Logitech G5 restoration and tweaks

[silentbogo]

Greetings, fellow TPUers!

In celebration of upcoming summer, and as a preliminary preparation for Quake Champions release, I have decided to restore the most legendary best gaming super-mouse ever (besides an old-school MS Intellimouse): Logitech G5.

This is what it looked like an hour ago:



It's a 9y.o. mouse with the last maintenance done about 2 years ago. USB cable have been previously replaced to a sturdier one, generously donated by a semi-decent chinese gaming mouse. The rest is 100% original (including switches).

As you can see, there is some wear on the top surface, lots of dirt, grime and besides obvious visual defects it also suffers from a non-working MB4/MB5, malfunctioning scroll wheel and jumpy laser. Also, there are no teflon sliders on the bottom. Instead, those placement pads are also filled with dirt

The main goal of this thread is to fix the damn thing, and give you some insight if you want to attempt a similar project on the same or maybe even a totally different mouse. It's all easy, cheap and takes very little time.

Let's start.

DISASSEMBLY

First, we need to remove all bottom screws and take off the top part. With G5 it's a bit tricky and counterintuitive: you need to pry it from the very front of the housing, right where the USB cable latches between two parts.


For over 2 years this mouse was without maintenance, so just try to imagine what's going on inside
I was expecting it to be bad, but I did not expect it to be that bad!

Next, we remove a couple of screws and detach the weight cartridge. Also, we can take that nasty scrollwheel out by removing the front screw.
Two more screws (Top right and bottom middle), and the mainboard pops out with a cable, lens assy and a tiny spring.


Now, we can finally clean the bottom housing. I'm using dish soap and warm water, followed by a thorough isopropyl cleaning.


....to be continued in the next post...

 

[silentbogo]

Next, we disassemble the top part

All parts definitely have to undergo the same cleaning process: soap+water, then isopropyl.

PREPARATIONS, INSPECTION AND TWEAKS

This part relates only to this particular mouse, but anyway.... let's look at the mainboard again:


- If your backlight is broken, or you want to remove the backlight, those LEDs on the right are the ones to mess with. There is no easy way to stick RGB backlight, or even replace them with a different color, because the transparent plastic on the bottom is orange. The only exception for G5 is if you put blue LEDs, it will make the backlight "something between magenta and purple".
- If you have faulty LMB/RMB or the side button, you can replace those, but it will take some labor and effort.
All three of those are Omron D2FC-F-7N. In order to replace those you will need to detach both PCBs from each other, which means you'll need a soldering iron, flux, solder pump, desoldering wick and lots of patience. Before you attempt this, try simply washing those switches with lots of isopropyl and click a few dozen times before it evaporates. All of my broken switches came back to life almost immediately.
- Four other switches are also Omron-made (B3FS series). Those are SMD mounted and can be replaced without separating two mainboard PCBs.
- The middle switch is the trickiest one. It's very hard to find replacement, and it is hard to de-solder in case of failure. However, if you have a hot air rework station, you can remove it without separating two PCBs, and you can replace it with a taller switch (like those generic buttons some of you buy for Arduino projects). The only modifications you'll need to perform is flatten all four feet of the switch, solder it in place and remove(clip) the push pin from the scroll wheel.

Links to proper replacement parts:

Omron D3F
Omron B3FS

Just remember - buy from a trusted electronics parts retailer. E.g. go to DigiKey or Arrow, not eBay or Amazon. There are tons of fake Omron switches, or no-name compatible switches which break after 2-3 sessions of Dota or worse.

In regards to tweaks... There is at least one very useful thing you can do right away. Both PCBs of the mainboard are only connected on one side, so over time the LMB starts to feel a bit loose and wobbly due to PCB flexing. All you need is to put a rubber pad on the loose side and it's good for a few more years.


Now it's time to clean the scroll wheel assembly.
First, we pop the wheel out of the frame and carefully disassemble it. The scroll wheel in this mouse is optical, so we need to make sure that all sensor holes are 100% clear for smooth operation.
Also remember, that there is a single ball bearing inside the wheel. Don't lose it, cause that is a part of a mechanism that makes it "click" and keeps it in place.
I would also like to say that if you want to go all-in on cleaning, do not under any circumstances remove the rubber "tire" from the wheel. I did it, and f%$ed it up badly (definitely needs a replacement).



