HELP HELP: Savage lost power!

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
J

jsunandmax

Member
Messages
6
Hello to all the Savage Gurus, i'm really hoping one of you vets can help me out.

Here's the deal, after the break-in suggested in the instructions, i had 3-4 tanks of good in-the-dirt fun w/ her. All was well. Today I took it back to the same location and I have about 1/2 the power i'm used to. I never heard that telltale high-pitch whine (3rd gear) even on flat concrete. I tried the easy stuff like adjusting the throttle idle and futzing with the break adjust dial but no love.

Here are some details to help you diagnose:

- no Hump Pack yet. Running all re-chargable AAA batteries. full charge. (same as when it ran well, so i don't think this is it)

- somewhat warm and humid day, about 80 in Chicago

- broken antennae tube, the actual antennae only sticks up about 4 inches above the body

- I have never cleaned anything on the vehicle. I'm going to attempt my first air filter cleaning now to see if it resolves the issue, but i have not really run her that much (see above).

- I'm running Traxxas Top Fuel 20% nitro.

There are a couple clues i can provide:

1) when i lift the car in the air, and apply full throttle, i do get to third gear (I think) i'm pretty sure i hear the high pitch when there is no resistance on the wheels. put it on the ground, nope.

2) I ran 3 tanks today. Each tank, at the very end of the tank, I WOULD GET POWER!!!! For about 20 seconds, the old Savage Power was back! Then it would abruptly die when the tank became empty. This strikes me as a hugely important bit, but I'm not sure how to interpret.

3) from Zero, when i mash on the throttle, the engine bogs slightly and it takes a long time to get up to speed. Nothing like the instant flip-over wheelies i see in the YouTube videos.... 🙁

So my questions are as follows:

1. Why have I lost power (3rd gear?) and what can I do to fix it?

2. What is THE BEST cleaning process/regimine/products for doing standard (every run) cleanings? Can anyone point me to a YouTube video on a step-by-step cleaning method that really works?

3. What is THE BEST tuning process? When you take it to a hobbyshop and pay the pros, what, exactly, do they do, and in what order? Can anyone point me to a good YouTube video that shows this in detail?

4. (most likely unrelated) Are rechargables "bad" ? sometimes they don't seem to have the same power as "real" AAAs.

Thanks in advance, with winter approaching you can imagine how desperate I am to get her back in tiptop condition....!

Long Live Savage X!
 
holy moly! calm down.

1. sounds like it is out of tune /rich

2. grease lightening and a air hose /imo

3. get a temp gun aprox / $20 bucks

4. when u get your hump pack you wont beleave the difference in power to those servos / hpi 2012

5. https://www.hpisavageforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3008 you will love this DOOBEES NEWBIS

6. I'm in chicago too bring it by
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Like Crash said it sounds like it is to rich. There is a whole section on tuning in the Newbie links. These motors are very sensitive to Temp., Humidity, Elev., Ect... your tune will change from day to day as well as hourly sometimes. You will need to plan on tuning Everytime you run the truck. Sometimes it will run fine but not always.
 
Yep that would be because it is rich and when it is about to run out of gas it runs leaner and that is why the "power" comes "back" right before it runs out of gas.
 
crash said:
term: halph tank lean
Click to expand...

If you do not understand what that means I am going to tell you.

Basically the gas tank has a lip in it and when it gets below half tank where the lip is it loses fuel pressure in which makes it run leaner so if you have a perfect tune with a full tank once you get to the bottom it is going to be really lean or you can start off by being rich at full and then once it gets near the bottom it leans out but maybe around 1/2 tank or so.

Hope this helps.
 
Just wondering how the spur gear would affect it right before it ran out of gas and he said its bogging on the start.
 
If the slipper was too loose it wouldn't get the "power" back before it runs out or bog would it?
 
thanks!

thanks to everyone who replied. i have studied those videos, exactly what i was looking for. i can't test the tuning yet, but i'll try soon.

i also did clean and 're-adjust' my spur gear, (tighten as much as possible, then turn back 1/2 turn).

