Thrustmaster TX stepped steering

GrizzlyBeer · Jul 14, 2019

Hey,

My Thrustmaster TX has a very annoying problem when steering precisely. There are small steps and i am not really able to keep the angle of the wheel between those steps.

See GIF: https://gfycat.com/jauntysmoggydromedary

The problem only appears when the wheel is plugged in so i guess it is caused by the FFB engine. I have lubrucated it a bit but theres still no difference.

As of my situation right now i wanted to know if any of you out there also have a TX/T300 or anything similar and also have this problem. I found a replacement unit for the FFB engine but that one costs 60$ and i would like to know your experience and wether the new engine could fix my problem.

The wheel has no warranty anymore.

Thanks for your help!

asteroulis · Jul 14, 2019

You could try loosening a bit your belt. Not much, it needs to be lightly tightented but not loose.

GrizzlyBeer · Jul 14, 2019

asteroulis said:
You could try loosening a bit your belt. Not much, it needs to be lightly tightented but not loose.

But how can i loosen this belt. It seems pretty stiff and i don't really get how to loosen it. Can you go into detail? And if you have a tx/t300 or similar do you have the same experience?

asteroulis · Jul 15, 2019

The four bolts that hold the motor in place can also be loosened so you can move the motor up (to tighten belt) or down (to loosen belt). Find the desired tension and then tighten the bolts. It's easy but you might need trial and error to find best position. I remember watching a video about the correct tension. You should be able to push a bit the belt and not be too stiff.

GrizzlyBeer · Jul 16, 2019

asteroulis said:
The four bolts that hold the motor in place can also be loosened so you can move the motor up (to tighten belt) or down (to loosen belt). Find the desired tension and then tighten the bolts. It's easy but you might need trial and error to find best position. I remember watching a video about the correct tension. You should be able to push a bit the belt and not be too stiff.

I tried it out now, but it it does seem to change anything besides one of the two the sidewheels not beeing able to turn anymore cause they weren't touched by the belt anymore. I put it into the original position and left it there again. Another question as you know the wheel that good, do you have the same steps as in my gif above? Or is my engine broken? As i have stated before the error isn't happening when the wheel is not plugged in...

asteroulis · Aug 2, 2019

I have noticed in some wheels to have kind of the effect you describe, but maybe not so intense. Does it calibrate correctly, does it lose ffb after a while? If it behaves normal I cannot see what could cause the problem. You could try running the thrustmaster calibration program and see how that goes. It's essentially trying various stuff now to see how it behaves.
You'll have to google to find this program, it's not on the support page.

super_gt · Aug 2, 2019

asteroulis said:
You'll have to google to find this program, it's not on the support page.

https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/threads/t300-sr-problem.348978/#post-11937389

Eagle Racer · Aug 4, 2019

I had this exact problem and I found the issue by accident. On the back of the silver motor there's a small plastic spacer that separates the motor from a circuit board. For me, this had broken off it's screws and was hanging loose slightly. I stuck it down with some superglue and it's been working fine ever since.

super_gt · Aug 4, 2019

Eagle Racer said:
I had this exact problem and I found the issue by accident. On the back of the silver motor there's a small plastic spacer that separates the motor from a circuit board. For me, this had broken off it's screws and was hanging loose slightly. I stuck it down with some superglue and it's been working fine ever since.

If you need a spare part:
https://www.shapeways.com/product/R4GRA59E7/thrustmaster-tx-t300-repair-part

Eagle Racer · Aug 4, 2019

super_gt said:
If you need a spare part:
https://www.shapeways.com/product/R4GRA59E7/thrustmaster-tx-t300-repair-part

Thanks mate. I didn't know anyone made this part, so this may have saved me from buying a new wheel in a month or two.

gregreg79 · Jan 30, 2020

Hello Guys!

I have the same problem with my TX base (stepped wheel moving). I find the broken black plastic part on the back of the motor. I fixed it but i have the same problem later on... It doesn't solve my problem. :-(((

Has somebody any idea what cause this problem in the TX base???

gregreg79 · Feb 15, 2020

toweleeie · Feb 15, 2020

ok, so iv just completed a repair on this(TX base)......... the 'STEP' feeling for me was exaggerated when i moved the hall sensor slightly further from the sensor magnet using fibre washers. i had to do this as the magnet was slightly touching the hall sensor PCB, but straight away i noticed the 'notchy' feeling was more prominent. also doing this has made the motor more aggresive start up procedure

gregreg79 you may have a knackered glue seal on the motor(rotor) give us some more info and well try n get to the bottom of it

MM

gregreg79 · Feb 21, 2020

toweleeie said:
ok, so iv just completed a repair on this(TX base)......... the 'STEP' feeling for me was exaggerated when i moved the hall sensor slightly further from the sensor magnet using fibre washers. i had to do this as the magnet was slightly touching the hall sensor PCB, but straight away i noticed the 'notchy' feeling was more prominent. also doing this has made the motor more aggresive start up procedure

gregreg79 you may have a knackered glue seal on the motor(rotor) give us some more info and well try n get to the bottom of it

MM

Thank you for your answer this is the first informations what can be work (i think).
So as i understand i need to reduce the distance between the shaft of the motor (where is the shaft end with black magnet) and the middle of the hall sensor.

