GotNoRice

My friend liked my B4.1 so much that he had me order one for him, but he went with a T4.1 instead and just went for the brushed version.

It arrived today, so I went over there with a few pre-charged batteries.

I first tried a Venom 1800mah Ni-Cd. After first putting the battery in and turning it on, I tried the throttle and the engine, etc would move but not the tires. Turns out that one of the rear wheels was missing the nut that holds it on and the wheel was not on all the way so the axel was just spinning freely. I couldn't find the missing nut in the box anywhere.

I found a nut that was the right size and secured the tire. It ran for about 45 seconds and then simply shut off, right in the middle of the street, for no reason. There was no light on the speed control and the on-off switch did nothing. I tried another Ni-Cd and also tried one of my 2s LiPos. With each battery it would randomly either not work at all (not even a light on the ESC when you turn the switch on) or sometimes it would work for about 15-45 seconds and then just shut off. I tested all 3 batteries in my B4.1 just to make sure and they all worked fine and had a near to full charge.

Any ideas what could be wrong? I'm a bit suspicous considering the missing bolt on the wheel. I got this from Towerhobbies, but did I end up with someone else's return or something? At this point it has not been involved in a single crash or accident, hasn't come anywhere near a single drop of water or anything. I only did a few circles on the driveway and then drove it out onto the street.

Is it just the stock ESC on the brushed RTR that sucks? I have to admit I was a bit suprised to see that it came with a Tamiya connector instead of a Deans connector like the ESC on my Brushless B4.1 RTR did.

Ies213

Send it back and don't buy from them ever again

ThunderbirdJunkie

My Feedback: (3)

Sometimes things happen. It's just the world of mass production, and whatnot.

Give Associated a call first thing Monday. As long as ThunderbirdJunkie has been dealing with Associated (since 1996) they have always made things right if something wasn't quite right to start with.

The stock brushed ESCs are failure-prone in some of the cars...they're kind of hit and miss, most of them being good, though. This is a fun truck to tear **** up once you get it rollin. The glitching stuff sounds more like a radio issue more than anything with a speed control...but, again...welcome to the wonderful world of mass production.

And ThunderbirdJunkie will simply close by saying this is why RTRs have been known as Ready To Rebuilds ever since Traxxas invented them.

Vic Z

Contact AE. They have great customer support

Moontan13

That was my first thought. They probably "tested" it and reboxed it. Return it to Tower. Don't do anything that might void the warranty.

BKoz559

My Feedback: (3)

Definately don't experiment with anything which may void the warranty. Others have suggested the same, contact AE then if they suggest it, request a "Return Authorization" from Tower for a replacement.

It's too bad that this truck gave a dismal first impression for your friend but, Associated makes a good product and in the end you'll be taken care of. Tower does well too as I have been dealing with them for over 10 years. Their customer support staff is more helpful than some other folks I've tried to do business with in the past.

jamestjr

well the shutting off part could have been the low voltage shut off i know the brushless come pre programed that way im not sure about the brushed though i also just got one and its a dream i love it

GotNoRice

Well I tried 3 different batteries and they were all freshly charged.

jamestjr

hmm when i got mine i re calibrated the esc it should come with a little booklet that tells you how to do it mine did the same at first except my wheel was attached lol but recalibrate it and see if that works if not that all i got

GotNoRice

I gave another shot at trying to fix this today.

I was connecting a battery when I noticed a lot of black carbon inside the Tamiya connector. I then noticed that sometimes when I plugged a battery in, if I held the connector *just right* the car would turn on and work.

So I snipped off the Tamiya connector and attached a spare Deans connector that I had and the car seems to operate fine now. Hopefully that continues to be the case as I do more testing today.

I'm a bit baffled by how easily the Tamiya connector failed, on the very first battery which was only a 6-cell NiCd. I've actually run 3s LiPos through Tamiya connectors before without any issues.

ThunderbirdJunkie

My Feedback: (3)

If that ain't an invitation for fire, ThunderbirdJunkie doesn't know what is.

BKoz559

My Feedback: (3)

I didn't know LiPo's were offered with Tamiya connectors. Unless that was done by the user.