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goth brooks

whats the easiest way to diagnose electrical issues?

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does it just kind of come with time?

i bought a tamiya audi quattro tt rally car on craigslist that was already built. came with everything but a battery for the car and some double as for the controller. i threw a spare in the car and did a few loops in the driveway and outside of one of the headlights being brighter than the other, everything seemed like it was in perfect working order. the next time i went to play around with it, i drove the car maybe 10-15’ away and it just died. no steering, no throttle, but the headlights were still on. i took a few steps towards it and it eventually jumped back to life and the throttle/steering worked again. i can only drive this particular car if im essentially standing on top of it, whereas my honda crv kit i can drive almost two city blocks without losing a signal.

id assume its the receiver thats bad and what needs to be replaced? 

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Fully charged batteries?

Aside from that, best test is to swap with known-good equipment. So you could do a swap from your CRV and see if the problem persists.

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yeah the car battery was fully charged and there were two fresh double as in the controller. 

ill see about swapping receivers later tonight.

the guy i purchased it from had a lipo battery in it when i bought it. he had it with him so i could test it before i purchased. but i didnt drive it very far away before deciding to take it. my crv has just headlights whereas the audi comes with head lights, tail lights, turn signals, etc. i cant imagine that the nimh batteries i have for my crv are underpowered for the audi? 

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could be a break in the RX antenna wire , or a glitch in the RX power feed , or TX power output / antenna / signal / Xtal match ? . Seems to have a short range

 

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48 minutes ago, sosidge said:

swap with known-good equipment

Swap 1 item at a time and then swap back if no joy . You can test your radio on static items ( RX with other servos  , TX with other RX etc ) if you have them and bench test . Most of the time electric fault finding is a process of test and elimination .

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54 minutes ago, KEV THE REV said:

Most of the time electric fault finding is a process of test and elimination .

Very well said.  

Check the transmitter also.  Antenna screwed on tightly (if it's an old radio).  Battery connection, etc.  Cleaning contacts could help.  With older electronics, dirt, grime and oxidation could cause problems.  I use this stuff everywhere (especially for computer stuff). But I can't say that you'd need it (because it could be some other failure).

 GoVjOZ8.jpg

 

 

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I used to have some of this some time ago . I use white vinegar on battery connection springs and tabs in TX now

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i actually have a can of deoxit gold i used for cleaning the insides of my dusty old computer and embroidery machine. i dont think it will fix this issue though. 

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turns out the previous owner of this car somehow cut part of the antenna down. i just ordered a replacement traxxas tq and i should be good as gravy. 

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I can't offer any more advice that's already been said, but I can say your username is awesome. 

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Yes 2.4 have comparatively short aerials. Is there any LED indicator on the RX to let you know it is bound/working (mine is green). If it is a range issue, which it does sound like, the LED would/should change colour once out of range (mine goes red). Just place your car x metres away from the TX and keep moving either one further from the other until something happens. Just my 2 pence...good luck 🙂

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i dont know, the 2.4 i have installed in my honda crv is muxh longer. its also a spektrum and not a traxxas but i dont think one brand is longer than the other. 

993B8286-206E-4DE6-AD40-90C8B622004F.jpeg

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I had a 2.4ghz rx with short ant. and it worked fine , but that's not to say that the Traxxas won't work properly without it's full wire . I hope it works fine .

Other examples :-

 

s-l1600.jpg

carson.jpg

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I think the reason for your problem is the antenna of your receiver. On the pic of your receiver it looks like the end is cut. According to the Traxxas manual this cause loss of radio range. 

IMG_20200624_203300_compress3.jpg

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Someone has cut the end of the receiver wire off 

it has to be a certain length to watch the wavelength of the WiFi from from the transmitter 

you could strip enough outer casing off to reveal about 30mm of antenna 

this should solve your problem 

JJ

 

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