Looking for help from a DFGT owner

[Apollo33]

Sometime back in the Gran Turismo 5 days, my DFGT wheel broke and I couldn't figure it out, so I put it in the basement and forgot about it. Now I finally decided to take it all apart and see if there's any way I can fix it. All of the wires and connections inside look good, and I know the power supply is good and making it to the main board. But when I plug in the power or the USB or both, the wheel doesn't do anything (no light or sound at all), and the computer doesn't recognize anything.

So I was hoping someone with a DFGT could help me with these tests:

1. What happens when the wheel's power is unplugged, and you plug the USB into a PC? (And does the PC recognize it?)
   
2. What happens when you plug only the power in?
3. What happens when you plug in the power and the USB?

I'm trying to figure out what reactions I should be getting from plugging things in to know where the issue might be. Like when does the front light come on, and I thought sometimes the wheel makes a little jerk when it turns on, and at some point it does the rotation thing... but it's been too long for me to remember what to expect.

Thanks so much if anyone can help! And any other suggestions are welcome, too.

 

[Tornado]

When you plug the USB in but not the power the wheel is recognized but it otherwise just sits there. When you plug the power in but not the USB it doesn't do anything. When you plug in both it automatically calibrates the full range of rotation in both directions before centering and then locking the motor. This should be the case regardless of whether you have it running with the Logitech drivers or the default Windows ones. Having both plugged in is the only time the horn will light.



Try another USB port (one directly on the motherboard if possible); and maybe try installing the Logitech drivers.

 

[Apollo33]

When you plug the USB in but not the power the wheel is recognized but it otherwise just sits there. When you plug the power in but not the USB it doesn't do anything. When you plug in both it automatically calibrates the full range of rotation in both directions before centering and then locking the motor. This should be the case regardless of whether you have it running with the last Logitech that support it or whether the default Windows drivers themselves are controlling it. Having both plugged in is the only time the horn will light.

Try another USB port (one directly on the motherboard if possible); and maybe try installing the Logitech drivers.

Thank you! So no front light from just the power, either? That would be great if it's just my USB cable that's broken. (It doesn't work in another port.)

Edit: Ok I lied. I plugged it into a USB2 port and Windows recognized it! And I plugged it into the wall and it started to move. This will be ridiculous if I took the entire thing apart and put it back together and it works fine now.

 

[Tornado]

Do you have the Logitech drivers installed? Windows may not have been able to calibrate it correctly with the default ones for whatever reason; and if the Windows drivers install failed the first time it wouldn't fix itself or recognize it any subsequent times.

 

[Apollo33]

Do you have the Logitech drivers installed? Windows may not have been able to calibrate it correctly with the default ones for whatever reason; and if the Windows drivers install failed the first time it wouldn't fix itself or recognize it any subsequent times.

Yeah I installed the Logitech software yesterday, so when I plugged it in now it recognized it perfectly fine. (I edited my last post after your response I think.)

 

[GilesGuthrie]

This is good to hear. My DFGT similarly lay neglected for many years. I reckon somewhere between 5 & 8 years in the garage. I plugged it into my shiny new Windows 10 box, installed the drivers, and am having a ball on a few different games. It's a great wheel, and a meaningful upgrade is several hundred pounds.

 

[Apollo33]

This is good to hear. My DFGT similarly lay neglected for many years. I reckon somewhere between 5 & 8 years in the garage. I plugged it into my shiny new Windows 10 box, installed the drivers, and am having a ball on a few different games. It's a great wheel, and a meaningful upgrade is several hundred pounds.

Welcome back! I'm a bit ashamed that I didn't try harder to fix my wheel in the first place. All I had to do was replace the USB plug (I cut the wire and spliced it with another USB cable I didn't need) and it's working fine! Then I renewed my iRacing account from 2012 to try that again. And I ordered the parts for that GIMX adapter to make this wheel work with PS4 / Gran Turismo Sport. It is definitely fun driving again, but my single monitor really reminds me of how much I need VR... plus a whole new PC to run it .