Fanatec ClubSport Shifter SQ V 1.5 having issues with H-Pattern Mode
Donald Brown
Member
Hello all. I discovered this problem earlier today, and absolutely did not have this issue yesterday. It seems for my shifter, when I am in H-Pattern mode, some of my shifts are presenting signal issues. More specifically, when I am in 1st gear, this is always seen as being in Reverse gear, and in 2nd gear, it blips between that and third gear in an infrequent rate. Originally I thought it was an issue with Gran Turismo 7 which got updated earlier this morning, but I hooked it back up to my PC and tested it in Assetto Corsa where I can see the inputs more clearly, and it's obviously not a game issue, but an issue with the device.
Would anyone know how to troubleshoot this? I am guessing something on the inside is messing up considering it's only affecting the Reverse, 1st, and 2nd gear slots, so perhaps something with the sensor methods on the left side inside the device. I purchased the device in March of 2021 so I've had it for slightly more than a year, so I think any warranty on it is out of the picture at present.
Comments
Which base?
If you're asking the wheel base, it's not used with a Fanatec one. I use it standalone with a Logitech G923, so it takes a unique USB slot on PC and is used through Drivehub on PS5. Originally I thought it was the Drivehub or GT7 causing the issue, but it's happening on PC now, so it's the Shifter device itself, most likely.
Some ideas here from people who've had problematic shifters. Not sure if yours is the same issue, but worth looking into:
Thanks for that information. While I presently lack the tools to do what was shared in the first video in that thread, I can say that what's mentioned the in the second video is different for me: there is no electric tape on my device to prevent any form of shorting. Not sure if this is a revision to the device or I'm misunderstanding something.
Figured two pictures might have those with more keen eyes help me. I see no corrosion to my eye, but I also don't know what I'm looking for as the source of the problem. I have unplugged the sequential cable, which still works and I have no issues in that mode. It's just the three gears I mentioned, so I'm not sure what board here would be the culprit of that.
The tape is not a revision - it was a self user fix.
IE: Put the electrical tape on your own shifter as shown in the video
Nothing shown on the video... i will have a look this weekend myself and see what i can improvise. i might take some pictures for future candidates,
My shifter has started to display a similar behavior recently. It's plugged into a DD1 wheelbase. I've had it for a few years now but it spent most of last year packed away in storage, not being used, while I was working away from home. Mine will randomly mix up the button mapping for the gears. I don't have an issue with the inputs flashing, but 1st gear will suddenly register as 2nd or 5th will register as 4th. I check the binding in-game and shows both positions registering the same button press. I can go back into the calibration software and correct it but then it can mix them up again in the middle of a race. I do have some conformal coating that I occasionally use on my water-cooled PCs that I can put on the controller board like one of the users mentioned in the linked posts. I would be interested to know what fix you come up with.
Here is what i did:
i've cleaned the boards with IPA, they were quite greasy, then put the tape on the rear of the pcb-s and made the holes with a hot pick as said in the video, then i thought i put some more on the bearing to stop the grease going on the board and then also put tapes on top of them so nothing can fall on them, Like the metal filings i found on the magnet under the bigger pcb. what on its own can cause some issues, so i have cleaned the magnet itself and wrapped some tape around it make sure it covers longer than the magnet itself (it was actually touching the tape on the board from underneath) so it can't collect more filings. Now the bigger board had some tape on it already either from the factory, or they put it on when i sent it back once. i also applied a bit of deoxit on the connectors (contact enhancer). So now i am curious how this will do over time, but i wouldn't be surprised if this would not fix it at all over a long enough time period.
it doesn't work already, i calibrated it and then left it for a few hours and then i was gonna test it and already acting up. Shame on Fanatec for this.
i have unplugged the rj12 cable a few times now it's working again. so all the tape fix is probably a placebo. i regularly had to mess with the cable in the past to get it working. Also it was acting straigh after taping the pcb so that is a proof that it has nothing to do with that part.
I tested it past few days for short periods and also put my rig on the rubber pads to isolate the aluminium frame from the carpet. in my case it has nothing to do with the pcb-s and electrostatic charge as the problem still comes back occasionally. The solution seems to be to wiggle the rj12 connector in the shifter back and fort a bit and then starts to work again. rj12 for this purpose seems to be a fatally bad choice as it seems it wont stay put in there and the small movement causes the issue. a new cable will only give remedy for a period of time. years ago i also put something into the tab of the connector to gap it and force it to stay in position with no luck. it is just bad.
Yeah, my fix with the conformal coating did not do anything either. I ran a stage in Dirt 2.0 and the calibration changed between finishing one stage and starting the next. Everything gear shifted to the left one position. Reverse reporting as 1st, then 1st as 3rd, 2nd as 4th, and so on.
You can see in the picture that the large board already had some tape on the back from the factory and the small board has a coating on the back to protect the electrical traces as well. I didn't see any damage to the back of the small board so I doubt putting electrical on it had any effect.
I'm going to get some ferrite cores to add to the rf12 cable. Hopefully, it's just an EMI issue but it's strange that I didn't have it before with the same basic controller configuration. The 2 main things that are different are that I'm using a high-end gaming laptop instead of a desktop and I have the DD1 power supply mounted to the bottom of my aluminum chassis to hide it away instead of sitting further away on the self of a printer cart.
i have added ferrite core to it as well. made no difference, i installed the rubber pads to my rig to isolate it from the carpet, not helped either. the shifter moves in use and the rj12 cable is probably moving maybe overtouch pins or the movement in itself causing this. nothing to do with emi. i also cut a piece of rubber wedge and put it in the rj12 tab to force it in position but i still had it once in 2 weeks.
Problem solved (for now),
I used Kapton tape (hight resistance to electrical and temperature), on both sides.