Wireless racing wheel is hot, really hot [update 1]
by Dustin Burg 
{ Aug 23rd 2007 at 12:45PM }
Wireless racing wheel owners beware, your racing fun could go up in smoke. Today, Microsoft revealed that their official racing wheel can overheat causing plumes of smoke to rise from its chassis if the A/C power adapter is used. And even though nobody has been hurt by this hot racing wheel, Microsoft advises wheel owners to not use the A/C adapter and instead use battery power which hasn't been linked to overheating problems. US wireless racing wheel owners can contact Microsoft to have their wheel retrofitted, so the overheating problem can be fixed.
First we had overheating Xbox 360 consoles and now we have been graced with overheating wireless racing wheels. This hot, hot, hot problem better not continue, because we'll be quite the angry (and astonished) fanboys if Microsoft announces overheating Halo 3 discs this September.
Update 1: If you need a retrofit, be sure to fill out this form (pdf), send it in and wait for Microsoft to respond.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
DjDATZ @ Aug 23rd 2007 12:51PM
Ummm...you get no force feedback if you use the battery pack...which completely defeats the purpose of the wheel...DUH.
Stupid MS.
Gregg Landess @ Aug 23rd 2007 12:55PM
Has anyone found a link yet, as to how to send the wheel in for retrofitting?
I searched microsoft.com and found nothing.
Andy @ Aug 23rd 2007 12:55PM
This happened with the orignal Xbox too. I had to get a new power brick because of heating problems.
THIS IS STARTING TO PISS OFF YOUR LOYAL CUSTOMERS!
Sku110ne @ Aug 23rd 2007 12:57PM
here's the link to get it fixed.
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/systemuse/xbox360/gameplay/wirelesswheelretrofit.htm
DjDATZ @ Aug 23rd 2007 1:00PM
I would recommend faxing it in if anything...much faster than snail mail.
Khidr @ Aug 23rd 2007 1:01PM
Anyone know what the retrofit actually is, or how it works? Giant sock over the wheel?
fedward @ Aug 23rd 2007 1:23PM
I don't know for sure, but since I took apart my defective wheel I have a theory. The power supply plugs into an input board and my input board has a component with an obvious crack in it. I bet that the retrofit kit will include the input board and a Torx driver for tamper-resistant T10 screws. You bottom plate of the wheel is attached with tamper-resistant T10 screws, and the board itself is held in place with two non-tamper-resistant T10 screws. The whole procedure should take less than ten minutes.
fedward @ Aug 23rd 2007 1:25PM
I included a link but the site doesn't like HTML tags. I have an image of my defective input board at http://www.flickr.com/photos/fedward/1214621111/ .
Chroma @ Aug 23rd 2007 1:36PM
I just bought mine last week and already its going in the mail :(
ssantos11 @ Aug 23rd 2007 2:36PM
I could be wrong but I will bet that MS does not want any random owner to be opening up thier Steering wheel to put any new electrical board into it. I would guess it's probably a new power supply, like the power cord replacement for the Origional Xbox, and has a "circuit breaker" on it to prevent any over heat of the electronics in the wheel assembly.
fedward @ Aug 23rd 2007 2:50PM
ssantos11 -
You may be right, but that power input board isn't handling enough power to hurt you -- and it won't be handling any power at all if you unplug it, which you have to do in order to remove it from the wheel.
As risky operations go, this one doesn't even rank.
HueHue @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:03PM
Jesus Christ who does MICROSOFT have running QC over there a serial arsonist? Seriously, everything they produce overheats, this steering wheel smokes, next thing you know they'll put out a peripheral that will emit sparks and fireballs..
Nimzovich @ Aug 24th 2007 9:22AM
Am I caught in a time warp? Twenty years ago I could understand mail and fax being reasonable options for submitting a claim. But in 2007 it's ridiculous that they won't take your information via email or through a website form. And this from a so-called technology leader.