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Question regarding my new taigen tank, help appreciated
Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 8:16 am
by Markocaster
Hi all,
Well I have clocked 10 minutes on the tank and sadly it no longer functions properly. It worked fine at first however it started shuddering and now it only goes forward and backwards. It will no longer turn left or right? When controller is pushed left it goes forwards and right it goes backwards no turning at all? This is my first RC tank and I know I have little knowledge of them but it was fine one minute and not working right the next. I guess I need to return it?

very bummed I haven't taken it outside at all, only ran it in the living room for 10 minutes I contacted Gene at Artistic hobbies and hopefully he can help ?
Perhaps it's just a newbie mistake or perhaps it's a dud

Re: Question regarding my new taigen tank, help appreciated
Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 9:07 am
by scalawag
Have you fully charged the battery? Taigen and H/L can exhibit some strange behaviours if they are low on battery power.
Re: Question regarding my new taigen tank, help appreciated
Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 9:11 am
by Markocaster
scalawag wrote:Have you fully charged the battery? Taigen and H/L can exhibit some strange behaviours if they are low on battery power.
I initially charged it for 8 hrs and ran the tank for about 10 minutes, then it sat a day and I ran it tonight for about 5 minutes more with no additional charging.
Re: Question regarding my new taigen tank, help appreciated
Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 9:27 am
by scalawag
I am assuming it is a brand new tank. Couple of questions,
Which Taigen tank do you have?
is it the metal version?
are you using the battery supplied with the tank? If so what colour is it?
Do you have a spare battery you could try?
Re: Question regarding my new taigen tank, help appreciated
Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 9:33 am
by Markocaster
scalawag wrote:I am assuming it is a brand new tank. Couple of questions,
Which Taigen tank do you have?
is it the metal version?
are you using the battery supplied with the tank? If so what colour is it?
Do you have a spare battery you could try?
Hi
It is the Taigen full metal Tiger
And yes it is the yellow/green batt supplied with the tank. It's the only one I have
Thanks for your assistance
Re: Question regarding my new taigen tank, help appreciated
Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 10:44 am
by scalawag
I would try charging the battery fully again before assuming anything worse is going on.
The supplied batteries are ok but not the best.
They sometimes need to be charged and drained a few times to condition them before they will give you their full performance.
The supplied batteries are also quite small capacity wise and may not last very long with a heavy tank like the full metal Tiger. You may wish to look for some batteries with Higher mAh capacities.
Re: Question regarding my new taigen tank, help appreciated
Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 1:35 pm
by ALPHA
I would agree with Scalawag... the Taigen weighs in close to 20lbs... the stock battery at 1700 mah just won't push it for long before losing power ..if available ..try a 2000+ mah battery... or upgrade totally to a lipo...
Good luck
ALPHA
Re: Question regarding my new taigen tank, help appreciated
Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 4:26 pm
by ALPHA
By the way... I forgot to add... when the battery is low on power... it will cause a heat build up ...first in your motors ...which will then travel to your control box...a stronger battery allows for the motors to run cooler...and more efficiently... thus overall better performance
But before making the investment ...see if you can find a buddy who might have a stronger battery first... try it ... and if your tank works again... then make the purchase
Your case sounds very much like my modded FoV Sherman... even though it weighed in at just under 10 lbs ... the 1700 mah batteries I have when I build ... weren't good enough... so I used a 2000 to finish the testing of the tank.. and now run a lipo in it 2500 mah...plus the added flow of the lipo cells make the tank run flawlessly ...and that's because everything works ...shall I say.. with greater ease( thus less heat transfer)
ALPHA
Re: Question regarding my new taigen tank, help appreciated
Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 6:50 pm
by Markocaster
Thank you both

I am going away with the missus for the day/night as soon as we return tomorrow I will charge and test with the battery again. If that is the problem I will probably order a better battery as well.
I am very appreciative of this forum, I have tons to Learn about this hobby and you are All so very helpful. I found online that there is an RC tank club in my area called Kelleys Heroes, I think I will look them up and attend their next meeting, I am sure I could learn from them as well.
Fingers crossed it's just the battery.
Cheers Mark
Re: Question regarding my new taigen tank, help appreciated
Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2014 4:06 pm
by ALPHA
Hey marc... you sound pretty savvy about charging your battery... so what I am about to say you might know already... seems you already have done a good initial charge... so charging it again for that length of time is unnecessary ...2 to 4 hours should be enough... as overcharging can actually cook your battery or charger
again Good luck
ALPHA