Fanatec Clubsport shifter

[Pegleg George]

I have two Fanatec Clubsport shifters with the same issue. I bought the first one when I took the sim racing plunge a couple years ago. I used it for about a year and a half, then it suddenly began selecting the wrong gear when downshifted. An example is 5th gear down to 4th, the selector display shows 2nd. Of course the wheels lock and I spin. It began with some games, not all titles. I reached out to Fanatec, they said it was the game title's issue not their product. At the time all steam games that I own had similar incorrect gear selection symptoms, but iRacing (at first) was not having the same issue. I also thought it had something to do with the speed of the shift, so I slowed my shifting down. That worked to some degree, but the probability of an incorrectly selected gear shift is very high no matter the speed of the shift.
I really like Vintage GT Porsches, so the H pattern shifter was important to me.
I ended up buying another Clubsport shifter from Fanatec. I figured with shipping to California and the time the shifter would be gone for repairs, just get another one.
It worked properly for a while, but I began getting the same incorrect gear selections. I also noticed that upshifting into 3rd would show the selection as 1st.

The shifter works as a sequential, but no matter how many times I map the selections I have no confidence that while driving it will select the proper gear in H pattern mode.
I have shifted it while in the controls screen in a Race Room several times, it looks like it should work. When I select 1st, the mapped button is correct for 1st, same for all the gears. I take the 964 Cup car out and spin due to incorrect selection within a few shifts. I can drive the car with sequential shifter, but its just not the same experience.
I don't have Project Cars 2 on my gaming machine any longer, it was the game I noticed this issue happening with first. Then I switched to AC, it seemed better, but just for a short while.

Does anyone have experience with this issue? I love the RF2 Cup car, but driving a vintage car would be nice.
Thanks,
George

 

[Motorhead68]

Hi

I had a similar and followed the remedy set out in this clip - now all works as it should and haven’t had any reoccurrence for over a year problemhttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=16SoByd8ycg - hopes this fixes it for you

 

[Oops01]

Yeah I had the same problem, and I used that video and fixed it and I've never had a problem since.

 

[Daniel Watkin]

When I very first had my Fanatec shifter I had this issue even after calibration. What solved it for me was tightening up the grub screw in the side of the unit. Obviously it made it much firmer and more difficult to move around but I never had the issue again.

 

[Pegleg George]

Hi

I had a similar and followed the remedy set out in this clip - now all works as it should and haven’t had any reoccurrence for over a year problemhttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=16SoByd8ycg - hopes this fixes it for you

I watched the video, I will give it a try tonight. Thanks for making the video!!

 

[Pegleg George]

When I very first had my Fanatec shifter I had this issue even after calibration. What solved it for me was tightening up the grub screw in the side of the unit. Obviously it made it much firmer and more difficult to move around but I never had the issue again.

I like the shift lever stiff, I was worried that running that screw too tight might wear the unit out. I have a rennsport shifter in my '84 911. It also has springs to keep the shift lever in the 3/4 plane, you must overcome the spring force to select 1st, 2nd, 5th and reverse.

I loosen the grub screw all the way to sequentially shift, as I have had to weld the Next Level shifter bracket twice. The thin square tube steel was tearing near the welds. I have it beefed up pretty well now. I toyed with the idea of making it from solid steel... If I have to mess with it again I will redesign it and how it mounts to the rig. I made a 1" X 2" rectangle steel frame rig. I did not like the flex and squeaks of the Next Level rig I bought.
I am currently still using the seat, seat stand and shifter mount from Next Level.

 

[gushelter]

had the same problem weeks ago and found this tutorial, I put an electrical tape on the pcb and it works well

[URL unfurl = "true"] https://simracingcockpit.com/how-to-repair-fanatec-clubsport-sq/ [/ URL]

 

[Pegleg George]

I finally got around to trying the fix today, it worked !!

I recommend laying the shifter on its side before taking the lid off. It keeps the lid from stressing the sequential wiring. It also made it easier to break the screws loose. I used rubbing alcohol on
the back of the circuit card before I applied the electrical tape. I applied two pieces of tape to the circuit card, trimmed the excess off both sides and cut the corners off to expose the screw holes so I didn't have to melt holes in the tape.

 

[Emery]

I recommend laying the shifter on its side before taking the lid off. It keeps the lid from stressing the sequential wiring. It also made it easier to break the screws loose. I used rubbing alcohol on
the back of the circuit card before I applied the electrical tape. I applied two pieces of tape to the circuit card, trimmed the excess off both sides and cut the corners off to expose the screw holes so I didn't have to melt holes in the tape.

