Judge Dredd - Right Flipper Button Woes

[muchostyle]

Hey Folks,

I've been looking for an answer to this, but so far no luck... I'm sure someone here will say, "You idiot!  That's simple!" but anyway, here goes...

My JD has been flawless for months, then one day after a friend was slapping the hell out of the right flipper button, I noticed that it doesn't have the same feel as before.  The flippers themselves are operating fine, it's just the feel of the button itself.

Left button is fine, just the right feels like there's no springiness in it.

Last night I pulled both buttons out to inspect and found that the left button does have it's own rebound built in, whereas the right doesn't.  No sign in the right of previously having had a spring of any kind, though.

I swapped the buttons in the cabinet, but that dead feel in the right (now containing the left physical button) is still there.

Looking inside the cabinet, the left side uses a metal assembly to hit the contacts, however the right (crappy) side uses plastic.  Could it be a problem with the plastic assembly having lost some rigidity?   

Thanks in advance!

Paul.

[ddstoys]

Try tightening the screws that hold the opto board the cabinet they may have worked loose

[Homepin]

If it has opto boards swap them left to right sides to isolate fault - if it uses contacts, clean/adjust/replace them.

[muchostyle]

Thanks for the suggestions...  Will try and see.

[muchostyle]

Ok, after some messing about it's definitely the plastic piece that makes / breaks the connection with the opto board.  Opto board itself is operating perfectly, but doesn't help me with that "off" feeling that the right hand button has less physical resistance than the left.

Looks like I'll be replacing the whole opto assy with a different one that has an adjustable metal plate.  Thems the breaks!   

[casperthefriendly]

Before you buy a replacement board, try swapping the actual buttons from one side to the other. The buttons should have an internal spring and you might find that it's the buttons that feel different, rather than the opto interrupters.

Not all buttons are created equal - some definitely have a better feel than others.

If you're 100% sure that it's the plastic bit, then you can try gently heating the plastic and bending it back so it gives more resistance. When it cools, it should stay where you put it. Try this method at your own risk - I've done it a few times without dramas though.

[muchostyle]

Before you buy a replacement board, try swapping the actual buttons from one side to the other. The buttons should have an internal spring and you might find that it's the buttons that feel different, rather than the opto interrupters.

Not all buttons are created equal - some definitely have a better feel than others.

If you're 100% sure that it's the plastic bit, then you can try gently heating the plastic and bending it back so it gives more resistance. When it cools, it should stay where you put it. Try this method at your own risk - I've done it a few times without dramas though.

Thanks for that..  Yeah, first thing I did was swap the buttons, but didn't make a difference to the feel.  Great suggestion about heating the plastic, though!  I have nothing to lose by trying, so will give that a go and report back! 

[muchostyle]

Ok, all sorted!  Thanks Guys!

[4_amusement_only]

Heat method do the trick or?

[muchostyle]

Yep, heat method did the trick.  I'd also found since swapping the buttons that the upper right flipper wasn't working quite right - Swapped the buttons back and all good.  Turns out the button without the internal spring is a couple mm longer when depressed.  Go figure!