FTX Vantage/Carnage owners Thread

[Jens]

55 minutes ago, suls said:

 

Yeah it seems to be bound but just doesn't reverse (steering and forward works) , tried to recalibrate but the ESC doesn't beep at all, either when you turn it on or hold  accelerate to start calibration, guess that points to a knackered ESC overall?

Is it possible that your ESC went into "Race" mode?

That would explain forward only.

 

It happened once to my son's Bugsta.

I don't know why it happened but I could fix it with the programming card.

[suls]

7 minutes ago, Jens said:

Is it possible that your ESC went into "Race" mode?

That would explain forward only.

 

It happened once to my son's Bugsta.

I don't know why it happened but I could fix it with the programming card.

 

ESC has 3 modes F/B/R , Boat , Crawler selected by a jumper (pins 1 +2, 2+3, Open) none of which seem to have reverse currently.. Didnt get a programming card with the kit so not sure what else to check on it..

 

[Iain .R]

5 hours ago, lennylogknob said:

 

I changed to aluminium after snapping a couple of plastic ones.

 

It's true that the suspension holders are the first weak link in the Carnage set up and the more aluminium parts you throw at the problem the further along the line you chase the weak link. But having said that, the level of abuse it can put up with gets higher with each addition.

 

Mine's quite a tough thing now and I've bounced it off all manner of things recently with no problems at all.

I managed to get a T-Bone front bumper for it too and that's amazing. I can hit something solid at full chat and it just springs off in the opposite direction!

 

Perhaps I should learn to drive properly and save myself a fortune but where's the fun in that?

Hi what or where did you get that T bone  bumper .as I would love to have one on mine . 

I just fitted a wheelie bar  as a back bumper  and my daughter crashed it and ripped the front suspension holder off  lol   I had to laugh as I strengthen up the back and she knocks the front  .  

I just bought new alloy suspension holders and arms     

 

What other part/parts  would you say to swap while I'm at it   

I do want to change all the plastic bits eventually but money tight   so any other bits you guys would say I do 1st .  Cheers 

Edited December 27, 2020 by Iain .R

[wateroftyne]

Hello everyone!

 

Hoping you can help (and be gentle with a total RC newbie!).

 

I knew something like this would happen at some point, but I didn't think it would be so soon...

 

My son had had his Carnage 2.0 for three days, and has already found the only lamppost within two miles. Basically the front bumper has snapped off. I'm a bit worried as the chassis seems to have been damaged where it's broken away.

 

Just wondering what my options are...?

 

Thanks in advance!

[lennylogknob]

8 hours ago, Iain .R said:

Hi what or where did you get that T bone  bumper .as I would love to have one on mine . 

 

I got really lucky with it.

The postage from T-Bone in the States is usually a fortune but they had an offer on where the gave free postage and hadn't excluded the UK.
I ordered the bumper and they delivered it (but they changed the offer the day after I made my order so it must have been a cock-up at their end).

 

I've also managed to fit the original front bumper to the rear of mine using the front chassis section of an FTX Vantage...

 

[lennylogknob]

5 minutes ago, wateroftyne said:

My son had had his Carnage 2.0 for three days, and has already found the only lamppost within two miles. Basically the front bumper has snapped off. I'm a bit worried as the chassis seems to have been damaged where it's broken away.

 

Just wondering what my options are...?

 

Possibly use a Vantage front chassis section like I used on the rear in the pics above?

[Fat Freddy]

43 minutes ago, wateroftyne said:

Hello everyone!

 

Hoping you can help (and be gentle with a total RC newbie!).

 

I knew something like this would happen at some point, but I didn't think it would be so soon...

 

My son had had his Carnage 2.0 for three days, and has already found the only lamppost within two miles. Basically the front bumper has snapped off. I'm a bit worried as the chassis seems to have been damaged where it's broken away.

 

Just wondering what my options are...?

 

Thanks in advance!

