How To Repair A Toy Car Remote Control

As a child, having a remote-controlled toy car is such an experience that can give so much joy. Whether it comes as a present from our parents, godparents, or relatives, unboxing a remote-controlled toy car is a delight and a surprise. Unless the toy car itself stops operating, you begin to think about how to repair a toy car remote control.

What Are Remote Control Cars – Basics First

Before learning how to repair toy car remote control, first, what are radio-controlled cars? Radio-controlled cars are miniature model cars or trucks controlled from a distance using a specialized transmitter or remote. Don’t get confused. The term “RC” may both mean “remote-controlled” and “radio controlled.” 

• Remote-controlled toy cars include those that use radio, infrared, or a physical wire connection. Nowadays, “RCs” usually refers to vehicles controlled only by radio.
  
  
• Toy-grade cars are designed with a focus on design and production cost reduction. However, a hobby-grade car differs by having separate electronic components. The good thing with this is that they are replaceable if they fail.

If you wonder how to repair toy car remote control for toy-grade cars, heads up: even though they are typically made with affordable parts, these are harder to find as spare parts. But then, compared to hobby-grade cars, toy-grade cars have much easier maintenance. Also, toy-grade cars have much less performance than hobby-grade cars, although they can still be developed through additional hobby-grade parts. 

More about RC’s

Getting to the basics of RC cars is a good foundation to learn how to repair toy car remote control. This would mean finding out how do RC cars work then? These tiny devices have become underrated pieces, even though they have been around for decades. Little did we realize that despite their size, there exists a lot of science and technology behind them that’s worthwhile to learn.

Understanding its Concept

There lies a basic concept for any remote-controlled device that the user has a transmitter or remote that will send the signal to the toy car. With the use of radio waves, it gives directions on what the user wants it to do. Changes in power sources or transmission ranges make them all different somehow than the other, although remote-controlled vehicles operate differently.

To make it simpler, getting into how RC cars work and knowing how to repair a toy car remote control needs an understanding of the exact parts and functions that make them work. Every RC toy comes in four parts. They have: 

Power Source

This is necessary to supply the power needed for the whole operation. Without this, all the other parts wouldn’t work. In a remote-controlled toy car, the power source comes from the batteries, although some variations exist like using gas as the source.

Motor

It is responsible for making all necessary parts move. This includes turning the wheels, steering, and applying acceleration and braking. 

Transmitter

This is the remote control itself. This is the one you hold in your hands to give directions to the RC toy car. 

Receiver

This one we found in the RC toy car, featuring an antenna and circuit board that enables it to receive signals that the transmitter sends. It also moves the necessary parts. 

Tips on How to Repair a Toy Car Remote Control

A basic must-know is that RC toy cars are generally not durable compared to hobby-grade ones. Also, toy stores don’t offer repair services when they get issues. Aside from that, spare parts are also hard to find. So what must you do when your toy car gets inoperable? Follow these steps to take:

Check: Is It Broken? 

Go for the obvious possible causes first. 

• Are the batteries still fresh? 
• Are the batteries installed correctly?
• Check also whether or not both the RC and the transmitter are turned on. 
• Is the antenna extended fully? 
• See if the toy has a channel selection option. If yes, are the vehicle and transmitter set to the same channel? 
• Does it have the correct transmitter? Having more than one toy with the same transmitter entails making sure that you are using the right one. A 27MHz transmitter surely won’t work on a 49MHz toy car. 

If, after doing all these, it’s still not working properly, you may need to search for some other problems that cause it. 

Contact the RC Toy Car Manufacturer

You may contact the manufacturer of the toy car for replacement or repair. In some cases where toy cars are newly purchased, manufacturers may offer a replacement for parts or items that are considered to get broken or worn out easily. If more than a year has passed after purchasing it, it’s unlikely to give an extensive replacement of the broken parts. 

Troubleshoot Electrical Connections

Check or inspect for some connections without completely opening up the RC. But if any wires have come loose inside the internal circuit board, you have no choice but to get inside, and a little soldering might help. Having access to the circuit board will help you trace for breaks and exposed wires that may cause short circuits. 

Conclusion

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