The prelude was (some weeks earlier) the plastic part what hold the hall sensor was broken and i fixed it with glue... maybe it isn't in too good position...

One more question! Whats this???
"knackered glue seal on the motor(rotor)"

Thank you again ! I hope it will be help me!
I'll write you later about how it is going.

toweleeie · Feb 22, 2020

hello mate

right, the "knackered glue seal on the motor(rotor)"
the motor is made of 2 parts, the stator.... the bit that doesnt move, and the rotor(refered to as motor core in video)...... the bit that spins. the rotor is made up of 1 shaft, 2x seating rings(refered to as large washers hahaa in video), 1x rotor collar that slides over the 2 seating rings(refered to as black cylinder in video) (i may have some photos of this for you to make it easier ha

) and is held in position with glue. this glue seal is the bit that fails/breaks, this 'can' cause the shaft to move, it WILL cause the rotor collar to 'slip' and not turn the rotor shaft.

there are also 2x brass 'stops' pressed on the rotor shaft to keep the bearings in alignment with the rotor, i suspect these can also move as something was well off when i just it all back together, looking back at the video, you can see how deep set the brass collar is on the drive end.

gimmee an hour and ill upload a pic and video of the parts. i thought id recorded the whole process but my camera hadnt turned on when i re started the repair process after bearing issues ha

peace

MM

picture of the 'ROTOR' the black bit glues to the silver but that is slightly sticking out on the right hand side, a 2nd one is on the left side but completely covered by the black collar

toweleeie · Feb 24, 2020

some pics for you mate, one of your sensor, one of mine. note that the picture of mine, one of the screws(top screw in pic) that mounts the sensor PCB was backed off slightly to ensure the sensor was completely square to the magnet.

looking at the pics, your broken turret mount looks lower than the opposide that isnt broken. could be the pic playing tricks though. can you confirm that the turrets are the same height on both sides greg?

gregreg79 · Feb 25, 2020

toweleeie said:
some pics for you mate, one of your sensor, one of mine. note that the picture of mine, one of the screws(top screw in pic) that mounts the sensor PCB was backed off slightly to ensure the sensor was completely square to the magnet.

looking at the pics, your broken turret mount looks lower than the opposide that isnt broken. could be the pic playing tricks though. can you confirm that the turrets are the same height on both sides greg?

Yes, i measured the turrets: all of them on the same height, i measured the distance between the small pcb and the magnet (shaft end) it is cca. 1.0 - 1.2 mm (Z) . Before i start to repair it was cca 3.0 mm.

Nothings changed about stepped feelin...

What i cannot measure the position of the hall sensor (X,Y) , maybe the middle of the hall sensor not on the shaft's axle (center) by eyes, because the plastic part was broken and i glued it somehow....

construxx2001 · Apr 5, 2022

toweleeie said:
hello mate

right, the "knackered glue seal on the motor(rotor)"
the motor is made of 2 parts, the stator.... the bit that doesnt move, and the rotor(refered to as motor core in video)...... the bit that spins. the rotor is made up of 1 shaft, 2x seating rings(refered to as large washers hahaa in video), 1x rotor collar that slides over the 2 seating rings(refered to as black cylinder in video) (i may have some photos of this for you to make it easier ha ) and is held in position with glue. this glue seal is the bit that fails/breaks, this 'can' cause the shaft to move, it WILL cause the rotor collar to 'slip' and not turn the rotor shaft.

there are also 2x brass 'stops' pressed on the rotor shaft to keep the bearings in alignment with the rotor, i suspect these can also move as something was well off when i just it all back together, looking back at the video, you can see how deep set the brass collar is on the drive end.

gimmee an hour and ill upload a pic and video of the parts. i thought id recorded the whole process but my camera hadnt turned on when i re started the repair process after bearing issues ha

peace

MM

picture of the 'ROTOR' the black bit glues to the silver but that is slightly sticking out on the right hand side, a 2nd one is on the left side but completely covered by the black collar

Is it normal that the Black part is a little unbalanced?