Hopefully someone else will prove me wrong, but, hate to say it, I think that’s crocked. Thankfully a new chassis is relatively cheap. Pain in the arse but if you are going to crash, might as well crash properly!

 

[wateroftyne]

2 minutes ago, Fat Freddy said:

Hopefully someone else will prove me wrong, but, hate to say it, I think that’s crocked. Thankfully a new chassis is relatively cheap. Pain in the arse but if you are going to crash, might as well crash properly!

 

Appreciate the honesty. That's how it's looking to my untrained eye, too. I'm slightly stressed at the thought of the work involved, but how hard can it be? 😬

 

Is there any mileage in going for an aluminium chassis? I'm just wondering if the break at the front of the chassis is a bit of a weak spot.?

 

Thanks for your help.

[wateroftyne]

....alternatively, if anyone is aware of someone near Tyneside who could do the repair, I'd be grateful. Thanks!

[Lone-wolf]

49 minutes ago, Fat Freddy said:

Hopefully someone else will prove me wrong, but, hate to say it, I think that’s crocked. Thankfully a new chassis is relatively cheap. Pain in the arse but if you are going to crash, might as well crash properly!

 

Thats the problem with what was Dirty fairy II part of the chassis went with the bumper, so i also dont know if i will repair it or scrap it, having another carnage i could use the parts, wife is back to the outlaw original "dirty fairy" but going brushless on it

[Jens]

12 hours ago, suls said:

 

ESC has 3 modes F/B/R , Boat , Crawler selected by a jumper (pins 1 +2, 2+3, Open) none of which seem to have reverse currently.. Didnt get a programming card with the kit so not sure what else to check on it..

 

It looks like you have a brushed Carnage.

My fault. Should have asked first.

I have the brushless version.

Programming card never comes with the kit. Needs to be purchased separately.

But I don't think it is available for your brushed system.

 

The one to use should be F/B/R --> Forward/Brake/Reverse.

I don't know about Boat but Crawler should not be used generally. Crawler would cause a strain on the drive system when going from forward straight to reverse.

Especially for "fast" cars.

 

But! You could test your reverse with Crawler. (be careful with the Throttle)

I have sometimes the problem that reverse doesn't doesn't kick in after braking. Throttle needs to be perfectly in neutral after braking before the car goes reverse.

 

If you are in Crawler mode, reverse should go immediately.

Test it carefully and let us know.

 

Another test:

Do you have "Throttle reverse" on your transmitter?

The purpose of that is for motors with reverse polarity.

Can you then go into reverse when trying to go forward?

 

Yet another test:

( Only if your receiver is separate from the ESC )

On your receiver: Swap the Throttle plug with the steering plug.

Then: Are you able to forward and reverse with your steering?

And steer left/right with your throttle?

 

 

 

[Jens]

1 hour ago, wateroftyne said:

Appreciate the honesty. That's how it's looking to my untrained eye, too. I'm slightly stressed at the thought of the work involved, but how hard can it be? 😬

 

Is there any mileage in going for an aluminium chassis? I'm just wondering if the break at the front of the chassis is a bit of a weak spot.?

 

Thanks for your help.

Hi,

 

the parent company of FTX has a list of all the parts and exploded views:

https://www.cmldistribution.co.uk/diagrams/FTX/Bugsta Parts List.pdf

Might come in handy.

And I did some analysis for you 🙂

Based on your pictures, it looks like you need those parts:

FTX6324 (front T bumper)

FTX6331 (Base plate)

Not sure if alloy or even carbon makes sense.

I would rather say that your son gets a good driving training by you. 🙂

If you are able to reduce the power/speed of the car, it would be very helpful for your son to learn.

I did the same with my 8 year old kiddo.

After 5 months he now can handle the brushless version with ease (except for 1 stupid incident)

( the brushless one can reach 30mph )

 

Another opinion of mine and please excuse me of being direct.

You should try to do the repairs yourself.

