I'm posting this guide because I could not find anything anything similar on the internet and I think that i'm not the only one who had the same issue with my CSS.
My unit had a bad potentiometer and would not work properly, as you can see in the video:
And even if Teflon tape, hot melt or a aluminium sheet in the potentiomter rod could not fix the issue, you should just replace it with a better one.
These Alps potentiometers are used in the trigger (LT and RT) mechanism from the xbox 360 controller, have the same dimensions and resistance as the one used in the CSS (Linear 10k ohms), and can be bought for less the 5USD a piece. The only difference is that they are way more precise as they rotate only 45 degrees against the 270 degree from the one used by fanatec.
The first step is to pull the top plate from the housing by removing these 4 screws with a 3mm allen key. If your unit has the sequential mode, be careful because as there is a cable that you need to disconnect inside before pulling off the assembly.
After pulling the shifter assembly, you need to disconnect this cable that connects the potentiometer pcb to the main pcb. Be careful as fanatec is known to be using wires with insulation that cracks, and mine had one connector that already snapped (that why it's soldered direct to the board). Now its a good time to use hot melt and make a strain relief near the connector.
Use Needle-Nose Pliers or some similar tool to prevent the nut or standoff from rotating as you use a 2.5mm allen key to remove the 2 screws holding the potentiometer pcb
Replace the stock potentiometer to the new one and apply some teflon tape or hot melt to the new potentiometer shaft as the slot milled in the shifter axle usually is a little too big.
Now you just need to put everything back together and re-calibrate the shifter and you should be good to go
And if you are curious, at least in the units with the same potentiometer as mine, THERE IS NO HALL EFFECT SENSOR, just a standard carbon brush Linear 10k potentiometer, and here is proof:
My unit had a bad potentiometer and would not work properly, as you can see in the video:
And even if Teflon tape, hot melt or a aluminium sheet in the potentiomter rod could not fix the issue, you should just replace it with a better one.
These Alps potentiometers are used in the trigger (LT and RT) mechanism from the xbox 360 controller, have the same dimensions and resistance as the one used in the CSS (Linear 10k ohms), and can be bought for less the 5USD a piece. The only difference is that they are way more precise as they rotate only 45 degrees against the 270 degree from the one used by fanatec.
The first step is to pull the top plate from the housing by removing these 4 screws with a 3mm allen key. If your unit has the sequential mode, be careful because as there is a cable that you need to disconnect inside before pulling off the assembly.
After pulling the shifter assembly, you need to disconnect this cable that connects the potentiometer pcb to the main pcb. Be careful as fanatec is known to be using wires with insulation that cracks, and mine had one connector that already snapped (that why it's soldered direct to the board). Now its a good time to use hot melt and make a strain relief near the connector.
Use Needle-Nose Pliers or some similar tool to prevent the nut or standoff from rotating as you use a 2.5mm allen key to remove the 2 screws holding the potentiometer pcb
Replace the stock potentiometer to the new one and apply some teflon tape or hot melt to the new potentiometer shaft as the slot milled in the shifter axle usually is a little too big.
Now you just need to put everything back together and re-calibrate the shifter and you should be good to go
And if you are curious, at least in the units with the same potentiometer as mine, THERE IS NO HALL EFFECT SENSOR, just a standard carbon brush Linear 10k potentiometer, and here is proof:
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