After a nice isopropyl bath you can put it together. Just don't forget the lube (preferably non-liquid type)
Now we can assemble the bottom part and all of the electronics back together and put it aside for awhile...


LET'S TALK 'BOUT PRETTY THINGS

All we have left, is to do something about that cleaned up, but still ugly top part.


First, I did smooth it out with some fine sandpaper (had a leftover 1000 grit piece)
Second, you need to give it another cleaning and let it dry for a few minutes.

And now, the most interesting part!

... in the next post...

 

[silentbogo]

That orange thing above is a piece of vinyl sticker. You can buy this crap for mere pennies in any hobby shop, on ebay (yep, this is relatively safe to buy on eBay, unlike "genuine" Omron switches). I know, orange looks ugly on its own, but I had a plan!!! Just in case I bought an extra piece of black vinyl, but the way it looks now is much better than I expected.

For this procedure you'll need a pair of hands and a hot air gun (or your wife's hair dryer, if you are short on tools).

First, we start applying vinyl to the topmost piece of the mouse housing and start stretching the vinyl, while periodically applying heat to it. It won't be perfect the first time, but if you mess it up, you can either heat up that area, peel and stretch it again. If you have small air bubbles - just puncture it with a needle and apply some heat: it will disappear in front of your eyes.

The final touch: cut the leftovers with a scalpel, paper knife or a box cutter.

The end result should look like this:


And when we put it all together, it looks even more awesome:


Now, we can put it all together, and add a final touch: a pair of brand-new mouse shoes!


Now, I'm totally ready for another round of Quake Champions beta, and my G5 does not look like it just came out of the dumpster.



Thank you for your attention!

 

[infrared]

The reserved posts are ok, you can also beat it by uploading everything via http://www.techpowerup.org/ and then inserting them into your post.

I'll be watching with interest, if you do a rubbish job I might have to abuse my mod powers to punish you! No pressure!

 

[silentbogo]

Phew... it took me more time to write the damn thing than to fix the mouse itself!
I'm gonna go get some coffee.

 

[infrared]

Nice job, vinyl is a good idea, should be pretty hard wearing.

Next job: kick ass in Quake!

 

[bassman5066]

@silentbogo thank you for the writeup here. The G5 I have was my first gaming mouse ever back in something like 2007, and it has NEVER been serviced. All buttons are working, but the USB cable has seen better days. I was lucky to score one for $8.99 on Amazon. I've not decided if I want to do the outside at the moment, but likely will as I am no stranger to paint projects. Anyway, the reason for my reply is you said something about laser jitter, but it was never addressed in your writeup. Was this simply fixed by cleaning out the laser? I get it from time to time and wasn't sure if it was due to dirt or the optics failing?

I am afraid to see how dirty mine is inside

 

[micropage7]

that scroll wheels looks pretty good after years

 

[silentbogo]

Anyway, the reason for my reply is you said something about laser jitter, but it was never addressed in your writeup.

It went away on its own after re-assembly. Though, I did clean the laser module and lens (gave it an IPA bath and scrubbed with soft cotton). I also did a little touch-up on suspicious solder pads along the way, including laser module wires.
Since then I've also replaced all buttons. Went to our local electronic parts retailer and they just happened to have everything in stock in their store, including several flavors of original Omron switches, and that stupid SMD switch for MMB. Finally got everything working (LMB,RMB,MMB, scroll side-clicks etc.)

that scroll wheels looks pretty good after years

I'm still having minor issues because of that messed-up rubber tire (it works, but doesn't feel right), so I'm planning on getting a new one at some point. Found few original G5 scroll wheels on Aliexpress, all complete with standoffs and other parts. It's almost $7, but for me it's 100% worth it.

 

[zac]

Found few original G5 scroll wheels on Aliexpress

@silentbogo I also messed up my scroll wheel rubber tire, though I can't find an original G5 scroll wheel anywhere.

The closest I could find on Aliexpress is a G500 or a G502 wheel, which I guess would work, though I would rather the original.

If you could send a link / exact search term that would be awesome!

 

[silentbogo]

@silentbogo I also messed up my scroll wheel rubber tire, though I can't find an original G5 scroll wheel anywhere.

There are still some listings on aliexpress. Lemme check my bookmarks, I think I had it saved somewhere.

