ssrc30

So, I got my ZTZ-99 today. I was amazed at how well built this tank really is and how huge it is. Problem is that after I got it all set up, put on all the accessories and charged the battery and such, it wont run. It starts up just fine but the control inputs aren't transmitting to the tank. At first it ran fine then suddenly it started jerking and stopped responding properly to the TX. This is surely an indication of a low battery but the battery was fully charged. Everything else seems to work fine. Sound, smoke etc... Just no movement of the tank, turret or gun. Any suggestions on what this could be caused by? If anyone has experience with this, please let me know before I open this machine up and start dabbling around with it.

Thanks,

Steve

Airbrushler

is this a HL check the Crystals

ssrc30

Yes its the HL ZTZ-99. I did check the crystals in both the tank and transmitter. I will try swapping them out tomorrow when I get home and see if maybe its just a bad pair. The other thing I was wondering about is possibly a loose connection to the receiver that may have happened during shipping.

Airbrushler

with the HL's it could be loose connection sometimes if the Antenna wire is off it will only go so far and stop dead i know with mine if i'm just 10 feet away and i don't have an antenna on it will do that until i put antenna on or extend the radio antenna if anything is off inside like a wire do you have another tank to look off of if not i can always open up one here and take a picture

ssrc30

I don't have any other tanks. Use to have a Tiger 1 and I still kick myself for letting it go. With mine, I was standing right beside it and it would move a few inches then stop dead in its tracks. I just tried it again and the sound would start up but again, no control inputs worked. I'm almost tempted to open this thing up and take a look now but i'll wait until I have a fresh start in the morning.

Airbrushler

ok hope you find the problem

Strato50

I had a wire come off a brand new panzer power switch that caused similar issues right out of the box... it's worth taking a look.

Panther F

I had a bad solder joint on my HL Sherman antenna that caused similar problems. Popped it open and just the force of opening up the tank the wire fell off.

Soldered it back on and I was in business again but it will be an all Tamiya electronics when I am through with it.














~ Jeff

FreakyDude

I wouldn't open it up, contact your supplier and see what they will do for you first.

Panther F

Yeah, do what Curtis said and contact the seller first.

But eventually you will end up opening up one of these. All that return shipping is a bit of a hassle.














~ Jeff

ssrc30

I remember I had a similar issue with my tiger but it was limited to the elevation of the gun. A quick trip to YHR's place and he had it running perfectly. I know little to nothing about tanks still but I'm determined to sort this one out lol... I'll contact Matomart and see what they say. I had already decided I was gonna pull out the smoker units anyway as they are so loud they're almost drowning out the speaker.

CHIEFSONN

You are absolutely correct FreakyDude! You ssrc30 should give them a call ,we pay good money for these toys and with our layed back attitude this is way they don't have such good quality control.THEY look at it as there is no need cause they know we wont complain because we are only going to up grade them any way.and they are going to make even more money so why bother. But when you complain there is a good chance they will help solve the problem.

ssrc30

Yeah, I fired off an email to them but if I get no reply I'm gonna call them. I didn't plan on upgrading this tank so it would be nice if they would help me resolve what ever problem I may be having.

ssrc30

After some thought, I decided to check the battery. I had charged it before the first run and it appears that the battery is the culprit. I recharged it and the tank now seems to run fine. I will replace the 7.2NiCd with a 7.2 or 8.4 NiMh and see how that works.

MAUS45

I would stick with a 7.2 volt, move to a 5000ma instead of the 1200 or 1700 you have now. This will increase the run time without increasing the voltage, which could damage the electronics.

ssrc30

I think i will stick with the 7.2 for sure. This tank has loads of power as it is. It lacks a lot in the way oftraction but that'll change once I get the tracks done up with some anti slip tape.

Strato50

It's good all seems well now! Batteries, always a pain lol...

Airbrushler

i remember that happening to TeTris Monk gave him one of my batteries cause his was bad after that he was running good those yellow ones don't last long good to get a nice one i have a Venom 5000mah 7.2 NiMH works nice only thing is the wires are thicker than the yellow bats so hard to fit in the battery compartment

ssrc30

Yeah I got a reply from Matomart. I'll see if they can send me a new set of tail lights at least since the ones that came with the tank don't work lol... I'm gonna just order a new battery as I should think a 2000mah battery should last more than 5 or 10 minutes. Never liked NiCd batteries anyway.