Thrustmaster Warthog Joystick - Countermeasures Management Switch (CMS)

Hi!


This is a quick note to share some photos on how I repaired the CMS switch of my Warthog Joystick.

Disclaimer: the author takes no responsibility about any consequences resulting from the use of this page. The information presented herein is incomplete, is not meant to provide step-by-step instructions. By tampering with your joystick, you may loose warranty protection and you may further damage your device. Use of information contained herein is at your own risk.

When the CMS fails, this is typically due to one or more of its internal switches failing. Unfortunately, these are not so easy to find components, but here are the key words to search for them:

6x6x5mm 4-Pin DIP Through Hole Momentary Tactile Push Button Switch 

I was lucky enough to find them on Amazon's market place.  50 switches for £1.18 was not bad at all!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00976KDBY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

In the following photo, the CMS is visible at the bottom (the grey switch, touching on the desk):

The tools I used:

* philips screwdriver
* flat screwdriver
* wires plier
* soldering iron
* solder (alloy)
* glue gun

* marker pencil

The process I followed:

I watched a couple of videos on youtube, of other people disassemblying the warthog switch. I found the following video very informative:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aijs1eMfM-M&t=2s

Then: 
I disassembled the enclosure,
Removed all zip ties,
Unscrewed the circuit board,
Unplugged the connectors used by the CMS
Removed the thermal glue that was holding the CMS in place.

Here's the photo of the CMS after it's been removed:

I used a permanent marker to mark on the second (middle) layer the direction in which the switch doesn't work.

The CMS comprises of three layers. I unscrewed the 2 screws and carefully pulled the lower layer (further away from the gray stick). Some of the cables pass through this layer's holes. I carefully pulled this layer back.

I took some photos of the switch from the outside. Note there is a dot on the gray part of the switch. This is aligned with the yellow wire. I kept note of that, so as to reassemble the switch correctly, i.e. the up, down, left, right switches should be facing the right direction in relation to this dot.

I unscrewed 2 more screws and pulled back the second layer.

The gray part can be removed from the assembly.

There's a spring inside the second layer. I removed that too. Here's how it looked like:
 

The second layer contains 4 mini button switches, as seen in the following photo:

I used the mark on the side of the layer, to identify which of the switches was faulty. I also used a multimetre to confirm that. When a button is pressed, the measured electrical resistance should be equal to zero.

I cut it off and slided it out from the casing.


The replacement button switch typically has 2 pairs of pins. You only need the pins on one side. I had to straighten them and bend by 90 degrees. I heated up each pin with a soldering iron before bending each pin separately, to help it get bent easily.

I cut off the other 2 pins.

I inserted the new switch into the enclosure, guided the pins through the holes and, once in place, soldered the wires onto the pins.

That was it, really. I reassembled it, using the reverse process. I took care of the orientation of the gray part (to align the dot with the yellow wire).

A glue gun was required to fix the CMS in place.

If you find the above useful, feel free to drop a line.