Gunfighter MK3 blackbox blinking red light

[Faex]

I have the Gunfighter MK3 with the short stick extension. It's been working great for the past few months I've had it, however, a few weeks ago I've noticed that on occasion the buttons don't register. The stick itself works fine but whenever I notice that the stick buttons don't work, I look at the blackbox and see that the light is blinking red. Whenever this issue comes up, I use isopropyl alcohol and microfiber cloth to clean up the gold connection thing (idk what it's called exactly). Cleaning the connection point fixes the issue for a couple weeks until it happens again.

Is this a normal thing? I know that I'll have to clean it sometimes but it seems that this is happening too often.

[fallout9]

Press a bit on both the extension, then on the grip, while securing their fasteners. This would help with better contact.

[Faex]

So today when the issue happened I went to clean the connection point and I took these.
https://imgur.com/a/K3wbr5w

How does dirt get in there in the first place? It seems that it's well-shielded from the elements. Also in the past I'm pretty sure it wasn't this bad.
Anyway I cleaned it up and tried to press on the extension and grip while securing them. Hopefully this doesn't happen again pretty soon.

[fallout9]

Looks like metal shavings, could come from the fastener. Don't overtighten it and make sure it's in proper position when securing it.

[Faex]

Issue occurred again this week, just took apart the stick again. There weren't any metal shavings or any other dirt on the connectors but I cleaned it up anyway. It works now but I'm sure this will occur again next week or so.

EDIT: Ah spoke too soon. Just had the issue again where the buttons didn't work for a while and then it went back to normal. Could this be caused by damaging the connectors in any way like scratches? I'm wondering if that's what happened when I try to clean it despite using microfiber and isopropyl.

[fallout9]

Seems like a connection issue. Check the pins on both the extension and grip to see if they're all at the same level and the springs still working. Try cleaning the contact pads on the base and extension with a bit of alcohol.