Hey, the dude in those videos added a nice roll-cage mod, does anyone know which one he uses? The only thing i can find is:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXPUM6&P=7

but this looks very different...

thanks, you guys rock!
 
jsunandmax,

Hi, these guys are the best as far as I am concernd, I still have a lot to leart (I can't beleive how much there is to this hobby) but everything I have learned came from this forum and or links to site's from this forum, and experiance I have been getting playing.

At first I watched those videos too, there is little info in there that's not in the manual but at least you can hear and see what is happening, do yourself a favor and read Doobee's newbies, and the links in it, and the thread SJ linked, and the links in that thread, I just found that thread recently myself, it is full of good stuff about tuning and what's what I really liked the link in the first post of the thread SJ linked above, it has a lot of good info and a chart that shows which way to turn the needles for what weather conditions, and a lot more. Sami showed me that link a week or so ago.

Oh, If I lived close to one of these guys like you do Crash, I would take him up on his offer and hang out, I am sure you will learn a bunch, and you probably have some fun.

Good luck
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Listen to this man, He knows what he's talking about. When he first came he was so frustrated with his new truck I feel he was ready to quit alltogether. But he Listened to the advice he was given, and looked into the threads he is referring too, and low a behold he is quickly becoming one of the veterans on here. He probably knows his way around the forum better than alot of us here. If you are as quick at learning as Wister you'll be out enjoying the full potential of your Savage Very quickly and not look back. There is no issue you can experience that someone here hasn't already gone through. Most of the info you will need to know right now is in Doobee's Newbie links as he said so look there for anything you may be dealing with. If you still need assistance Just ask, we are here to help. Good luck and enjoy!
 
Well, thanks Sami, I don't feel like a vetran, I feel like a newbie but I have learned a bunch. It's just as soon as you think your getting a good grip on things (all right maybe I should have used better wording here) I learn something that opens up a whole new area in the hobby. I didn't even know what a IRP was till I read Blazers post the other day.

I know I am finding everything I need right here.
 
you dudes rock!

i have begun Savage 101, and am reading my way through all the recommended links. I just needed the kickstart (or pullstart?) on where newbs should begin, got that now, so i probably wont be asking too many more questions until I get into some deep kimchee with some weird custom mod or something.

I would like to make some time to hang w/ Crash at some point...

thanks again everyone,
 
ya i sure wished i was a member here when i first bought my savage x! it would have saved alot of trouble for me as once i joined i pretty much got all the answers i needed!!I'm not sure if you have purchased one yet but a hump pack is one "hop up" thats a really good one if your interested check out onlybatterypacks.com thats were i bought mine, i got a 1500mah NiMH hump pack and charger for like 30 bucks!! and as was said earlier wow what a difference with the hump pack!!
 
anytime bud

jsunandmax said:
i have begun Savage 101, and am reading my way through all the recommended links. I just needed the kickstart (or pullstart?) on where newbs should begin, got that now, so i probably wont be asking too many more questions until I get into some deep kimchee with some weird custom mod or something.

I would like to make some time to hang w/ Crash at some point...

thanks again everyone,
Click to expand...


Anytime bud,

you need someone to bash with or you need help with your savy.
 
hump pack?!

On that note, i went to onlybatterypacks.com and was about to buy one, and the guy there said i needed a seperate charger and recommended one that was about $60. That plus a battery+tax+shipping i'm sure i would be close to $90, so i got sticker-shock!

can you send the exact links to the humppack+charger from onlybatterypacks.com that you got for $30 combined?

thanks!
 
jsunandmax said:
On that note, i went to onlybatterypacks.com and was about to buy one, and the guy there said i needed a seperate charger and recommended one that was about $60. That plus a battery+tax+shipping i'm sure i would be close to $90, so i got sticker-shock!

can you send the exact links to the humppack+charger from onlybatterypacks.com that you got for $30 combined?

thanks!
Click to expand...

ok the product number i ordered was 10161 its the 1500mah NiMH with charger and when your ordering it asks what connections you want with it and i chose "as shown"!! its under the hpi rx packs heading! its on the first page third down when u click on hpi rx packs!!! its $22.00 plus shipping!!!!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 1,187 (members: 1, guests: 1,186)
Back
Top