Saitek Pro Flight Pedals failure mode and fix (FYI)

[reve_etrange]

I thought I would post this as a FYI in case any one else runs into the same problem with their Saitek pedals.

 

My right toe brake became stuck on 100% - unless the pedals were deflected to a particular location. I opened them up for the n^th time and found that some of the thin insulation on the three control wires had been rubbed off where they exit the pedal assembly through a small port. Shorting one combination gave 100% toe and another gave 100% rudder.

 

I fixed the problem by tightly rolling a small piece of electrical tape around the exposed part of the wires. It turned out that the wires are also not necessarily well insulated where they exit the glue inside the bottom of the pedal. I fixed that by spreading the wires a bit and applying hot glue to cover.

 

Finally, I used more electrical tape to protect the wires (including on the other, working pedal) wherever they were likely to rub, and to replace the old masking tape holding the wires at various places throughout the entire assembly.

 

In my case, the wires were in good enough shape for tape and glue to do the job. In case of more damage it might be necessary to replace part or all of one or more wires, or to disconnect one end in order to apply heat shrink.

[VBF-12_Snake9]

Had the same problem with my pedals, and had to repair a wire inside x52 throttle the same way.  Throttle was more difficult to fix.  There's about 20 more wires to deal with in the throttle.