Ditto, except I skipped the alcohol wipe. With the AMS2 vintage content coming soon, it was time to quit ignoring the fix.

 

[Mr. Malarkey]

Resurrecting an old(ish) thread to say that I, too, am encountering this problem. I've seen a couple different solutions (the tape, and the alcohol cleaning), but no one seems to know what the problem actually is, nor has anyone found a permanent solution. It's incredibly frustrating that such an expensive piece of kit should fail like this within six months of purchase.

Frankly after paying $250 for this shifter, I am not willing to take it apart and try to fix it myself. For that kind of money, Fanatec should replace it for me, no questions asked (and all postage paid). I've contacted their support people and opened a ticket, so we'll see what they say. Until then, I guess I'm stuck using paddle shifters and modern cars. I will post here what they say, when I hear back from them.

 

[WarmRed]

It helped me

How to repair a Fanatec Clubsport SQ 1.5 Shifter -

The SQ shifter from Fanatec can start missing gears and eventually stop working - here's how to repair that fault!

simracingcockpit.com

 

[Mr. Malarkey]

It helped me

How to repair a Fanatec Clubsport SQ 1.5 Shifter -

The SQ shifter from Fanatec can start missing gears and eventually stop working - here's how to repair that fault!

simracingcockpit.com

I've read/seen that this actually doesn't fix the issue permanently, and that it goes back to mis-shifting after a few days/weeks/months. What has your experience been?

That said, it is ridiculous to me that Fanatec continues to sell they shifters that are obviously faulty. At $250 each that is simply unacceptable, and I don't think it should be the customers who have to repair this issue. But that's just my opinion....

 

[WarmRed]

I had to touch it up again even after 6 months. But it's true that Fanatec certainly knows about this error. This error is discussed in every forum. It's sad that Fanatec there is not finally improved.

 

[Mr. Malarkey]

Yes, that is what I was afraid of. Well, since mine is only 6 months old, I don't want to void the warranty by opening it up just yet. I will see what Fanatec has to say, first.

EDIT JULY 17: As expected, upon viewing a video of the issue, Fanatec has asked me to send the shifter back for repair or replacement. Mailed it off yesterday, so I'll update when I've gotten word from them.

 

[BP]

Sorry to bump this old thread, but I had all but given up on my Fanatec shifter and hadn't used it in a year...I had tried several fixes I found online (Electrical tape on the back of both PCB, Making sure the magnet is seated)...with limited success. Then the problem got worse and worse until I could complete a lap at an average size circuit without hitting a wrong gear (sometimes several times a lap).

Then I found this video:

It has not missed a shift once since I scrubbed both PCB three days ago...make sure you use 99 percent alcohol so it evaporates quickly and leaves nothing behind. So far I've went through the gears sequentially about 100 times, driven vintage F1 cars in AMS and iRacing for over an hour, as well as nearly 10 hours of driving in American Truck Simulator and it has worked flawlessly. As Karl said in the video, my guess is it's corrosion built up over time and was interfering with the hall effect sensors.

Make sure you recalibrate the shifter, particularly using the highest tension settings. Don't know if it makes a difference, but I believe it might help set the calibration to the most central positions, which in turn might make it more accurate. Please note that I have also done the previously mentioned solutions (i.e. the magnet is properly seated and electrical tape on both PCB's), so I'd advise to apply those as well, just in case the complete fix is a combination of all methods.

If it starts acting up again, I will update this thread.

 

[mechsicko]

I had this happen with my Fanatec shifter and none of the gimmick fixes worked.. I cleaned it did the tape thing, funny calibration techniques all that ritual stuff that if it fixes yours then great but discovered the real problem on mine was a severed connection between the mother and daughter board. There's a 5-wire jumper that is constantly getting strained where the wires enter the pins.

Fana spares no expense with high tech hot glue as a strain relief and it's as insufficient as it looks and most will eventually fail at this point if you use it enough. The good news is the fix is easy once you know the problem. In my case I spliced in a new section of wire with a good pin on it but later figured out you can also just use a breadboard jumper to bypass it if you don't want to solder or have a segment of wire with a pin on it to splice in. The connector is a 5 pin Micro JST2.0 if you want to buy something you can scavenge from or splice in or make a new connector.

