The Thrustmaster T500RS Thread

  • Thread starter TomN
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Hey Mr. Latte, what is the servo wheel that has been announced? Also, I dont have an actual d-pad on my plate but I have 4 buttons arranged in a d- pad formation. You can buy d-pad switches though and integrate them into a plate. The plate I have posted for my t500 is my first one and was put together quickly with supplies I had on hand. I plan on making a much nicer one. I have toyed with the idea of custom making button plates for other SIM racers because I have had a few people ask me but I haven't put too much thought into it yet. I do have access to proprietary circuit boards now that emulate the original TX rim. I have not tested mine yet as it only arrived yesterday but I plan on testing the circuit for cross compatibility with the three main bases. If all goes well this could replace the Arduino board and Arduino software that my current plate runs off of. The cost of the boards is higher than that of an Arduino though. If I were to build and sell plates I would have to solder my own boards to keep costs down. If you would like you can private message me and ill give you my phone number. I can least go over the options that are available and what the most cost effective route would be. I dont know what you electronic skills are but I would always be more than happy to walk you through your own build process and help in any way I can. I always enjoy helping out a fellow SIM racing enthusiast :)
 
Great work with some of the mods above guys.
If somebody developed a nicely packaged "console compatible" wheel plate sure would be popular.

I've just purchased a TX458 (£220 Dabs) for Forza 6.
Ok the new 458 Servo base has been announced but this price is cheaper and I might just auction off the 458 rim and pedals.

I am looking a tidy option with d-pad reach/functionality for both T500/458 wheelbases for console usage to support 320/330 rims.

What are the best options (inc working d-pad)

You should check out http://www.sammaxwellcustoms.com Even though the gallery doesn't show any of his custom work with a d-pad, but I'm sure it's doable but his work ain't cheap.
 
Thanks for replies and appreciate offer of help.

I quite like the new 599x rim just wish it was 320mm or 330mm. Ideally I want a simple solution. One possible option was to convert my "T500 GT" rim into a button box and just run with a normal wheel.

I know SRH sell an adapter for the GTE here
Zalem also have some options here

My current rim of choice is this 2015 edition OMP here
 
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Hi chaps.
Looking for some help with my T500 pedals

I bent a pin when plugging in a new shifter into the wheel, it shorted out and melted a chip in the wheel.
Bought a new wheel (TX as I'm an xboner, please don't hold it against me. ;o)... )
But find out accelerator pedal is now totally dead when new wheel arrives.
Other 2 pedals are fine.
If i invert I can accelerate but have no clutch obviously.
Accelerator on supplied crappy pedals works as should.

Thinking it could only be the pot, but not really electronically minded.

Any help advice would be great thanks...
 
Hi chaps.
Looking for some help with my T500 pedals

I bent a pin when plugging in a new shifter into the wheel, it shorted out and melted a chip in the wheel.
Bought a new wheel (TX as I'm an xboner, please don't hold it against me. ;o)... )
But find out accelerator pedal is now totally dead when new wheel arrives.
Other 2 pedals are fine.
If i invert I can accelerate but have no clutch obviously.
Accelerator on supplied crappy pedals works as should.

Thinking it could only be the pot, but not really electronically minded.

Any help advice would be great thanks...

As far as your T500 pedals go, I can't see WHY the throttle would be non-functional -- I don't think I've ever seen a potentiometer short out, so what you might do is look at the pins on the end of the pedal cable that connects to the wheel base, and make sure that they're all clean and shiny (you might even use something non-abrasive like a toothpick or a pencil eraser to "shine" them up a bit). Also, check the firmware on your TX wheel -- I'm pretty sure the original firmware did NOT support three pedals, so that might be your issue.

I'm willing to bet that a firmware update should fix your problem with the T500 pedals. :)
 
I had something similar happen to my T500's clutch pedal after around 18 months of use. It suddenly stopped working from one day to the next, no visible cable damage (everything had been solidly mounted to my wheelstand for over a year, I hadn't even unplugged or replugged the pedals cable in all that time and the cable was securely velcroed in place).


