SE Runtime?

[Twenty-Se7en]

Hey,
You may know me from the Mini-Review of the SE a week or so ago, I wasn't around this forum much before that but anyway on to the question that I have.

What run time do you get? I heard that average should be aproximatly 2 minutes... I get between 30-60 seconds before it completely dies. I was doing better the other day but something happened and now this. I have just been running it on my desktop here inbetween work and other things and can barely get a decent run out of it. Any help would be apreciated.

Thanks
Twenty-Se7en

[Twenty-Se7en]

seriously guys i'm only getting 30 seconds MAX... fresh batteries... it's only gotten less than 30 charges on this car, it's brand new... little over a week, if that... *Sigh*

[Twenty-Se7en]

damn, tripple post but I thought that i'd let you know I was running a Camaro body, so no lights of extra weight from the lights to slow the run time down... probably get a lot less with the light, 15 seconds... this is depressing... i'm not a kid, although one at heart, but feel like a kid at xmas who finds a broken toy

[rfnagel]

I would have to say that of you do indeed have new fresh batteries in your controller, there may be a problem with the small battery that's in the chassis. If so, you should exchange your Zap at RS for a new one.

I myself have always gotten pretty decent runtimes from all of my Zaps, somewhere in the range of 8-14 minutes or so from all of them (SE as well as non-SE).

[NatakuARN]

Rfnagel, unless you have modded your zips (or are using the blue or green motor) I don't believe your claims of 8-14 minutes, it just isn't possible with stock zips. Twenty-Se7en, which motor are you using; the orange and purple motors can reduce run time to the neighborhood of 30-40 secs. I get about 1-2mins with my SE’s using the purple motor.

Edit: You may want to try charging it more than once, charging it twice in a row may help your run time issue.

[Twenty-Se7en]

Well, Would return the zipzaps for a new one but I don't feel that it is fair since I have already soldered a new antanna on and after modding it I don't feel I should.

The car is completely stock, except the antanna mod.

[rfnagel]

Originally posted by NatakuARN
Rfnagel, unless you have modded your zips (or are using the blue or green motor) I don't believe your claims of 8-14 minutes, it just isn't possible with stock zips.

Honestly, I could care less if you believe it or not ... the fact still stands that I get on average the above quoted runtimes, on all of my Zaps - SE as well as non-SE, using red gears and a purple motor in all of them. This goes for all of them, ranging from my original steel blue PT Cruiser to my most recently purchased Zap, the blue GTO Judge.

Matter 'o' fact, the last time that I actually timed the runtime with a stopwatch, I had 10 minutes and 39 seconds of runtime, with my original stock Savanna (again, purple motor and red gears).

[NatakuARN]

I’m sorry if my first post sounded hostile, it’s just that I never heard of a stock zip running more than a couple minutes without a recharge. You didn’t mention any mods so I wonder if every car I have purchased over the years has been sub par.

[rfnagel]

Originally posted by NatakuARN
I’m sorry if my first post sounded hostile, it’s just that I never heard of a stock zip running more than a couple minutes without a recharge.

No problemo -

I dunno what it is with my Zaps, but I've always had good runtimes with them. None of them have any mods at all, short of (if you could even call it a "mod") using the XMods battery charger that comes with 8 AAA NimH batteries.

One thing that may attribute to the longer runtimes, is that all of my Zap racing I do out in the circular driveway out in front of my house (WAY too damn many dust bunnies inside the house, I shudder the thought of runnign them in there LOL!). Most of my runs are full throttle, with smooth turns (mostly oval-like) due to the large driveway. I'm thinking that maybe my longer runtimes might be due to this, although I usually run them at full speed, there aren't any sharp turns... it's all smooth turning with very little de-acceleration. Maybe this could be why.

Anyhoo, check the pic of my driveway at my Zaps Stuff web page, link is in my sig below -

P.S. Sorry for sounding so smart arsed in my previous post, been kinda stressed out watching Ivan for the past week and a half (I live in Miami), as well as watching the previous one, Frances.

