Run times?

[toxxic]

Hey guys,

I am finding that the run time on my spider is absolutely crap. It probably lasts maybe about 3 or 4 minutes (maybe even less) then I can notice a large performance drop, soon after the car wont move. Is this normal, or could it be an issue with my motor?

Could it be that I am not discharging my battery packs (is it nescerary)?

I notice that the battery and motor conectors get pretty damn hot, is there too much resistance?

[justo316]

Yup, those Tamiya connectors should be banned. Get some Dean Ultra connectors for a start. You'll need pairs to cover all your batts, charger, esc and motor.

Check your gearing. Is your motor burning hot to touch after you've run a pack (or earlier)? If so, go for a smaller pinion and/or larger spur. My guess is the gearing should be alright if the previous owner knew anything.

Also, what motor are you running? Maybe your batts are too low in capacity?

[toxxic]

2100mah, shouldnt be to bad (or are there other factors i am ruling out?).

Yeah the motor gets quite hot, might have to try and source a new spur/pinion.

How much would dean ultra's set me back? I would need about 4 males, and 2 females.

[davetripoli]

Where can you get the Deans plugs, I need some

[BALISTC]

Any hobby shop has them...they are about 8 bucks for the set (male and female plug)

[toxxic]

Ok cool.

The motor has gotten quite hot, not quite burning hot but almost!

the packs are about 2 days old. Should I be discharging them before a recharge?

the charger is a charge-a-matic-2 hitec charger, not to sure if its lion or what - I assume its nicad 'cause the previous owner used nicad batteries.

[Ken]

They are NiCad so you should discharge them after the run. Just drve the car so it barely moves, that's enough. Store them like that until you want to charge them.

If the motor is that hot you should drop a tooth or two on the pinion.

I'd say the charger is a NiCad only charger and you've got NiCad's so that' alright.

What motor are you running?

[toxxic]

They are NiCad so you should discharge them after the run. Just drve the car so it barely moves, that's enough. Store them like that until you want to charge them.

If the motor is that hot you should drop a tooth or two on the pinion.

I'd say the charger is a NiCad only charger and you've got NiCad's so that' alright.

What motor are you running?

It is a yokomo motor, not to sure as there are no stickers on the bell. It would probably be higher than 16 turn's but i'm not to sure???

All I can read on the can is "yokomo japan" in engraved lettering.

[Ken]

It could be a yokomo motor but Reedy motors use yokomo endbells as well. Try getting a new motor or borrow one off your friend if you can. Then if the run times improve, you know that the motor has a problem or is a low turn motor.

[toxxic]

I think it is my conectors. I soldered the motor wires on - inseatd of using the dodgey connectors. And now I just need to get myself some dean ultra connectors.

Run times have definatly improved, I recon I get a good 10mins off a pack, is this reasonable?

Also my ESC has a button and a little variable pot, the button says "setup" and the pot says "control +/- power). Should I be doing anything with these?