Tamiya Grasshopper Re-Release Behaving Strangely

[Aldridge_One]

Hi All, I bought the Grasshopper Re-Re kit a few years ago and the bundle I got had the tble-02S ESC and it came with a cheap Etronix Pulse EX2 Sport 2-channel 2.4ghz with Etronix Pulse Receiver. 

I let my 16 year old lad use it with his mates (big mistake) and then didn't use it for a year and I decided to get it working again a couple of months ago. Fast forward to now and I have replaced the dead ESC with the updated tble-04S. I bought a new receiver as the antenna had split & broken and new gearbox plus some screws here and there. 

I am having issues with it going out of range after 20-30 feet and then it behaves erratically without me touching anything. As I walk towards it it jumps back to life but it's frustrating. When I ran it with the tble-02s, it worked perfectly so I'm considering swapping this for a hobbywing esc as I've heard they're better generally than Tamiya ones. Also the trim button behaves different at times. Sometimes when I turn the knob to the right, the car starts moving forward so I trim it, then use the car for a bit and then it will start moving forward slowly on it's own, then when I turn the trim to the left the car starts reversing slowly, then it reverts back to how it was initially without the turning left and it reversing! Frustrating. 

Has anyone experienced anything similar? Do you think it could possibly be the ESC? 

I really appreciate anyone taking the time to respond and I'm sorry if I haven't included enough information. This is the only kit I've ever assembled and I'm hoping to do some more when the wallet will allow it!

Thanks so much. 

[Twinfan]

Greetings!

The range issue will be nothing to do with the ESC - that's an issue with the transmitter and the receiver. If it was OK previously, I'd be looking at your new receiver as the culprit.

For the trim issue, set your transmitter throttle trim to 0 and then follow the TBLE-04S instructions to set the throttle endpoints. That should stop the car crawling forwards and backwards.

I use TBLE-04S ESCs in several cars and they work great for general bashing around. No need to swap it out unless you have a problem with it 

[Aldridge_One]

Hi Twinfan, that's great - thanks. I will try all that and then test it again tomorrow. That's good to know about the esc too as I have spent a fair bit getting it working again, I didn't really want to have to buy any more parts of possible. I must admit though part of the fun is tweaking things and tinkering. I really appreciate you coming back to me 

[Twinfan]

No worries at all, happy to help if I can 

Good luck, and shout up if you still have problems!

[Aldridge_One]

Right, so, I set the transmitter throttle trim to 0 and followed a YouTube video of a lad setting the endpoints, which has stopped it crawling forwards / backwards (thanks for that - most helpful).

I'm just at the park trying it out now and it is still going out of range after what I would estimate is about 20 / 30 feet. As I walk towards the grasshopper and pull the throttle it still doesn't work I think I'm very close. The receiver was brand new from a reputable RC shop in Cannock. The only other thing I can think of if it isn't the receiver is maybe the batteries in the transmitter. It takes 8 x AA and I've ordered some rechargeable ones from Amazon. I put new ones in about 2 months ago and have used it moderately. Do you think it could be a faulty receiver?  Thanks again. 

[Twinfan]

Glad you got the throttle sorted  

The range thing could be batteries, transmitter or receiver I guess.  Does your old receiver still work, can you try that to see if it's any better even with a damaged aerial?

[Aldridge_One]

Hmmm that's a good point. I can certainly give it a go. I will try fresh batteries In the transmitter tomorrow as well and take it from there. 

Thanks again for taking the time to help me out. I really appreciate it 🙂

[Twinfan]

No worries at all.  Good luck!

[Aldridge_One]

I was still having issues after setting the throttle endpoints. I would use the Grasshopper for a short while and then it would start crawling forwards so I kept having to constantly adjust the trim. I'm not sure how common that is with a cheaper set up. 

