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Hitari Ltd

Radio Controlled Cars

Help!

Updated April 2008.

Cars bought from the recognised shops or catalogue outlets are covered by a one year warranty. If after checking the following lists or calling the help-line 01582 609853, there is no cure for the problem, cars should be returned to the place of purchase for a replacement or repair. Outside the warranty period, most cars can be repaired at our workshops in Dunstable. The cost of repairs (October 2007) for the 1/11^th scale to 1/20^th cars (including the Radical Machine and Tumbler) is £16.25 inclusive of UK post and packing. Smaller cars (Micro cars and Ejector) cost £11.99 inclusive of post and packing. These costs include most spare parts, assuming the car is not too badly damaged due to neglect or severe impacts.

For customers in the USA there is now a help-line number in the USA – (201) 984 5549. This telephone line is answered by the UK help-line, so please allow for the fact that the UK office is open 9:00am to 5:00pm UK time.

So that two cars can be operated together at the same time, all the Hitari range of cars (with the exception of the Acrobat, Mercedes Knight Rider, General Lee and Mega Grinder) are available in the UK on two frequencies (27MHz and 40MHz)* **. It is not possible to switch a car between the two frequencies. The cars are manufactured to operate on one of the two frequencies. Check when you purchase the models to ensure you have got the correct frequency.

*The proportional control models – Bentley Continental and Honda NSX-R are manufactured on one of three frequencies. 27MHz band 1, 2 or 4; this allows up to three cars to operate at the same time.

**The Mini Cabriolet, Lotus Exige, Bentley Convertible and the 2005 TVR Tuscan are manufactured on 27MHz and 40MHz (49MHz in the USA) with three switched bands at each frequency; this allows up to six cars to operate at the same time.

Please look for help under the relevant headings.

Home Page | Hitari Ltd

If you require spare parts please turn to the Spare Parts List

Turbo King

From November 2000 until the final imports in August 2003, imports of the Turbo King car used a 6V rechargeable battery pack in the place of the 8 AA size rechargeable batteries used in the earlier models. This change has been demanded by the retail outlets. The car and the controllers are NOT interchangeable between the two types as far as the electronics are concerned, but mechanically the models are virtually the same. Please note, in the 6V battery model there is no battery cover on these cars; the battery is held in place by the cam screw at the end of the battery box.

