STEC 60 Button Getting Finicky

[455 Bravo Uniform]

My altitude hold button is getting a little bit hard to engage. Sometimes I have to push it harder or a few times to get it to engage.

Is there any way to open it up and clean it, if that’s a fix? I hesitate to hose it down from the outside with contact cleaner (plastic safe version), lol.

I’m just asking for any common knowledge, as I’ll ask my avionics guy for help Monday anyway, not gonna touch it. (I might call it the GFC500 button.)

 

[SoCal 182 Driver]

Had the same problem with my S-Tec 60. I sent the control head to Autopilots Central in Tulsa. They told me there are small cushions behind the buttons that harden over time. They replaced the pads and it worked much better. AFAIK, the pads are not field serviceable.