Eventually you will always come across of some defects or breakages.

That is the way of RC hobbies.

Therefore it is good that you get to know your car down to each piece.

 

But this repair is a big one.

Basically you need to take the whole car apart and transfer everything to the new base.

It will be a pain!

However, try to see it in a positive way. Once done you know the car perfectly well.

 

And we are all here to help you if you are stuck.

Important first advice: Don't over tighten the screws. 🙂

 

 

[Jens]

1 hour ago, wateroftyne said:

Appreciate the honesty. That's how it's looking to my untrained eye, too. I'm slightly stressed at the thought of the work involved, but how hard can it be? 😬

 

Is there any mileage in going for an aluminium chassis? I'm just wondering if the break at the front of the chassis is a bit of a weak spot.?

 

Thanks for your help.

Forgot another quick-and-dirty option.

But might be useful to get your son back on the road fast.

Use super glue on the broken parts. 🙂

[suls]

17 minutes ago, Jens said:

It looks like you have a brushed Carnage.

My fault. Should have asked first.

I have the brushless version.

Programming card never comes with the kit. Needs to be purchased separately.

But I don't think it is available for your brushed system.

 

The one to use should be F/B/R --> Forward/Brake/Reverse.

I don't know about Boat but Crawler should not be used generally. Crawler would cause a strain on the drive system when going from forward straight to reverse.

Especially for "fast" cars.

 

But! You could test your reverse with Crawler. (be careful with the Throttle)

I have sometimes the problem that reverse doesn't doesn't kick in after braking. Throttle needs to be perfectly in neutral after braking before the car goes reverse.

 

If you are in Crawler mode, reverse should go immediately.

Test it carefully and let us know.

 

Another test:

Do you have "Throttle reverse" on your transmitter?

The purpose of that is for motors with reverse polarity.

Can you then go into reverse when trying to go forward?

 

Yet another test:

( Only if your receiver is separate from the ESC )

On your receiver: Swap the Throttle plug with the steering plug.

Then: Are you able to forward and reverse with your steering?

And steer left/right with your throttle?

 

 

 

 

So have tried all three modes on the jumpers none of them reverse, is back on F/B/R now 

 

Throttle Reverse reverses the throttle fine, but reverse still doesn't work. EG Pushing the trigger away makes the car go forward but pulling it does not make the car reverse.

 

Swapping the plugs allows me to steer left and right with the throttle , however I can only accelerate with the wheel. 

 

Have just spent a while playing with the trim, can get it to brake most of the time on the right trim but it still fails to reverse at any point...  

 

Also not sure why it no longer beeps on startup .... some one else suggested swapping across the RX from the broken Outlaw to see if that worked on the carnage which i guess I my next logical step after I work out if there is any where open locally that can sell me a replacement motor for the outlaw to at least get one of the kids christmas presents going..

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jens]

1 minute ago, suls said:

 

So have tried all three modes on the jumpers none of them reverse, is back on F/B/R now 

 

Throttle Reverse reverses the throttle fine, but reverse still doesn't work. EG Pushing the trigger away makes the car go forward but pulling it does not make the car reverse.

 

Swapping the plugs allows me to steer left and right with the throttle , however I can only accelerate with the wheel. 

 

Have just spent a while playing with the trim, can get it to brake most of the time on the right trim but it still fails to reverse at any point...  

 

Also not sure why it no longer beeps on startup .... some one else suggested swapping across the RX from the broken Outlaw to see if that worked on the carnage which i guess I my next logical step after I work out if there is any where open locally that can sell me a replacement motor for the outlaw to at least get one of the kids christmas presents going..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swapping the cables on the receiver showed that the receiver is working fine.

 

I had a similar problem a few days ago with my son's Bugsta.

It was the ESC that was damaged.

My suspicion is that it caught water after cleaning with the hose and I didn't remove all water with the air compressor.

 

For you, it looks like the ESC as well.

