OK, Don. If they were older there are a number things that it could be, but nothing comes to mind for what is basically new rudder pedals.
So here's a simple hardware test - Unplug your peddles from your computer. Check to make sure that both the cable end and the USB port that it plugs into are clear of anything
(paper, lint, etc). Turn off the computer WITHOUT plugging the cable back in.
Now turn on the computer and wait for everything to get set up.
Make sure that your sound is on and up a little bit.
Plug in the cable and, if possible, watch the screen. If you can't watch the screen, have someone else plug it in while you watch the bottom right part of your main screen.
If there is a problem with Windows recognizing the hardware, you'll see
a very brief message that Windows didn't recognize the hardware that was plugged in.
To make sure that it did get accepted, open up "
Devices and Printers" from your "
Control Panel". Depending on your version of Windows, the icons may look different.