Does it sound like a mouse lives in your Force RS?

        Many people have had the annoying little problem of a squeaking sound in their Force RS. Usually this noise is coming from the motor. More specifically, the brushes that contact the commutator  (comm) on the armature . Some wheels come this way out of the box, but usually it develops slowly. I believe it's caused by the changing shape of the brushes when they start to contour to the shape of the comm. They can develop sharp, pitted or jagged edges, or just generally stop seating properly. The fix is quite simple, but you must be careful. I'd prefer it if you used a wooden Popsicle stick, so go out and get one, and eat it while you finish reading through this article. A stiff piece of plastic is my next choice, but a small flat bladed screwdriver will also do. For the pictures in this article, I'm using a small screwdriver. Because it's thin, it doesn't hide the parts I'm pointing to and I'm relatively careful and might even know what I'm doing. Well, at least I know what the dangers are.

    The folks at Act Labs are not particularly happy with  me for instructing you to poke a stick in your force feedback motor, and this is exactly what you'll be doing. Generally, I'd be happier if you didn't stick anything smaller than your elbow in there, but if you want to get rid of the squeak, you'll have to.

    As always, read through this entire article carefully before you do any of the tweaks. This is important.

Getting Started:

    First, you'll have to take the cover off the wheel. There are 6 screws on the back that hold the cartridge socket. Remove these first, then the 10 screws around the perimeter on the bottom. To lift the cover off, spread it around the thumbwheels so it clears them.

Now you'll see the insides of the wheel. On the top, rear of the motor there is a large hole. You'll need a very well lit area for doing this. Aim a bright light at the motor.

Look inside the hole and you'll see the copper spring that holds the brush and the top of the brush. Turn the wheel and listen to the squeak. Now gently reach under the copper spring with your stick and lift it slightly. Turn your wheel again and listen for the squeak. If it's not there, the top brush is the one that's squeaking and you're lucky. If you still hear the squeak, it's the bottom brush that's squeaking and it's a little harder to get at. If you can't lift the copper spring from the top hole, use the hole in the rear of the motor. But be careful.

Seating the Brush:

Once you've determined which brush is causing the squeak, you're going to put slight pressure on the top of the offending brush with your stick and turn the wheel again several times. You may be able to do this through the top hole if it's the top brush that's causing the squeak, but I'd be willing to bet it will be the bottom one that needs to be done. To do this, you'll need to reach it from the back of the motor.

 If you're putting pressure on the brush from the rear of the motor, don't push your stick too far in. You don't want it to hit the wire winds on the armature. With your stick, put some pressure on the top of the brush and turn the wheel several times. What we're doing here is seating the brush again and grinding off any ragged bits on the brush edges. As you turn the wheel, you'll hear a clicking or zipping sound as each section of the comm passes by the brush. Try turning the wheel back and forth about 10 times to start with, then release the pressure on  the brush and turn the wheel again. Check to see if the squeak has gone away. If it has, you're done. If it hasn't, put pressure on the top of the brush and turn the wheel again. You may have to twist the stick slightly from side to side to seat the brush to the comm, but only do this if 2 or 3 regular attempts don't do the job. Eventually the squeak will go away. When you've finished, you might want to blow through the top hole while turning the wheel just to get rid of any bits of brush material that have fallen to the bottom of the motor casing.

    This procedure should stop the wheel from squeaking for quite a while, but in time the brushes may need to be reseated again. Mine has lasted over a month now without further squeaking.

Regards,

Slot

(Gary DeRoy )

July 9, 2000