Matt
18-11-2004, 07:31 PM
so check it. today (thursday) its 30+ degrees in sydney, a real scorcher. so i grab my car and 2 batterys and head for the track for some practice and tune laps.
run the first battery - all good. i let the car cool for 5 or so mins and fire up battery #2. i get about 2 laps run time and on the third lap the motor completely stops.
SHIT
i get it home for diagnosis. speed control light works and responds to throttle on the controller but no motor movement. voltmeter shows current to the motor. i disassemble the motor and clean thoroughly. put back together and _still_ no go.
SHIT.
this was not good and i remember breaking into a real bad sweat (did i mention it was 30+ degrees).
to cut a lot of panic short, the motor plate that the motor screws into had gotten so hot it warped (!) and the motor was on a servere angle that would not allow it to freely turn with the spur gear.
ive spent 3+ hours pulling the rear end to bits, and used trial and error to get the metal plate straight again (only tool i had was a pair of plyers).
a test drive tonight proved positive. she was flying up and down the street but i learnt that my pinion gear is way too large because the car needs a good 10 - 15 meters to wind up to full RPM and this is half the length of the straight on the track. the car would only be at full speed for the last half of the straight and on no other part of the track! i am running a 22 teeth pinion, im going to take a dive down to an 18 on sunday for race day.
tuning is such an "on-going" process, isnt it.
run the first battery - all good. i let the car cool for 5 or so mins and fire up battery #2. i get about 2 laps run time and on the third lap the motor completely stops.
SHIT
i get it home for diagnosis. speed control light works and responds to throttle on the controller but no motor movement. voltmeter shows current to the motor. i disassemble the motor and clean thoroughly. put back together and _still_ no go.
SHIT.
this was not good and i remember breaking into a real bad sweat (did i mention it was 30+ degrees).
to cut a lot of panic short, the motor plate that the motor screws into had gotten so hot it warped (!) and the motor was on a servere angle that would not allow it to freely turn with the spur gear.
ive spent 3+ hours pulling the rear end to bits, and used trial and error to get the metal plate straight again (only tool i had was a pair of plyers).
a test drive tonight proved positive. she was flying up and down the street but i learnt that my pinion gear is way too large because the car needs a good 10 - 15 meters to wind up to full RPM and this is half the length of the straight on the track. the car would only be at full speed for the last half of the straight and on no other part of the track! i am running a 22 teeth pinion, im going to take a dive down to an 18 on sunday for race day.
tuning is such an "on-going" process, isnt it.