Winter is a good time to do any maintenance jobs on your model equipment and check things out,it is also a good chance to check those receiver and transmitter batteries so vital for the operation of any radio control equipment in your inventory,here is a bit of advice about any wiring that is over three years old,charge up your transmitter and note the reading on the meter,is it lower than it was ? and when the TX is left on does it start to drop dramatically ? if it does not appear to charge up after connecting it up to the charger then you probably have a resistance in the wiring and it will need checking out,it is well known that eventually an electrolytic action sets into the negative wire of the connections,this has the effect of corroding the wires and making them black in appearance,this is where the problems start and if not checked will cause a failure of the equipment.
The receiver is equally affected as well,in this case it is easier to tell if there are any problems by checking out the plugs and sockets,if these show any signs of green or black near the pins then they will need replacing.
What happens is that over a period of time the ends of the wire degrades and the killer black wire corrosion spreads up the wire and arrests any current flow thus causing the heavy resistance,no matter of changing the cells will help as the root cause is the wiring.
So what is the answer ? well the only solution if you are feeling competent to do the job is to cut out the affected wires and replace them with new ones,the radio manufacturers will do this for you for a price and are well aware of the problem.
The problem really lies in the types of wire that are used,we all expect our equipment to be reasonable in price but this affects the quality of wire used to keep within the budget,if it was gold plated then the price would be astronomical,so for the present at least we just have to live with this problem,it is well known but not over publicised.
So before you blame the batteries check out the wires,a quick check by cutting back a tiny portion of the insulation aprox one inch from the plug or socket will reveal any problem areas,if it is tarnished and not shiny then this is more than likely the problem area.