Originally Posted by
Dave H
... power the receiver directly with a battery in the 6V range.
Another thing worth doing is recalibrating the ESC. If the throttle trim has been bumped since the last time you used the vehicle, it may not be sitting at the proper neutral point and so may not turn on- but if this were the case you would be currently getting some lights on the esc, but I think most ESCs would still power the steering servo at this point.