Since it was still under guarantee I didn't attempt any fix myself. I sent it in for RMA and got a brand new T500 a few days later. Apparently the webshop decided not to try and get it repaired. No clue what the underlying cause was, I had barely touched the clutch pedal in months.


P.S. I also checked with the mode button between green and red mode. It was clearly the pedal itself not the clutch function, so switching from red to green mode I had a functional clutch but not a functional accelerator.
 
Hmm . . . perhaps something as simple as a broken wire in the pedal base, or where the cable connects to the pedals?
 
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Thanks for replies guys.
Unfortunately pedals are old and bought 2nd hand a while ago. So no warranty for me. :(

Updated firmware to latest as soon as opened the box.

Had a look inside and can see no obvious broken wires.
Will check plug connectors in a bit.

Pic of melted chip in wheel for your viewing pleasure.
Always hated din style plugs. Even more so now.

20150812_195156.jpg
 
You might also check to see that the small plastic gear that couples the pedal to the potentiometer shaft hasn't slipped -- could be that it's not meshing and thus not moving the throttle pot anymore. Never heard of anybody stripping the gears, so hopefully that's not what's going on.

The most likely culprit would be where the black cable attaches to the pedals (the small green printed circuit board that attaches to the cable). If a wire is broken there, or a solder connection is bad, that could account for why the throttle isn't working.
 
Hey there,

this is Michael from Germany. I printed an adapter for my Thrustmaster TX to use a real steering wheel.
After a little research I found Taras' blog with the Arduino Nano MOD so i decided to redesign the adapter.



I have some descriptions in the German forum
http://forum.virtualracing.org/show...D-Druck-Wheeladapter-Arduino-NANO-Buttonplate
I shared the 3D flies for everyone - for free of course
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:976223


Greetz!
Micha

@Taras: thank you for sharing your knowledge about the Arduino, it is a great experience to "play" those simulations with a normal big leather wheel and be also able to use all buttons, without an addition wire.
 
Hey there,

this is Michael from Germany. I printed an adapter for my Thrustmaster TX to use a real steering wheel.
After a little research I found Taras' blog with the Arduino Nano MOD so i decided to redesign the adapter.



I have some descriptions in the German forum
http://forum.virtualracing.org/show...D-Druck-Wheeladapter-Arduino-NANO-Buttonplate
I shared the 3D flies for everyone - for free of course
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:976223


Greetz!
Micha

@Taras: thank you for sharing your knowledge about the Arduino, it is a great experience to "play" those simulations with a normal big leather wheel and be also able to use all buttons, without an addition wire.


Nice. Add rev lights and it'll be complete. Use bluetooth so that it's still wireless lol
 
Hi folks, just wondering if anyone knows whether it's possible to relocate the 6 pin din connector from the centre column to somewhere else? Like on the outside of the case.

I've added a quick release and have a rim for connecting to the pc via a coiled usb cable so I can't put the original rim back on. What I'm thinking of doing is either using the arduinno method from previous posts by Taras or using a custom circuit to make a console compatible rim. I'd like to do something much the same as with the usb but connecting to the 6 pin din with a coiled cable to somewhere else on the base.

Am I right in thinking that I can simply remove the din cable from column, drill a hole somewhere on the base and mount it that way? Has any one else done this?

Thanks in advance,
Steve
 
Hi folks, just wondering if anyone knows whether it's possible to relocate the 6 pin din connector from the centre column to somewhere else? Like on the outside of the case.

I've added a quick release and have a rim for connecting to the pc via a coiled usb cable so I can't put the original rim back on. What I'm thinking of doing is either using the arduinno method from previous posts by Taras or using a custom circuit to make a console compatible rim. I'd like to do something much the same as with the usb but connecting to the 6 pin din with a coiled cable to somewhere else on the base.