-> http://www.cmoo.com/~snor/weeds/hurr...sity_chart.htm LOL! -

[NatakuARN]

Originally posted by rfnagel
No problemo -

I dunno what it is with my Zaps, but I've always had good runtimes with them. None of them have any mods at all, short of (if you could even call it a "mod") using the XMods battery charger that comes with 8 AAA NimH batteries.

One thing that may attribute to the longer runtimes, is that all of my Zap racing I do out in the circular driveway out in front of my house (WAY too damn many dust bunnies inside the house, I shudder the thought of runnign them in there LOL!). Most of my runs are full throttle, with smooth turns (mostly oval-like) due to the large driveway. I'm thinking that maybe my longer runtimes might be due to this, although I usually run them at full speed, there aren't any sharp turns... it's all smooth turning with very little de-acceleration. Maybe this could be why.

Anyhoo, check the pic of my driveway at my Zaps Stuff web page, link is in my sig below -

P.S. Sorry for sounding so smart arsed in my previous post, been kinda stressed out watching Ivan for the past week and a half (I live in Miami), as well as watching the previous one, Frances.

-> http://www.cmoo.com/~snor/weeds/hurr...sity_chart.htm LOL! -

That charger could be it because I have noticed (with my SE's anyway) that when I charge it more than once in a row the run time increases a bit. I haven't done more than two charges because I am afraid the batteries will degrade faster. I have not “multi-charged” my regular zips for fear the batteries will burst; they are small in comparison to the SE’s.

[Namuna]

Here’s a checklist for you Twenty-Se7en:

- If you have a volt-meter, test that indeed the AAA’s you’re using are ALL good…Even 1 so-so cell can/will cause problems
- Since you’ve had the SE apart (to do your antenna mod) you may have inadvertently loosened up something…Open her back up and make sure your battery connection is solid and there aren’t any pinched wires or broken connections

[Twenty-Se7en]

Namuna, i'll do that tomorrow (its almost 1:30am now, i'll keep you posted on if it helps out at all... time to bust out the multimeter...

Originally posted by Namuna
Here’s a checklist for you Twenty-Se7en:

- Since you’ve had the SE apart (to do your antenna mod) you may have inadvertently loosened up something…Open her back up and make sure your battery connection is solid and there aren’t any pinched wires or broken connections

II
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[rfnagel]

Originally posted by NatakuARN
That charger could be it because I have noticed (with my SE's anyway) that when I charge it more than once in a row the run time increases a bit. I haven't done more than two charges because I am afraid the batteries will degrade faster. I have not “multi-charged” my regular zips for fear the batteries will burst; they are small in comparison to the SE’s.

The thing is, the AAA NimH batteries that come with the charger are only rated at 1.2v, whereas regular fresh alkaline AAA cells put out 1.5v. After charging the AAA NimH batteries, they usually peak at about 1.35v or so, which rapidly drops down to 1.2v after about an hour (with no load).

Note that I'm using the AAA batteries in the controller, I don't have a special peak charger for the chassis, and simply use the AAA NimH's as replacement AAA batteries for my Zaps' controllers. Also, I usually don't double or triple charge the chassis. Being that the AAA NimH batteries are only 1.2v (whereas the alkalines are 1.5), I'm thinking that the reason for my longer runtimes aren't because of the charger.

Bear in mind, I did modify my non-SE controllers to use a power adatpter (see the power adapter mod at my Zaps Stuff web page), but I rarely use it because it's such a PITA to stretch out an extension cord out to front of my house everytime that I want to run my Zaps LOL. With the power adapter mod, I could see having longer runtimes, as it puts out (going from memory here) about 1.6v or so, and is more consistant than AAA batteries (alkaline or NimH). But anyhoo, I don't usually use the power adapter, only the AAA NimH batteries in my controller(s).

(Edit) P.S. I highly recommend the XMods Rechargeable Batteries and Charger, as it comes with 8 AAA NimH batteries... perfect for use in your Zaps' controllers - The 8 AAA NimH cells are worth the US$25 alone -

[Speedking221]

I had the same exact problem the problem was that there was either hair behind the gear in the moter or behind the gear that the moter spins this happens to me all the time so I clean it out and then I get better run time i dunno If i am rite though