EDIT:
my bookmark is out of stock, but apparently it's compatible with M305/M505 and few other models, so any one of these should work:

Logitech m305 - Buy Logitech m305 with free shipping on AliExpress

Quality Logitech m305 with free worldwide shipping on AliExpress

www.aliexpress.com

At least on pictures they look identical.

 

[zac]

Thanks, I ordered one. Will see how it goes in a couple of months when it arrives.

 

[zac]

Just a followup - The wheel I ordered looks very similar. I didn't end up using it as after about a week the rubber on the original wheel went back to its original shape and you can't tell that it was stretched out before and it's no longer loose.

 

[Shrek]

The original main Omron switches; do you know for how many clicks they are speced for?

 

[eidairaman1]

I am glad your mouse lasted as long as it did and I sure doing this project for yourself however i had two of them, one suffer double-clicking and the other one died outside of 30 days so I wound up going back to my mx510 and then I picked up a Roccat Kone LTD, which field quite a bit like the mx 510 I had

 

[silentbogo]

The original main Omron switches; do you know for how many clicks they are speced for?

The original ones were D2FC-F-7N(10M), so 10 million clicks, but that switch also has 20M and 50M models. Knockoffs usually go as high as 20M, but the spec is a lie. Even new original omrons don't last that long and with light abuse the metal membrane can snap long before rated clicks.

I am glad your mouse lasted as long as it did and I sure doing this project for yourself however i had two of them, one suffer double-clicking and the other one died outside of 30 days so I wound up going back to my mx510 and then I picked up a Roccat Kone LTD, which field quite a bit like the mx 510 I had

That's a good mouse too. If you have those G5's laying around, it's probably a 30 minute fix for both. Electronics is pretty much everlasting, so the only thing that could've gone wrong with the second G5 is a broken cable. Replacing switches on the first one is quite straightforward. Even if you aren't planning on using them - you can always sell'em to oldschool G-series fans.

Just a followup - The wheel I ordered looks very similar. I didn't end up using it as after about a week the rubber on the original wheel went back to its original shape and you can't tell that it was stretched out before and it's no longer loose.

That's cool. I think what happened, is it was misaligned(there is a groove on a plastic insides). At least now you'll have a "spare tire" )))
I didn't get to replacing the scroll wheel on mine. It's been sitting on the shelf at my workshop for the past year.

 

[zac]

That's cool. I think what happened, is it was misaligned(there is a groove on a plastic insides).

The first time I put it back on the grooves were misaligned, but I did fix that up before putting it back together. When I took the rubber off the wheel (and then put it back on correctly), it seemed like it was stretched, the sides didn't lay down completely flat with the curve of the wheel and I could feel the rubber slip on the wheel if I moved fast enough. Glad I have a spare wheel now though. You should test that wheel out for me and let me know if I have the right one. =)

I am glad your mouse lasted as long as it did and I sure doing this project for yourself however i had two of them, one suffer double-clicking

Before cleaning my mouse the scroll click would occasionally either double click or not click at all. After cleaning with the isopropyl alcohol I haven't had any issues. Mines still got the original switches too and I have been using it for about 15 years on my home PC.

 

[ThaiTaffy]

Great job @silentbogo makes me want to restore some peripherals now but my g5, collection of R.A.T mice and other older hardware are 9000km away in my parents attic though I should be Knee deep in projects in a week or two.

 

[eidairaman1]

The original ones were D2FC-F-7N(10M), so 10 million clicks, but that switch also has 20M and 50M models. Knockoffs usually go as high as 20M, but the spec is a lie. Even new original omrons don't last that long and with light abuse the metal membrane can snap long before rated clicks.


That's a good mouse too. If you have those G5's laying around, it's probably a 30 minute fix for both. Electronics is pretty much everlasting, so the only thing that could've gone wrong with the second G5 is a broken cable. Replacing switches on the first one is quite straightforward. Even if you aren't planning on using them - you can always sell'em to oldschool G-series fans.

That's cool. I think what happened, is it was misaligned(there is a groove on a plastic insides). At least now you'll have a "spare tire" )))
I didn't get to replacing the scroll wheel on mine. It's been sitting on the shelf at my workshop for the past year.

The double click and suddenly dying made me go elsewhere.