T500 bricked after two weeks

[Sk3ptik0n]

I bought a Thrustmaster T500 used from a member here and I got it several weeks ago. It worked fantastic and it was a good deal.
I started a ticket with Thrustmaster to have the F1 wheel buttons and the base fan replaced.
Thursday night I use the wheel without any issues at all. Friday night I fired up the wheel and nothing happened. The only light was in the power brick but otherwise there was no trace of the wheel in the Controller CP and the TM CP.

I checked all my connections, plugged the power on another outlet and tested it first, changed the USB port and so on: nothing.,

Then, as I was about to pack it up and remove it from my desk, it powered up and went through self check.

I was really happy and I proceeded to remount it to my desk (I use bolts).
By the time I was done a minute later, it was once again dead as a doornail and this time for good. I tried again today and I also tried to mount it on a laptop just to see if that made any difference.

I amended my ticket to Thrustmaster and I took videos of the wheel and some of my attempts to troubleshoot it.,
Based on the research I have done so far, the culprit may be the circuit board and TM often send that along with instructions on how to replace it. I don;t have a problem with that.

However, I am, posting here and if a couple of other places to make sure I a,m not forgetting anything. No fuses or key combo to press. Anything like that.(I already tried the only key combo used in this cases and I also tried to install the firmware again.

It should be noted that I flashed the firmware when I first received the wheel and it has been working just great since. My mounting procedure is very low impact. I bolt the wheel on my desk with a electric drill (clutched) and I have the wires coming up through the desk as well.
I also use a USB strip with a switch so that when I turn it on I don;t have to hold the plug with one hand and the wheel with the other. I have used the same system for my G25 for years.

I am certainly very disappointed. Fortunately, the wheel is under warranty and ironically, right before discovering the power was broken, I had received the Proof of purchase from the guy I bought the wheel from.

I have until April 20 to repair the wheel under warranty.

If any of you guys have any ideas or went through the process of fixing a wheel with the same problem, I'd love to hear about your experience.

Thank you.

 

[Martijn Hoekstra]

I had the exact same issues with my wheel (i bought it brand new late 2013) and Thrustmaster send me a new motherboard to replace in the wheel. Unfortunately I had no experience with soldering wires and was able to send it back and received a new wheel which works perfectly.

You can however demand to let them repair it, they will replace the steer base for you but you'll have to send it to France (i don't know where you are located, it could be a different country from where you live).

 

[Sk3ptik0n]

I am in the US. California to be precise. I would much rather not send my wheel to france.
It has been a long time since I soldered anything, but I have some experience with it. It should not be the end of the world.

It would be nice if they contracted with a local shop in the US for these repairs. Would save a lot of money in shipping.

 

[Martijn Hoekstra]

I am in the US. California to be precise. I would much rather not send my wheel to france.
It has been a long time since I soldered anything, but I have some experience with it. It should not be the end of the world.

It would be nice if they contracted with a local shop in the US for these repairs. Would save a lot of money in shipping.

I've read about someone also living in the US that had to send it to Canada to get it repaired. Not sure if that's still the case though.

 

[Sk3ptik0n]

I guess they will let me know next week. I am expecting a response tomorrow sometimes.

 

[Juris]

Well you've had better luck than me with Thrustmaster support. I bought a T500rs from an eBay seller and had to contact TM support soon after with concerns over grinding noises. Long story short TM support identified that as the wheel was unused the gears and belts had not bedded in so the noise was present.

In spite of identifying the wheel as unused (hence the noise) they stated repeatedly as the wheel was purchased from an ebay seller I had no warranty and would receive no support. They stated repeatedly that unless a TM product was purchased from a dealer listed on their website (which btw excludes a stunning amount of sellers we all know) all warranties are invalid. They refused to even state whether the SN number provided was in warranty or not. They did feel it was their right to comment that the auction price I had won the T500rs at was very low in spite of the fact its none of their business

I work in customer support, never become irate or abusive with CSR's (it happens to me too often so I won't be that person) and in spite of the fact the CSR's I spoke to were technically proficient their attitude & service was frankly below that of Belkin. I bought TM products after hearing so many good things regards their support but was stunned to be left with no support. I have the T500rs, TH8RS and the A-10 Warthog HOTAS but will never buy from TM again.

