Intermittent problem.

marc_w · #1 03-07-2003, 09:56 AM

Hey guys,

I just picked up a new car yesterday. I tossed in fresh batteries, and it ran great for about three charges.

Somewhat out of the blue, the car started to respond to the radio intermittently. If I held down the forward control, the car would only skip along randomly.

I started poking around, and noticed that if I removed the clear plastic cover over the pcb, the car would run fine. Sometimes.

I lifted up the pcb. I found that I could rotate the pcb to 'untangle' the thin steering wires, the car would respond normally. If I rotated it back, as if I was going to reinstall it, the car would not respond again.

The white coating on two of the steering wires was rubbing off VERY easily. I guessed that the stuff was meant to be insulation, and the wires are touching something on the pcb and causing a short somewhere.

I dorked around with it just long enough to break one of the steering wires. I'm planning on trimming them back towards the coils, and running more durable wires (with better insulation?) back to the pcb.

I'm having second thoughts about weak batteries or interference now. Maybe having my hand hear the pcb was helping the antenna pick up a weak signal?

Before I go too nuts with this thing, I'd just like to hear what you guys think the problem might be. Make sure I'm on the right track here.

--steering wires shorting something out?

--interference? 45mhz car. A computer was the only thing nearby during this fiasco.

--weak batteries? I was getting 1.57v no-load on a DVM.

Am I missing anything?

Thanks,
-marc

hogjowlz · #2 03-07-2003, 10:02 AM

ITS PROBABLY THE BATTERIES. IVE NEVER HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE STEERING WIRES. IVE SEEN THE WHITE CRAP that you mentioned and no problems on this end. could be a bad board. i have seen a few of those.

marc_w · #3 03-07-2003, 10:14 AM

It'd HAVE to be something as easy as batteries, seeing as I already went in and broke something.

hogjowlz · #4 03-07-2003, 10:18 AM

ive broken my fair share. those wires are not that hard to re-attach

ib311 · #5 03-07-2003, 10:51 AM

i would guess something other than batteries 2.

extremeR1der · #6 03-07-2003, 10:54 AM

the fact that it worked intermittently might lead me to believe it's signal related. but then that would be resolved as you were working with it on the table.
so

battery might be an okay guess, but you had 1.57 on the meter.
so

i'm guessing a short somewhere. get the magnifying glass out.

marc_w · #7 03-07-2003, 12:24 PM

Yeah, the transmitter to car distance didn't have any effect... I think the jury is still out on this one.

I just went down to Radio shack to pick up some light gauge wire (24), and to replenish my soldering supplies. (I should have asked if you wanted to go, Steve, sorry - I just went down on a whim while I was running around)

I got me some SILVER SOLDER though!

Man, watch out - I'm gonna WAX you this next luchtime-race-session...

hogjowlz · #8 03-07-2003, 12:33 PM

i had a microsizer that did similar to that. i emailed them asking what they thought and they sent me a new chassis about 3 days later.

i had a dead car sittin around so i soldered a cyclona pcb into it and now i have great range with microsizer reliability.