Scalextric cars that stop on corners

Sometimes we come across older Scalextric cars that run great on the straights and around, say, left hand bends but stop on right hand bends.  Why is this as it spoils the fun of racing?



The cause is relatively simple, over the years of going around bends the little wires that connect the pick-up braids to the motor fatigue and snap.  It’s not the outer insulator that breaks, it’s the internal conductors.  So, you have no visual clue and everything looks OK.

The wire breaks just where it comes out of the brass pin and so the solution is simple.  Cut the wire just as it comes out of the pin and start again.  Refit the pin and strip back the insulation to bend the conductors around the out side of the pin and refit the pin.

Some pins were crimped to the wires, in this case simply fit new pick-up pins.

Another great insight from Scalextric Car Restorations