CSL DD | Steering wheel not detected due to base shaft loosen
Bobby Nguyen
Member
Hi all,
As you guys have know CSL DD got 2 main problems with a shaft which is the sudden connection lost due to USB type C port. However today I will mention about one more serious problem of this base shaft loosen.
The sympton is the base shaft keep loosing out during the time I play drift in Assetto Corsa. I have 2 wheels, the BMW GT2 v2 and the Clubsports Universal Hub with the OMP Wheels. By the time I play drift with 900 degree SEN, 50% Force Feedback, 15% Natural Damper, 0% Friction, 100% Interial, 11 Interpolaton, 60% Intesity, 100% FFS, SES, DES. (Please review the action via this video https://youtube.com/shorts/GWi7-LBS-u0?feature=share)
I have change another CSL DD base, but the sympton is the same. I have no clue about the style I play or the quality of the shaft and the clamp and the plastic part that connected to the base is too bad to keep the shaft not loosing.
It was so frustrating knowing the shaft WILL ALWAYS LOOSEN and have no solution to prenvent it but not playing drift anymore.
I am seeking for support from the Fanatec and Community!
P/S: I have tried using the ducktape solution on the shaft but is still losing out.
Comments
You almost get the idea the shaft material is not the right choice. Looking into the blog posts they use a carbon fibre-reinforced steering axle which has probably to much flex that will not give a secure clamp. With to much forces it will dent the axle or change the diameter resulting the QR and clamp will move on the axle. Maybe temperature changes also don't help, with different properties for the expanding and shrinking of the material for different temperatures.
With the DD1 there are no issues like that. It could happen the clamp is not tight, changing the center calibration. But when you tighten the clamp you will not have the issue anymore. But on the DD bases it uses a metal motor axle.
I totally sympathize with your frustration. In my opinion, this is a fundamental design flaw with the CSL DD. As far as I can tell, the QR shaft doesn't really lock into place inside the wheelbase, and with just that C-clamp holding things in place, it seems to me that no matter how hard you tighten it, it's always going to shake and vibrate ever so slightly and loosen over time, leading to these disconnects.
I took delivery of my original CSL DD back in August, and all worked fine for about 5 months or so. I started having issues with my wheel disconnecting and becoming unresponsive back in early January. I sent in both the base and the wheel (McLaren v2) for an RMA. Fanatec said they tested both, and determined only the wheel needed to be replaced. I got everything back, and it all worked fine for about 2 hours before I started experiencing wheel disconnection issues again. I tried retightening every screw I possibly could, I loosened the C-clamp, removed and then re-inserted the base-side QR, retightened the C-clamp, checked that my cables were all securely connected, even tried different USB ports. Nothing worked.
I sent my base back for an RMA (for the SECOND time now)...and if I continue to encounter similar problems, I'll be saying goodbye to Fanatec and requesting a refund. Which would be a shame, because I really do like their products when they work. And surely there are numerous people out there using the exact same wheel and base combo who are perfectly happy with their equipment. Maybe it's just a case of manufacturing tolerances with the parts such as the shaft, collar, etc. being particularly off in certain cases and adding up to rare, unacceptable levels. But I don't know, to me, I look around these forums, reddit, YouTube, etc. and see quite a lot of people talking about similar issues such as this, and it feels like it's affecting enough people to warrant a re-design. Perhaps not a re-design of the entire base, but certainly of the base-side QR and locking mechanism. Perhaps QR2 will address this (whenever they finally decide to release it), though the thought of paying money to "upgrade" my equipment so that it will all work as advertised in the first place really rubs me the wrong way.
I hope to receive a replacement CSL DD by the second week of March, so we'll see what happens.
(FWIW, a more detailed description of my experience can be found here: https://forum.fanatec.com/discussion/25032/mclaren-v2-wheel-intermittently-losing-connection-to-csl-dd-again-even-after-rma )
So better move to the Podium DD? I am looking for the DD2 but still affraid of unknow common problems. I searched around all is about the disconnection of DD 2
You got by back man! So what should I do with this one? Cus I am having around 2-3 back up CSL DD so that was not ideal calling the RMA cuz all of them are the same! They are all having same problem.
I wish I had a good answer for you. I'm wondering what to do, myself. I don't have the money to upgrade to something like a Simucube or an Accuforce. I figure if things don't work out with the CSL DD that they send me back, I'll probably wind up going with something like the Thrustmaster TX-XW or TX-PC. It's not direct drive, but honestly, at this point I just want something reliable that I can count on and just be able to sit down and race with, without having to walk on eggshells worrying and hoping everything holds together.
Podium DD bases still have the famous joults that are not resolved. I'm not aware Podium DD bases have a common disconnect issues. I think most of the time the discount issues are accross all Fanatec devices (All bases and even pedals via USB that show the issue) and are caused by power management in Windows on the USB ports. Disabling power management on USB ports and set the PC to performance mode solves that issue to my knowledge.
I'm running a DD1 since the beginning when they came out and never had any disconnect issues and also the joults are not something I really experience during use.
But yeah it's always difficult. Also not everybody is experiencing issues with the motor axle of the CSL DD that the QR moves on the axle.
I have been having the same issue I am really curious if an RMA will fix the problem, I dont think I pull on the wheel really hard and I use the forum recommend settings for my games. This thing wont last if you have refix the shaft every 4 hours of use.
The clamp needs to be very tight, at least 15 Nm on the bolt. When it is this tight, it should not slip out.
[Fanatec Community Manager]
I put mine at 18Nm and still comes out after a month or so, but my QR1 lite is SUPER tight and I suspect that is helping with shaft slipping out. I bike so have anti slip grease for carbon to metal connections. Am I voiding my warranty if I try it? Or other solution for the tight QR1 light?