The character walks on its own. Your aim slides right without you touching anything. It is not you and it is not bad luck: it is the part.
Inside each stick sit two potentiometers with a wiper rubbing on a carbon track. iFixit measured the problem at its root: the manufacturer rates the part at two million cycles, which for serious play is a few months.
The module is soldered to the board, so it is not a screwdriver job. But it is a job, and it costs a fraction of a new controller. Free diagnostics.
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Drift is not random failure, it is documented wear. The stick uses an Alps Alpine RKJXV potentiometer, and the very same component sits inside the DualShock 4, the Xbox controller and the Switch Pro Controller. The wiper wears the resistive track and the voltage readings start to lie. That is why drift turns up on every brand.
Replacing the module needs a soldering iron: iFixit counts 16 solder joints per module, plus two rumble motor wires. The part is listed as compatible with the BDM-010 and BDM-020 boards. There is another route, the non-contact modules: the one iFixit actually sells and documents for the DualSense is a GuliKit TMR, which still needs soldering and a calibration with the maker's software. The «Hall effect» modules on marketplaces are validated neither by iFixit nor by Sony.
The adaptive triggers are the good news on this controller. They are a self-contained assembly holding the trigger and the resistance motor, connected by a ribbon cable: not soldered. iFixit documents that one side can be replaced without touching the other.
The battery is a catalogue part: LIP1708, 1700 mAh, 3.65 V, for V1 and V2.
| Release year | 2020 |
|---|---|
| Models | CFI-ZCT1 · CFI-ZCT2 |
| Dimensions | 160 × 66 × 106 mm |
| Weight | about 280 g |
| Stick sensor | Alps Alpine RKJXV potentiometer |
| Manufacturer-rated life | 2,000,000 cycles |
| Stick module | soldered, 16 joints per module |
| Adaptive triggers | motorised assembly, connector, not soldered |
| Battery | LIP1708, 1700 mAh, 3.65 V |
| Compatible boards | BDM-010 (V1), BDM-020 (V2) |
| Touchpad | part of the front assembly |
| Non-contact alternative | GuliKit TMR — soldering and calibration required |
Device specifications published by the manufacturer, given here so you can identify your model. Feasibility and turnaround for each repair are confirmed at the diagnosis stage.
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