The three dots appear whilst different aspects of the wheel check in with each other during startup. Once everything is successfully checked in and working then they go away and things work correctly. If they never go away then there's an issue with something not reporting in correctly and you won't get full function of the wheel, usually force feedback.
There are external factors that can cause the issues with everything reporting in correctly, such as an excessively long, poor quality USB cable/extension, or even ground loop issues in the complete setup that the wheel is in. I've seen issues like this caused by a poor quality HDMI cable between the console and TV, for example.
Thank you for your response, which makes sense to me, and the "ground loop" problem probably perfectly describes the cause of my "three dots" fault. I think in my case it is an external issue - but this is an issue that has only just occurred in the last few weeks, having used the Pro wheel for at least 3000 hours since October 2022, without any sort of issue (BTW, an absolutely wonderful experience, for 3000 hours, and hopefully many more to come). To potentially help others, here is my current workaround (as crazy as it might seem), for my particular issue:
Issue: The Pro Wheel does not always enter the calibration phase at start-up, and leaves the LCD in a state where it shows the "three dot" animation. This is an intermittent fault, which seems to occur randomly. (You have explained there are potentially a number of checks that need to "pass" in order to complete the start-up, so this is quite difficult to de-bug...). The LCD menu is then unavailable and force-feedback is disabled, but everything else works perfectly normally (including Playstation controller functions, etc.).
Cable Tests: I excluded the possibility (or some possibilities) of a fault with connection to the removable wheel by starting the unit without the wheel. I excluded the possibility (or some possibilities) of a connection fault between the wheel-base and device (PC/PS5) via the USB comms cable. In both of these cases, if the USB cable is not connected or if the wheel is not connected, the start-up process doesn't even reach the "three dot" screen - so those basic checks are assumed (by me) to have "passed" when they are connected.
Workaround: After switching off the wheel-base with a long-press of the red button, isolate the power to the wheel at the mains connection plug by removing the mains plug from the wall, or by using a mains switch to isolate the power supply from the house power supply. When you next want to use the wheel (leave it at least ten minutes), start the device (PC/console) and start your application (game), and then plug the wheel-base power supply plug back in or un-isolate it with the mains switch, and then immediately short-press the red start button. Never leave the power supply connected to the mains when you are not using the wheel.
Explanation: My wheel-base is connected to the mains socket on the wall via a series of multi-gang power cables which also provide sockets for TV, PS5, XBox, AV Amp, Tuner, CD Player, 2 x PCs, VR power supply, printer, broadband hub, USB hub router, various lamps console controller chargers, etc. My Pro wheel-base worked perfectly as part of this group of devices for three years, but a few weeks ago I re-arranged the power cabling to rationalise them into groups (audio/internet/etc.) and to add more provision for 5V chargers. I think the Pro wheel is now sensitive to the new arrangement - the earthing has probably changed, or is temperamental (maybe an oxidised connection somewhere, etc.). A best solution would probably be to plug the wheel-base power supply into its own individual mains socket at the wall. This isn't practical for me, but I will be upgrading my multi-gang extension cables to new higher quality ones. In the meantime, the workaround above works for me - 100% of the time. I am also trying to get in the habit of isolating as many devices as possible when they are not being used (saves electricity).
Questions and Suggestions for Rich
Question 1: I am wondering whether the sensitivity (with potential to fail as described above) has other factors. So - would I benefit from buying a new power supply...? Does the power supply degrade over time, or with use (heavily used.... 3000+ hours)... or does it have a limited life-span....? Would a new power supply be more resilient to ground loop issues...?
Question 2: Are there any consumable parts on the motor assembly, such as bushes or windings, that degrade with age/use (again - I have had 3000+ hours use so far). My wheel is out of warranty, and has easily performed its function with fantastic value over nearly four years - is there any benefit for me if I now open up the wheel-base unit and deep-clean the internal mechanisms? As an aside, when the wheel works it still performs as well, if not better (firmware updated), as it did when it was brand new... ;-)
Question 3: Is there a way to hard reset the wheel-base (with physical buttons)? Although my PC recognises my wheel, the latest version of G-Hub doesn't see the wheel at all, and I was wondering if a hard reset (if available) would fix this. I think your firmware updates (or my game/application updates) have improved the wheel FFB over the last three/four years.
Suggestion 1: Include a hard physical switch on future models of the power supply.
Suggestion 2: Let the LCD screen report an actual error code if any start-up system check doesn't pass, rather than leave the screen locked on the "three dot" animation - maybe this could be pushed to firmware...? Or maybe the LCD screen could display progress through the checks, and stop at the one that doesn't "pass"....? This will help debug future cable/power issues, especially for new purchasers.
FYI (Rich): I did reach out to Logitech for support, and for your reference/interest my ticket (which should be considered closed, with very many thanks to the whole team for their efforts, was: 17243850). Thank you, in addition, for contributing to this thread - I only found this thread after my ticket was closed. As an aside, I now note that another user in this forum had an issue with the USB cable to the pedals set (soft cable not terminating deep enough into the USB-A encasement), so Suggestion 3 would be to review the design/supplier of this cable - as it would be a shame if a brilliantly wonderful £1000 device was let down by its cables. (NB: I do not think this is/was the cause of my "three dot" issue, as described above).
CONCLUSION
If you have got this far, well done... ;-) Just to be clear - I am not complaining about my Pro wheel. It has easily been one of my best ever purchases. It has excellent build quality and superbly immersive performance that completely transforms your experience on any game that is compatible with it, on PC or PS5 (and no doubt XBox). It was a slight pain that I needed to get a pass-through device for the shifter, but that device (a brake pressure dial) has proved to be one of my favourite features in my set-up. I would 100% recommend purchase of the pro wheel, the pedals, the shifter and the brake pressure dial ("racing adapter").
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