Fail Safes

Old 02-19-2003, 03:55 AM
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Exclamation Fail Safes

Hey Guys,

I am wondering will i need a Fail Safe for a NTC3 RTR if i am just going to be bashing around the house. Also please correct me if i am wrong i think the NTC3 RTR comes with a Throttle Return Spring.

Please tell me some names of good Fail Safe Units.

Also is it hard to install a Fail Safe.

Thanks,
David
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Old 02-19-2003, 04:17 AM
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In my opinion, you don't really need a Fail safe, but its good for peace of mind (if your the peace-loving type [I say assasinate Saddam and all his doubles! let's get rid of this war-talk]...anyway ) I haven't used one, but have always used a throttle return spring or two.

The RTR comes with a throttle return spring (I believe), but I like to connect them to the servo horn so that the brake can be engaged just slightly. To do this, I usually take that mount offered in Team Losi throttle return springs and mount it on the servo mount screws that are furthest from the servo horn. Than I put two of the springs on. If someone wants a pic, I can try to put one up, but Associated has a good stock setup.

The reason why I setup My throttle return springs in this fashion is (again) to apply a little bit of brake without any power running to the servo, and to clean up the mounting (as this works on all nitro platforms that I have encountered), and it also extends the life of the return spring, because after time, a throttle return spring doesn't quite work as well as when it was new.
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Old 02-19-2003, 04:19 AM
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And a fail safe should be easy to put in, but certain ones may need a Y harness (haven't seen one of these for a while though).
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Old 02-19-2003, 04:24 AM
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Originally posted by Im2lazy
In my opinion, you don't really need a Fail safe, but its good for peace of mind (if your the peace-loving type [I say assasinate Saddam and all his doubles! let's get rid of this war-talk]...anyway )

i say first, get rid of the root of the problem,.... get rid of the people that actually PUT him in power!! and no they don't come from iraq either....they're a little closer to home actually.

maybe then you'll find that these puppet dictators won't pop up as often.
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Old 02-20-2003, 10:14 AM
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Originally posted by Im2lazy
In my opinion, you don't really need a Fail safe, but its good for peace of mind
Well...I personally think that they are a good thing to have. You dont really get to appreciate a failsafe until you have gotten hit on a race day and your car eats it in the wall because of it. I have been running one for about 5 months now, and can realistically tell you that it has saved me a couple of times. Remember that the failsafe also saves you from a low reciever battery as well. I think that a failsafe in conjunction with a throttle return spring is necessary on any nitro car if you trully value it.
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Old 02-20-2003, 03:09 PM
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You dont really get to appreciate a failsafe until you have gotten hit on a race day and your car eats it in the wall because of it.
I've gotten hits before, but I haven't gone into a wall. I usually know who is on my frequency, because I race at the same place with the same guys. If someone else has put their name on the frequency board (on my frequency of course) I just look for the new guy and talk with him and tell him that there are other people on his frequency. Then I give them the usual talk of turning of your transmitter in the pits, etc...

But dvargas is going to be running his car only around his house, so I wouldn't deem it as important.
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Old 02-20-2003, 03:29 PM
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Hi dvargas

I prefer to have one.. Fail Safes are about $25 to $30 each.. It may not be exactly cheap but it is very well worth it to spend that amount to protect your $200 to $300 (at the minumum) investment.

Regardless of just bashing around the house or racing at the track, I would suggest to have one on. Just like what "Bounty Hunter" said and I agree, it likewise protects you from low battery charge and not just frequency interferences..

About the brand, I have used both the KO and the Dynamite. And the latter seem to work better for me, and its cheaper. For some reason, the KO ones are a bit more sensitive and tends to turn on even if the battery isn't really drained yet. That sucks because it hinders you to have more time to run (When you can actully still do).

Hope this helps
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Old 02-20-2003, 03:35 PM
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Just don't get an early Dynamite fail safe. They didn't work quite right for everyone.
*ie, don't buy one off ebay or used. The new ones are good and cheap to boot.*

Last edited by Im2lazy; 02-20-2003 at 03:41 PM.
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Old 02-20-2003, 06:49 PM
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Originally posted by Im2lazy
But dvargas is going to be running his car only around his house, so I wouldn't deem it as important.
Yes, but like what Bounty Huner and jwf-ronni mentioned, it protects you when the receiver pack or Tx pack gets weak.

Also, around his house can mean on a large open space and if the open space is big enough that he can go overboard too far to be in range, the fail safe can also kick in... But then this could be an isolated case.
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Old 02-20-2003, 07:20 PM
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You need a throttle return spring. All it is is a spring that hook to ya throttle arm to ya engine head. When u loose power or range it will go back to an idle. It's only like 3$ for 2 and they are well worth it. Electrocis ones are also good to have but they dont work if u loose power. Eitehr is better than nothing and both is kawabunga-awsome.
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Old 02-24-2003, 04:17 PM
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I tried installing a throttle return spring on my NTC3 this weekend to no avail. The servo (Futaba S3000S) seems to be too strong for the spring to pull back. I hooked one end of the spring to a bolt on my receiver box and the other end to the throttle servo horn. I turned the radio and receiver on and held the throttle wide open. I then switched the radio off (to simulate a lost radio signal), but the throttle stays wide open. Any suggestions...?

I installed a return spring on my Miss Budweiser boat in the same manner and peformed the same experiment with the radio and it worked perfectly! As soon as I switched the radio off, the return spring closed the carb.
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Old 02-25-2003, 04:37 AM
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does the NTC3 RTR come with a throttle return spring?
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Old 02-25-2003, 10:02 AM
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Originally posted by Donnie-D
I tried installing a throttle return spring on my NTC3 this weekend to no avail. The servo (Futaba S3000S) seems to be too strong for the spring to pull back. I hooked one end of the spring to a bolt on my receiver box and the other end to the throttle servo horn. I turned the radio and receiver on and held the throttle wide open. I then switched the radio off (to simulate a lost radio signal), but the throttle stays wide open. Any suggestions...?

I installed a return spring on my Miss Budweiser boat in the same manner and peformed the same experiment with the radio and it worked perfectly! As soon as I switched the radio off, the return spring closed the carb.
I have the same prob with my futaba... the spring has a hard time pulling it all the way back in. I tried putting more tension( hooking the spring from the roll bar to the servo horn on the throttle side) it was way too much and the servo didnt move. Im moving to all airtronics equipment now...hopefully it'll work better
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Old 02-25-2003, 11:52 AM
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You need more tension to move the carb back to idle. If you get to the point where you cant make it work cuz the springs is too tight, buy a better servo or forget it. I got mine to work using my stock hpi and a pos futaba servo. Took a long long time but it worked. It saved my car sooo many times.
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Old 02-25-2003, 01:12 PM
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Originally posted by TheRagunCajun
You need more tension to move the carb back to idle. If you get to the point where you cant make it work cuz the springs is too tight, buy a better servo or forget it. I got mine to work using my stock hpi and a pos futaba servo. Took a long long time but it worked. It saved my car sooo many times.
does the futaba have a hard time moving...im afraid mine will just crap out...it gets really hot when it turns .
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