Original NES Controllers no longer work, but the NES-039 do

Greetings:

My original NES still works, and I am convinced it's because I sent it to Nintendo 15-20 ago when they offered their refurbishment program. When they sent the console back they included two new NES-039 controllers.

I don't specifically remember if I tested the NES-004 controllers I already had when I received the refurbished unit or since. However, I recently tried to play FF1 with the NES-004 and could not move past the title screen. I tried the NES-039 controllers and they worked fine.

Any ideas why the NES-004 would not work but the NES-039 would?

maybe try the retro forum?

https://www.gamespot.com/forums/retro-gaming-909394552/