Just a sperm head!

[Dogfish]

Hi everybody,
This is my first posting on this, or any, RC vehicle forum. If you were to compare RC vehicle modelling experience to human development, I'd be at sperm level! I'm a retired engineer/creator/innovator in Essex, UK and I've just inherited a HPI Baja 5B 23cc from a friend. I'm totally gobsmacked by the design, and quality of engineering and want to learn more! I realize there are many versions of the 5B produced and am in a fix knowing where to start. It came to me just as the car & TF40 controller. I'm waiting for a battery charging cable to be delivered at the moment, so I can charge the lifeless batteries. I've read that the existing battery pack could be 5 cell 6V, but would that be NiMh? I already have a Pro-Peak Prodigy Charger that I can use, but what charge/discharge parameters to set? Would there be an identification plate anywhere that would tell me the model/version number, together with the year of manufacture? So many questions and so few answers! I'm all ears to any suggestions, so any advice would be well received!

 

[Seandonato73]

If the battery has been sitting for any amount of time, it's likely junk and needs replaced. As well as going Iverson the carb and fuel lines and make sure that's all in order. Also if it doesn't have a kill switch buy one and get it fitted before you run it.
Welcome to the nut house.

 

[Rceverywhere]

Looks like it has a bunch of mods, nice score! You might find some hidden jems when you start getting into it, you can try and charge the battery really low amps like 1 or .5 to see if any juice goes in, but if it only takes 200 - 300 milli amps, not good, sometimes a charge/discharge can help get more on but not much. You definitely want good batteries and radio ... that radio is pretty old school and prown to interference if anybody else has the same frequency. Most cars now have 2.4's so you may not have problems until a cheap toy gets turned on next door and takes over control

 

[spents]

post up a few more pics fella, body off and close up pics plus the underside, that will give us a better idea of whether you have a genuine hpi or a rovan/km baja,
like @Seandonato73 says the battery will probably be junk,
it looks like an earlier hpi baja tbh with a load of mods added,

 

[Seandonato73]

It's not even worth trying to save a nimh pack, they are dirt cheap and no amount of cycling will bring it back to being worth using if it's flat lined or all but flat lined.

 

[Rceverywhere]

It's not even worth trying to save a nimh pack, they are dirt cheap and no amount of cycling will bring it back to being worth using if it's flat lined or all but flat lined.

Good advice but why not try, he did ask and has the lead coming, who can say for sure with out seeing the batt, my first baja battery lasted several years. Would love to see more picks, it may even have a kill on it with all the bling showing in just one shot

 

[Seandonato73]

Good advice but why not try, he did ask and has the lead coming, who can say for sure with out seeing the batt, my first baja battery lasted several years. Would love to see more picks, it may even have a kill on it with all the bling showing in just one shot

Don't take offense, but I'm going out on a limb when he used the term "inherited a baja." Normally that means it's been sitting. Nimh and nicd don't do storage well and need upkeep to be maintained. They also loose capacity with every charge and discharge cycle. Deeply discharged batteries can be brought back, but once it hits that magical flatline, you have as much chance of bringing it back around to any usable capacity as not peeing on your feet standing in a 100mph head wind. Second is they are dirt cheap, so why bother really?
I would have suggested li-fe or li-po like most of us run, but may not work well on the ancient radio gear he has, as both should have a lvc and take different chargers then a nimh or nicd battery. So it would get him running for minimal money and have a reliable battery till he decides to bail or dive in head first and get some new radio gear and servos.

 

[Dogfish]

Well, thanks lads for all your constructive comments. First thing when the charge cable arrives will be check out the battery, I'm assuming it will be 5 x 1.2v (6v)? and no, I'm not expecting any miracle of life, It may have been idle for 1 - 5 years! I'd be interested in kill switch if one's not already fitted. Incidentally Seandonato73, I have literally inherited it, from a friend that I lost a short while ago. To enable you to see more, I've attached a few more pics.

 

[Rceverywhere]

Great buggy, lots of love went into it, sorry to hear of how it came to yours though, if you get the upper cage off and maybe the throttle servo horn you should be able to pop open the receiver box, then you'll see the battery and if there's a kill switch. It may not even be the stock 23cc, just the pullstart from it. Take your time and get to know it and don't worry if a couple guys disagree about what's best. Most important is what you want from it. But you got yourself a tricky one for a first one, read, watch videos on u tube, and if you ever have questions don't be shy to ask around. When you go to use it it's normal to need to pee suddenly and you may get weak at the knees during your first many uses, lol. I've been beating on my rc's for 20 years, have so many I can't count them, and I still need to pee and feel relief when I'm done testing my top speed attempts on road!