Trouble with HPI TF-20U Transmitter

[srusinek]

I've had my Savage XL since October of 2010 but really didn't run it until spring of 2011 because I had a faulty carb that HPI took care of 3 weeks later and my season was done. Fast forward to this year where I've had no problems up until my last outing until today. My last outing I had range issues and glitching. I took it back to the same place I ran it last outing today but I added a throttle return spring just in case. After the last outing I re binded the system just to eliminate that possibility. Today I ran it in the same area which has a big fence, another fence and a satellite dish nearby for what it's worth. Today I ran it for maybe a little bit in short range and within a minuite or less the radio would go into fail safe mode and I killed it each time. I then moved to a different spot of the field I run at and it behaved the same way. When I got home I checked all my connections and no wires were pinched or damaged. I know these radios do have a rap for interference but it's been fine since the season of 2011. Is there anything else I can try? Has anyone had this problem before? I know I'll be either upgrading or getting a replacement off of Ebay next season.

 

[WoodiE]

Make sure all your batteries are charged, re-connect all the cables, and rebind the transmitter and receiver. Otherwise consider yourself one of the lucky ones and have used this system for as long as you have and then go get a Futaba 3PL and call it a day.

 

[Alexander_0_1]

@WoodiE, would it surprise you, if I told you I still have a savage x running the original remote it came with....telescopic antenna and all. The only issue I had was the steering wheel came loose and fell off. I suppose I don't have to tell you how hard it is to coaxes a savage back to kick off w/o steering.

 

[srusinek]

Thanks for the replies. That's the only thing I have not tried when it comes to disconnecting the wires. I will try this and also re bind the system as well when I have some time. I was looking at the Spektrum radios because of the free receiver offer and I was wondering since the DX3C has a failsafe feature, does the DX4C have a failsafe feature? Maybe someone can chime in if they own one.

 

[Racer 1966]

@WoodiE, would it surprise you, if I told you I still have a savage x running the original remote it came with....telescopic antenna and all. The only issue I had was the steering wheel came loose and fell off. I suppose I don't have to tell you how hard it is to coaxes a savage back to kick off w/o steering.

Yeah,that's an AM radio. As long as you don't get interference there isn't much to go wrong. The TF 20U is a 2.4ghz radio,a little different animal. I'm using one so now I am worried how long it will last..

srusinek,I would bet money the DX4C has a failsafe. Nearly every 2.4 system does.

 

[WoodiE]

does the DX4C have a failsafe feature?

Both the Spektrum DX3C and Spektrum DX4C has a failsafe which you configure during radio binding.

 

[srusinek]

Thanks for the replies. I wasn't sure about the DX4C because it's not listed on their website as having a fail safe but the DX3C is stated as having one. On a side note I finally got my daughters savage running after I replaced the 3 speed with a two speed so I'll try the wires and run my truck. I will post an update when I'm done running.

 

[srusinek]

So before I ran it today I unplugged the servos and then re binded the receiver and radio along with the failsafe. It seemed to help but for some reason while running my engine would not go full throttle and seemed held back. My settings on my radio didn't change and after a bit I would either lose throttle response or it would go into failsafe mode. Whild the truck is off the servo has full range and all the batteries were pretty much fresh. Not sure if it's a receiver issue or if it's a servo issue. I didn't change around the servos on the receiver and I'm all out of fuel so this issue will be resolved next season since I'm tight on cash.

 

[snowcheetah94]

reciever is bad got wet or stored in moistes room? cheep to replace gas not so much

 

[srusinek]

That's what I was thinking. My basement got damp last year due to a small leak in my water pipe. I got the pipe replaced as soon as we could. I'm knocking on wood that no other rc's are affected.