 

[BP]

I had this happen with my Fanatec shifter and none of the gimmick fixes worked.. I cleaned it did the tape thing, funny calibration techniques all that ritual stuff that if it fixes yours then great but discovered the real problem on mine was a severed connection between the mother and daughter board. There's a 5-wire jumper that is constantly getting strained where the wires enter the pins.

Fana spares no expense with high tech hot glue as a strain relief and it's as insufficient as it looks and most will eventually fail at this point if you use it enough. The good news is the fix is easy once you know the problem. In my case I spliced in a new section of wire with a good pin on it but later figured out you can also just use a breadboard jumper to bypass it if you don't want to solder or have a segment of wire with a pin on it to splice in. The connector is a 5 pin Micro JST2.0 if you want to buy something you can scavenge from or splice in or make a new connector.

Never intended for it to be seen as a gimmick fix, I didn't even know about potential problems with the wires (but good to know in case it acts up again)...I'm just trying to find solutions for the thing I paid them good money for...and they (Fanatec) should really be called out publicly for such a crappy design that, although prone to early failure, they refuse to redesign for what...9 years now....so long as it makes money I guess? Seems like you have to live in a scientific clean room with the perfect humidity and temp to keep these shifters alive without faults (assuming you got a "perfect" unit with the magnets seated right, cables long enough, etc )

I've left the Fanatec ecosystem a couple years ago, this is the only item that remains...but I refuse to sell something so poorly designed to someone else who might not know about the inherent problems, so here I am . As long as we keep contributing to this topic we can find workarounds for those that have it, and hopefully warn those who don't from buying it lol

 

[mechsicko]

Never intended for it to be seen as a gimmick fix, I didn't even know about potential problems with the wires (but good to know in case it acts up again)...I'm just trying to find solutions for the thing I paid them good money for...and they (Fanatec) should really be called out publicly for such a crappy design that, although prone to early failure, they refuse to redesign for what...9 years now....so long as it makes money I guess? Seems like you have to live in a scientific clean room with the perfect humidity and temp to keep these shifters alive without faults (assuming you got a "perfect" unit with the magnets seated right, cables long enough, etc )

I've left the Fanatec ecosystem a couple years ago, this is the only item that remains...but I refuse to sell something so poorly designed to someone else who might not know about the inherent problems, so here I am . As long as we keep contributing to this topic we can find workarounds for those that have it, and hopefully warn those who don't from buying it lol

Sorry wasn't trying to call anyone out, 'gimmick' was perhaps unfair I know it gets people through problems though that still might be because once opened and fiddled with the intermittently disconnecting wire gets massaged into slightly better contact. Karl Gosling even said his was 'fixed' by just opening it poking around and closing it before.

On the flip side, if you ever see a 'broken' fana shifter for sale cheap buy it immediately because it's a chonky bulletproof thing besides the stupid micro jst 2.0 5 pin board jumper that's subject to repeated bending yet they couldn't bother themselves with a real strain relief solution to protect

My Fana shifter is the last remnant of my Fana gear too, but I disagree it's poorly designed, literally the only thing wrong with it is the stupid wire that's super easy to fix. The rest is surprisingly well done for the price it is and I still feel it's one of the best values in shifters out there, at least before the price hike

 

[BP]

My Fana shifter is the last remnant of my Fana gear too, but I disagree it's poorly designed, literally the only thing wrong with it is the stupid wire that's super easy to fix. The rest is surprisingly well done for the price it is and I still feel it's one of the best values in shifters out there, at least before the price hike

Maybe the core design is great, but the implementation is crap and the devil is in the details, doesn't matter how small or easy the fix: ease is relative. Several people (in fact I'd argue most people) are not capable or able to replace PCB parts...nor should they have to...but it is what it is

 

[Mr. Malarkey]

Maybe the core design is great, but the implementation is crap and the devil is in the details, doesn't matter how small or easy the fix: ease is relative. Several people (in fact I'd argue most people) are not capable or able to replace PCB parts...nor should they have to...but it is what it is

Mine literally started malfunctioning 5 minutes ago - for the second time in about 14 months (downshifting to 3 and it randomly throws me into R, which makes for a very spectacular skid!). First time I sent it back and they took several months to "fix" it and return it to me. Not sure I'm willing to go through that again. I'd love to fix it myself, but I don't have ANY skills at stuff like that.

I feel good about Fanatec generally, but I agree there is NO reason, for the amount of money that this thing cost, that it should break down this easily or that I should have to repair it myself if I want it truly fixed.