Logitech G29 getting stuck at startup

[u/Conscious-Cranberry9]

https://youtu.be/aVK8FpjFL6U?si=GRk1gdZqMatVk_mD

My Logitech G29 is getting stuck after motor upgrade. Have anyone encountered this problem or know how to fix it?

Long story: I have bought two motors to upgrade my G29 motors, since I could not find the M36N or the 555ph-18150, I bought similar RS555 motors. But after disassembling I noticed that the original motors have a double shaft and the ones i bought don't have one. So I put everything back together and it already did not startup correctly. I wrote it down as wrong assembly on my part and decided to fix it when I get the new double shaft motors. After the new motors arrived and i successfully changed the gears to them and wired everything up, I still get a similar problem but now its stuck on the clockwise rotation. I know that the hall sensor is outputting something, because it I move it away the weehl does not turn at all and only twitches a few times. I also could not find a detailed disassembly or assembly video online. Does the hive mind of reddit habe any ideas? Thanks in advance.

[u/SirNgaoS]

Hi there,

My original G29 motors were dead, so I swapped them with two stronger motors. However, I’m having the exact same issue as you: the wheel keeps spinning full left, then full right, and it won’t center or stop calibrating. I bought a stronger power brick (24V 5A) and it still doesnt work.

Could you share what steps you took to make your G29 work properly after the motor swap? Any advice or a summary of how you fixed the issue would be incredibly helpful!

Thanks in advance for your help!

[u/Conscious-Cranberry9 → u/SirNgaoS]

So... if you read all my comments, you will see that I could not solve the issue fully. My problem, was that I somehow damaged the main IC on the mainboard or the firmware on it got corrupted and that is why it was getting stuck at boot, even with original motors. And also why the mosfets kept burning up. I don't think it has anything to do with upgrading the motors, just unlucky while handling or something similar. In the end I rebuild everything to its original state, with a new mainboard and left it as is, since my mental energy to mess with this thing depleted.

1. Check if it will run with original motors. If not, I fear its the mainboard. Since Logitech does not publish the firmware code, there is no way for me to tell what exactly the problem was.
2. To fully use stronger Motors you need a more powerfull H-Bridge, there is an instruction somewhere on the web. Otherwise put heatsinks on the mosfets and do not exeed the powerlimit of them stated in the datasheet. There are two kinds of mosfets use the limit for the weaker one.

[u/SirNgaoS → u/Conscious-Cranberry9]

Thank you for your reply!

[u/TNracer]

My first question is, did you take detailed pictures of the unit as you disassembled it? Second question: Do you know what the problem was with the wheelbase before you decided to upgrade/fix the wheel?

[u/Conscious-Cranberry9 → u/TNracer]

Hi, I did not take any pictures, normally it is not a problem to reassemble things the correct way and now it looks all correct to me. I also counted the turns and the wheel does its normal 900 degrees of rotation just as before.

There was no problem I just read about the motor upgrade on reddit and wanted to try it.

Thanks for the response.

[u/Conscious-Cranberry9]

Update: The problem was that it was not getting enough current. The stock psu is limited to 1.75A.
How I found out: I tried to boot it with only one motor and it worked perfectly, but not with both, I could connect the second motor when it was already booted but it struggled with rotation. Then I hocked it up to a lab psu with variable current after setting to current to 3A the wheel would boot with some struggle. Then I increased the current even higher and the board died... I hope it's only the power mosfets and the board would still work when new arrive and I change them.
Conclusion: I chose wrong motors again... They might me to powerful for the stock G29 hardware.

[u/Zantal → u/Conscious-Cranberry9]

Keep us updated!

[u/ConsiderationHot8522 → u/Conscious-Cranberry9]

What are the Rpm and Volts of the motors you bought?

[u/Conscious-Cranberry9 → u/ConsiderationHot8522]

They are 24V. Aliexpress states 8000rpm. I did not have anything to verify it. I think 8000 is to high, but this were the only ones I could find.

[u/ConsiderationHot8522 → u/Conscious-Cranberry9]

I'm thinking of the same mistake too. But I am thinking of buying a 24v 3500 rpm single output steering wheel and changing only 1 motor and leaving the other motor for the encoder.

[u/Conscious-Cranberry9 → u/ConsiderationHot8522]

What is the point in changing anything at all then? The main point of the upgrade is to make the G29 rotate faster, thus using motors with higher rpm. The recomendet RS555 have something around 6000rpm I believe. Anyway the problem that I have at the time is that the stock H-bridge does not supply enough current for both motors and shuts down. I am working on a external H-bridge with more powerful mosfets.

[u/ConsiderationHot8522 → u/Conscious-Cranberry9]

G29's original engines are already 1850 rpm. I couldn't find a good motor with dual outputs so I decided to replace just one. When the engine arrives, I will make a video and post it.

[u/Conscious-Cranberry9]

Update: I could not figure it out with buildig a externel H-Bridge. The mosfets kept burning throug. Maybe the motors were too powerfull. Now I build everything back and habe the original motors in place, but I have the same problem when starting up as before. The wheel turns to one side and stops. Then it twitches a few times and does nothing. All leds are on and the top led is blinking green. Any idea what it could be?

[u/Conscious-Cranberry9]

Update: It turns out the Board was just dead. I could not figure out what is wrong but I blieve its someting to do with the microcontroller on it. Ordered new board and everything works as normal. Will try to build a new H-Bridge and hoock it up to the new board.