Thrustmaster Warthog Stick CMS Removal

[Hattricx]

The CMS on my stick has stopped working in two directions so I figured I would fix it since I have the parts lying around. I've disassembled the stick but I can't actually remove the CMS.

There are two clips holding it in place, one that I can press down, and one that is hidden on the opposite side and it doesn't seem accessible with the medal stick frame in the way. I was wondering if anyone had some experience with this, maybe I'm missing something obvious. I've attached pictures as a reference.

I checked this guide but this isn't discussed. https://howtofixitbyyourself.blogspot.com/2017/02/thrustmaster-warthog-joystic.html

Thanks

[deeleyer]

I took out my CMS just yesterday and it cost me some time managing how to push the hidden tab. At the end I forced the CMS and it popped out. Luckily the tab wasn't broken.

No idea how repair techs manage to take it out without using brute force...

 

Edited April 22, 2022 by deeleyer

[Hattricx]

Yep, that was what I ended up doing as well. One swift hit with a mallet and it popped out.

[Diesel_Thunder]

I recently did something similar with my Hornet grips' weapon select switch, which is mounted in a similar manner to the CMS on the Viper grip. One clip I could access and push in, the other was inaccessible. Ended up using a medium flat head screwdriver and giving it a firm push to force it out after pushing up the one side of the switch up and out of the hole slightly. Didn't damage the hole or the clip I couldn't get to either.

[Bwaze]

I had to remove the WSS switch on the Hornet grip twice - when I bought the grip it was getting stuck in two positions, forward and back. Unfortunately I found out I had no Thrustmaster warranty since I bought the stick through the Ebay site (even though it was a new stick, and sale was made by a large store, not individual). But the store agreed to cover the cost of the new button from Thrustmaster support. The other option was returning the stick, but I would be loosing shipping both ways.


I also had a hard time getting the switch out. I tried to push the hidden clip with some random things but it was just too inaccessible. So I used brute force, but I damaged the old (already malfunctioning) switch in the process. I installed the new WSS (without thoroughly checking it first), but it was getting stuck too, this time just in one direction. Thrustmaster did send me another one for free after I made necessary videos, and this time I prepared myself and created a "WSS switch extraction tool" - a small cheap screwdriver that I bent 90 degrees and also bent the tip a bit.




It was a bit too thick so I couldn't quite reach the clip with ease, but after a couple of tries i hit near enough so it released and the switch fell out. You see the dents on the switch in the image - they look deep but they are more or less scratches. So if I would make it again I'd grind the first centimetre or two to a thinner shape. Thrustmaster could have easily included such a tool with their switches which have inaccessible clips, it would cost them peanuts. And it's a bit offensive that they don't even acknowledge the difficulty of removing the switches in their PDF guide and technical support communication.

Edited April 30, 2022 by Bwaze

[Hempstead]

I would suggest drilling a tiny hole on the stick body at the location of the clip, a hole just big enough for a paper clip. It’s not dissimilar to the mechanical SIM card ejection “hole.” TM should have designed that in.

Edited May 1, 2022 by Hempstead