The Symptom

In mid-2024, my year and a half old Fanatec ClubSport Shifter EQ v1.5 began exhibiting a problem where H-pattern shift inputs were misinterpreted. In my case, an upshift (or less frequently, downshift) to 3rd Gear resulted in being read as a shift to Reverse or 1st.

What Did NOT Fix the Problem

I discovered an apparent wealth of content online about ClubSport Shifter EQ users experiencing similar or identical problems. But as each experimental fix I performed failed to resolve the issue, it became clear that either no one had actually discovered the solution, or that my symptoms had a different cause.

These procedures did NOT change the symptoms with my ClubSport Shifter EQ:

Recalibrating the ClubSport Shifter EQ
Insulating the bottoms of the two circuit boards mounted on the shifting mechanism with electrical tape
- These two PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards) contain Hall Effect Sensors and their supporting electrical components that encode the current position of the shift lever in the X (left/right) and Y (fore/aft) axes.
Unplugging and replugging the external RJ12 cable connectors between the Shifter EQ and the wheel base (I am using a Fanatec Podium Wheel Base DD1).
Changing the RJ12 cable between the shifter and wheel base to a shorter cable.
Confirming that the magnet at the end of the shaft for the X-axis Hall Effect Sensor PCB is centered. (See this page.)

Some forum posts reported that merely disconnecting the connectors to the PCBs and reassembling the shifter produced the same results. Most of the posts I read admitted that their solutions were temporary - the problem symptoms would eventually return.

I had been unable to make changes that made ANY tangible difference using information provided by dozens of sources. At best, I’d have a couple of dozen shifts after reassembly - enough to seem encouraging - before the problem reappeared.

What Finally Worked (for me)

I eventually found my solution on the Fanatec Forum in the post FANATEC Clubsport Shifter V1.5 / CSL DD Gears Flickering SOLUTION!

In that thread, poster Jakub Wieczorkiewicz writes:

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.

I ordered a US$10 box of assorted nylon M2.5 bolts, nuts and washers. The bolts included were in lengths from 5mm to 20mm (20 each) with Phillips pan heads. The assortment included 100 nylon washers and 100 nylon nuts. The thread pitch for the bolts and nuts was listed as 0.45mm.

Installing the Nylon Bolts and Washers

My apologies that this is not a detailed how-to guide. I performed the actual work almost a year ago, and put off documentation until I was confident that the fix was persistent. The process isn’t too bad for a regular DIYer, although working with small parts can increase difficulty for some. That said, if you think you can perform a meticulous operation, I encourage you to try.

The riskiest aspect of this procedure is potentially breaking small electrical connectors inside the ClubSport Shifter. Don’t try to disconnect wiring connectors by pulling on the wires. Use your fingers, fingernails, or a small tool to unplug the connectors by their plastic shells. The connectors on the Fanatec PCBs have locking tabs - pressing down on the end of the lock closest to where the wires enter the connector raises the hook end at the opposite end of the mechanism, allowing you to safely unplug the wires from the PCBs. You can also attempt to perform these operations without unplugging the PCBs at all, simply removing their two or four (the two PCBs are different) bolts.

I think these modifications can be performed without having to remove the shifter base from your sim rig. You’ll need to do something like the following (I’m doing this from memory and photos, a year later):

Disconnect all cables from the back of the ClubSport Shifter EQ
Remove the four bolts from the top of the shifter housing
CAREFULLY lift the shifter housing top and shift lever enough (1.0 - 2.0 in, or 2.0 - 5.0 mm) to reach in from the right side and gently unplug the connector for the cable that is tethering the cover to the base. The cover and shift lever should now be free from the base.

You’ll now be removing the black metal socket head (Allen) bolts which retain the two small printed circuit boards (PCBs) to the mechanical shifter mechanism. Do the work on one PCB at a time.

When replacing the original metal bolts with nylon bolts, you’ll be installing nylon M2.5 washers UNDER the PCB, to physically space the bottom of the PCB from the shifter mechanism. Note that there were NO washers previously - this is an ADDITION. And for clarity, these nylon washers are NOT installed under the heads of the nylon bolts (as might be a typical washer application) - they are being used as very low “standoffs” to create a small physical gap under the PCBs.

The nylon M2.5 fasteners I purchased had Phillips heads rather than socket heads.
NOTE: The nylon from which the bolts are made is quite soft compared to metal fasteners. As a result, when tightening the fastener, there will never be a satisfying stop as you apply torque. The good news is that you won’t damage the threads of the shifter, and you have (if you bought a large assortment like I did) several extra bolts to try again if you strip the threads of the nylon bolt. But just don’t expect a confident finality when tightening these fasteners. After almost a year, I’ve never had to attend to mine, so I achieved functional results with a similarly dissatisfying torquing experience.

The Tricky Bit

The installation of the washers was quite challenging, as the intention was to isolate the bottom of the PCBs from the shifter mounting surfaces by using the nylon washers as standoffs, and getting the washers and bolts to stay in position long enough meant doing some of the operation with the shifter top oriented so that the PCB was on edge to suspend the washers. This was NOT helped by the very light nylon parts. If I were doing this again, I’d stick the washers to their respective positions on the circuit boards before reassembly with a bit of adhesive. Here are the steps I’d try next time:

Wipe down the PCB mounting hole locations for the washers on the backs of the circuit boards with rubbing alcohol or contact cleaner to remove oils or grease that might inhibit adhesion. It wouldn’t hurt to degrease the nylon washers as well.
Apply a tiny amount of sticky adhesive to one side of the nylon washers. I’d try putting the washers down on an expendable surface and lightly spraying them with a spray adhesive (I always keep 3M Super 77 Spray Adhesive on hand). You only want a tiny amount of adhesive on one side of the washers to hold them in place while assembling the parts. Tweezers will be helpful in manipulating tiny, light, sticky parts. Note that cyanoacrylate (“super glue”) adhesives can attack some plastics, so I’d advise against that class of adhesive. We’re not looking for a durable bond - we just want a helping hand to position the new nylon washers while we’re maneuvering the PCBs back into place and installing the nylon bolts. You could alternately apply adhesive to the PCBs where the washer will come into contact - this might increase the risk of getting some adhesive in an unwanted place in the shifter, but it also avoids making a sticky washer.
Insert a bolt through each PCB hole from the top side as a centering guide for the washer, and carefully slide the new nylon washer - sticky adhesive side facing toward the PCB - to its position on the bottom of the circuit board. (I suggest using tweezers, forceps, needle-nose pliers or a hemostat to handle the small parts in the confined space.) Try to center the washer’s hole with the PCB hole before sticking the washer in place to make the eventual bolt installation as easy as possible. However, clearances are tight around the PCB, so keep the washers from protruding out beyond the margins of the circuit boards.
Once all the washers are stuck to the underside of the PCB, maneuver the board back into place (always checking that a washer hasn’t fallen off while positioning), and install the new nylon bolts. Install all bolts loosely first, then gently snug them all up to finish.

Completely Fixed

This procedure has eliminated the missed-shift problem. There has been not a single incidence of the symptom since the nylon fastener modification during the tens of thousands of shift events to which the ClubSport Shifter EQ has been subjected in the past 10 months.

I hope this document benefits others who are experiencing this condition.