Everyone loves to take their RC cars on a joyride at any given chance they get. But the joy fades away soon enough when the car doesn’t work like it’s supposed to. For instance – the RC car remote light blinking issue is a common one. Hence, it’s important to know why it happens and how to solve it.
If the remote light on your RC car is blinking, there’s most likely a problem with the connection ports. Either the transmitter or the receiver isn’t connected properly, or the battery itself is misplaced somehow. A simple systematic jumpstart should fix the issues immediately.
Despite having similar interfaces, RC cars follow different configurations depending on their functionalities. Just because the blinking refers to a certain issue in one of the models doesn’t mean it will indicate the same for others.
Let’s find out about a few such initiatives in today’s article.
RC Car Remote Light Blinking: Potential Reasons
If you notice a subtle blinking in your RC car, here’s the very first thing that you should do – check the model manually. Overviewing the manual should give you a first-hand idea as to which ports the light is connected to.
For instance, in some of the advanced RC models, the light is associated with the internal security system of the car. Hence, in such cases, the blinking could potentially indicate the chances of any upcoming or ongoing safety hazards.
Here are a few common reasons why the control lights in your RC cars could be blinking non-stop or periodically –
To Indicate Stoppage
RC cars nowadays are evolved to indicate the stoppage to help you navigate through parking in the dark. In some of the recent RC models, the controller light doesn’t immediately turn off once you stop sending signals.
Instead, the light keeps on blinking and then slowly dims out after half a minute or so. This feature helps RC car owners to see and find out where their car is even in the dark. Again, the blinking light will directly mean that your car is slowly coming to a stop and help you decide your next steps.
To Help With Night Vision
In general, the blinking LED light helps with night vision, to help you crawl during night-time. Red lights are easier to spot from a distance, and hence, you can track your cars easily with the blinking red light.
Red lights also have higher penetrative power than most other lights. So, even if your car gets away from view for a while, it’ll be much easier to detect the red light in such cases. This is also the same reason why big trucks use blinking red lights in the back while traveling at night.
Even if the other trucks don’t notice the humongous truck itself due to fog, smoke, etc., they will notice the piercing red light in the back. Noticing that light alerts them & helps them to acknowledge that the road ahead is indeed occupied.
Security Blinking
In some RC models, the red light is a direct representative of the internal security system. In these cases, repetitive blinking of the red light could indicate major security breaches.
For instance – if water gets inside and corrupts the system, or if there’s a short circuit, then the red light will start to blink. It acts like an attention grabber to make you focus on and figure out the security concerns before it’s too late.
Lack Of Power
If you haven’t installed a battery in your RC car yet, then the red light might keep blinking to indicate a lack of power. Again, the blinking could occur even with the presence of a battery if it’s not supplying enough power over time.
Radio Turbulence
RC cars are built on the principles of radio signals. The transmitter from your controller sends your orders as signals to the receivers placed inside the car.
So, if any of the counterparts haven’t been communicating properly, the car won’t follow the right signals. The controller light will then keep blinking to indicate the radio turbulence in the chain of command.
How To Fix The Blinking Issues Of An RC Car?
To fix the blinking issues of an RC car, you should first pinpoint the origin of the issue. After you determine the Achilles heel, you can adopt the following measures to fix it –
| Problems | Certifiable Solutions |
| Voltage Issues | You need to jumpstart the ESC to redirect the voltage back to its power source. Turn everything off and then slowly and methodically switch them on again. Start with the transmitter and then plug in the battery. Wait for a while and then press and hold the controller button to see if the light flashes. Let go of the button and then try again. If the light stays red/green, i.e., doesn’t blink, it means your system is getting proper output. |
| Connection Issues | The transmitter and the receiver need to be reconnected to solve the connection issues. Best to go to an electronic expert and have them check out the ports. Check the signal receiving strengths on both ports to eliminate the possibilities of potential signal dismemberment. If the signal strength is okay after the cross-examination, then the problem is likely in the battery itself. |
| Battery Issues | Take out the battery and properly place it inside the case again. Use a soft and completely dry clean cloth to clean up the dust/debris around the ports. If the battery still fails to provide any power, or if the flow of power isn’t constant, change batteries immediately. |
FAQs
Q: What does it mean when the RC car is flashing red light?
Ans: It means that your car is ready to drive without any issues, i.e., both the transmitter and receiver are sending and receiving consecutive signals constantly. So, if the RC car is flashing a red light consecutively without blinking, it’s a good thing for most models. For some cars, the red light indicates a lack of voltage or proper connectivity
Q: What does it mean when the RC car light is alternating between red and green light?
Ans: If the controller is alternating between red and green lights non-stop, then your car is likely going through voltage issues. Normally, the light goes from red to green, indicating the proper flow of power throughout the circuits. But if you’re running low on power, then the controller will switch to green and red alternately to indicate insufficient voltage output.
Final Verdict
So, why’s your RC car remote light blinking in the first place? Is it because the controller is broken beyond repair?
Well, now you know that that’s not always the case. An RC car light can keep blinking to indicate several issues, such as poor transmission signal, bad ESC connection, etc. To resolve these issues, simply try out the remedies stated above to jumpstart the controller system.
In most cases, the blinking of the light isn’t a harmful indicator. However, you should still figure out the root cause ASAP to make sure the problem doesn’t spread to other areas.
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