Am I right in thinking that I can simply remove the din cable from column, drill a hole somewhere on the base and mount it that way? Has any one else done this?

Thanks in advance,
Steve

imo should be possible, it's only a question of how much work it takes to get it out from column
 
This is what my T500 power supply sounds like right now. Whenever I turn the wheel (so the force feedback or whatever works against it to center it again) it gets louder...

It has gotten louder over the last weeks, so I've decided to contact Thrustmaster regarding this and they're now sending me a new one (still in guarantee so it's free for me).

Has anyone here had the same issue?
 
I am glad I bought the T500 a year ago because the prices of this wheel have gone up alot, last year I bought the T500 from caseking for 350€ and now It´s 450€ Is it the sales of Project Cars wich have sparked an increase in demand wich have increased price?
 
^
Yeah, I've seen the same price development. I also bought it for 350€ and saw it going up soon afterwards. I guess it's not to a too high demand since pCars, but I guess there was not much demand before so the price dropped...
 
Finally got myself an Arduino Nano – rim is rewired and assembled:

Nano V3 wiring - it's the same as Uno, just pins named D1-D13 (was 1-13)
arduino_nano_to_thrustmaster_wheelbase_wiring_1633x1200v2.jpg


Video (yup, wanted to include a Nano assembly)


Posted more pics and firmware to the blog - here.


Hi,


It seems that the TX wheel emulation not work in the T500 rs wheelbases. I tested TX emulation with two arduino, but the control panel says that i am still using the GT wheel.

YUIIC0j.jpg




The GT wheel emulation works perfectly.

Thank you for your great work
 
Hi,


It seems that the TX wheel emulation not work in the T500 rs wheelbases. I tested TX emulation with two arduino, but the control panel says that i am still using the GT wheel.

The GT wheel emulation works perfectly.

Thank you for your great work

Hiya, thanks for the feedback! That's right - as far as I remember, T500 base wants the data from Arduino to be additionally shifted 1 bit left. We saw this issue with Seth Francis on his T500 and it's fixed in t500_gt_wheel_emu_13buttons.ino - see loop() func there for more info. So, yup, 2 Arduino firmwares exist - for TXRW and for T500. T300 - not tested yet, it'd be great if someone could do this part :)
 
I send to Thrustmaster support an e-mail and the guided me to open the pedals and
I think I found the culprit.

The protection material, black textured "rubber like" material, that is between the brake pedal and the spring is worn out, so the contact is making a click sound everytime i depress the brake. Seems like the edge of the spring is rough and "ate" through it. Mind you that I use have used this wheel for no more than 2 weeks so it should not be a matter of wearing out the product.


Also I found that the cable was squeezed in a very narrow point between the aluminum coloured and the black coloured encasings. I removed it from there to prevent further damage and I hope it won't pose any problems in the future. I provided pictures for that as well.

View attachment 81789 View attachment 81790 View attachment 81793 View attachment 81794

I have the same problem with ping noise, there is a void/gap in the pedal the edge of the spring is slightly over hanging it and catching on the edge of the gap, took me ages to find it was that, easy test is to push the spring with pencil etc from the brake mod side, just a mil or two should do it, but it will return back to the PING! in no time, just cover it the same way as original pad did with something that will not wear out so easy.
 
I haven't went through whole thread but the hex bolts on top of some t500rs are fake, don't be worried if you round them trying to take them out(you will there plastic) I also put a silent fan in mine from maplins...awesome, had to check it was on it was so quiet.
 
I also fixed the crazy deadzone at start of travel on the pedals, that used to drive me nuts, only thing is the slight deadzone is now at the top of travel but I don't care about that.
 
