Issues with Saitek Side Panel Z axis/rotation

[Virtual_Farmer]

Anyone had any issues with the joystick Z axis/rotation on their Saitek Control Panels? Mine are completely messed up.

Neither Z axis or rotation activate at all when I twist the joystick. Instead the Z Axis sits at 100% when the blue light is on on the joystick, goes to 0% when you pull back on the joystick and sits at 0% all the time hen the red light is on. The Z rotation sits at 0% when the blue light is on and 50% when the red light is on, going to 0% when you pull back on the joystick.

I recalibrating makes no difference and changing USB Ports also has no effect.

[Virtual_Farmer]

After further investigation I think this is being caused by a loose wire.

[GIIAWD]

Hi, thanks for the hint!
Had the same symptoms, opened it and soldered the loos wire(brown) back on, now it works! Only about half response in each direction, don't know if it was like that from shop or if I used a bit to much heat and shifted the values on the pot.meter.

[jgregg624]

Hi, can I ask how anyone who has had to access the wire connections how they actually got to them?

I’m having issues with my side exactly the same as described above. Having taken the back panel of the side panel off and played with the wires coming out of the joystick it seems to be either the yellow or brown wire causing the issue.

Before I attempt to repair I’m looking for some advice on how to get to the end of the wires. Do they connect at the top of the joystick, do I have to take the top cap on the joystick off, or do they connect in at the base, if so how do I get in there without destroying the stick?

Any advice appreciated.
Thanks

[jgregg624]

Just thought I’d post an update here on what happened my side panel for anyone who may experience the same issue in the future and like myself couldn’t find an answer anywhere as to how to sort.

So if you read me post above I originally took the back panel off the side panel off and seen no disconnected wires around the joystick, however after playing with some wires I could see what ones where causing issues with functionality in game. Have no idea where the wires went I assumed that the three wires going inside the joystick must of got nipped or frayed wherever they join with the twisting motion of the joystick over the years (I had exactly the same issue with the wheel and wires) ideally I wanted to see a diagram to see what everything looked like inside the joystick 1) to know how to take it apart and 2) to see if there was any need to (where the wires in there prone to breaking or well protected).

Having found nothing of any help online I dug in and took the whole panel apart one evening. The joystick itself was the most difficult bit to get into but I learned that if you remove the tow buttons on top there are two screws below that get you into it. The wires inside the joystick are actually pretty well protected and even glued into the board that they connect to in the joystick so there is little chance of them coming off or wearing there.
After lots more fiddling and playing I learned the the culprit was the three wires right at the bottom of the joystick coming out of the orange component the joystick sits on. There’s was a lot of heat shrink around the wires so they looked fine and appeared to be still attached but pulling on them with little force and they came right off. I resoldered two of them back on ( the third was fine) and my joystick has worked fine since. These wires like the ones in the wheel are extremely thin and the movement of the joystick wears them overtime until they break they where extremely difficult to solder in a way they will not break again so I can see myself replacing all 3 wires with something slightly thicker down the line.

I hope this helps anyone experiencing the same issue.