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I have a Logitech Momo Racing force feedback steering wheel that I use with my computer as well as my Playstation3. I know, it's a bit daggy for a grown man to be playing with pretend steering wheels, but I'm not scared to admit that I find simulation type racing games a whole heap of fun! My mate Randal got me into it in the first place. A few of us lug our computers round to his place once every few months and we all race each other on a very realistic simulation game called GTR2 over a few beers and a bite to eat.
I suck at it. I used to come last all the time (see, I'm not a true nerd!) , but I've improved and now usually manage to finish mid bunch with a few podium finishes to my credit. I'd probably be better if it wasn't for the stupid fault with my steering wheel. Ever since I first bought this wheel it has had problems shifting gears with the flappy paddles. I know Jeremy on Top Gear is always saying flappy paddles are crap, but in these games they are essential.
The problem has gradually become worse over the past year and it usually becomes worse the longer I use the wheel. When I first plug it in it's fine, but by the end of the day it's almost stuffed. There is a really good description of how to pull your Logitech Momo Racing steering wheel apart and fix it yourself here, but it looked very involved and complicated so I've avoided doing it up until now. Also my problem was always a little bit different to what everyone else seemed to report. In my case both paddles would stop responding but would always work after a few attempts. Also I found out recently that swinging the wheel from side to side would make the problem go away for a little while. This was different to the normal know issue with this wheel where the paddle would stick on, or wouldn't go on at all and it was usually only one or the other that was at fault, not both as in my case.
If you are on the front page then click the Read More.... link to read about how I fixed it....................
I assumed that I must have had the usual problem where the paddle pushes too hard on the micro switch because the only thing that stops the paddles travel is the micro switch itself. I followed the excellent instructions on this forum to pull apart my wheel. The photo below shows the microswitches on the main board inside the wheel itself.
It is a long job, but as long as you are carefull and tidy with all of the parts as they are removed you really can't go too wrong. The problems started when I pulled everything off and finally revealed the printed circuit board in the centre of the wheel that houses the flappy paddle micro switches. Mine was very different to every other photo I had ever seen on the Internet. In my case the micro switches were not on the main board, but each one was on it's own separate daughter board connected to the main board with a little flexible cable. Check out the photo below and compare it to the photo above.
This design seemed much better as the paddles were pushing against a spring and because of this they could never use the micro switch itself as a stop. Also the switches were aligned so that the pressure was actually pushing them against the board, and not at an angle to the board. Now I was worried because I knew that my problem must have been different. Because turning the wheel sharply would sometimes fix my problem I then turned my attention to the wiring. I traced the tracks on the circuit boards and found that one wire was common to both switches. This was traced to the red wire in the wiring loom that goes through the centre of the wheel assembly. As both of my paddles would fail at the same time I assumed this was the most likely culprit. It all looked fine with no crimps or cuts so I put a multi meter on one switch contact and on the connector for the red wire at the end of the wiring loom. Sure enough when I wiggled the wiring I would loose connectivity. Yipee, I was onto something.
There is a little section that is wrapped around a balun and encassed in heat shrink on the end of this wiring loom. It is only a few centimetres long and has connectors on both ends. When I pulled on the red wire where it was soldered to one of the connectors it pulled straight out of the heatshrink. I removed the heat shrink and could see that the connector pin didn't have any solder on it at all. It was only the heat shrink that was keeping it in contact. This was the cause of my problems. I soldered it back on (be careful, the plastic connector is very thin and will melt if you apply too much heat), reassembled it all and it worked perfectly.
Note that this connector can be accessed by simply removing the main cover from the whole wheel assembly. As it turned out I didn't need to pull the whole wheel apart. If you suspect that you may have the same problem, then pull gently on all of the wires on these connectors to ensure that they were all soldered on properly in the factory.
Another thing to note. There are two silver screws clearly visible behind the flappy paddles (you don't need to undo anything to see them). If these are done up too tight then the paddles may stick. If you have sticking paddles then check those screws first as that may be an easy fix for you!
Now, back to Gran Turismo 5 on the PS3!!!!
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. If you play with FF, and if it works fine, then maybe