5 Common Faults & Solutions For RC Cars

RC Cars Center
Jul 25, 2017 · 3 min read

Have you ever had a remote control car with an issue, and now the car is on a shelf somewhere gathering dust due to the sheer amount of frustrations it caused you? I’ve been there but turns out (annoyingly) that most of the issues you may have experienced could be fixed by a simple reconnection or some super glue…

So to spare you guys any further drama we’ve decided to pick 5 common remote control car faults and tips on how to fix it!

Number 1: Is it really broken?

You’ll want to always check the most obvious first otherwise you’ll spend hours troubleshooting one thing while the main issue is staring you in the face.

So take a quick look at our checklist:

Is the car switched on?

Is the controller switched on?

Fresh batteries?

Are the batteries installed properly?

Is your Antenna fully extended?

These do seem super obvious but sometimes when there is a fault with your model but the mind could jump to the worst case scenario and stop you from seeing these issues. Also, those of you who have young kids could teach them to do these checks as they are quick and easy!
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Number 2: Err dad the remote isn’t working!

So you have fresh batteries in the controller switched it on the pressed down on forward, reverse, left and right but nope nothing! Well don’t lose it just yet, there may be another switch… on the controller. I know imagine that!?, hear us out, some receivers have all sorts of switches besides just to control the vehicle so be sure to check this. There may also be frequency controls and if this does not match your RC car then no matter how awesome your batteries are the car ain’t going nowhere. If all else fails you can (if you have the spare) test your controller on another car or your car with another remote.

Number 3: Tyres keep coming off the rims…

I bet your getting annoyed just reading that title, this tends to happen more over time caused by just general wear and tear. So to avoid having to search the living room floor for rubber tyres try some super glue. A few small beads of glue around the rim will keep your tyres stuck down so you can now enjoy your model with piece of mind.

Number 4: Do you guys smell smoke?

Some of the high-end nitro power cars may experience this issue. So if you are out at the park and have been tearing up the track with your model don’t panic if you happen to see smoke. This is an indication that your motor is running extremely hot, so you’ll need to get temperature under control. Dirt getting into the engine can cause this, so simply remove the bell housing and give it a clean out using a can of air compressor or some methylated cooling substance.

Number 5: Rattle Rattle Rattle…

Shaking servos are what your hearing here, huh? what on earth is a servo?
Definition — A servo is a small mechanism inside your remote control model. It has its own circuits, gears, and even a motor. It’s responsible for such things like your steering or speed, it has a rotating pillar that connects to an arm (servo arm) which connects to the part of the model. You’ll find a few servos located around your model. Practically every part requires one in order to be controlled by you as the servo picks up its commands from the receiver.

So how to stop it from shaking. A low battery can actually cause this problem particularly in trucks around the 1/8 scale due to their powerful servos. Getting rechargeable batteries would be a good idea to prevent you from replacing regularly.

Conclusion:

So there you have it, these are a few faults we see time and time again at least with remote control cars but you’ll find some of these apply to other types of RC models. We hope anything you’ve read here helps you out in a pinch, also please leave a comment below to tell us if you’ve experienced anything like this below.

Source: 5 Common Faults & Solutions For RC Cars

RC Cars Center

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