Robots Leg Move Fine, But Doesn't Seem To Move Forward

[Googie]

Hi Again:

Well I rewired the SH Attacking Robot/Green Ports I was asking you guys about and it is running fine everything going except one light in one of the guns (Not sure of the wiring for it as all wires were disconnected from the bulb, and the bulb damaged, help on this would be appreciated as well).

The problem I am having he does not seem to move forward, except when I apply slight pressure from behind. Is this a case of the modern batteries weighing differently and throwing off the momentum forward ? I was thinking about hiding a counterweight, high and upfront.

Any help would be appreciated. This site and it's members have been great already. Good Holiday's everybody!

Best

Chris

[Morbius]

Look for the 'dollar store' batteries, cheapos made of cardboard or other cheap materials. They're much lighter and slightly smaller than the modern Duracells and Energizers and your robot will balance better and they'll fit much better without forcing them in or out of the toy. Remember that the AA's of today are about as powerful as the D's from vintage days. Don't use high-power batteries, these toys were meant to run on flashlight batteries.

Use these smaller/lighter/cheaper batteries so you don't blow out bulbs, many of us here have done just that with a pair of Duracells.

As for wiring I'm totally useless here but there are many darn fine mechanics on board Alphadrome who I'm sure will chime in with those details. I admire these members very much for bringing old toys back to life.

[Roboto]

On my vintage and even reproduction Robots I will use standard D cell never newer Duracell or Energizers they weight more and are slightly larger.

[Racerxc70]

Hi Googie

This is my best advice:

1- check your wiring

2- I've sent photos that you can go by as you can see each bulb has two wires at the base, one connects to the motor (+)and one goes to the(-) "clicker". The photos are from a bot that i just opened and the blue and white wires which are connected, were not connected to the chassis ground tab(see the tab to the left of the connection)

3- replace the bulbs with with a junker robot bulbs or replace them with mini maglite bulbs 1.5 v, solder new wires to the bulbs and use shrink wrap tubing (electrical tape just won't work) color the bulbs with a red permenent marker and glue them into place

4- never use alkaline batteries only use Heavy Duty (Harbor Freight, Radio Shack, Walmart)

[SH MIKE]

you should have an OHM Meter. It's not expensive and even if you don't know electronics, you

can just use the continuity tester to check for opens or shorts. I also have used old christmas tree lights

to replace old toy lights. They look the same and are cheap. Some are even pre-colored. You just have

to remove the plastic base by prying up the wires on the edge and then pulling out the light bulb.

[Racerxc70]

As for movement,

It's most likely that the back wheels are worn, the "floating" wheel stop wears the wheel away

apply painters tape to the legs to prevent damage then one boot at a time carefully bend the four tabs and push up the boot to expose the insides, the back wheel will have a "floating" wheel stop device above it, as the wheel spins forward the device "floats" when the wheel attempts to spin backward the device drops down into the tread and stops the wheel ( this is how the robot is pushed forward )

A simple fix is to rotate the wheels, back to front, front to back just like on a car ( please note how the wheels look before you remove them and how the "floating" device is placed, I highly recommend taking photos for current and future reference) or buy new wheels

These photos are from a different robot but they work the same way

[SH MIKE]

all modern batteries start out the same size as the old ones.

They start out with a card board center or meta center then they add an extra metal wrapper that adds

weight and size to the battery.