Q	I've just bought a new Turbo King. It doesn't work
A	1. Have you charged the batteries? - rechargeable batteries are supplied in a discharged condition. 2. If your car is the type which takes AA size batteries (not the 6V battery pack) check that you have fitted all 8 batteries in the car. Two batteries are fitted under the six top-most batteries. The car will not work without these. 3. Check the hand-set. Remove the battery. Look between the two battery contacts in the hand set. There is a white piece of plastic between the contacts. The two battery contacts should stick out as far as the white piece of plastic. Lift them up if they don't. 4. It is possible that in the shop, before you purchased the car, the hand set from a 27MHz car was exchanged for one from a 40MHz car or vice versa. Ensure that the frequency markings on the car and hand set (27 or 40MHz) are the same. 5. If the car has 8 batteries, make sure that the on-off switch in the car is turned off and try to charge the batteries again. After three hours you should find that the charger is getting warm and that the batteries in the car are getting warm. 6. If the car uses the 6V battery pack, the charger used for the single 6V battery has a light to show that it is charging correctly. Check for correct connections and electricity supply to the charger if the light does not come on. Make sure the battery is pushed firmly into the charger, especially if the charger / battery is new.
Q	Is it true that the car will only run for 12 minutes on a fully charged battery?
A	No! The instruction sheet supplied with the first 6V power-pack Turbo King cars was wrong. The time will be in the region of 90 minutes of normal use - certainly well over 45 minutes even if it is used in high gear over rough terrain. The 8 AA battery type of car should also last over an hour on a single charge.
Q	I've got the car wet. It is doing strange things.
A	Stop!!! Take out the batteries. Water and electricity do not mix. Keep the car warm and dry for at least two days. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CHARGE the batteries until it has dried for the two days. Try the car again after two days. YES TWO DAYS IN A WARM DRY PLACE! If the car does not work correctly - reverse or forwards sometimes fails - sorry, but you've lost your warranty as it should not have been used where it could have got wet. However repairs are always possible. Check with Fowler Electronics for current repair prices. It is quite easy for us to tell if a car has got wet and caused a failure, so don't try to hide the fact!
Q	I've had the car for some time now. Suddenly it has stopped working.
A	1. Have you changed the battery in the hand set? It may have run down. 2. Did you leave the batteries in the car for several weeks (months)? Check that the battery contacts are all clean and that corrosion from discharged batteries has not occurred. 3. Remove the battery from the hand set. Look between the two battery contacts in the hand set. There is a white piece of plastic between the contacts. The two battery contacts should stick out as far as the white piece of plastic. Lift them up if they don't. 4. Does the steering work? If the steering works but the drive does not work, there is a fault with the drive system.
Q	The car only goes backwards (or forwards);
A	1. Does the car go backwards when you tell it to go forwards? If it does, telephone for a simple cure. 2. Does the steering work correctly? If it does not work, try to recharge the batteries again, there may be a run-down battery – if it is an 8-battery type car, ensure all eight batteries are fitted and that all battery contacts are clean. 3. Have you got the car wet (honestly)? If yes, see above answers.
Q	I've broken it / jumped on it / run it under a real car / lost part of it / dropped it over a cliff / melted it / broken the aerial / control knobs.
A	Don't worry, you're not the first to do it. Check the spares price list or contact us and we can get it working again.
Q	I have a Turbo King which uses one battery pack. The battery keeps falling out of the car when I use it. I think the battery cover must be missing.
A	When you put the battery in the car, you must turn the large screw behind the battery one quarter of a turn to lock the battery in place. No battery cover is fitted to the 6V pack car.
Q	The charger will not fit into any of the sockets in my house.
A	The charger is supplied with a protective covering over the three plug terminals. Remove this cover before attempting to insert it into the supply socket.
Q	My Turbo King, which uses a 6V battery is slower than another Turbo King which uses 8 AA size batteries.
A	You are quite right. Blame the retail outlets for demanding the change to a 6V battery (against the wishes of the manufacturer).

Black Monster Top of page | Hitari Ltd | Home Page

The Black Monster car is no longer sold in the UK. Some spares are still available.

Q	I've just bought a new Black Monster. It does not work.
A	1. Have you charged the batteries in the car? - rechargeable batteries are supplied in a discharged condition. 2. Have you fitted all 8 batteries? Check that you have fitted the two batteries to the rear of the front 6. 3. Check the hand-set. Remove the battery. Look between the two battery contacts in the hand set. There is a white piece of plastic between the contacts. The two battery contacts should stick out as far as the white piece of plastic. Lift them up if they don't. 4. It is possible that in the shop, before you purchased the car, the hand set from a 27MHz car was exchanged for one from a 40MHz car or vice versa. Ensure that the frequency markings on the car and hand set (27 or 40MHz) are the same. 5. Make sure that the on-off switch in the car is turned off and try to charge the batteries again. After three hours you should find that the charger is getting warm and that the batteries in the car are getting warm. Check for correct connections and electricity supply to the charger if they are not.
Q	I've had the car for some time now. Suddenly it has stopped working.
A	1. Have you changed the battery in the hand set? It may have run down. 2. Did you leave the batteries in the car for several weeks (months)? Check the battery contacts are all clean and that corrosion from discharged batteries has not set in. 3. Remove the battery from the hand set. Look between the two battery contacts in the hand set. There is a white piece of plastic between the contacts. The two battery contacts should stick out as far as the white piece of plastic. Lift them up if they don't. 4. Does the steering work? If the steering works but the drive does not work, there is a fault with the drive system.
Q	The steering has stopped working.
A	1. Does the car work correctly in forwards and reverse? If not, try again after recharging the batteries. 2. Can you hear the steering motor trying to steer? (put the car in 'winch' mode to stop the sound of the engine). If you can hear the steering motor, call for advice on possible steering gear problems. Otherwise, you may have a servo motor problem - call for advice.
Q	I've broken / lost parts of the car or controller.
A	Check the price list or call for current spares prices.

