Intermitent glitching?
 

The last two times I’ve driven my RX8 esc/motor combo I’ve had some weird glitching while driving, but not when bench testing.

The two things I’ve notice are:
1. Definitely the steering can be intermittent. Originally I assumed it was a bad servo, but on the bench it performs just fine. I checked that the steering system was performing correctly and undamaged. I also cleaned the connectors on my radio receiver.
2. At times it seems to have a motor glitch. It will just randomly surge, but only for a moment. It doesn’t happen often. I checked all the motor and battery connections and they all look and feel solid.

At first I thought it was a servo or radio issue, but now I’m wondering if I have a board with a “cold solder” issue. Our track has a lot of rough landings. I’m now thinking that the power to the radio/servo is glitching from the ESC.

Any ideas?

do both the steering and throttle cut out?

another place to look is your RX/TX

It's tough to tell if they both happen at the same time. The steering is pretty obvious as I move the wheels left and right with the car sitting in one place. The throttle has shown up more as a random throttle spurt when the car is just sitting still. Unfortunately, it only seems to happen when I'm actually driving at the track.

AM/FM or 2.4ghz? so it just glitches for a split second then goes back to normal?

I'm using 2.4. It's definitely comes and goes, but is often enough that I can't really drive the vehicle consistently. I'm just wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience with a RX8? My first RX8 just stopped working, but it seems this one is going out slowly.

does it happen after jumps, or just driving around??
does the steering cut out also?
is it overheating?

check

• wires for kinks/brakes
• loose solder joints
• bad solder jab on the posts/motor
• loose plugs on the RX/motor/batt
• make sure the switch is working properly and not flipping off when jarred
• cut wires(especially the RX plug, and switch)
• make sure the sensor plug is all the way in(if using a sensored motor)

It only happens at the track, which does have some big jumps. I did a bench test at home and then drove it around on the street for 15 min and it did not glitch, but hit a few jumps at the track and it's a problem.

I'll re-check all the wiring, but it looked good the other day. I think the PCB in the ESC is going bad and it's only a matter of time till it quits all together. Not a big deal. This one has not been in for warranty yet and it is a V1 of the RX8.

it might be the pot on the bottom of the lower board in the esc, there is a known problem with a solder joint coming loose.


5R6 chip on the bottom
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/j...x/IMGP4943.jpg

It can also be a spektrum receiver. They can brown out from time to time.

I met Jim Campbell last weekend at our Utah State Championships and he seemed to think it was the lower board, and offered to have one sent out. I didn't get around to calling till today, so I'll probably have it the end of next week.

I did try a different Spektrum receiver, from a working car, and had the same problem.

Shoot me an email here and I'll help take care of that: Rpike@teamtekin.com

I'll need your shipping info/contact info.