Carrera control issues

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Carrera control issues

Postby proxieken » Fri Feb 16, 2018 9:34 am

Last night was our first race night in some time so I was looking forward to having a good time. At the end of the evening 50% of my controllers need replaced. Luckily I borrowed some from my brother.........he left his stored in my garage so they were handy.

First, a controller simply did not work. Replaced, we were back to racing.

Next the entire system malfunctioned. A car took off on its own, the control unit went wacky, and then nothing. One of the guys went home and returned with his control unit, and it did the same thing! We took a lot of time connecting things one at a time and it turns out it was another controller. It must have shorted out.

So we are back to racing. And then a different controller had the plunger spring break!

I have replaced controllers several times over the years, but this was ridiculous. $135 in repairs for a few hours of racing! We usually run about 8-9 heats and we made it through 3 last night and spent the rest of the time fixing things. I guess I can take the spring out of one of the other broken ones and patch thing up, but at a minimum I am looking at 2 new controllers to buy.

I guess in addition to replacing the tires on all the Carrera cars with aftermarket, I should now replace all the controllers with aftermarket. And they are expensive. Maybe a few at a time will be easier to deal with. $480 for 6 aftermarket controllers is a bit much for me at once.

I also now have lane gates on all of my crossovers and that feature should be standard. It really makes ghost cars actually usable and cut down on accidents among the racers.

Anyhow, still a fan of Carrera but not the tires or controllers.
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Re: Carrera control issues

Postby dw5555 » Fri Feb 16, 2018 11:02 am

I feel your pain. I had all sorts of issues programing my wireless controllers after it's summer layoff. I only had 1 that would work. Making a long story short, turns out all my issues were with the wired controller extension. As soon as I unplugged it I got them all to work. Of course that also includes taking a controller apart for cleaning before it would work. :think:

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Re: Carrera control issues

Postby kidvoltage » Fri Feb 16, 2018 11:39 am

Yes, our RamJet-X controllers may seem a bit pricey but they will last. And should an issue arise, we also have replacement triggers and springs available. And it's a slow process but we're still working toward a wireless solution that should allow existing controllers of ours to be easily upgraded to wireless.

Happy to hear that Lane Gate is working for you. It's a neat bit.

Thank you.
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Re: Carrera control issues

Postby proxieken » Fri Feb 16, 2018 11:46 am

Well I am awaiting payment from a client, so expect an order soon! I need 2 with really long wires to reach to the other side of the table.
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Re: Carrera control issues

Postby kidvoltage » Fri Feb 16, 2018 11:49 am

We can supply our standard "long" cables or even offer a custom cable length as needed.
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Re: Carrera control issues

Postby oldtymer » Mon Feb 19, 2018 5:36 pm

Only commenting on this because I saw the CARRERA CONTOL ISSUES..I'm just giving my input in case someone with WIRELESS controllers and this might help. I have had the same controllers with original batteries for about 6 yrs now.I have had a few problems but there's always a quick fix.I've had fluorescent lighting and a wireless catv box knock them out occasionally but a reprogram is all it needed. If they won't reprogram to the unit take the battery out of the controller and unplug it for a second and reinstall.Just throwing this out there since I had to learn the hard way.
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