My solution for s4 mysterious fader problem

So, after waiting to long on an answer from NI about my mysterious fader problems and having already voided my warranty by opening the s4 for re soldering the usb connection. And already buying an s2 as a backup. I was tired of waiting on NI:thumbdown:.

So i opened up the s4 again and have tried to get out the print board with the faders on it. Even with al the screws out the board is stuck like they glued it. So not wanting to force anything and ending up breaking the printer board. i Have bought some contact spray to spray the faders.

That worked for two faders, but because all four faders and the crossfader are misbehaving. i decided to go all the way and sprayed some wd 40 in the faders. Now just one was still not ok so after repeating it a few times finally all are smooth and working again. For security i sprayed some more contact spray to dissolve some of the wd 40. And now hoping that it will keep working.

So as the title says this is my solution and i don't now if this will solve it for long. but be sure your warranty is voided when you do this. and i don't know what effect the sprays may have in the long term on the printer boards. but for me it helped and know i have my s2 as back up.

So as final solution with no warranty this did it. I already was convinced that the problem has to do with dirt in the faders. Because first blowing in the fader entrance would solve the problem, but that didn't lasted to long.

For your information i play out with the s4 every weekend on Saturday7 hours and Sunday 6 hours on a beach out in the open with a lot of fine sand dust. After the weekend you can almost write your name on the s4. i used it since november 2010 First batch of S4's.

So it has been used in pretty harsh conditions if this solves the problems for another year than that's not bad.

For the ones who like to know. The only parts that are easily accessible, is the printer board with all the back stuff on it like rca's usb etc'

The fader can be removed really easy'.

And the printer board with headphone jack and mic.

The jogwheel can be removed from the inside. but did'nt see any screws in there that would hold the printer board for the faders and the equalizer. around the jogwheels there are as well two separate printer boards. and when you unscrew the screws it's like the middle board still stuck.

So if anyone has got these printer boards out let me now how. Still got two buttons one fx and deck load A, that are giving problems.

wow so im having trouble with my s4 the faders they suck for one thing i replaced the cross fader with inno bender and i want to replace the line faders as there failing on me i am good at soldering I've done playsation 2 chips xbox etc .... did you ever end up replacing yours ?

and is it ok to use fader lube on the s4 unit? hows the WD40 holding out?

To get the middle board out you actually have to remove the top faceplate, which is affixed by adhesive. The screws are then easily seen and accessed.

Killshot was it you who commented on my youtube vid last night?

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Originally Posted by TeLLy

To get the middle board out you actually have to remove the top faceplate, which is affixed by adhesive. The screws are then easily seen and accessed.

Killshot was it you who commented on my youtube vid last night?

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Hey yeah that was me :) i fixed my issue last night ok so only one fader deck A was moving 25-10%
down on its own when i used the line fader for deck B after a quick investigation blowing air in etc i discovered that Fader on Deck A when pushed to the top went a micrometer more higher other words it wasn't stoping when its supposed to and physically the fader was a micrometer higher than deck B

so get this i used a paperclipp to stop the fader from going all the way to the top and it fixed the problem for now
but the real problem here is that these faders SUCK BALLS they are the worst, honestly i had a 300 dollar vestax pmc 06 pro battle scratch mixer that I bought 10 years ago and its still works flawless i love the S4 but its biggest flaw is the faders the second flaw is the mic you loose a channel when you plug a mic in GAY!!!


ok so if i knew of a way to do this mod i would do it in a second i would open this bitch up and replace all the shitty faders excuse language just very mad LOL

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Originally Posted by killshot

wow so im having trouble with my s4 the faders they suck for one thing i replaced the cross fader with inno bender and i want to replace the line faders as there failing on me i am good at soldering I've done playsation 2 chips xbox etc .... did you ever end up replacing yours ?

and is it ok to use fader lube on the s4 unit? hows the WD40 holding out?

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Sorry i didn't gave feedback, but my s4 is still up and running, you might wanna use something better than wd40 as lubricant, but where i live a small island in the Caribbean i couldn't find the good stuff. Anyhow my S4 is still working still using it ever weekend for two days on a beach with a lot of dust. solved the button problems by injecting wd40 in it. My tempo faders got the same problem and wd40 did the trick as-well. So about 8 month's later and still working.


Hope that helps

hey guys, i had this problem b4, heres a repost.

"hey man, i had this problem on decks a and b volume faders b4 and alil on c and d. when i go all the way down or up on my s4, the traktor software's volume faders will move themselves even though volume is up/down max

my temp solution was to NOT go all the way up or down. just so near the top/btm, but not touching the maximum of the volume fader. i actually taped some ice creamsticks to make it easier for me. try not going all the way and see if it works for u.

End of the day, found out that the volume faders have been worn out, and since i was on warranty, i got a new set from my local shop."

hi guys

I notice that everyone is having problems with their S4 and S2 units.

I had similar problems (broken USB and line fader malfunction)

I fixed mine by replacing the broken components.

NI were absolutely no use to me whatsoever.

I'm thinking there must be a lot of S4 users out there that would like their unit fixed.

I'm thinking of offering a repair/recondition service.

Would anyone out there be interested?

It is quite a long process (takes a number of hours) and so I'm thinking £100 would be a fair price including parts etc.

Would anyone out there be interested?

I had the lazy fader problem and fixed it by making an L shaped cleaning tool from a bike spoke. Filed it down so it was narrow enough to slide into fader slider slot and slightly rotate so it could clean the surface of the control tracks on either side.

It's all too small to attach any cloth or paper, so I dipped in isopropanol and very carefully moved up and down the fader track.

There must have been a lump of grot stuck to the tracks as the slider started working instantly.

Hope that helps.