reset everytime power off

We have a AX3500 and I have a car relay connected to a few on/off switches that turn the system on and off. I am using the default floating pins = controller on to do this. We were working ok, but it seems that everytime the controller is turned off, we have to manually push the reset button on the controller before it will accept commands from our joystick. We can't be doing this everytime, and we have triple checked the wiring and it is ok.

<P style="MARGIN: 0px">You shouldn't have to do this and power on/reset using the Power Control pin is tested during production.
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<P style="MARGIN: 0px">What mode are you operating the controller (analog, RC, RS232?)
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<P style="MARGIN: 0px">Are you using the controller's 5V output to power and external device?

I found out that we have to wait ~6 full seconds between power cycling. This solves the problem, although not sure why. We are using the controller with a joystick in analog control. closed loop speed control mixed mode.