I bought a Hobbywing 1060 ESC for £22 and installed it yesterday and it seems to be more stable now. I also put fresh batteries in the Etronix Pulse transmitter and charged my Nimh batteries fully. I tested it last night and it seemed to be going further without cutting out then all of a sudden it would go about 30 feet and just stop dead. It would then jump forward a short distance then stop again. 

I'm going to take it to Wheelspin Models in Cannock today and see if they can maybe swap the receiver I bought and if not I can buy another one. I have considered buying a new transmitter but I've got a £50 limit really which will only get me a lower end budget model, which is fine for the Grasshopper I think. My previous Etronix receiver is damaged as the antenna broke after a nasty crash so I can't really test it with that unfortunately. 

I will hang onto the tble-04s and try it in my next build but I have to say the 1060 seems to be a more stable ESC so far. 

I'm certainly a noob at all this but I'm slowly learning. Twinfan has been most helpful and I'm very grateful 🙂

[Twinfan]

No worries. Shame you didn't go to Wheelspin this morning - I was there for cars and coffee 

[Aldridge_One]

4 hours ago, Twinfan said:

No worries. Shame you didn't go to Wheelspin this morning - I was there for cars and coffee 

Ahh we got there about 1:15. The very nice gentleman behind the counter came outside with me and had a go with my Grasshopper which seemed to be behaving ok, which is usually how these things go! I ended up buying a Radiolink RC4GS V3. I've just tested it and it's fantastic - range is brilliant and obviously I can connect more than one to it as and when I get more kits to build, which is perfect. 

[Aldridge_One]

I've got a Tamiya 540 Sport tuned motor coming today as well to replace the 540 torque tuned. That will be it for The Grasshopper for a while now hopefully and I can start saving my pennies for my next kit to build. I love The Grasshopper with it's little quirks and the fact that it rolls over if you corner a bit too fast. I want something faster that handles better for my next build. Any recommendations from anyone would be greatly appreciated 🙂

[Twinfan]

The Grasshopper is very light, so faster will be a challenge unless you go for a Super Stock motor.

Budget? 2WD or 4WD? Buggy/Rally/On Road/Truck? Lots of choice out there, you'll have to narrow it down a bit for us 

[Aldridge_One]

Thanks, Twinfan and you're right - there are so many options out there so I'll have to give some proper thought to what my next kit build will be. 

I swapped the 540 Torque Tuned for a 540 Sport Tuned in The G/H yesterday and it is noticeably faster now. I'm tempted to put some oil filled shocks on it as well but I'm not sure how much difference it would make. 

[markbt73]

Glad you got it sorted out! One thing to note for the future is to make sure the antenna wire for the receiver isn't touching any other wires, especially the ones from the ESC to the motor - even with modern radios, you can get noise/interference from the motor wires.

[Aldridge_One]

On 6/8/2024 at 11:35 PM, markbt73 said:

Glad you got it sorted out! One thing to note for the future is to make sure the antenna wire for the receiver isn't touching any other wires, especially the ones from the ESC to the motor - even with modern radios, you can get noise/interference from the motor wires.

Thanks, Mark - that's good to know as well.

I've just put some new wheels on the grasshopper and I've experimented with a Saturn 550 12 turn brushed motor, although I'm not sure it's any nippier than the sport tuned. It certainly hops around like a crazy thing with either motor.

I'm just trying to decide what to build next. Maybe The Frog but I like the look of The Hornet too. 

[Twinfan]

The Hornet is very similar to the Grasshopper chassis, almost identical.  If you want something different, go for the Frog  

[ABigChungus]

The Frog is definitely the better buggy, however durability would then be your main concern, some of those metal parts can wear pretty quickly, and the gearbox can flex under heavy torque.

[Andreas W]

If you want to find out how a proper 2WD buggy worked BITD with a modern twist I advice you to look at the Kyosho Legendary Series line. They work good out the box and do a great job today as well. Then you have a reliable,  good looking runner with as good as zero downtime.

[Super ally]

Get a novafox or wild one if you want a good 2wd buggy.