Ok player 2 all back together. So here's the fix!! I'm gonna just put my entire issue formally for anyone in the future (including myself) who needs to fix it.
HOW TO CALIBRATE YOUR DAYTONA USA STEERING AND FORCE FEEDBACK:
PROBLEM: Force feedback is not in sync with the wheel direction. Wheel pulls left or right while you go straight OR you need to tilt the wheel to go straight.
REASON: There are 2 pots (variable resisters) that are directly controlled by the wheel. One is for the force feedback pull, the other is to point the direction of the car. These two need to be aligned correctly so they are in sync. If either one or both become misaligned, you get the results above. Another reason is the pot went bad and can't give a good reading or any reading at all.
PARTS:
Option one is Happ sells the direct replacements for all Sega pots for Daytona. They are 5k ohm and have a special length shaft. They are $22.99 ea.
Replacement 5k Pot Sega
220-5373 / 220-5374 / 220-5484
Your second option is to go to Radio Shack and go to their tiny parts area and buy a volume pot of the same size (5k ohm, bring your old pot to compare). These cost $3.19 ea. You can then use a hack saw to shorten the shaft to be Sega's length.
REPAIR STEPS: (Photos coming after i do player one later tonight!)
1) You need to disconnect your front panel with the wheel, VR buttons and shifter knobs. Its all one big unit that slides out like a big tray. There are only 6 bolts holding this in.
2) On the front of the game facing directly at you, on the left and right sides of the control panel, there are 2 security bolts on the top and bottom of the panel. These need to be removed with the proper security bit driver. You can get the security bit (a whole set) at Harbor Freight tools cheap if you have one by you.
3) Under the control panel directly in front of you are 2 bolts driving up into the bottom of the panel, these needs to be removed.
4) Once all 6 bolts are removed, the entire panel assembly will pull forward. NOTE: There are 6 connectors that you can disconnect to pull out the entire panel! You can easily undo these from the back. PULL THE PANEL OUT SLOWLY! You don't want to yank any of these connectors if you are leaving them in tact to test with. You'll also need to open up the compartment in front of the pedals to get access to the motor driver board.
5) On the back of the steering column there are 3 plastic gears aligned vertically. The middle gear directly connects to the steering wheel and does not get removed. The top gear is connected to the GAME CPU and CONTROLS THE CAR STEERING. The bottom gear is connected to the FORCE FEEDBACK MOTOR DRIVER BOARD and controls when the motors tug on the wheel.
TO CHANGE THE POT (VARIABLE RESISTER)
6a) ONLY IF YOU NEED TO REPLACE THE POTS: Using a phillips screwdriver, unscrew the 2 screws in each gear on the top and bottom. Remove the plastic gears. Keep screws with the gears, they are a special size.
6b) IF YOU DO NOT NEED TO REPLACE THE POTS: Using a phillips screwdriver, partially unscrew the 2 screws on the top and bottom gear. DO NOT REMOVE, leave them loose so you can rotate the flange behind the plastic gear left or right. There is a small amount of space on the plastic gear where the screw is to allow this. This is all you should need in order to tweak the game. GO TO STEP 12.
7) Each pot is mounted to a angle bracket. Unscrew both the top and bottom brackets by removing the 2 screws. Keep these together they are also a special size.
8) With the brackets loose, you can access the flange that is attached to the pot that the plastic gear screws to. Using a 1.5mm allen head wrench, there are 2 allen screws in the sides of the flange that secure it to the pot shaft. Once these are loose, you can pull the flange off the pot. It takes a little force.
9) With the flanges removed, you can now remove the pot by using a pair of pliers and unscrewing the nug around the front. There is a lock washer and another flat washer below the nut, don't loose these.
10) With the pot removed, you can unsolder the wires. TAKE NOTE WHERE THE WIRES GO. If you forgot to, you can always look at the other pot, they go in the same order. You don't have much room to cut and splice new wire here. Remove the old heat shrink and try to salvage as much length as you can on the wires.
11) Cut some new heat shrink and put around each wire before you forget. Solder on the new pot and put back on the heat shrink.
12) At this point you will want to TEST! With the game turned on and controller all connected, if you look at the motor driver board you will see a LED readout counter displaying a 2 digit hexadecimal value. This value should change when you rotate the motor pot. The zero value for this is 80. Rotate your pot until it says 80, this is home base. Draw a line with a marker so you can reference later if you like. In TEST mode, under DRIVE BD TEST, look at the HANDLE VOL. This *should* also read 80. If it does not, no worries, mine doesn't either, but completing these instructions the game works fine for me. Go back into game mode and start a game. Use the steering pot to confirm the car turns. If the car steers you're good, both your pots work. Turn the game back off now.
13) Reassemble the bracket to pot with flat washer, lock nut and then nut. Place on the flange but do not tighten yet.
14) Secure the brackets back on the unit but do not tighten. Grab the plastic gear and fit it around the flange but do not screw it on yet. Have your gear mesh (teeth meeting each other like locking fingers) meet up so the larger gear is in full contact of the teeth of the center small gear. Once your position is set, you can now tighten down the flange with your 1.5mm allen head.
15) With the flange tight, once again place on your plastic gear and now find your bracket vertical position so the gear mesh is tight. With the plastic gear in place, tighten down the pot bracket to the unit. Now take off the plastic gear.
16) With both pot brackets and flanges tightened back on the unit, turn the game on again. While the game is starting up, when you hear the motors engage in the self test, you need to rotate your motor pot (the bottom one) left and right by hand in order for it to pass the check or it will disable (LED on driver board will be flashing if this happens). After the test is over and the motors stop, if your LED is solid red, you are good. Rotate your motor pot back to home base at 80. Now put on your plastic gear and tighten down. Make sure when its completely tight, it still reads 80.
17a) If you test mode settings read 80h for the steering pot and 80 on the drive board, you are probably good to go. Try playing the game and if it works you're set to put everything back. Otherwise, go to 17b.
17b) If your steering pot was having trouble in test mode registering 80 or near it, you can do the following: Now go to TEST mode, change the game mode to ENDURANCE in game settings. Go to back to GAME MODE and start a game on the advanced track where there are some straights.
18) This next part is easiest with two people. Have one person hold the unit and push the gas pedal lightly but do not touch the steering wheel. The other person can rotate the steering pot until the car is driving perfectly straight. (Imagine testing your car's alignment by letting go of the wheel while driving to see if it goes left or right). Once you car is going straight AND you gear motor LED says 80, you are in sync!
19) Now is the time to tighten down the 2 screws on steering gear taking great care not to throw off the pots while doing so. You need to watch the car on the screen as it goes straight to know its still correct.
20) Play the game and test it all out. If you need to make changes, you don't have to pull the gear screws completely out at this point. You can loosen them and you do have some room to wiggle the gear left or right to fine tune your values. If you're happy, get some Loctite red thread locker and put a drop on each screw on the gears AND the pot brackets. This will make sure they won't loosen up or move later.
21) Reassemble the panel bolts and you're done! Enjoy your calibrated Daytona USA!