Have been using a Buttkicker Gamer 2 for quite some time and I think it adds a lot to the overall immersion. To actually feel the vibrations from the engines, how you deploy the spoilers, how you run over some pothole when taxiing, when touching down etc.

 

First when I got the BKG2 it was rather quiet and the sound it produced was mostly the sound of the actual vibrations sent through my chair I have the BKG2 attached to. However some time ago it started making this rattling sound and I also found the vibrations to not be as good anymore as they used to be. I did some searching and found others reporting the same problem, that their BKG2 devices had started to make this rattling sound and it was suggested hearing this rattling sound probably meant the BKG2 had become broken due to too heavy usage at high volumes.

 

Today I got sick of hearing this rattling sound so I decided to take it apart trying to find out if it was something I could fix myself. I'm very happy to say that once I took it apart and after some investigation how it actually works it was pretty easy to realize what caused the rattling sound and it also seems likely too heavy usage indeed is what is causing this to happen. Luckily it showed to be very easy to fix, it took me less than 15 minutes and the result is perfect! The rattling sound is 100% gone and the vibrations are as good as when the device was brand new if not even better...or maybe I just didn't remember how good they used to be :wink:

 

Before I start describing what I did and how anyone else could fix this issue the same way I want to make sure you do all of this at your own risk so if something goes wrong don't blame me nor the developer of Buttkicker Gamer 2. And of course if you still have warranty left you should probably ask for help or a replacement unit rather than trying to fix it on your own. However the fix is very easy and for anyone in my situation with no warrenty left I was very happy to find out I was able to fix it myself!

 

Quite hard to explain in text and especially since English is not my native language, I don't even know what to call some of the parts inside the Buttkicker in my own language but I'll do my best and I'll also include a couple of pictures I took. The pictures are low quality though, I took them using my mobile camera in low light but I think they will still be good enough to make it a bit easier to explain what is causing the rattling sound and how to permanently fix it.

 

First of all and before starting to taking the unit apart you should of course disconnect the cable to the Buttkicker!

 

Here's the first and main picture showing what is found inside the Buttkicker once you take it apart and I also added some simple graphics to make it a bit easier to talk about the picture and how to fix the problem.

 

 

Once you take the BKG2 apart by unscrewing the 3 screws holding it together and carefully remove what's inside you will find what's seen in the picture above.

 

All the time pay very close attention to what's inside the red circle in the picture!! As you can see it's some kind of small IC board with two soldered connections going to the discs named A and B in the pic.

 

When the Buttkicker Gamer 2 is new and nothing is wrong the discs (A & B) will be fixed to the cylinder called C in the pic and they will also be fixed to each other (no space between them). What I discovered was that one of the discs (in my case B) was loose and I was able to move it away from disc A as illustrated by the red arrow. This was also when I realized the importance of being very careful with those soldered connections mentioned above and shown inside the red circle in the pic. That one of the discs is no longer fixed and is able to move on the cylinder it is attached to is what is causing the rattling sound...when it hits the other disc.

 

First I tried to figure out how I could fix it again next to the other disc and so it would not be able to move along the cylinder anymore but then I though to myself maybe I could simply cut out some foam instead and put between the discs to stop them from making contact and thus stop the rattling sound when that happens. So this is what I did and the foam is shown in the pic by the blue arrow.

 

I also came to the conclusion that the fact one of the discs was not fixed to the cylinder wouldn't really be a problem since when everything is put back together and tightened with the screws the discs will still not have any room to move and especially not after also adding some foam between them. What's important is to make sure the discs are no longer able to bump into each other causing the rattling sound.

 

And yes...they are in contact when the Buttkicker is new out of the box but at that time they are both securely fixed to the cylinder in some way (maybe some kind of glue?) so even when they are in contact with each other they are still not able to cause any rattling sound since they are in contact all the time instead of bumping into each other caused by the vibrations.

 

After I did this I put everything back in place and again being very careful with the little IC board and the soldered connections and I then closed the unit using the 3 screws as tight as I possibly could without braking anything. I then connected the cable and played a movie with lots of action scenes and to my big joy the rattling sound was totally gone and the vibrations better than ever :biggrin:

 

Here's a couple of more pictures. I don't think they are really necessary but I'll post them anyway and let them speak for themselves what the inner of the Buttkicker Gamer 2 looks like and how things are put together.

 

 

 

 

I'm more than happy about all this and finally being able to enjoy my Buttkicker Gamer 2 again the way I did when I first got it and that's why I though I would share this with you guys because I've seen I'm far from the only one with this problem.

 

Another sweet thing with this way to fix the issue and which in a way makes it even better than getting a replacement is that it will be a permanent fix for this problem since having the foam stuck between the discs will forever stop them from banging into each other making noise. If you get a replacement you will always face the risk one (or both) of the discs will eventually get loose and then you'll have this rattling sound again.

 

Hope this will help someone and personally I can't wait do some flying tomorrow with my Buttkicker turned up really high kicking my &@($* but without a sound more than the actual vibrations :wink:

Hello 

 I have the same problem and want try to repair. But there are no photos available. Can you help me and upload again or send me photos to email deleted.

 Thank you 

Edited January 23, 20188 yr by Jim Young
email address removed. Use the PM system for member to member contacts. An e-mail will be sent to the OP when a PM is used.

Why I am not allowed to send PM messages?

New members are not allowed access to help prevent attacks on our members from spammers.

I just noticed you responded to a post over 3 years old or necroposting.  After long periods of time, things change and, as you can see the images disappeared.  The member who posted the topic may not even be a member anymore or no longer interested.  In this case, the OP is still a member here but trying to get assistance from a almost 4 year topic is not always possible.  I will give you access to PM him.

Posting your e-mail address on AVSIM is dangerous.  There are spammers who scan websites just looking for e-mail addresses listed my someone so they can begin to send you spam or, even worse, malware or a virus to your e-mail address. 

Thanks for stepping in Jim handling this so well and I'm happy to tell our new member I was able to find the old pictures in one of my archives so will post updated links to them in a separate post to make this thread usable again.

Or could you allow me to edit my original post so I can update the original links instead? Guess that would be the best solution if possible.

While waiting for Jim to respond if he can let me update the links in the original post, here are the missing pictures you were looking for.

Happy if this will help you repair your BKG! 

Thank you for photos. How did you succeed in removing these disks from the casing? In my case, it seems that all this is squeezed into the casing, I can not move.

Sorry, don't remember the exact details since it was a long time ago but I think the discs already were loose when I opened the casing.

Or at least they were not squeezed in so hard I couldn't remove them.

Finally I managed to fix it. The problem was with a magnetic stub that slides inside. Due to excessive load and overheating, a thick lubricant rinsed, which facilitated the operation of the piston. As a result, there was an extraneous sound when the dry piston rushed into the cylinder walls. I was able to clean the piston, cylinder walls and lubricate with white grease. After all this, the rattling sound disappeared and the good vibration is back. Now with good lubrication, the working temperature of the unit has decreased. Thank you once again for the photos you provided, and it helped me a lot in understanding the structure of the device.

That is great news, happy to hear about your success ☺️