 

[Jens]

13 minutes ago, suls said:

 

So have tried all three modes on the jumpers none of them reverse, is back on F/B/R now 

 

Throttle Reverse reverses the throttle fine, but reverse still doesn't work. EG Pushing the trigger away makes the car go forward but pulling it does not make the car reverse.

 

Swapping the plugs allows me to steer left and right with the throttle , however I can only accelerate with the wheel. 

 

Have just spent a while playing with the trim, can get it to brake most of the time on the right trim but it still fails to reverse at any point...  

 

Also not sure why it no longer beeps on startup .... some one else suggested swapping across the RX from the broken Outlaw to see if that worked on the carnage which i guess I my next logical step after I work out if there is any where open locally that can sell me a replacement motor for the outlaw to at least get one of the kids christmas presents going..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry for the additional comment.

 

I had a closer look at the brushed and brushless system manuals I could find online.

Not sure now what setup you have.

According to the online manuals neither the receiver nor the ESC have any jumpers to configure anything.

Did you buy the Carnage new or second hand?

 

 

[Jens]

Sorry for being a posting maniac.

It's a screenshot from the brushed manual that can help.

What happens if you swap the motor connectors?

( Provided that you have the original electronics )

 

[wateroftyne]

53 minutes ago, Jens said:

Hi,

 

the parent company of FTX has a list of all the parts and exploded views:

https://www.cmldistribution.co.uk/diagrams/FTX/Bugsta Parts List.pdf

Might come in handy.

And I did some analysis for you 🙂

Based on your pictures, it looks like you need those parts:

FTX6324 (front T bumper)

FTX6331 (Base plate)

Not sure if alloy or even carbon makes sense.

I would rather say that your son gets a good driving training by you. 🙂

If you are able to reduce the power/speed of the car, it would be very helpful for your son to learn.

I did the same with my 8 year old kiddo.

After 5 months he now can handle the brushless version with ease (except for 1 stupid incident)

( the brushless one can reach 30mph )

 

Another opinion of mine and please excuse me of being direct.

You should try to do the repairs yourself.

Eventually you will always come across of some defects or breakages.

That is the way of RC hobbies.

Therefore it is good that you get to know your car down to each piece.

 

But this repair is a big one.

Basically you need to take the whole car apart and transfer everything to the new base.

It will be a pain!

However, try to see it in a positive way. Once done you know the car perfectly well.

 

And we are all here to help you if you are stuck.

Important first advice: Don't over tighten the screws. 🙂

 

 

Cheers, Jens!

 

Yep, lesson learned. I thought we were in a space big enough to avoid obstacles, but he managed to find the only one 😞

The intention was always to do repairs myself, but I was hoping to avoid anything major in the short term. Ha ha.

[wateroftyne]

50 minutes ago, Jens said:

Forgot another quick-and-dirty option.

But might be useful to get your son back on the road fast.

Use super glue on the broken parts. 🙂

I did consider this, but assumed it was probably a silly idea. Is it definitely worth doing in the short term?

[Jens]

Just now, wateroftyne said:

I did consider this, but assumed it was probably a silly idea. Is it definitely worth doing in the short term?

Well.

Super glue would be strong enough just for the front bumper.

It's not a part that is constantly under stress like for example the bumper mounts.

But it might not survive another crash though.

 

BUT! You can fix it now and your son can be happy again. That is what counts.

 

You might get away from the big repair by just ordering the T bar (FTX6324) and keep the base super glued.

[suls]

37 minutes ago, Jens said:

Sorry for the additional comment.

 

I had a closer look at the brushed and brushless system manuals I could find online.

Not sure now what setup you have.

According to the online manuals neither the receiver nor the ESC have any jumpers to configure anything.

Did you buy the Carnage new or second hand?

 

 

No probs, thanks for the assistance !

 

Below is a video of the issue.

