begginer, newbie, greenhorn

[jaws]

i just bought my first real r/c/car. i bought it used and there are some problems already. i was hoping that maybe you could help me. it is a 1992 associated electrics rc10t truck. the problem is that it ran ok for a while but then it would not take off under its own power it needs a little bump start and once you stop it wont start again. do you have any suggestions and remember im new so im not up on the terms step by step instructions are good.

thanks in advance, JAWS

[highroller]

It's either one of two possible areas that is causing the problem but my hunch is the motor. Other area could be the battery but not likely.
Motor: As motor gets used it creates wear, the brushes wear down as far as length is concerned. When this happens the springs aren't able to keep brush in contact with the commutator so current is interrupted. Simple inexpensive solution it to replace the brushes, other solution start with a new motor.
Battery: while this might not be the likely problem just be sure battery pack is properly charged. With timed chargers 15 minutes is not enough time to fully peak charge most batteries. It can take roughly 28 - 55 minutes depending on amperage used and capacity rating of battery. NiMH do require some discharging of residual voltage left in them after use or storage for bashing or racing it tends to help pack charge better and less chances of false peaking if cells are in good condition. Over time any cell becomes old, unmatched leading to false peaks or a pack that won't a charge for very long.

[jaws]

thanks i think you are right i looked at the brushes but dont have enough experience with these little motors to know for sure. i am going to go with that first because the batteries are new although i did noly charge for 15-17 minutes.
thanks for the quik response,
JAWS

[novellahub]

I have seen this many times at the local race track. It usually has to do with the motor commutator being worn down too much, brushess wore down too far, or dirt in the motor. Take the motor in to the local hobby shop or racer for inspection. Usually it is between $5 and $10 to work on your motor on the lathe, install brushess, and allign the brush hoods. What motor are you using?

[jaws]

o.k thanks thats good advice. i will pull the motor and take it with me since the nearest place to get parts is a 1/2 hour away from my house. i am not sure what motor is in it the tags and #'s are all covered by the mounting hardware.

[jaws]

i am not sure what motor this is i think it says epic on the end cap. on the other end it says roar 91. can you tell me if this is a good motor or what?

[pyro18t]

epic makes good motors, but I'm sure your motor is pretty darn old, I would invest in a new motor, and a peak charger, the timed chragers are really not that good and you can pick up a decent peak charger for around 50-60bucks I have the MRC super Brain 959 and it works GREAT only 52 dollars from horizon hobby.

By the way I had a RC10T it's a great truck and a lot of parts from the rc10GT fit like shock towers, and transmison brace, arms, stearing stuff. all that

[jaws]

tahnks thats good info to know. do you not think that motor is worth rebuilding or tuning? it is really just a car for my 10 year old boy to play with.

[pyro18t]

tahnks thats good info to know. do you not think that motor is worth rebuilding or tuning? it is really just a car for my 10 year old boy to play with.

Personally I have NEVER thrown out a motor, I think for a 10yr old it would probably be a great motor to start with once it's been re-tuned IF it's a 27 turn motor.

I started RC when I was 10 with a tamyia staduim blitzer (now I'm 23) and I remeber telling my dad I wanted a faster motor, so he took me outside to a part of a side walk with 2 90degree turns in a zig zag, and he said lets see how fast you can drive it around these 2 turns. Needless to say I didn't need anything faster.

But either way if it's a modified motor, hold on to it and get your son a stock motor to learn with and once he's out grown it and has complete contol of the car, step it up a bit. If it's stock throw it in!

I he can break a RC10T he's got talent! those things are tanks... even for a 10yr old!

Jay

[jaws]

how do you tell the turns and winds of the motor? can you tell without taking it apart?

[pyro18t]

is there any kind of sticker on the out side of the can, like the name of the motor not the company (this helps too but I know you said it's an Epic) if it's a stock motor, your more than likely not going to be able to rebuild it, you can still get new brushes, clean it and use a com stick to clean the com and I'm sure it would help a LOT. If you could post some pics I'm sure I could help you out A LOT MORE.

You could always do the por mans motor clean. This is what I do with all my cheaper motors. It's call a motor dip, what you do is fill a glass ( one you don't care about) full of water and accually run the motor in the water, removed from the car of course. You're going to completely submerge the motor, don't worry your not going to short anything out. Don't run it at full throttle under the water part throttle will do, and run the motor after you take it out so that all the water evaporates, you don't want to just let it air dry. After that you should oil the bearings/bushings, but if you dont have any bearing oil I wouldn't worry about it.

I did this with my 7 year old mabuchi motor (the stock closed endbell Tamiya motor) and it was like a brand new motor, plus a BUNCH of dirt and stuff came out, you should try that.

Jay