screw needs to come out. Keep working at it or drill it out. Then you'll have to see what looks broken inside. Maybe you'll be lucky and it's just a broken wire.

Sometimes I will start hopeless projects like this. In general the broken item goes from my workbench to the trash can.

 

[Skivvywaver]

Yeah I agree. If it were a game pad I'd give you a 50/50 chance but a joystick is a much different animal. I have fixed pads, but I had 2 $80 sticks that died 1 at a time within months of each other. I tried fixing the first one that died, the second one I didn't even mess with. Both were about 2 years old. For some reason pads seem tougher.

 

[Beeblebrox]

yep, but a Flight Simulator is no experience with a pad... OK, I'll just try and fix it (rather destroy it) when I have the time... thanks...

 

[Skivvywaver]

Hey, you might have better luck than I did. If it is just a loose wire you could be successful. Mine both suffered a broken axis. The contacts were screwed. It was from 2 years of rugged use. I wouldn't blame the cousins for it really, the very nature of a joystick is slamming it from one position to another. I still have a working joystick but it is an elcheapo. Good luck with the fix.