 

Both the Carnage and Outlaw are new for the kids for Christmas, both died within 20 minutes.... not been a great call so far as christmas presents go. 😐

 

Just had a chat to the shop they came from as they seem to be open today, having tried the trim they suspect (as you mentioned) it is the ESC on the carnage and motor gone on the outlaw, in theory I have enough parts between the two cars to prove that so looks like thats my afternoon sorted....

 

 

 

 

[Jens]

Video cleared up things a bit.

Can you ask the shop if the electronics are the factory original or did they do some changes?

They clearly don't match to the information that is available on ftx-rc.com or cmldistribution.com.

 

These are the differences to the manuals I have seen in the video:

Transmitter is different.

Receiver has a blue LED instead of red.

ESC is Etronix (used to be FTX for brushed ESC)

The battery plug is not Tamiya (brushed) or Deans (brushless).

 

FYI:

FTX Carnage is just a rebranding of some Chinese cars.

They are also sold in the US with a different name.

And the Chinese manufacturer sells them under their own name via Aliexpress.

 

I suspect, there has been some changes in the factory and there are no PDF manuals for those changes somewhere online.

Earlier in this thread I also read about some improvements at the motor mount.

 

But since the shop is open and I don't think I can help much more, head over there and have it fixed.

 

Based on the video:

Did you run through deeper waters or hosed the car down for cleaning?

There are quite some water stains on the chassis...

[suls]

4 minutes ago, Jens said:

Video cleared up things a bit.

Can you ask the shop if the electronics are the factory original or did they do some changes?

They clearly don't match to the information that is available on ftx-rc.com or cmldistribution.com.

 

These are the differences to the manuals I have seen in the video:

Transmitter is different.

Receiver has a blue LED instead of red.

ESC is Etronix (used to be FTX for brushed ESC)

The battery plug is not Tamiya (brushed) or Deans (brushless).

 

FYI:

FTX Carnage is just a rebranding of some Chinese cars.

They are also sold in the US with a different name.

And the Chinese manufacturer sells them under their own name via Aliexpress.

 

I suspect, there has been some changes in the factory and there are no PDF manuals for those changes somewhere online.

Earlier in this thread I also read about some improvements at the motor mount.

 

But since the shop is open and I don't think I can help much more, head over there and have it fixed.

 

Based on the video:

Did you run through deeper waters or hosed the car down for cleaning?

There are quite some water stains on the chassis...

 

Its a carnage 2.0 for what ever difference that made, I changed the plugs to XT60s to connect the lipos, aside from that its standard so far as I know. I couldn't find the matching manual online although the paper one in the box matches...

 

The kids ran them through some muddy but not very deep puddles in the driveway and you are correct i gave them a gentle spray with the hose after (although reverse had already failed by then)... suspect they aren't as splash proof as claimed.

 

The shops 150 miles away so if I can work out the issues they will send the parts, which is going to be easier than driving there or shipping the whole lot back I guess ....

 

Think I'll also order two of these, which I think will be suitable for both Carnage and Outlaw, I'd like to kids to run them brushed for a bit first tbh though,

