FANATEC Clubsport Shifter V1.5 / CSL DD Gears Flickering SOLUTION!
Jakub Wieczorkiewicz
Member
Guys, I know many of you have experienced issues with your Fanatec Shifter with flickering, especially when using it with CSL DD and on a metal rig, where everything seems fine when the shifter is off the rig or using the short RJ12 cable, but all goes bad when using the longer cable and with the shifter screwed in to metal.
The solution seemed to be ferride cores added onto a cable (someone mentioned he needed as much as 7!), but I have found and tested a better solution. Unfortunately you will need to open the shifter, but it is a better fix overall. I've had ZERO issues for a few hours where previously I've gotten flicker every 5 seconds.
The solution - you need to mount both of the PCBs inside the shifter using NYLON screws and NYLON washers. The screws you need are M2.5x6mm Thread nylon screws. You'll need 6 screws and 6 washers. The most important (and tricky) part is you need to place the washers between the aluminium body and the PCB (basically UNDER the PCB) spacing the PCB from the aluminium and isolating both PCBs completely. That's about it, when you do this all your problems will dissappear. Additionally you might check if the switch that is on the bottom of the casing (switching from H pattern to SQ) is not covered in grease too much, just unscrew the 2 screws take it out and clean it (and the aluminium under it) as that might also cause some electricity to pass through to the PCBs. If you want to check if this works for you without searching for the nylons screws you can try double sided taping the PCBs in place. Of course after every operation like this you need to calibrate the shifter! This will give you an idea if the problems go away (and they SHOULD), but this is not a good fix because the PCBs can move slightly on the tape and they need to be secure for precise reading of the magnets. Hope this helps you guys. This is potentially a solution that Fanatec might consider adapting in the future manufacturing.
Comments
I've been watching this post to see if anyone replies or more interestingly... Takes on a project like this :o I gotta say. I do not posses the skills or patience to attempt this. :( I did however get some test firmware from support that has improved it so I am testhing that out before I get drastic.
That said. Kudos for doing this! I hope it keeps working for you. It does make sense. But it's terrifying.
Can confirm that it's worked flawlessly ever since I've done it. Chances are many people tried it as people tend to not post about their success in solving something but are more likely to post about the issues ;) This is why I decided to do this. It is not a hard job as many people disassembled their shifters for cleaning anyways (and you will most likely end up doing it down the road anyways).
I got rid of the flickering with ferrite cores. Anyone who doesn't have the courage to open the shifter can do this. I fixed one core after the other and always looked at the fanatec software. After the third core it no longer flickered and it now works. It takes 5 minutes to do this.
If anyone still has flickering or can reproduce it please write me a PM, I have a firmware with a potential fix.
I do have this issue aswell as the shifter leaking oil. Sent it back to them and they sent it back the same and with a USB adaptor. Fanatec dont give a rats ass about they equipment at all
can confirm this worked for me aswell. Added 1 core to each end and no more flicker. I have another firmware to test so i will post any feedback if its good or not.
tested the firmware update i was sent and it worked. The flicker as gone when connected to my steel cockpit but now i just need fanatec to sort this oil leak out
Tested oh ETS 2 for 1hr and everything is fine. No flickering and the gears are perfectly fine. Thanks Marcel for the firmware now can ya get fanatec to least roll this out we are not testers for these products.
Hi Marcel, I sent you a message on this issue. Could I try your firmware update or has the code already been rolled into the latest?
Bought my shifter in 2019 if that's of interest. Thanks!
Many thanks to Jakub Wieczorkiewicz!
I'd performed most of the claimed "fixes" found online for the past few years (alternate external cables; adding ferrite beads; adding insulative plastic to solder-side of circuit boards, etc.) for my version of this problem (my typical symptom was engaging 1st or Reverse when upshifting to 3rd), and NONE were successful. Testing after apply the modifications would produce the undesired symptom within a few shifts.
In July 2024, I replaced the steel PCB bolts with nylon bolts and isolated the two PCBs with nylon washers as Jakub described. In five months of use (now December 2024), the symptoms have NEVER RETURNED.
The procedure is quite finnicky to execute. It's particularly tricky to keep the extremely lightweight washers in place while reassembling the circuit boards. I considered adding a light coating of spray adhesive to the washers to be able to attach them to the PCBs so that I didn't have to juggle even more pieces, but I pushed through without adhesive. This required sometimes having to turn the entire shifter assembly on one side or another to be able to control the washers.
It's also not very satisfying when torquing down the nylon bolts. There's no sense of either over-tightening or adequately applying clamping pressure.
That said, this was a COMPLETE SUCCESS for me.