Hi All,
I'd appreciate some advice for connecting up a set of pedals from a PC steering wheel controller to an Arduino.
So the wheel is an old Logitech Formula Force GP USB device, and it has a set of pedals that connect to the wheel via a cable with an RJ11 connector (4 pins) on the end.
I've confirmed this connection from the pedals is not USB, in fact it's just to a couple of potentiometers inside the pedals, one for brake, one for accelerator.
The wheel connects to the PC via USB and I've confirmed each of the pedals has its own independent 'analog' value when configured to do so.
I've taken the pedals apart to look at the wiring, so I assumed that one wire will be +3.3v or +5v, one will be ground, one will be the brake pot wiper, and the other will be the accel pot wiper. Maaan was I wrong!
There are Red, White, Green and Yellow wires. Each pot left and right sides have their own wires on the cable, brake I think has Red and White, accel is Green and Yellow.
The pots middle connections (I'm assuming the wipers) are both on black wires, and actually connected to each other! I've measured as near enough zero ohms across them.
Somehow the wheel is able to grab an individual pot value from each pedal, and I've no idea how.
I've wired up an Arduino and I can easily get either the brake or accelerator working by connecting up three wires, generally speaking you connect up red and white to + and -, then either green or yellow to the analog in. For the other pot, wire up green and yellow to + and -, then either red or white to the analog in. This works fine but as soon as I try and get both working, I'm having issues.
I tried using digital ins and outs to sink and source each side of the circuit to read that side, and flip between the brake and accelerator by 'energising' each side in synchro with the analog read, no joy but I didn't use any transistors to do so, which I suspect I should, but I'm not sure how to go about doing it.
Nowhere else on the Internet can I find anybody discussing connecting pots together at their wipers and using the other pins to get all the info they need, it's pretty unique from what I can tell.
I'd appreciate some basic circuit designs that'll make this work.
Thanks!