PureKaoz

I just got my Redcat Shockwave yesterday, first i broke the pull string but then i fixed that. I did the first 2 steps of break-in and only 2 tanks of fuel have run through it.

Now, when i tried to do the 3rd part of break-in, i hit the power on the buggy and the throttle servo will go straight to max and still keep trying to go..

nitrosportsandrunner

kinda sounds like the steering servo is broken (the plastic gears inside) does it make a clicking sound?

go to redcat's site and fill out the warrenty form (look at bottom of their home page)

Or if you have a hobby shop near by, replace the servo with a traxxas 2018, 2056 or 2075 servo. They will most likely be the least costly servos a hobby shop will have which will drop right in place of the stock servo.

And if you dont already have one, buy a infer red temp gun. shouldnt cost more than $20.

The point of the breakin period is to slowly increase the temps on the motor, allowing the piston and cylinder wall to "seat"

Once breakin is done, you should see temps of 190-210

PureKaoz

I have been messing with it a little bit, and i even took it to my local Hobby Town store, but the guy there was a real douche... as soon as he seen it was a Redcat he wouldn't even hardly talk to me, and he even criticized me because of how i was trying to show him the problem?! I don't know..

All i do know, is that the Green light on my controller is now blinking, and that when i power on the buggy the throttle servo starts moving immediately to maximum throttle, and the steering servo is fine, it seems as if the batteries are underpowered it doesn't want to steer while the throttle is doing this, but the servo adjustment on the controller is turning the front wheels and it tries to steer as well (maybe batteries)...

But this still does not explain why my buggy's throttle servo is *****g out everytime i turn the power on!?

Could there be a short in the wire or something?

nitrosportsandrunner

it is possible.
if there isnt a clicking sound from your throttle servo, then its likely not the problem.

I cant stand when hobby shops look down on a brand. My hobby shop is the same. Its like they ignore the 100's of traxxas owners that come in with broken parts. But 1 redcat owner comes in with an issue or broken part and its "well the problem is you bought a redcat, should have bought a traxxas"

A hobby shop should help out any customer. How likely are you to shop there now?

anyway, back to the issue.

Your blinking reciever light means something for sure. It may not be getting a signal from the radio. Many radios (not sure on the shockwave) have a failsafe. It almost sounds like your failsafe isnt set right...and instead of the throttle going to full brake (as it should if it looses radio contact) its going to full throttle.

but it doenst fully add up, if you have some control over your steering.

try this, unplug the steering servo and plug the throttle into port #(steering) and see if the steering wheel controls the throttle as it should. And do the reverse with the steering(try it in the throttle port)

Also, double check the batts in your reciever pack and your radio. replace with fresh ones to make sure.

PureKaoz

Alright, so i did alot of research and some troubleshooting since the last post a bit ago.

First, i swapped channels to find out that it will still go to max throttle even if the steering is controlling the throttle..
Next, i decided to re-bind the controller to receiver... when the binding plug is in the receiver the throttle servo doesn't act up, as i guess it doesn't send a signal.

It doesn't matter where the throttle servo is plugged in, it seems to always move to max throttle no matter the condition. I did get the steering to work 100%, i guess i had the steering percentage turned all the way down on the controller making it seem like i couldnt steer it at all, the steering is absolutely 100% fine!!

Now, i just need to figure out why when i power-up the throttle moves to WOT. When i apply the brake, it will slow down the servo, and when i hit gas it will accelerate it...

I am guessing this is just a servo problem? It could be servo control board, or anything really... the wires can't be the problem, it hasn't even seen a LITTLE bit of bashing because i don't have but maybe 20 minutes of runtime if that.

nitrosportsandrunner

I hate that duel rate steering nob on the radio. Ive done the same, turned it all the way down and thought my steering servo was bad when it wasnt. I get that some models you want less steering, but on no model would you ever want zero steering....lol

try this:
turn on the radio and buggy
unscrew your servo arm (what the throttle linkage goes to) and see what the servo does. If it spins and spins, then the servo is bad for sure.
If it spins to a point and stops, re-attach your servo arm so that the throttle is closed...but the brake isnt on.
LMK what happens.
My guess is the servo is bad. The stock servos are not that good on most 1/10 redcats. Or rather, I should say a percentage of them fail quickly...while others work great. My steering servo in my tornado (which does over 50mph right now) has worked fine, and the buggy has been bashed hard!

PureKaoz

Yeah i am pretty good with electronics and cars, so i just put what knowledge i had of those two and troubleshooted everything i could.

What i figure out, there is 3 wires coming from the control board inside of the servo, the middle wire inside of my servo from the control board to the black box (idk what it is) was completely loose, it was sitting inside of the casing just hanging loose... so my guess is that the servo is jumping and constantly moving because there is a problem within the control board/internal wiring.

I need a new servo, what is the cheapest way to upgrade these servos? I know it is under warranty still, but i am thinking that i might need to just go ahead and upgrade!?

nitrosportsandrunner

yeh, get the warrenty filled out...
and go ahead and buy one of these, youll get it in a week, they ship fast:
http://www.hobbypartz.com/33p-solarservo-d227.html

PureKaoz

That servo is better then a Traxxas?

nitrosportsandrunner

for the money it sure is. a traxxas will run you 20-30 bucks. The 2056 and 2075 traxxas servos are waterproof, but they are still plastic geared.
The one I linked is metal geared.

PureKaoz

Thanks, i do have a traxxas servo here at my house that looks the same size, i might try to wire it up. Either way, i finally got in touch with Redcat and they are gonna replace the servo as well im pretty sure.

Thanks for the heads up!

Foxy

It's such a shame that this has become the attitude of so many hobby shops. Makes you a lot less sorry that they are disappearing. Still, more reason to support the good ones and make sure its only those elitist jerk types that disappear.

PureKaoz

Oh well, i took a Traxxas servo i had and put it in the truck today, and did the 2nd to last break in stage, it really seemed to open up compared to the last few runs i did with it...