OP I hope you get better service than I did.

 

[RaceNut]

Well you've had better luck than me with Thrustmaster support. I bought a T500rs from an eBay seller and had to contact TM support soon after with concerns over grinding noises. Long story short TM support identified that as the wheel was unused the gears and belts had not bedded in so the noise was present.

In spite of identifying the wheel as unused (hence the noise) they stated repeatedly as the wheel was purchased from an ebay seller I had no warranty and would receive no support. They stated repeatedly that unless a TM product was purchased from a dealer listed on their website (which btw excludes a stunning amount of sellers we all know) all warranties are invalid. They refused to even state whether the SN number provided was in warranty or not. They did feel it was their right to comment that the auction price I had won the T500rs at was very low in spite of the fact its none of their business

I work in customer support, never become irate or abusive with CSR's (it happens to me too often so I won't be that person) and in spite of the fact the CSR's I spoke to were technically proficient their attitude & service was frankly below that of Belkin. I bought TM products after hearing so many good things regards their support but was stunned to be left with no support. I have the T500rs, TH8RS and the A-10 Warthog HOTAS but will never buy from TM again.

OP I hope you get better service than I did.

That's too bad and too common these days. Many companies have gotten very good at writing lots of loopholes in their fine print that give them alternate escape routes where warranties are concerned. Being that TM won't honor the warranty lowers the resale value so their opinion of the purchase price is likely not valid either. That has always been my concern when buying used items and I am often surprised how so many used items sell for close to the cost of new.

 

[Martijn Hoekstra]

Even though my T500RS now works perfectly, I also wouldn't buy anything anymore from Thrustmaster. Just the fact that it came in defect after having payed 400 euro's for it was frustrating to say the least, then searching on Google I came upon so many other people with T500 problems. Fans that stopped working (apparently this was a huge problem), motherboards, heating problems (even with working fan)... Even saw pictures of what's inside the pedals. Cheaply done to say the least, you don't expect this for the amount of money payed.

 

[Sk3ptik0n]

Well, so far so good. Thrustmaster wrote today asking me if I would agree to solder the board on the wheel myself. Of course I said yes because I didn't want to send the wheel to them and I am pretty good at these things. SO they are sending me the circuit board, new switches and springs for the F1 wheel paddles and a new fan for the base.

It took about a week, but they were very nice and professional. They could still change their mind at the 11th hour for all I know, but after today's email I am pretty confident there will be a resolution to my liking.

I only wish they had read my previous email where I already gave them permission to send me the board, but I guess they are following procedure.

 

[RaceNut]

Well, so far so good. Thrustmaster wrote today asking me if I would agree to solder the board on the wheel myself. Of course I said yes because I didn't want to send the wheel to them and I am pretty good at these things. SO they are sending me the circuit board, new switches and springs for the F1 wheel paddles and a new fan for the base.

It took about a week, but they were very nice and professional. They could still change their mind at the 11th hour for all I know, but after today's email I am pretty confident there will be a resolution to my liking.

I only wish they had read my previous email where I already gave them permission to send me the board, but I guess they are following procedure.

I'm glad to hear that things are progressing in a positive direction for you. I'd be interested to hear how you get on with the repairs.

 

[Sk3ptik0n]

As soon as I receive the parts I'll be working on the wheel and I was planning to video the process or at least make a bunch of pictures (I know I am going to do that for the disassembly).

From the pictures they sent me, the buttons on the F1 wheel are radically different than what I got in the first place. In the original the paddles were connected so you could upshift and downshift with one hand. These look unconnected. They are sending an entire unit with the paddle attached (not a whole wheel, just a unit that obviously goes on the back of it.

Actually, I was just looking at my wheel and I have no idea how that would work. I am going to take the picture out of the PDF file and publish it here.

 

[Sk3ptik0n]

Here is a picture they sent me of the part I am going to mount on the F1 wheel. From this picture it looks like the two paddles are not connected like they are in my wheel. Maybe is the angle? In any event, I thought it was a curious thing. It seems they redesigned the wheel paddles.