Mk III Gunfighter with WWII grip -- buttons suddenly not working

[denrainwater]

Recently received my VKB Mark III Gunfighter stick with the WWII Combat Edition grip (and the 200 mm extension). VERY happy with it so far.

But after just two or three uses where everything worked beautifully, I am now puzzled by all of the buttons being ignored. (Thankfully, the axes still work fine, so I am able to continue using it -- but still...) No updates and no other software changes that I can think of.

I have searched the forum and self-help materials I was able to find, but can't find anything specifically addressing my particular issue. (If there is a post or other material I missed, please point me to it.)

The trouble-shooting section offers an item that seemed like it would help, but it only address the old style (orange) "Black Box", and doesn't carry the conversation far enough. The BLUE LED on my (actually BLACK) Black Box is lit and solid. But the row of LEDs on the opposite side of the box (labelled 1, 2, and 3) shows #2 blinking red.

I have reflashed it 3 or 4 times without any change. In the calibration panel of the 'flashing' software, the axes show up as normal, but the buttons page stays dark and unresponsive. I have also moved the USB cable to a different port without any change.

Anyone else had this problem? Is there a quick fix?

[fallout9]

There's a connection problem. Remove both grip and extension, then mount back the extension on the base and press gently on it to make proper contact with the base while tightening the fastener. Same when mounting the grip on the extension, press gently on it while tightening the fastener.
Tighten the fasteners really good and don't press hard on the grip and extension.

[denrainwater]

Thanks -- I'll give that a go when I'm home again...

(Fingers crossed!)