Atari four port not registering down or right.

[Atari the Jedi]

So I bought a wico stick. It turns out that my machine does not register turning right, and after little while no longer registering down or right now. Does anyone know what's happening to my 5200? I take good care of these machines so I know it's not a matter of me dropping it. Or a power surge sensor usually on a search protector when I use them. Also I do not have them hooked up when I'm not using them.

[RodLightning]

First, I would rule out a failed controller. Start a 2 player game and see if everything works right for player 2, or different directions fail with the same controller.

 

You can open up the 5200 and inspect the solder contacts where the ports attach to the board. There are also resistor packs between the ports and control ICs that should be checked. Lastly, the multiplexer ICs can be replaced. It's not difficult if your 5200 has socketed ICs. In fact, you can swap around the 4 chips until port #1 works correctly. The difficulty level goes up quite a bit if they are soldered directly onto the main board.

 

Here are two related links on the subject:

 

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/216308-5200-start-function-not-working/