Crash-up cars Top of page | Home Page | Hitari Ltd

There have been so few faults with these cars to perform any diagnosis of faults. Most problems occur because of an incorrectly inserted battery in the handset; check, re-check and check again that you've got the plus and minus connections correct. For spares check the current price list or telephone for advice.

Chaos, Tumbler and Acrobat Top of page | Home Page | Hitari Ltd

For the Micro Tumbler, please see below. The Tumbler and Chaos cars use the same mechanical parts for the car, but until July 2000, a different control box and car circuit board. All cars sold after July 2000 should have been supplied with a '2 lever' handset. Since July 2000 the Tumbler and Chaos cars are identical - except for the name on the car. The Acrobat car is a slightly smaller version of the Tumbler / Chaos. It was introduced in July 2001. The help information below covers all the known aspect of the Acrobat cars as well as the Tumbler / Chaos cars.

Q	I've just bought a new car and it does not work.
A	1. Have you charged the battery? - rechargeable batteries are supplied in a discharged condition. 2. The car will not work unless the car battery cover is in place. 3. Check the hand-set. Remove the battery. Look between the two battery contacts in the hand-set. There is a white piece of plastic between the contacts. The two battery contacts should stick out as far as the white piece of plastic. Lift them up if they don't. 4. It is just as likely that the 9V battery supplied for the controller is defective as that there is a fault with the controller; try a different 9V battery. 5. It is possible that in the shop, before you purchased the car, the hand-set from a 27MHz car was exchanged for one from a 40MHz car or vice versa. Ensure that the frequency markings on the car and hand-set (27 or 40MHz) are the same. 6. Does the charger light come on? After three hours you should find that the charger is getting warm and that the battery is also getting warm. Check for correct connections and electricity supply to the charger if they are not. Check also that the battery is pushed fully into the charger. New charger / battery combinations are sometimes difficult to engage fully. 7. Be careful not to over-charge the battery; the instruction of ‘four hour charge’ means four hours. An overnight charge will damage the battery.
Q	Is it true that the car runs for only 15 minutes on one battery charge?
A	Yes - under extreme conditions, but it depends on what you are doing with the car. If you run it mainly in straight lines, it will last much longer than if you are continually 'spinning' the car. Whilst the instructions suggest that 15 minutes is the expected run time, I believe for normal use, 1 hour can be expected for cars with the two lever hand-set and 20 to 30 minutes are often achieved with cars with the two button hand-set.
Q	My car only goes in straight lines, only goes in one direction, or only two wheels operate.
A	Check, with the car off the floor, that all four wheels operate. If they do, try recharging the battery; it may be low in power. If only two wheels operate, check if any of the tyres are slightly off the hub and rubbing on the body-work. The most common cause of this problem is when a tyre has come off. Continued running of the car with a tyre rubbing on the body will overload the circuit and cause failure of the motor or drive circuit. Contact the Help-line for further information. If your controller has black levers, the mechanical link between one of the levers and the switch under the circuit board my have been disconnected. Telephone for advice on correcting this problem.
Q	The charger will not fit into any of the sockets in my house.
A	The charger is supplied with a protective covering over the three plug terminals. Remove this cover before attempting to insert it into the supply socket.
Q	I have put the battery in the car but I am unable to get it out. (Tumbler & Chaos cars only).
A	When you take the battery cover off the car, the spring behind the battery should push the battery towards the back of the car as far as the two black ridges which are on either side at the back of the battery compartment. Until the battery is back against these ridges it will not be possible to remove the battery. If the battery has become stuck, the simplest way to encourage the battery to move backwards, is to hold the car by the front bumper, allowing the back of the car to hang vertically downwards. About 2 inches (50mm) above the floor, let the car drop onto its back wheels. This should shake the battery down.
Q	The battery is too big to fit in the car.
A	1. Check you have got a 6V battery (not a 7.2V battery). Its size should be 55.5mm wide, 72.5mm long, 12mm thick. 2. You have taken the battery cover off the car, haven’t you!
Q	The tyres on my car are quite soft and are not hard and inflated.
A	The tyres are ‘air filled’, but are not meant to be inflated under pressure. They return naturally to their original shape after they have been squashed due to the resilience of the tyre wall. Check that the word ‘Hitari’ is moulded into the outside tyre walls. There have been a few rogue tyres produced which do not have the word ‘Hitari’ and they are too soft.

