Cars not moving until the controller is fully pressed

[Beerongi]

I just bought a second hand sport set off Ebay and tried it out. It works but when I press the controller, the cars make an electrical buzz sound until i press the control down almost to maximum and then they go. Any idea why this is? The braids dont look in great condition.

[Andy P.]

HI There,

That is a very typcial sympton of braids/rails not being in great condition.

While it is possible the controllers have a problem it is 98.392% likely that the braids need replacing or the track has poor connectivity.

Luckily there is a handy Top Tip section that covers most of your needs:

https://www.scalextric.com/uk-en/support/car-maintenance

https://www.scalextric.com/uk-en/support/track-maintenance

The loose tab section under track maintenance is often overlooked and expecially on second hand track needs to be looked after.

Once you have everything back up to snuff if things still don't work well get a 9 volt battery and test if the motor runs freely on the car. If it doesn't run or runs slowly it is likely the motor is either not "seated" in its mount or it needs replaced.

If after all that you still have problems it could be the resistors in the controllers are worn or broken.

How best to replace them depends on a few factors so do the above first and check back here so we can help more.

Good luck!

[woodcote]

Hi Beerongi. A couple of questions - which set is it? And does that happen with both cars and both controllers? The chances are that it's either a rather tired second-hand car or controller, but if we can identify exactly what has the fault, I'm sure some of us here can suggest ways of fixing it. New braids might help!

[Beerongi]

Hi Beerongi. A couple of questions - which set is it? And does that happen with both cars and both controllers? The chances are that it's either a rather tired second-hand car or controller, but if we can identify exactly what has the fault, I'm sure some of us here can suggest ways of fixing it. New braids might help!

It's the Rally sport 3. It seems to be both cars and controllers but I'm not sure how sensitive it's meant to be? 

[Beerongi]

Hi Beerongi. A couple of questions - which set is it? And does that happen with both cars and both controllers? The chances are that it's either a rather tired second-hand car or controller, but if we can identify exactly what has the fault, I'm sure some of us here can suggest ways of fixing it. New braids might help!

This is the underside of the cars /media/tinymce_upload/44e459f29e7a1d05f41f6f94de2b7d75.jpg

[woodcote]

Mitsubishi Lancer vs Subaru Impreza? Those older Sport controllers did need a bit of a tug before anything happened. That might be all it is? The cars are fitted with magnatraction which does need some power to overcome off the start - something that is very difference from the older 60s, 70s and 80s cars, or modern cars that have the magnet removed.

 

A task for the weekend might be to take the cars apart and give them a good clean - especially check for (and remove) any hair or carpet fibre around the axles or in the gearing. There are some excellent tips here: https://www.scalextric.com/uk-en/scalextric-tuning-tips

 

Also make sure the track is nice and clean and the tabs tightened: https://www.scalextric.com/uk-en/support/track-maintenance

 

Hope that helps - have fun!

[Andy P.]

.Those braids look very worn...