help with a wavebird controller

[lovablechevy]

so i found this great deal on ebay for 2 games, 2 memory cards, & 2 wavebird controllers. the guy claimed that everything worked. more like 1/2 of it all works...

at any rate, one of the controllers isn't working. at first i thought it was due to what appeared to be soda being spilled on the outside and the buttons all sticking horribly. after cleaning the controller inside & out, i tried it again. the power led comes on, but it won't respond. no matter what channel it is on (with the receiver matching of course), nothing happens. is there any other way to test? or something for me to try? or is it just most likely that whatever spilled on the controller fried it? i guess i assumed a fried controller would mean no led turning on.

to clarify, both receivers work. the other wavebird works wonderfully, and i've tested it with both receivers.

any ideas?

[limpport]

Send it back to the guy for a partial refund, and buy a different one?