Ejector Top of page | Home Page | Hitari Ltd

There have been too few faults with these cars to perform any diagnosis of faults. The only problem that has been noted is due to a miss-reading of the battery connection picture in the hand-set. Double check that you have put the battery in the correct way round - and then check it again! For spares and advice please telephone.

Exchanger Top of page | Home Page | Hitari Ltd

From August 2002 the Exchanger cars have been completely redesigned. None of these new cars have been imported to the UK. Older cars (pre-August 2002) have suffered from three main faults. The problems reported so far have been:

Some of the battery packs do not make good contact with the battery terminals in the car. This may occur on the first batch of cars imported. A cure for this problem is very simple and involves the removal of the ridge of plastic on the battery pack below the positive and negative terminals. Please telephone if you require assistance. The problem shows up clearly because the light under the car does not come on when you turn the car on.
Some cars have been reported as having a clutch problem. The car only moves forwards slowly and makes a loud grinding noise. Whilst it is possible to modify the clutch system, it is not an easy operation. This fault occurred on cars imported in the last few months of the year 2000. All imports were stopped whilst the problem was cured. Later imports can not have this problem. If you wish to attempt a repair, please telephone.
If the exchange mechanism appears to get jammed whilst operating and there is a clicking noise, check the two black plastic side pieces with the yellow ‘Danger keep clear’ label are free to move in the slots in the purple front and rear body shell. Also check that the tail spoiler (the piece that has the word Exchanger written on it) is free to move through the slot in the rear bodyshell.

Mercedes CLK, BMW M3 Top of page | Home Page | Hitari Ltd

There have been too few faults with these cars to perform any diagnosis of faults.

Astra TOCA, Mini Cooper and Honda Civic R Top of page | Home Page | Hitari Ltd

There have been too few faults with these cars to perform any diagnosis of faults. Please note, there is no battery cover on these cars; the battery is held in place by the cam screw at the end of the battery box.

Radical Machine Top of page | Home Page | Hitari Ltd

So far there has been only two reported faults with the Radical Machine. Please note, there is no battery cover on these cars; the battery is held in place by the cam screw at the end of the battery box.

This fault causes the ‘wheel arms’ to constantly rotate or three of the wheels to drive constantly. If you take the battery out of the remote control, the rotation stops. Most of these faults have occurred with the first few models imported. The cars should be taken back to the retailer for an exchange, or the controller can be sent to us for repair. The fault is caused by static electricity being conducted through the control joy-stick. Current models in production should have been modified to reduce the possibility this fault occurring.
This fault involves the gearbox for the rotating wheel arms. A few gearboxes have developed a problem with the gears. This causes the arms to stop rotating at certain positions or to pause and click as they rotate. If the cars are under warranty they should be taken back to the shop for exchange or repair, or the car can be sent directly to us for repair.

