This might cause some interference that could cause the PC USB port to bail out with an issue, that then causes no FFB / stuck FFB issue.
@kevinloh correct, everything keeps running.
@Mika Thanks for your advice. I will have to check whether a grounded wire runs to my wall socket, or is at least reachable. There are other ways to ground, but I read using the heating pipes in my appartment is, apparently, not the best solution electrically speaking.
Great idea somebody else had today. So half an hour ago I connected the motor directly to a grounded socket in my house, with certified camping electric cables. Why didn’t I think earlier about the fact I have 25 meters of neoprene outdoor laying around in the basement, doing nothing because I’m not going camping this year?! Stupid me.
Tested. But unfortunately a negative result. But this time I got the ACC error message 99% cpu usage. I wouldn’t be surprised if multiple issues are playing. So the coming days I’ll be testing again, still with the grounded electrics for the Simucube. But now let’s see if I can pinpoint what is happening to my CPU. I have tested that before as I mentioned in my opening post, with hwinfo64. So it seems my story continues, but hopefully a small step has been made. Update soon, thnx for reading.
If it is a USB issue there might be traces of it in the Windows event logs – check those perhaps.
Hello Botmeister,
just try only another (a new USB Cable with or without ferrit cores) from the SC2 motor to your PC directly. I think thats it. If not you can try these emi Things. Or try your SC2 on another PC if it works correctly.
Hi Botmeister,
I suspect im having a similar issue to yourself here and have been trouble shooting.
Im suspecting a ground loop issue in my USB ports but have not found a conclusive fix/cause. I also have a h-shifter that runs on an arduino board that is sensitive to ground issues that has problems when mounted to the aluminium rig but is totally fine when completely isolated. I have tried everything with wiring/grounding, and tested my house earth is ok. so its really just excessive noise on the usb cable that causes momentary disconnects or sometimes full disconnects.
I fitted a usb isolator to the cable and it seems to completely fix the issue with both the SC2 Pro and also the H-Shifter. Ive now ordered a few more of them and will use usb isolators on all my low bandwidth devices. maybe give that a go as they are cheap enough and if its fixes the issue im fine with that.
I don’t have any other problems with anything else on my pc. So I think its noise generated inside the pc. People often use these isolators to clean up audio sound. I read a report of one guy with a 2080ti comment that the sound noise is allot worse when the GPU is under full load in games. coincidently I also have the MSI 2080ti trio like you.
I found someone else with similar strange issues on a sim rig that he could also only completely solve with the isolator: https://forums.overclockers.com.au/threads/race-sim-stopping-analogue-voltage-emi-problems.1276879/
Windows eventviewer does not monitor USB peripherals. Some time ago I tested my USB ports with a tool (forgot the name) which kept track of On / Off events. I was hoping to find a specific USB device to be the first to cause issues, but it was always a random device. Thanks for the suggestion.
Ok, I haven’t tried replacing the SC2 usb cable. Could give that a go, thanks.
So I read the thread you shared and some other random articles about USB isolators. Didn’t know this exists. Interesting.
So your suggesting that I put an isolator between the SC2 and my USB hub? Or between the USB hub and pc?
B.t.w. my powered USB hub is 3.0 on which these isolators don’t seem to work. Did I understand that correctly? Or is it about the connected devices, because those all run on 1.0.
The hub is of course backward compatible. I have no high speed devices connected to it. All sim equipment is low speed.
yes these isolators are only low bandwidth… I also have a 10 port 3.0 usb powered hub (a really good one with big psu on it as i thought that might be the issue).
I just used one of these isolators plugged into the hub and the SC2 cables goes into the isolator (you cant run the whole hub from the isolator it doesnt work so you need one for each device you want to isolate - for me just the base and shifter). not had a single freeze since even with a REALLY cheap unshielded usb cable that would make it happen usually within a minute or so. if i removed the isolator and put the cheap cable back it freezes straight away again.
When its just a momentary freeze it doesnt register as a usb disconnect (no disconnect sound or event viewer in usbtree) but that’s effectively what it is for me.
Guess I’ll buy 2 isolators then. One for the SC2 and one extra to further test in case another USB devices needs one.
Connected to the hub are: h-shifter from Fanatec, wheel side button box Ascher 16L-USB, handbrake Heusinkveld, 3 pedals Heusinkveld, external button box Ignition Controls NA2ex. And then of course the SC2 sport. 6 devices total on a 10 port hub.
Sounds very much like a ground loop issue somehow. It would be interesting to see the whole topology and electrical wiring of the system, there might just one isolator or a breakage of the ground loop needed to fix this.
A while ago, I got those USB malfunction error messages in Windows toast notification. It was one of the first things I tested, but I came to a dead end. What I noticed is that these notifications don’t appear as much as I would expect. But that could be a Windows thing.
Just bought 2 Adafruit 100ma isolators. Hope to share my results soon!
This is my rig. Gaming pc and rig all now powered from a single high quality surge protector strip with earth detection which says is fine. Whole rig grounded to the same power strip
I have tried every single combination of grounding but nothing helps. I have an issue only with the SC2 Pro and the h-shifter nothing else usb on the system, both of which looked fixed with the usb isolator. I really dont know what going on. maybe an issue with the motherboard. but certainly agree its some sort of ground loop issue on the 5v rail.
I found this post of someone also trying desperately to hunt down a ground issue on his rig and nothing worked. and the usb isolator was also the only thing that fixed it for him: https://forums.overclockers.com.au/threads/race-sim-stopping-analogue-voltage-emi-problems.1276879/
Any suggestions for the actual cause I would try tbh.
Some surge protectors have also ground protectors that can cause funny things. Might be worth to try without that, just for interest.
the surge protector strip was actually a new addition to try and HELP the issue… before it was on a basic run of the mill power strip.
Im gonna pull each plug out tonight and further inspect each device.
Hmh I have the same freezes with FFB drop and wheel turning entirely to one side with SC2 Pro… Happened in ACC and AC, not in rf2, R3e or iRacing.
Everything grounded… That SUCKS!!!
The ffb completely dropping and turning to one side I think is caused by another usb controller device on your pc disconnecting.
The momentary FFB freezes for a second or so seems to be a temporary loss of connection or noise. This i fixed with a usb isolator and therefore indicated a ground loop issue or something which i could test with a H-shifter I have that registers random button presses that is also fixed with a usb isolator to fix the issue.
I went through every single electrical device in my house looking for errors but couldnt find anything. Then while further testing i unplugged a mini Class D amplifier that i use for my bass shakers on the rig and the random button presses on the h-shifter stopped instantly when logging with DiView. I have now replaced the amplifier and removed all my grounding wires and ran the SC2 for a week without the isolator. Not a single issue, freeze or disconnect. So I believe I have found the cause on my side at least. I will continue to run my lower powered shifters on an isolated hub anyway just in case.
3 Likes
Well, I have managed to connect all my sim equipment and pc to a grounded strip + connected to grounded socket in the kitchen. And the issue still occurred. Going to play with the usb isolators a bit more, just to be sure I tested all options. If I find no answers then I guess I’m back to testing usb connectivity.
I’ve had similar issues and the cause was usually USB connection related. As Gifted suggests, it can be related to a different USB device other than the SimuCube. In some cases, any interruption to the USB data flow can cause a problem.
Some PC Mobo’s are more sensitive to USB issues than others. My old PC was very prone to USB issues and my current one is much more tolerant of connection interruptions.
USBdeview can help to identify potential connection issues.