Just so everyone knows, the TX Arduino emulation has been confirmed to function with the T300 wheelbase! The test was done by an ISRTV member and he has confirmed that the sketch is working properly with his T300 base. This means all T300 owners interested in building a custom button plate can do so using the TX emulation sketch found in Taras' (rr4m) blog or by clicking here: http://rr-m.org/tx_wheel/tx_rw_ferrari_458_wheel_emu_16buttons.zip
If that does not load here is a link to part 3 of Taras' blog. The TX emulation sketch for Arduino can be found on this page: http://rr-m.org/blog/arduino-nano-controlled-buttons-for-thrustmaster-wheelbases-part-3/

Thanks again to Taras for going through the trouble to make this mod possible. Hopefully this will make some T300 owners very happy :)
 
How do I set up inverted pedals?

If you have a T500 you just hold the mode button on the base and the light will switch from either green to red or red to green, depending on the pedal position setting (gt or F1). Hope this helps, if you need more detail let me know.
 
Does anyone know where I could get pedal extenders for the T500rs pedals in Europe. I have had to move my pedals back on my wheelstand to install a set of Slaw Device flight rudders in front of them. I can still reach them but its a stretch and uncomfortable over longer periods. These guys make something which could work http://www.virtualmotorsportsinc.com/products/pedal-relocation-kit but they dont ship to Ireland. I could do something with wood blocks but it would ruin the look of the setup.

I'm also looking to replace the pedal covers for something like this https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/threads/the-thrustmaster-t500rs-thread.135961/page-301#post-9639216 but preferrably flat like the Protosimtech PT-1. If anyone knows of anything like this I'd appreciate the heads up. Cheers.
 
Does anyone know where I could get pedal extenders for the T500rs pedals in Europe. I have had to move my pedals back on my wheelstand to install a set of Slaw Device flight rudders in front of them. I can still reach them but its a stretch and uncomfortable over longer periods. These guys make something which could work http://www.virtualmotorsportsinc.com/products/pedal-relocation-kit but they dont ship to Ireland. I could do something with wood blocks but it would ruin the look of the setup.

Not exactly what you're looking for, but I built-up an adapter for a few folks over on the ISRTV.com forums that swaps the clutch and brake for the T500/T3PA-Pro pedals to allow them to be used as rudder pedals (the adapter would also work with the T3PA non-Pro pedals, too):

Link: http://www.isrtv.com/forums/topic/10919-t500rs-swapping-combined-axis-to-throttle-clutch/?page=1

Might be something to consider to keep you from having to swap between pedals when moving from flight sims to racing sims.
 
Not exactly what you're looking for, but I built-up an adapter for a few folks over on the ISRTV.com forums that swaps the clutch and brake for the T500/T3PA-Pro pedals to allow them to be used as rudder pedals (the adapter would also work with the T3PA non-Pro pedals, too):

Link: http://www.isrtv.com/forums/topic/10919-t500rs-swapping-combined-axis-to-throttle-clutch/?page=1

Might be something to consider to keep you from having to swap between pedals when moving from flight sims to racing sims.
Thanks for the suggestion John. Much appreciated. It wouldn't be something I'd use personally after getting the Slaws although if I knew about it before I spent €345 on the Slaw rudders you would have made the "I-need-to-buy-this-expensive-shiny-object-or-I-might-die" self deluding decision making process much more difficult :). You should drop a post up on the DCS and Elite Dangerous forums detailing your mod as I know for sure there are guys over on both looking for a solution like this. Cheers.
 
Hello, I've recently upgraded from a G27 which I have been using for about 3 years without any issues.

The T500 I bought is a V5 which I got second hand but barely used, and I think I have an overheating problem. After about an hour of use, career mode in AC a little nostalgic rallyx in LFS, then time trial in Project Cars. I booted up my career in PCars and completed practice and qually gradually getting quicker with no issues. Then I start the race...

There was a strange noise from the wheel which sounded, and it felt like, the belt was slipping or juddering. Every time I turn the wheel it seemed to get harder and harder to control the car and I eventually crashed. I restarted a few times but it just kept happening. The weird thing is the wheel casing didn't feel any hotter than it had all night. I've read a lot about the T500 so after every on track session I have been putting my hand on top to check the temp.

Anybody had anything similar?
 
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