1/64^th scale Mean Speed Machine, Subaru and Honda Top of page | Home Page | Hitari Ltd

Q	I can not get my Micro car to charge; neither the steering nor motor operate – the charging light does not come on.
A	1 It is important that the instructions are followed in order to charge the cars correctly: First insert the batteries in the charger. Next turn on the charger switch. Finally put the car on the charger unit. If you have attempted to charge the car and not followed the above operation order, take the car off the charger and remove one of the batteries from the charger for ten seconds (to reset the charger) and start again. 2 There has been a very small number of cars where the battery in the car was not making good contact with the battery contacts. If this is the fault, the car will operate correctly when the car is first placed on the charger (for 40 seconds), but stops as soon as it is taken off the charger. It is possible to correct this, but I would recommend asking for assistance before starting. Please telephone for details.
Q	I can not get my Micro car to charge; neither the steering nor motor operate – the charging light does come on.
A	There has been a small number of chargers supplied which have incorrect wiring in the charger. It is a simple matter, using a screwdriver, to correct the fault. Please telephone for details. Otherwise the unit can be returned for replacement.
Q	I am unable to get the car to drive forwards or backwards, but the steering does work.
A	It is possible that one of the two contacts that press onto the end of the car’s motor are not making good contact. Take off the car bodyshell (unclip the front first is easiest), undo the knurled screw which secures the metal plate covering the motor at the back of the car and remove the motor from the car. Carefully bend out the two contacts which are in the car moulding where the motor fits.

Micro Tumbler Top of page | Home Page | Hitari Ltd

I can not get my Micro Tumbler to charge – the charging light does not come on.

There are two possible reasons for this problem.

1 It is important that the instructions are followed in order to charge the cars correctly: First insert the batteries in the charger. Next turn on the charger switch. Make sure the car switch is turned off. Finally put the car on the charger unit.

2 Check that the central pin in the charging connection on the car has not broken off. The socket on the charger should have a hole down the middle. The car plug should have a central pin. If the pin has broken off the car, (it may be left in the charger socket) the car will not charge. A repair is required; telephone for assistance.

Micro Honda Speedboat Top of page | Home Page | Hitari Ltd

I can not find out where the charger plug fits into the boat

The charger plug (which is stored in the compartment at the bottom of the remote control unit) fits into the socket beneath the two passengers in the boat. Carefully pull the passengers straight up out of the boat. Turn the boat switch to off and the controller switch to on before connecting the plug to the socket in the boat. It takes about 40 seconds to complete the charge. After this time the red light on the charger should go out; the green light on the charger should remain on.

TVR Tuscan S and TVR T350c Top of page | Home Page | Hitari Ltd

So far (October 2007) there has been only one fault (except accidental damage) reported with these cars. The fault has occurred in the drive gears. Spares gearboxes are available – see our parts list. Faulty cars which are still under warranty can, of course, be returned to the retailer for replacement. The latest cars with the A-B-C switch on the controller and car will fail to work if you have not set both the car and controller switches to the same letter.

Bentley Continental and Honda NSX Top of page | Home Page | Hitari Ltd

The proportional control models – Bentley Continental and Honda NSX-R are manufactured on one of three frequencies. 27MHz band 1, 2 or 4. If you have three cars, one on each frequency, it is possible to run three cars at the same time. It is not possible to operate successfully two or more cars on the same frequency.

There are small preset controls on the controller for the steering and throttle trim. These allow you to centre the steering and adjust the forwards / reverse motion so that the car is stationary and steers in a straight direction when the controller is turned on but the controls are not being used. For example if the car moves forwards (or backwards) when the controller is on and the trigger is in its rest position you should try adjusting the throttle trim in order to stop the car.

The run-time per battery charge is between 10 and 20 minutes. The 7.2V battery Hitari supply with the car has a capacity of 1600mAh and this is the only battery available from Hitari. However, batteries with capacities of two or three times that of the Hitari battery are available from shops such as Toys R Us and dedicated model shops. You should ask for a 7.2V Tamiya battery. Remember using the Hitari charger, the charge-time will increase in proportion to the battery capacity. Remember NEVER OVERCHARGE a battery as serious damage to the battery may result.

