Reverse wont engage

[ZxIRAX]

Hi guys, I have recently had a problem with my reverse module which seems to be getting worse with time.

I cannot use it at all now, it is as if I am in neutral. the engine will scream and I may get a foot in reverse then the gears crunch and the engine screams again.

It all began happening after the below video.. I had a quick look under the truck last night, all the grub screws are in place and nice and tight. What I did find though is that the silver metal plate that sides in and out of the gear box seems to be very loose. I guess that this is more than likely damaged.

I am guessing you’re going to tell me to remove the gear box and take a look; well that is my next move. I had a busy day at work today so I wanted a relaxing evening before a busy weekend.. so I won’t get a chance to look at this until Monday! Just thought someone may have had the same problem and can offer some advice?

 

[Larsenracing]

My guess is yes you will need to remove the gear box and take it apart and check the revers modual out. many people have issues with them as they age. Seems they wear out rather quickely.

 

[ZxIRAX]

I thought so. Thanks for the heads up! It's only been installed for a month or so.. didn't last long =(

I will let you know what the score is when I get a few minutes to take it apart

 

[Larsenracing]

Ya thats not good but this is why I shyed away from the reverse on my trucks. I'm sure if its shelled out I'm sure if you contacted HPI they will probably replace it, they may even send a new one with out you sending the original one back.

 

[xtremsavage]

I'm gonna back larson up on his reply. The reverse modules don't last long at all. I went through three of them before I decided to just stick with forward only. With all of mine, the small gear is the middle literally blew apart on all of mine. Until HPI comes up with a better design or stronger gears, I'll do without reverse. Besides a little exercise runnin over to move the truck a little doesn't hurt. Hope you find out what the problem is and hope this helps.

 

[Blazer X]

I've had the arm just get out of adjustment and not engage the shift fork completely. I would try manually moving the lever and see if it positively engages.

 

[Keithv]

I agree with blazer. Disconnect the rod from the servo and see if you can engage and disengage reverse manually. If it works that way then you just need to adjust the servo properly. Try increasing the end point adjustment on the tx if you have that option.
If it doesnt engage properly and the engine starts racing don't try to shift it again till you shut the engine down. With the rpms that high it will destroy the gears. It doesnt take much to shatter that small gear.
Are you using a 3 channel radio or the reverse mixer?

 

[oregonmud]

I have had my reverse for 6 months now with no problems. I only use it when I get stuck hill climbing though. And if your giving it enough throttle in reverse that the "engine is screaming" than I wouldn't be surprised if it is broken.

 

[ZxIRAX]

Hi guys, I finally found some time to strip my truck down to take a look at this problem. it looks like the gears have been stripped, so I either remove it or replace it. Although it is very handy being able to reverse when bashing in tight spots I can't really afford to replace this every month or so.

If I were to contact HPI regarding this, what would you guys reccomend I say to try to get a free replacement?

 

[Keithv]

Try calling them. They might send you a replacement set of gears so you can rebuild the module.
Are you using the mixer or a 3 channel radio?

 

[ZxIRAX]

Hi Keith,

I will give that a try, thanks!

I am using a 3 channel radio, but I always make sure the truck is fully stopped before engaging the reverse. I'm kinda puzzled as to how this happened. Maybe with low battery the servo didn't have enough torque to pull the reverse back (if the gears were not in alignment) and thus caused the gears to run out of alignment.. maybe a long shot.. I don't know =)

-Jamie

 

[Keithv]

Make sure you have the endpoint adjusted correctly too. If it doesnt engage or disengage fully it will blow those gears apart. They are not very strong to begin with.
I'm pretty sure if you contact HPI they'll throw you a replacement gear.

 

[Grumpy1822]

The gears are made of cheap pweter metal. I've given up on reverse. Itried to make it work, but after 3 repairs on 2 trucks, I quit. Its just a poor design. Weak. The LST has a really good reverse system. HPI should take notes.

If HPI wont send you another set and you still want to deal with reverse, let me know. I have a set of gears in good shape. I'll send them to you. I keep breaking the shaft. Where the two pieces are made together.

 

[THE PIPER]

Mine was screaming just like that and and I blew the gears in three parts. So I call HPI and they wanted the origanal bill I save all my bills just to show my wife I HAVE FULL CONTROLE.. (of spending) lol anyway after a huge wait 3 months I got it three weeks ago. There service is excellent but the time frame for shipping sucked. Its a good thing the winter in Canada was long!! Cheers!!:cheers:

 

[Whalleyboy]

Hey guys I kinda new here and this is my first post.

I've had the reverse module in mine for awhile now and right off the bat I noticed the slider wasn't being pushed or pulled all the way in tight enough. If it wasn't moved ALL the way in the gears would grind. Which would quickly lead to stripped reverse gears. I solved the issue with a better servo arm. I added one that was slightly longer to allow more stroke on the slider ensuring full engagement. If the arm is too long then the bar will pop out of the slider but you can trim this on the Tx. This idead solved the problem for me and I hope it helps you!