For the last few weeks, I’ve been converting the set-up for my multi-manufacturer fleet to 11.6 Volts for the more realistic scale speeds reasons discussed on this forum. Last night, I got to a Scaleauto Viper and got a few violent stops at one of two lane changers - and only one lane of that particular changer. The occurrences did not happen as a result of hitting the lane changer button – these were “straight-through-pass” occurrences. This repeated several times – I could adjust the braids a bit and get it past the changer with a click sound – sometimes more prominent than other passes. But soon it would return to sudden stops and de-slotting. I softened the edges of the guide with sandpaper, but this was not a finality fix.
Other cars were reasonably smooth at this specific lane changer location - or at worst a minor click.
I inspected the slot at the location – no seriously obvious protrusions or snags. I manually slid the Scaleauto car through the location and found the sharp-narrow Scaleauto guide to catch mechanically on either side of the slot at very minor protrusions in the slot at this location. Other cars would not snag significantly on this minor protrusion when pushed through manually.
I changed the Scaleauto guide to a thicker guide and eliminated the issue – though there is still a varying click – sometimes a little more audible – sometimes not.
I think I’ve had this particular Scaleauto car for a year now and never had these violent de-slots until after I began to set it up for the lower voltage setting. I had heard you guys speak of lane changer quirks with low voltage. But with the guide change basically eliminating the issue, I think I’ve eliminated low voltage as the issue.
What are the particulars I might look for with lane changers at lower voltage? Is it simply that the lane changer functions irregularly at low voltage? And what to make of the narrow Scaleauto guide? Is this a norm for narrow guides? I have two other Scaleauto cars and I noticed I had already changed the guide for one of these two. I can’t remember the reason for this change –possibly it was for the same reason – don’t remember harsh de-slots in the last two years though.