Handbrake issue.
PGR
Member
Hello all.
Apologies first up if I've got this in the wrong place. First time on here and and after far too many hours messing about with this handbrake, my head is about melting.
I'm hoping you can steer me in the right direction with the brake problem.
Recently the handbrake started fluttering and it was self applying at various % whilst racing. I gave the plug a wiggle and it went straight to 100% on. Removing and re inserting the plug either gives the same result or zero indication. There is no response from the handbrake operation at all. Hence I am unable to set any values/calibrate it. The plug had received a little knock months ago but has been fine. All drivers and firmware are current. I've just updated to 452 today but the issue began on 451. Any help on what to do would be massively appreciated.
Thanks everybody in advance.
PgR.
Comments
I had a similar issue after knocking the plug on mine - very easily done due to the placement. Likely that the contacts in the socket are bent and making poor contact with the plug - the fluctuations when moving the plug in the socket support this assumption.
Replacement panel mount TRS sockets are cheap and easily fitted if you can solder. If I remember the wiring correctly, it's green to tip, red to ring and white to sleeve.
Good luck.
Hi Gagaryn. Thanks for the assist. I've ordered a couple. I've also raised it with fanatec but I'm not expecting a reply any time soon. Last time it was nearly a week, but to be fair he was extremely helpful. Then someone else took the case over and it all went a bit downhill. Any how, that was then etc. Back to this weeks nightmare. The plug did get a little budge and now seems to have a slight flex to it. I'm guessing from past experience this may well be buggered too. Quick question if I may.? The pin out on the plug is indeed black/green - tip, red- ring, white- ground, but do I read the back of the socket the same for wiring? I.e. long leg at the bottom would be the white ground then reading left to right, tip then ring?
Many thanks.
Probably - I can't remember what the original socket looked like! The cables are colour coded under the black shrink wrap - all will be clear when you start work.
Cheers. I am arming myself with a scalpel and multimeter ready for battle over the weekend. Many thanks 🙏
Conclusion.
After replacing the plug and socket to no avail, a full strip down revealed that the plastic locating pin on the potentiometer bushing had snapped and the sensor was no longer in range. Quite why this would give either a zero % or 100% randomly whilst plugging it in, without moving the lever by the way, is a mystery. You'd think it would be one or other? Anyhow, the pin has been replaced with a metal one and all is well again.
Easiest way was drill the bushing then measure the thickness of the brake lever plus the depth of hole and cut the end off the drill bit to make the pin. Perfect fit. Hope this helps someone else.
Cheers.
Presume when the pin bust it left the wiper precariously right at the end of the carbon track, occasionally making and breaking contact.
Possibly. Sounds reasonable now. I think the lesson here is just pull it all to bits and inspect the lot. Especially known issues. Ah, hind sight eh? Would have saved me a lot of time and some cash. Cue dodgy ebay handbrake cable for return. Looked OK but as some have said, didn't pull to 100% and suffered fluttering signal issues. Bad use of £18 there then. My repair however is 100% hunky dory. Ah, driver, mechanic, engineer, computer technician and bank manager. Who knew sim racing could be so involved.!?
Had the same problem after bumping the plug with my knee. Can you solve this by removing the plug and socket and simply connecting the wiring directly ?
Of course - no magic in the plug and socket - it's only there for convenience.
Mine is working flawlessly in games, but where can I see the output in the fanatec control panel or fanalab?
At the pedals tab in fanatec control panel.
Had the same issues of handbrake over the first year of owning Fanatec gear:
Spiking and giving braking input into game when not pulling lever, crappy Pentometer I suspect, even though I have only pulled the lever about 20 times as I haven't used in game for months.
I bumped the connector to the handbrake several times and eventually snapped the tip completely off, rewired a new male connector and female port seemed ok as it is mostly spring loaded internally.
I also then snapped the cheap plastic washer that stops the spring from slipping over the knuckle end, it also helps locate the internal tension spring onto the handles knuckle, if you pull hard too much it will break quickly.
Handbrake is working but still flaky as hell.
My advise to Fanatec:
Use a hall sensor system instead of a pentometer.
Change the plug on the male end to be a 90 right angle type or completely change the plug and socket to a more robust, low profile type with a locking system (RJ-12 or something else), or make and fit a plug guard to protect the plug from being bent sideways.
For the cost of a few cent's don't use cheap plastic on the spring washer when a 2 cent metal washer would have made it indestructable.
Same problem for me.
I am a victim of the lack of strength of the materials of the Fanatec handbrake.
Please FANATEC, take into account the advise of 'MadDog-IC' to modify the "ClubSport Handbrake V1.5" for a future more robust "ClubSport Handbrake V1.6".