Rival MT10 common problems and how to resolve them
It’s no secret that The team associated Rival MT10 as good as it is unfortunately still like most models has it’s little issues every now and again. This article is to highlight some of those issues and to point you in the right direction of getting them resolved so let's get right into it!
This is when you input steering on the transmitter and the steering on the car behaves erratically and not inline with the input from the transmitter. This can be caused by one of 2 things, either the steering servo is faulty or the transmitter/receiver is at fault. In most instances this issue has been down to the transmitter/Receiver so this would be the first port of call to test. If you encounter this issue it would be worth contacting the model shop it was purchased from to discuss your options.
Throttle pulsing is when you get a pulsing from the motor when you apply throttle to the model, this creates a “ kangarooing” effect on the model when driving forward and can also result in motor cogging on initial pull off. This can have two causes however so far all of the issues like this we have dealt with have again been transmitter/receiver related so that is the first thing to check. The other cause can be the ESC has developed a fault and will need replacing. Again it would be worth contacting the model shop it was purchased from to discuss options.
- Broken suspension arms and components
Unfortunately issues such as this are normally always down to how the model has been used and in most cases are caused by impact or crash damage. This sort of issue is not covered by the warranty so unfortunately a “use it, break it, fix it” approach will be needed when this happens however rest assured parts are normally readily available. The most common parts on this model are as follows…
- Steering servo making grinding/crunching noises
If your steering servo starts making grinding or crunching noises then unfortunately this will need to be replaced. The standard servos in the MT10 are fairly good for a RTR model however big impacts and hard landings can cause the internal gears to fail. Again this is not covered by the warranty due to being caused by impact so in this instance you would need to purchase a replacement servo.
We have seen this only a handful of times and it happened on my own MT10, whilst not always classed as a warranty issue, sometimes when the wheel is inspected you will see little/no glue residue on the wheel meaning it has not been glued correctly from the factory. In this instance the model shop you have purchased it from will likely reglue the wheel and tyre for you to get you back on the road.
If the tyre has split from the rim and it is clear the tyre was in fact glued correctly then this would not be covered as it’s due to how it has been used. A few things that can cause this to happen are…
- Powering up full throttle when the wheels are in the air causing “ballooning of the tyres”
- Using on very rough terrain at full power can damage the tyre and create tears leading to the tyre coming off
- Using it in very wet conditions can allow water into the tyres, then when you accelerate the centrifugal forces spin the water like a small washing machine at 40k RPM causing the tyres to rip away from the rim.
- Hitting curbs with the wheels can cause rim damage and this may result in the tyre detaching from the wheel.
