All things R/C

Smitty335

Smitty335

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I need a battery charging lesson, been using a fast charge at 3 amp with the balance port both are S2 Li-Po batteries, one is a 3500 and the other is a 5000 mAh. They don't seem to last long, 15 minutes or so? But it's crawling ledes almost as tall as the 1.9 tires? What am I doing wrong? Thanks!
 
Adam490

Adam490

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I need a battery charging lesson, been using a fast charge at 3 amp with the balance port both are S2 Li-Po batteries, one is a 3500 and the other is a 5000 mAh. They don't seem to last long, 15 minutes or so? But it's crawling ledes almost as tall as the 1.9 tires? What am I doing wrong? Thanks!
You should be getting a lot more run time than that. You either aren't charging them all the way or you've got something bound up in the driveline. I can run mine with a 4200 3s for almost 2 hours. That 5000 mAH should run for a few hours easily. Are you sure it's running out of battery and not going into a thermal shutdown? If they get too hot they will shut themselves down.

Does your truck go into a "limp mode" where it gets really slow before totally shutting down? I looked up the low voltage cutoff specs for your ESC and it should cut power to 40% when the battery hits 3.3v per cell:

1611613646116


Does your battery charger have a display that shows the voltage? Just as rule of thumb when charging LiPo's, you charge at "1C" unless the battery specifies it can handle faster charge rates. "1C" would be the mAH of your battery in amps, so your 3500 mAh can charge at 3.5 amps and your 5000 mAh at 5.0 amps. So you aren't charging them as fast as you could be, which might be your problem if you aren't getting enough juice into them. Easiest way is to check it on the charger.
 
Smitty335

Smitty335

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You should be getting a lot more run time than that. You either aren't charging them all the way or you've got something bound up in the driveline. I can run mine with a 4200 3s for almost 2 hours. That 5000 mAH should run for a few hours easily. Are you sure it's running out of battery and not going into a thermal shutdown? If they get too hot they will shut themselves down.

Does your truck go into a "limp mode" where it gets really slow before totally shutting down? I looked up the low voltage cutoff specs for your ESC and it should cut power to 40% when the battery hits 3.3v per cell:

View attachment 251001

Does your battery charger have a display that shows the voltage? Just as rule of thumb when charging LiPo's, you charge at "1C" unless the battery specifies it can handle faster charge rates. "1C" would be the mAH of your battery in amps, so your 3500 mAh can charge at 3.5 amps and your 5000 mAh at 5.0 amps. So you aren't charging them as fast as you could be, which might be your problem if you aren't getting enough juice into them. Easiest way is to check it on the charger.
 
Smitty335

Smitty335

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Well my charger is only rated for 3 amp max and has no voltage meter, just the green light and beeper. I'm about to think the Hobby shop owner is a DA? Time to switch gears. And get the right charger, any suggestions? The same formula go for NiMh Batteries? Smitty. HA!
 
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Smitty335

Smitty335

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Ok checked out the drive system, I can turn the drive shafts, turn the gears on the motor and transmission, can't turn the wheels? Smitty Checked clearance on gear mesh, all is fine?
 
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Adam490

Adam490

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@Smitty335

We used to call these "blinkies", but they are just simple voltage testers for LiPo packs. You just plug the balance plug into the port and it shows the number of cells and the voltage per cell.

1611676031504


Looks like Avid sells one for $8 now:

 
Adam490

Adam490

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I believe your right! I saw the Traxxas EZ Pack, I'll look some more.
If you don't have Traxxas vehicles, you might want to shy away from that one. Traxxas uses a proprietary connector that has the balance lead integrated into the single plug. The one I linked before was a little Venom unit for $50.
 
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