TM Warthog throttle repair

Yeah, I want to point out that this HOTAS has worked flawlessly for 3 years now. I have never had any troubles with it. I am just looking at all of my repair options before ordering a new main board. I would not hesitate to purchase a warthog again if needed. I am a very happy customer and it appears that the issue I am having is on my PC's end anyways since the throttle lights up just fine on a Mac Book.

The main board is very simple to fit, as long as you take care plugging in the connectors.

If that is the issue, then it'll take around a week to get the parts through. Mine cost 48 Euros including postage I think.

I'm guessing that an increase in power just masks the fault on the main board.

Frankly I am amazed at just how pessimistic some of you seem to be.

 

I have also had the warthog fail - just once - in the 3 years I have owned it. And yes, I had to buy and install a replacement main board in my throttle unit. Big deal!!!

 

The simple fact is that stuff breaks, especially if you unplug it while it is powered up. Just power down BEFORE you unplug it, and it'll not blow. Ask any electrician and they'd confirm that unplugging anything while it is powered up is asking for trouble.

 

The main point here is that spares ARE available, which is more than you can say for all the other joystick manufacturers out there. Do they supply the parts because they are more subject to failure than anyone else's? I doubt it.

 

As for build quality - what the hell do you expect? Or would you rather pay $500 and get something built better?

 

It is what it is, the best commercially manufactured joystick/throttle unit combo, with much better than average after sales care.

 

As for putting it into a wardrobe in case it broke if you used it... Really?

 

If you want unreliable, try buying a games console of any variety, and see how long that lasts!!!

Umm just to chime in, USB is supposed to be Hot Plugable, you should be able to plug and unplug any usb device without shutting off the system first.

I have a similar problem. Plug the throttle in and it flashes and then stays off. However, it does show up in Devices and Printers on the Control Panel with the yellow triangle with exclamation point. When I troubleshoot it says it is a driver issue. I have updated the driver. I tried to do the boot firmware but it doesn't seem to work on the throttle. Any suggestions?

 

Edit to Add:

Just plugged the throttle into my wife's Mac Book Pro and it lit up just fine. Could it be that it isn't getting enough power through my USB ports on the PC all of a sudden? I guess I will try the powered USB hub tomorrow.

If windows recognizes the device ID (Shows up as TM Warthog and not Unknown Device) but isnt loading a driver for it, unplug it, goto device manager, choose show disconnected devices, and remove (right click, uninstall) all instances of the device. (I have 4 because Ive plugged it into 4 different ports), reboot. Then plug it in once.

Its possible voltage on the usb ports have degraded, but if thats the case, its a USB port issue with Mainboard, and not a TM issue.

Try on another Windoss PC and see if drivers load correctly and all buttons/axes show up.

Thanks for the reply Skate. Here is what I am talking about....

Capture by usmcbeans, on Flickr

Thanks for the reply Skate. Here is what I am talking about....

Capture by usmcbeans, on Flickr

what does device manager look like?

I noticed it comes up as USB Input Device instead of HID-compliant game controller like the Joystick half does. It looks like this:

Capture2 by usmcbeans, on Flickr

Does any other PC recognize it?

I only have the one PC in the house and a Mac Book Pro. I guess I could always try to plug it in at work. I'm sure Boeing won't mind, I'll tell them it is work related!

You should look at this little program, a USB Device Deinstaller

USBDEVIEW google it

Bit

Thrustmaster has a name for shiny outside and &%§% inside, it has been like that in 1994 and seems it still is like that 20 years down the road.

 

I can't recall how often I had to stop playing, take the F22 and TQS and RCS apart, solder new pots in, change wires, change broken springs, reglue this or that...for another 2-3 weeks until it dies again. It finally died on me with a broken motherboard in the F22 Stick and I said "no more".

 

It is a nice gadget to have, but if you have worn out three Thrustmaster Hotas over time you really think again before buying another one. They aint cheap, but cheap built.

 

I might one day get me CH Combo, maybe less features but they seem to be more sturdy from what I heard.

 

 

Bit

YAYA, went back to Thrustmaster (see sig)...will see were it gets me

I have to empower Skates pov, USB is ment to be used by IDIOTS like us.

When I have to power down my PC to safely unplug my Hotas I better talk to the idiot that forgot to solder the correct parts onto the board to filter that out and book him a 2nd class for "how to build with longlivity in mind"

ItÄs a freaking 400 bucks combo, cant be that a handfull of 1-dollar parts are missing that protect the board. No excuse TM!

Bit

Ok Skate, plugged it into my work laptop and it does the same thing. Flashes green lights for a second and then goes dark. Come up and says USB Device Not Recognized blah blah blah. I submitted a ticket with TM. Lets see if they can do anything. If it is just the main board I have no problem with replacing it. If it is a firmware goof up then I wouldn't mind saving the money and fixing it.

In the mean time I am reading through this thread for ideas:

http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=61569

Hi.

Can't seem to rep your post, but I had the same issue and followed the instructions.

Finally received and replaced PCB the other day, seems to be all good so far :joystick:

Great to be back in business, there's not really a good alternative to the Warthog, so your thread was very useful, cheers.

I ordered My Hotas with free pedals and Newegg sent it to the wrong State. I believe TM

uses the date You purchased it for the 2 year warranty. Took it a few days to be sent to

the correct address, and when I received it, the throttle did not work at all.

TM sent me a new board and I installed it and it worked ok ( so I thought ).

I was only flying tail draggers and did not use a lot of buttons.

Even with the new board, the right side of the throttle never worked, but I always

thought it was a DCS software problem and not hardware.

As time went by, I started buying jets and needed more buttons and decided

that I needed to have the throttle fixed the right way.

I notified TM and they said I was 4 days past the warranty period and

would have to purchase the board outright, but that the video I made on youtube

and sent to them showed that it may not be the board so I should send it in.

I am now using my old Saitek X35T to play DCS so at least I have a working throttle

((( TM one only worked at the very top near afterburner setting and could only be

turned on and off if You moved it too much))).

I wonder if the person I emailed at TM was the sole person to make the decision

that I was 4 days over? I was helping My son move and was busy with life for a

few days, and I felt very badly that TM made the decision not to honer my warranty

as it took more then 4 days for me to receive the broken hotas and more then 4 days

to receive the replacement board.

Why did you never test the buttons in the Windows control panel to determine whether they worked or not? That would have been the first thing to do when they did not work in DCS. As for the warranty, I am sure the wording indicates that it starts at date of purchase, not date of receipt.

You've got nothing to lose. I would call them and nicely plead your case.

Call them, again and again, dont give in, escalate it to higher deciders, post it everywhere, tell them you gonna post it far & wide. That usually helps to rethink their decision.

20 years ago, TM sent you all spare parts you needed for free in the mail when you just called them up, from 5pm to 8pm local time LoL I guess those times are long gone.

The bigger they get the higher they carry their nose and forget who made them what they are now.