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Waterproof-3650-3500KV-Brushless-Motor-with-60A-ESC-Combo-Set-for-1-10-RC-Model/133227034453?epid=3036825288&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item1f04f33755:g:9r4AAOSwuOZdvdvN&amdata=enc%3AAQAFAAACgBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4Imu%2Fn%2BzU5L90Z278x5ickkBUIiHwYv5YgVss0WaiENzxELcsTqWt%2BPtZoGA4KpDCXV7vX3HqEDrSC20XeS1Y%2BeUmVuMKYqI3DXUUX2TEPYHtkjczR4bE0M%2FaLp3r1d7yPNHtOGbOCW0CRu4YWyejX%2BWoIfl4TC7OmD1b4a8jMYcpVIn%2FOlDDsI496ebWYEkvznW1hfJMFRAmCq1E1RlOBGtx8Jo8aP7Sw8lUlSr0feBXii8yJAHdHuN%2BMYNOZu0jH%2BtirnGXrTU7RwqJfKfENRscDeQ1bkcbV484BrdWbY%2FTs842ky2KbvVROhWW2vD4Dx%2BlJwemDSMGZYJOytrpvNjS8D45vKjyiVxTgvY8GZCa8R%2FFkIR9UADaw73%2BXyD4CDm73cAef8MzNLOmFtMStKen%2FlXzARxw%2BdqJ9azmVAaj7he3DpXyoF96DQBvK5g8BVFrztd10fJXCNSkdSW7JdXmHh3ThX5xMkZOr1BRZOAfYWPP5B6tvtY%2BYtw1udIUoM86A4s4tZoguZaNfSYOLM5AITKGJwpZ%2B7k42Xb3v8%2Fg54dtlkxavBmgyW%2FTZDuIaOA4biPRpQP2lF2IQSVw0nv4bZQC1Nf%2FavlGa%2Byi%2FBL2bjPFtA1oTKjVm6qwyo8vJsbe8hp6mzpF8uXxzMuqELkLqG3ixZTywB7nl5vbDhJCXgPca%2BXtmKQbW29lTqMAGO6olVU0FRvAMyAvQ5f7%2F1jqjgOtppV3pM9ZAUUDY1JihS5NzosBIP%2BqYK7UNk3%2FgDKH%2BSKjMU%2FNCGzlqUdM8iqLkec2g2ymc0VvERybWxjmErui1tR2IzdW0p5WQhbAE%3D|cksum%3A1332270344533b32ed315c5847099a3570322135be75|ampid%3APL_CLK|clp%3A2334524

 

 

[lennylogknob]

4 hours ago, wateroftyne said:

Appreciate the honesty. That's how it's looking to my untrained eye, too. I'm slightly stressed at the thought of the work involved, but how hard can it be? 😬

 

Is there any mileage in going for an aluminium chassis? I'm just wondering if the break at the front of the chassis is a bit of a weak spot.?

 

Thanks for your help.

Changing the chassis isn't actually such a bad job.

Just get the whole thing upside down and steady then remove all the screws at once, remove the chassis and fit the new one.

 

If that sound too scary then cut the front 5mm or so (the broken bit in front of the front gearbox) off your current chassis and get hold of one of these...

https://www.modelsport.co.uk/ftx-chassis-front-part-vantage/rc-car-products/365785

...cut this down to fit then fix it in place using the four screws that hold the front gearbox to the chassis.

This will leave the bottom fixing for the bumper a couple of mm lower but there's enough flex in the bumper for it to fit.

 

The other bonus of this is that if the same thing happens again then it'll only cost a couple of quid to fix.

[Lone-wolf]

1 hour ago, Jens said:

Video cleared up things a bit.

Can you ask the shop if the electronics are the factory original or did they do some changes?

They clearly don't match to the information that is available on ftx-rc.com or cmldistribution.com.

 

These are the differences to the manuals I have seen in the video:

Transmitter is different.

Receiver has a blue LED instead of red.

ESC is Etronix (used to be FTX for brushed ESC)

The battery plug is not Tamiya (brushed) or Deans (brushless).

 

FYI:

FTX Carnage is just a rebranding of some Chinese cars.

They are also sold in the US with a different name.

And the Chinese manufacturer sells them under their own name via Aliexpress.

 

I suspect, there has been some changes in the factory and there are no PDF manuals for those changes somewhere online.

Earlier in this thread I also read about some improvements at the motor mount.

 

But since the shop is open and I don't think I can help much more, head over there and have it fixed.

 

Based on the video:

Did you run through deeper waters or hosed the car down for cleaning?

There are quite some water stains on the chassis...

yes that is the stock electrics in the carnage 2.0 i have a pair of them, but converted one to brushless set up, but after seeing how the chassis snapped on the new brushed one im gonna sell both as a job lot, get something a little more robust