MSFF up the spout?

My MSFF wheel has served me well - however Last night the accelerator pedal went a bit dodgy, and now it's totally crapped out. It looks like the plug that goes from the pedal box to the back of the wheel has become damaged internally (cables off pins perhaps) Anyone know of a way to open it up and have a go at a repair? Anyone got a wiring diagram if i cut it off and solder on a new one instead? Cheers! Doug -- Douglas Ellison 3rd Year Multimedia Design De Montfort University, Leics. UK www.douglasellison.co.uk

"Douglas Ellison" <[email hidden]> writes:

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> My MSFF wheel has served me well - however > > Last night the accelerator pedal went a bit dodgy, and now it's totally > crapped out. > > It looks like the plug that goes from the pedal box to the back of the wheel > has become damaged internally (cables off pins perhaps) > > Anyone know of a way to open it up and have a go at a repair? > > Anyone got a wiring diagram if i cut it off and solder on a new one instead?

I got the same problem a few months ago, and went into desperation mode :) If you are sure it's the plug from the pedals that you plug into the wheel, just cut the cable a few inches from the plug. Buy a S-VIDEO (4 pin) plug. Cut open the original one, but be careful, since it is filled with some white plastic stuff. Try to figure out what wires that go to what pin and solder the new one. Be careful when soldering, since the pins can get so warm that they melt the plastic they are attached too, making the new plug unusable. It might take a few hours, some swear words, but it's worth it. I suppose there is no danger of damaging the equipment if soldering the wires to the wrong place, it will probably just not work right, and you have to do it all over again. Now, if someone has a good idea how to fix my MSFF problem where the two buttons on top (1&2?) only work when turning left, I would be happy :) Good luck! -- Olav K. Malmin remove .spam when replying

Ive noted where the cables go... (from the cable side, not the front) red black green blue [___] And have managed to save the plug I had (white gunk all off - BASTARDS!) A trip to a local Maplins to get a new one is probably a good idea - and then BACK TO N4 Online (oh yeah, and I've got to buy a soldering iron - I've lost mine) Cheers Doug "Olav K. Malmin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> "Douglas Ellison" <[email hidden]> writes: > > > My MSFF wheel has served me well - however > > > > Last night the accelerator pedal went a bit dodgy, and now it's totally > > crapped out. > > > > It looks like the plug that goes from the pedal box to the back of the

wheel > > has become damaged internally (cables off pins perhaps) > > > > Anyone know of a way to open it up and have a go at a repair? > > > > Anyone got a wiring diagram if i cut it off and solder on a new oneinstead?

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> > I got the same problem a few months ago, and went into desperation > mode :) > > If you are sure it's the plug from the pedals that you plug into the > wheel, just cut the cable a few inches from the plug. Buy a S-VIDEO (4 > pin) plug. Cut open the original one, but be careful, since it is > filled with some white plastic stuff. Try to figure out what wires > that go to what pin and solder the new one. Be careful when soldering, > since the pins can get so warm that they melt the plastic they are > attached too, making the new plug unusable. > > It might take a few hours, some swear words, but it's worth it. > > I suppose there is no danger of damaging the equipment if soldering > the wires to the wrong place, it will probably just not work right, > and you have to do it all over again. > > Now, if someone has a good idea how to fix my MSFF problem where the > two buttons on top (1&2?) only work when turning left, I would be > happy :) > > Good luck! > > -- > Olav K. Malmin > remove .spam when replying

The pedal base is easy enough to take apart, just remember there is a screw underneath the sticker. I guess that is supposed to void your warranty, but if you are careful you may be able to replace the sticker. Once open, the pedals are self explanatory, no fancy optical stuff here. I like my MSFF, but the pedal springs are a very poor design and I have had two of them break. They are designed in such a way as to concentrate stress at a single bend which eventually fails. I do not know any way of getting replacement springs for these (one disadvantage of buying wheels from a software developer - they don't seem to be setup to service the hardware). If you own this wheel you might want to consider taking the pedal base apart and regreasing the springs liberally every six months or so.

If the wires are just broken, you should be able to match them up by color. Just write it all down before you start. My new USB version uses what appears to be a standard phone cord with RJ-11's at both end. Does anyone know if this is really wired as standard phone cord? -Larry "Douglas Ellison" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:N8hX5.2227$[email hidden]... > My MSFF wheel has served me well - however > > Last night the accelerator pedal went a bit dodgy, and now it's totally > crapped out. > > It looks like the plug that goes from the pedal box to the back of thewheel > has become damaged internally (cables off pins perhaps) > > Anyone know of a way to open it up and have a go at a repair? > > Anyone got a wiring diagram if i cut it off and solder on a new oneinstead?

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> > Cheers! > > Doug > > > > -- > Douglas Ellison > 3rd Year Multimedia Design > De Montfort University, Leics. UK > www.douglasellison.co.uk > >

That sounds like loose wiring inside the steering assy... -Larry "Olav K. Malmin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> "Douglas Ellison" <[email hidden]> writes: > > > My MSFF wheel has served me well - however > > > > Last night the accelerator pedal went a bit dodgy, and now it's totally > > crapped out. > > > > It looks like the plug that goes from the pedal box to the back of the

wheel > > has become damaged internally (cables off pins perhaps) > > > > Anyone know of a way to open it up and have a go at a repair? > > > > Anyone got a wiring diagram if i cut it off and solder on a new oneinstead?

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> > I got the same problem a few months ago, and went into desperation > mode :) > > If you are sure it's the plug from the pedals that you plug into the > wheel, just cut the cable a few inches from the plug. Buy a S-VIDEO (4 > pin) plug. Cut open the original one, but be careful, since it is > filled with some white plastic stuff. Try to figure out what wires > that go to what pin and solder the new one. Be careful when soldering, > since the pins can get so warm that they melt the plastic they are > attached too, making the new plug unusable. > > It might take a few hours, some swear words, but it's worth it. > > I suppose there is no danger of damaging the equipment if soldering > the wires to the wrong place, it will probably just not work right, > and you have to do it all over again. > > Now, if someone has a good idea how to fix my MSFF problem where the > two buttons on top (1&2?) only work when turning left, I would be > happy :) > > Good luck! > > -- > Olav K. Malmin > remove .spam when replying

Interesting... My originall MSFFW Gameport version is close to 2 years old and has been beat to death. No spring problems here :) -Larry "Garth and Jenny Somerville" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:kaiY5.1008$[email hidden]... > The pedal base is easy enough to take apart, just remember there is ascrew > underneath the sticker. I guess that is supposed to void your warranty,but > if you are careful you may be able to replace the sticker. Once open, the > pedals are self explanatory, no fancy optical stuff here. > > I like my MSFF, but the pedal springs are a very poor design and I havehad > two of them break. They are designed in such a way as to concentratestress > at a single bend which eventually fails. I do not know any way of getting > replacement springs for these (one disadvantage of buying wheels from a > software developer - they don't seem to be setup to service the hardware). > If you own this wheel you might want to consider taking the pedal baseapart > and regreasing the springs liberally every six months or so. > >