TM Hornet Grip Sticky Thumb Switch Fix

[Chronocidal]

I've seen a lot of people mentioning this issue, and I've experienced it off and on for a while on my own grip, so I decided to bite the bullet and disassemble the grip to see if I can find what actually causes it.  Warning, it's not for the faint of heart, because that thumb hat is not meant to be removed, and there's a fair risk of breaking one or more wires while trying to get it out (more on that later).

I followed this tutorial on replacing the switch to get a handle on how to remove it.

After finally getting the switch loose from the unreachable clip, I made a point to file down the snap tabs at an angle so it'll only be a soft lock now, and the switch can be removed again easily with pressure from underneath.

I'll probably post images of what I did once I get a replacement part in, but the short version of the story is that the thumb switch relies on a large central shaft for activation of all five buttons (directional, and center press).  The center shaft is surrounded by a spring to make the hat spring back after pressing the center button.  That spring-covered shaft moves back and forth to activate the directional buttons.

For the TLDR: The problem is that the directional buttons use a small electrical pushbutton with a rubber nub covering it.  Those rubber nubs happen to be the perfect size to get stuck between the coils of the spring TM used for the center press.

I found a different spring with tighter coils that wouldn't let the buttons stick between them, and the hat switch immediately stopped sticking.

Now the bad news is that I managed to rip out one of the soldered connections for the center press while getting the hat switch out.  I can probably re-solder it, but I'm going to try ordering a replacement switch if I can.  For the moment, the loss of that center press isn't a huge deal for me, since I'm mostly flying the F-14.  The thing that finally pushed me over the edge to try and fix this was that my DLC kept sticking and dropping me into the stern of the carrier.  

If anyone associated with TM is reading this, either stop using the rubber-nubbed buttons, or find a more tightly-wound spring.  I'm guessing that's probably what's causing people to send back so many of these grips for replacement.

 

Edited February 21, 2023 by Chronocidal

[sirrah]

Thanks for this

My weapon selection switch started failing on me this week 

That "duct tape" is a nice idea

 

Hopefully TM is mild on the price for a replacement switch (I fear they won't though )

[sirrah]

Received my replacement weapon select switch from TM (in case anyone's interested; it's about €35,-)

 

Just started replacing and stumbled upon:

Great TM... just great.. 

 

Edit1:

For crying out loud, what a mess....

Managed to get all the glue out, but it's just impossible to reach the notch opposite to the one marked on my photo below. Resulting in me for the love of it not being able to push out the switch....

I'm nearing the point of getting a drill and just start going medieval on this sucker..

 

@Chronocidal, I really wonder how you managed to push it out. Thing gets completely stuck on the lower/hidden notch here

 

Edit2:

Eventually got it out (probably just before I would have broken my grip in half )

So yes, it is possible, but as you can see, it took so much effort with a screwdriver, there's even some chips of steel that came loose in the process.

Ah well, at least getting the new switch in and assembling everything back together was easy.

The old switch, after it came out:

Edited May 28, 2023 by sirrah