driving me mad

[Jacko Boy]

Guys, I have an issue that is stumping me.

I have a a original scorcher that has a modified casing that accepts black can, black sprint and numerous other motors, the only other change is that it has a twinset chasis. When set up it works fine untill I try to get any distance away from the car with the transmitter, then it starts spluttering i.e. motor. I have tried different, recievers, chrystals, motors, esc's wiring configurations and nothing works, I walk 5 feet away and the motor starts spluttering........please help!!!!!! as I really want to give it a drive!

Is the motor shorting, is it the chasis plate? whats going on nothing seems to work. take the motor out of the casing and it works!?!?!?!?!?!!?

[B.M.T.]

If the motor was shorting, it wouldn't be range dependant. What it would be is electrical interference traveling along an all metal gearbox and chassis. Time to get a cheap (not Hobbyking cheap) 2.4ghz system it seems.

[bromvw]

+1 . I would say that the chassis is acting as a Faraday cage in effect and blocking the signal . Going to a 2.4ghz system should cure it .

[mr crispy]

Defo sound like interference as mentioned above. Before buying a new 2.4 system though whats your antenna like? Is it fully extended with no breaks and in good condition. Still the original length? Is it held away from the chassis (especially metal parts) and not close to the motor? 5ft sounds a little extreme so might be worth checking and maybe re-routing it first to see if you can make it work for you before throwing cash at it.

[Percymon]

In addition to Mr Crispy advice, do you have a metal rear bumper or the kit plastic one - a metal one might just further hinder signal.

[billg4]

do you have 3 capacitors on the motors, are the brushes worn or cracked? Dirty commutator?

[OCD]

do you have 3 capacitors on the motors, are the brushes worn or cracked? Dirty commutator?

OP said it only glitches when he moves away from the car, not 'on throttle' like you would get with motor EMF

I would try to start by swapping in new basic components and test from there. Of course if you have a brand new 2.4ghz sytem lying around, by all means switch to that but you may just need something simple like a new servo, crystal, or readjusting your antenna(e)

[TA-Mark]

Pull the battery, radio gear, servo and ESC out of the chassis and set it up to run from beside the buggy. Leave the motor in the gearbox, but remove the pinion from the motor so the model doesn't drive off. Doing this will ensure that none of the electronics is touching anything metal in the chassis which may cause interference. Run your distance checks with the radio to see if it still glitches.

If all works well with the electrics beside the buggy, then start to add things back in one at a time until it starts to glitch again. Then you will have found the source. Add electrics back in order of servo, battery, esc and lastly the receiver.

Most interference like this is caused by either the antenna or servo/ESC signal wires coming into close contact with metal or carbon objects.

[mr crispy]

Great advice TA-Mark! Now if only I can remember that for when it happens to me next time : )

Please let us know what the outcome was Jacko Boy, it's good to share these experiences so we can all learn from them.

[HunterZero]

Was the receiver antenna wire cut shorter? That can cause reception problems too.

- James