Radio problems

[pitstop]

Ok I have a question for all you out there, I’m a newbie to this nitro thing, I bought a cheep truck for my son to start out with (he is on the young side so nothing to great to start out with) dear old dad get to stick all the time and money into it, while we both learn. Well here is that we have going on, the other day we had it running for the first time, and playing with it and everything was working fine, went back to run it the next day – turned the radio on and did a little adjusting, put some fuel in and started it up. This is were the problem came in – the radio went away as soon as it was running no steering or throttle, turn the vehicle off and everything come back. Ok here is the question, is there some kind of ground that maybe shorting out when it is running. We did get it full of snow maybe a water problem? Any help

 

[Candyman]

1st off, give us a rundown of what vehicle it is so we have a bit more general understanding of what we're looking at. There are a lot of members who may have experience with your specific ride.
Now onto the generalities. It's hard to say exactly what's happening. But there are a couple things. First, you admit to getting the truck wet. And that can have all sorts of impact. If your receiver or servos got wet, they can respond erratically but this would usually happen with the engine off or on. Because you say the radio cuts out once the engine starts, there may also be some interference causing the radio to cut out. Usually this is caused by metal-on-metal vibration when the car is running. Make sure there isn't anything rubbing. Also take the time to completely dry your electronics in the car to make sure it's not that. And check your batteries to make sure they're fresh.

 

[pitstop]

Vehicle brand is Speed, and the radio is a XR3i FM Radio w/1-Z590M & 1-Z270 Servo 75MHz, I know I spent about the same price on the radio as I did on the truck

 

[Monkey Wrench]

Combination of it getting full of snow and low batteries, sounds to me.

I'd take the RX and servos off the truck, open the cases and let them dry COMPLETELY out, even take a hair dryer to them. I'd look for any signs of shorting out and the like (scorch marks, etc.) May want to get a can of compressed air and shoot the boards as well. Unless you put balloons on your electronics, snow will crush 'em!

Wondering, did you cut the antenna wire, or are there any nicks on it?

 

[Candyman]

I have an XR3i, too. It's a very nice and good quality rig. I would do like MW said. Dry it out totally. And that means gently removing the case from the receiver and also gently opening the servos. It's really not difficult if you just take your time. If there are drops of water trapped inside the cases, it can easily cause shorting. And check the antenna wire. If those don't help, we'll take it to the next level.

 

[pitstop]

Thanks guys, I'll pull everything apart and try and dry it out, and take a look at the antenna. No more snow runs untill everything is water proofed.

 

[olds97_lss]

I never heard of speed... Are you sure that's the brand?

Sounds wet to me. What are you using for a receiver pack? A rechargable pack or the 4aa pack? When the batteries get wet, they tend to do weird things as the engine vibrates them. So does everything else that's electronic for that matter.

Beings your in WI, waterproof the thing. Your going to need it. Just make sure you tear apart the servo's and receiver to completely dry them before waterproofing or you will seal the water in.

 

[pitstop]

Thanks guys, dryed everything out and put in new batterys everything came back to life. A little waterproofing and some warm weather we will be back having some fun!