One problem reported with the cars has been a missing aerial tube for the car aerial. In every case where we have followed up the complaint, the aerial tube has been in the packaging, but has not been noticed by the customer. The aerial tube is placed in a polythene bag and is taped to the polystyrene packing which surrounds the car. It is attached just above the level of the corrugated cardboard which separates the car from the controller, usually on the right side of the car. If you have thrown away the packaging (with the tube), new tubes are available from stock. Please see our Bentley spare parts lists. Without the tube fitted, not only is there a danger that the aerial wire will become snagged in the wheels and damaged, but the control range will be greatly reduced.

Lotus Exige and Bentley Convertible Top of page | Home Page | Hitari Ltd

The Lotus Exige and Bentley Convertible are proportional control models. The controller has a trigger throttle control and two steering wheels – one on the right side of the controller and one on the left. This allows the controller to be held by the left or right hand and the steering to be operated by the right or left hand. Only one steering wheel will operate at any one time. There is a switch on the controller to change between left and right hand operation.

The models are manufactured on the 27 and 40 MHz bands (49MHz in the USA), but by operating a switch on the car and controller, three different operating settings are available at 27MHz and three at 40MHz. This allows a total of six cars to be operated at the same time. Note: the switch does not change the operating frequency of the car within the 27 or 40 MHz bands, but changes the pattern of the control signals so that the differently set-up cars can recognise their own commands.

There have been very few genuine faults with these cars, but the following points may help solve any problems.

Q	The car will not operate, neither steering nor drive wheels
A	Have you charged the 9.6V car battery? The battery is supplied in a discharged condition. Have you set the A-B-C switch on the car to match the switch on the controller? The selected letter must be the same. Is the power light glowing on the controller? Is the brightness of the light constant, or is it flickering slightly? If the light is not on or if the brightness is not constant, the controller battery is probably faulty. There have been a few instances where the shop has supplied a 27MHz car with a 40MHz controller. Check the coloured stickers on the car and controller.
Q	As soon as I turn on the car and controller, the car mores off, - even before I touch the trigger control.
A	Does the car stop when you turn off the controller? If it does stop, switch on the controller again and turn the little rotary throttle trim control on the right side of the controller fully clockwise and note in which direction the car moves. Turn the trim control fully anticlockwise and note which way the car moves. If the direction in which the car moves changes between forwards and backwards, you should find a position for the trim control where the car stops. You should turn the trim control quite slowly otherwise you may miss the correct point. If the car does not stop when the controller is turned off or if the car continues to move in the same direction when you move the throttle trim control from clockwise to anticlockwise, there is a genuine fault which needs to be rectified.
Q	The car does not go in a straight line when it moves forwards or backwards.
A	You should be able to adjust the setting of the front wheels by using the steering trim control on the right of the controller. If this is turned from one end of its travel to the other, the front wheels should move from the left to the right of centre. Once you have adjusted the steering trim control to bring them to the centre position, the steering wheel on the controller should operate normally. When the battery in the car is almost run-down, the operating the throttle may cause the steering to pull to one side. Ensure the battery is fully charged.
Q	The control range of the car is very low – perhaps only two or three metres
A	Ensure the car aerial tube has been fitted and the transmitter aerial is fully extended. If you have not found the aerial tube in the packaging and have thrown away the packaging, new tubes can be purchased. The black aerial wire should be about 6cm longer than the aerial tube. Check the light on the controller is not flickering slightly. If it is flickering, the controller battery needs to be replaced. As with all radio controlled models, there may be interference from other transmitters – CB radios operate on similar frequencies to the 27MHz models and some baby alarms work on 40MHz (or 49MHz in the USA). Try the model in a different location. The operating range indoors is totally unpredictable due to the building structure. Try the car out-doors.
Q	The car shudders and the steering flicks from side to side.
A	This can occur when the car is at the extreme of its control range distance or when the 9.6V battery in the car is nearly run down.

Hitari help-line 01582 609853, email Hitari@ntlworld.com

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