Original Tamiya Monster Beetle runs non-stop
#1
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Original Tamiya Monster Beetle runs non-stop
First let me start out by saying that I am an extreme beginner in the RC world and know very little about them and what parts are what.
Recently my dad came across my old Tamiya Monster Beetle and passed it on to my son and me. Although the body is missing, it appears to be in relatively good shape as far as I can tell. It needed a new battery which I purchased today. Upon hooking it up, the wheels started spinning in reverse at full throttle. What appears to be the on/off switch was turned to the "off" position. It might be worth noting that the car hasn't been used in close to 20-25 years. After inspecting the car a little further, there are a pair of red and black wires that run from the power switch (at least that's what I'm calling it anyway) that are cut and have no female connector end to them. I say this because there are matching wires that have a male connector and I assume that the wires that are cut once had a female end and were connected to male plug. These cut wires run from the "Off" side of the power switch. The "On" wires plug into another set of wires that eventually feed into the radio receiver. As a kid I wouldn't have ever messed with any of the wiring so I assume that everything is as it was the last time I used it years ago. I have no idea how or when the "Off" wires would have been cut. I doubt that my dad would have messed with it much, if any. I did try to thread the loose ends of the wires down into the corresponding +/- ends of the male connector, this had no effect. Toggling the power switch to off or on has no effect either.
The cut wires are the only physically incorrect looking thing I can see on the car. Then again, as I mentioned I'm a extreme beginner.
I put brand new batteries in the radio transmitter (KO Propo EX-5, equally as old as the car) to no avail. The car acted as if the remote wasn't even connecting.
I remember this being an extremely fun car to play with and would LOVE to get it back up and running for my son and me to enjoy. While I'm at it, are there any sites that you might recommend to find parts for this car? I told him that it once had the Monster Beetle body on it and showed him pictures of what it looked like. He really wants to get another beetle body for it. Oddly enough, I have all of the parts to the body; the driver, the grill and headlamps, etc. Just not the body itself.
Any help or advice you give would be greatly appreciated! See the attached photos, hopefully these will help.
Thanks in advance.
Recently my dad came across my old Tamiya Monster Beetle and passed it on to my son and me. Although the body is missing, it appears to be in relatively good shape as far as I can tell. It needed a new battery which I purchased today. Upon hooking it up, the wheels started spinning in reverse at full throttle. What appears to be the on/off switch was turned to the "off" position. It might be worth noting that the car hasn't been used in close to 20-25 years. After inspecting the car a little further, there are a pair of red and black wires that run from the power switch (at least that's what I'm calling it anyway) that are cut and have no female connector end to them. I say this because there are matching wires that have a male connector and I assume that the wires that are cut once had a female end and were connected to male plug. These cut wires run from the "Off" side of the power switch. The "On" wires plug into another set of wires that eventually feed into the radio receiver. As a kid I wouldn't have ever messed with any of the wiring so I assume that everything is as it was the last time I used it years ago. I have no idea how or when the "Off" wires would have been cut. I doubt that my dad would have messed with it much, if any. I did try to thread the loose ends of the wires down into the corresponding +/- ends of the male connector, this had no effect. Toggling the power switch to off or on has no effect either.
The cut wires are the only physically incorrect looking thing I can see on the car. Then again, as I mentioned I'm a extreme beginner.
I put brand new batteries in the radio transmitter (KO Propo EX-5, equally as old as the car) to no avail. The car acted as if the remote wasn't even connecting.
I remember this being an extremely fun car to play with and would LOVE to get it back up and running for my son and me to enjoy. While I'm at it, are there any sites that you might recommend to find parts for this car? I told him that it once had the Monster Beetle body on it and showed him pictures of what it looked like. He really wants to get another beetle body for it. Oddly enough, I have all of the parts to the body; the driver, the grill and headlamps, etc. Just not the body itself.
Any help or advice you give would be greatly appreciated! See the attached photos, hopefully these will help.
Thanks in advance.
#2
Senior Member
I think you are missing that 4 cell AA battery (4 X 1.5 Volt) pack that links the on/ off switch to feed power to the KO Propo receiver. That an early 1980's receiver that works 6 volts.
#4
Senior Member
Pls excuse the typos. It's been 4 years since I logged on to this site. Those are actually called 4 cell AA battery holder. It fits into that cavity/space just below that MSC (Mechanical Speed Control). It's available at your LHS or Radio Shack outlets. The other option is to replace receiver with a BEC (Battery Eliminator Circuit) built into it, Those are sold today as standard in receivers and are marked with "BEC". That will eliminate the need for the 4 cell battery holder but you need the re-route the power to the new BEC equipped receiver.
Last edited by gulfstreamI; 01-13-2014 at 06:47 PM.