Possessed Rustler?

[Tondin Banks]

My father-in-law's stock XL-5 Rustler is acting pretty odd; sometimes it'll run forward/backward at full throttle on its own (throttle on the transmitter is neutral) and other times it won't respond to forward/backward input at all.

I highly doubt its interference; he said it was happening at his house (in the middle of nowhere) and then I saw it happen over the weekend while we were camping at a state park (further in the middle of nowhere).

The steering is fine. The throttle trim is set to 0. Before I saw this happen for myself I replaced the 3yr old brushed motor with a new broken-in one. I opened the receiver box and checked the for loose wires/connections but didn't see anything obvious. Unless I'm missing something obvious, that means there are only 3 possibilities left:

1. Transmitter
2. Receiver
3. ESC

Before I drop it off at the hobby store and ask them to do whatever needs done I figured I'd ask you guys for ideas other than "guess and check". That can get expensive...

Thanks!

[Dadx2mj]

I am thinking this is an AM TQ radio system? If so I would check the crystals make sure they are seated properly and maybe replace them. Small factures in the crystal can cause some odd issues like this.

[RC-Fan]

if you have the AM radio it might be the cause, sometimes it catches interference, and it makes act like crazy.

[Tondin Banks]

I am thinking this is an AM TQ radio system? If so I would check the crystals make sure they are seated properly and maybe replace them. Small factures in the crystal can cause some odd issues like this.

Is the stock radio with the crazy long antenna. Not sure what you mean by crystals -- those the pieces in the transmitter and receiver that allow you to pick your frequency?

if you have the AM radio it might be the cause, sometimes it catches interference, and it makes act like crazy.

While I agree that can happen, I don't think that's the case here. Both his house where he said it was happening and the state park we were at this weekend (more than an hour from his house) are pretty isolated.

[Dadx2mj]

Is the stock radio with the crazy long antenna. Not sure what you mean by crystals -- those the pieces in the transmitter and receiver that allow you to pick your frequency?

Yes those are the crystals. Make sure they are seated properly and the connection is clean. If you have a spare set i would swap them in just to make sure they are not damaged in any way.

[Tondin Banks]

Yes those are the crystals. Make sure they are seated properly and the connection is clean. If you have a spare set i would swap them in just to make sure they are not damaged in any way.

I did pull them and reseat both of them. I didn't clean them up like I probably should have. I can swap them out of my truck and see if that has any improvement.

If I just pull the crystal from my receiver and put it into his receiver and still use my own transmitter is that a valid test to see if its his transmitter or are there other variables in question that I'm not thinking of/don't know about?

[Dadx2mj]

I'd put your crystals in his radio and test it. That way you know if his radio is bad or if it is just the crystals. If it still acts up then put your crystals in his receiver and try your transmitter. It is a process of elimination until you pinpoint which component is the issue.

[Tondin Banks]

I'd put your crystals in his radio and test it. That way you know if his radio is bad or if it is just the crystals. If it still acts up then put your crystals in his receiver and try your transmitter. It is a process of elimination until you pinpoint which component is the issue.

Interesting... it is his transmitter. Noticed when I put my crystal into his radio that it doesn't lock into the 50/50 setting as tightly as mine does. When you apply the break, it pops out and cause the throttle trigger to change position, causing the car to go off on its own. Well this has been a fun exercise in troubleshooting :-)

[Tondin Banks]

Well... that's at least part of the problem :-) Have to figure out why his car won't go at all now. More updates as I get things figured out!

[Tondin Banks]

HAHA -- face palm. I guess a good battery in his car would help this testing process. OK. I'm blaming is transmitter. Thanks for you help, Dad!

Now the question is whether to just replace that piece of hardware or upgrade him to 2.4 GHz

[O.G.]

I was thinking bad transmitter batteries but you beat me to it.

Yes the traxxas 2.4 will be a great upgrade. I get em off eBay for cheap, about $45.