tmc0011 Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 Got one of these as a newbie for my daughter. She flipping loves it. But the battery performance is rubbish. The 600mAh 7.4 2s has plenty of time, we get a good 25-30 mins continuous use. But when it comes to charging it all goes wrong. the supplied charger I think is too low rated at output of 150mA. It won’t charge if it is nearly dead it only charges after light use. Not really useable. looking at the ESC/RX (FTX9370) I’m tempted to change from lipo to nimh. Anyone tried it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormbringer Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 is it a lipo battery ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormbringer Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 just checked and it is a lipo have you set the speed controller to lipo ? you shoudnt over discharge lipo batteries Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmc0011 Posted June 23, 2020 Author Share Posted June 23, 2020 Hi, yes it's lipo, i have guessed that you cannot discharge too much. But how do you manage that in reality? Mine is my daughters, try telling her to stop playing with it even when it has charge left in it!!! Maybe I shouldnt have bought such a nice one for a 7 year old. but she loves it. looking at the esc/rx i think i can just switch between the two power types, switching between 7.4 and 7.2 v basically. nimh seems to be more reliable, less prone to issue when depleted too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormbringer Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 nihms might be way to go in that case most have a low volt sensor which either cuts power to motor or slows it down so you dont over discharge the lipo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz! Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 Before you go spending any cash mate, check the connectors to the battery, charger and esc for any loose connections or breaks. they do cut off normally in plenty of time on a good truck, we have 3 and they give the axial scx24 a run for its money. if you need any help or anything just fire me a pm or I can check in on here. cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmc0011 Posted June 23, 2020 Author Share Posted June 23, 2020 so the esc is the ftx esc/rx combo, try finding a manual on that and you are a better man than me. the connections appear to be good. there is some play but the cable and connector move in prallel so i think they are still in good connection. same for the charger but it is USB powered and i dont know if it actually outputting anything. ill be borrowing a multimeter tomorrow to check voltage output from the battery and the charger. i guess from that it will be clear how much power is outputting from charger and how much is being stored in the lipo thanks for the offer of support, its very much appreciated for a newbie, we all have to learn sometime. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmc0011 Posted June 23, 2020 Author Share Posted June 23, 2020 clearly need to touch up my multimeter skills too. on connecting the charger output to voltage dc 5v is registered but the output say it should be 8.4v. also on the 200m DC AMP measurement it reads 80, much less than the 150mA it says it should be outputting. i might have my electronics all mixed up of course. multimeter measure voltage set to V DC, range 20, measure 5. multimeter measure current set to A DC, range 200m with Red lead connected to mA input on multimeter, measures 80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmc0011 Posted June 23, 2020 Author Share Posted June 23, 2020 also when measuring current the charger starts flashing as it first did when charging the battery on the first day, suggesting it does register the draw into the multimeter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormbringer Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 instead of getting a new esc what about getting a proper charger ? something along these lines https://www.modelsport.co.uk/skyrc-e680-ac-dc-80w-charger/rc-car-products/440716 dont know what connector is on your lipo and you may need to buy/make a lead for it the usb chargers arnt very good in my opinion 🍻 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmc0011 Posted June 24, 2020 Author Share Posted June 24, 2020 i definitely agree the usb chargers arent much cop. i need to get a new battery and a charger for sure, was scouting ebay but not a lot of luck yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghazghul Posted July 6, 2020 Share Posted July 6, 2020 (edited) The USB charger for mone died after two or three charges (this was nimh). I assumed dead battery and then made an adaptor for my big charger (by cutting up the cable from the USB charger) and it was fine, and the Outback mini worked so much better! Oh wow, ancient thread... I've not been on here for ages. Edited July 6, 2020 by ghazghul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmc0011 Posted July 7, 2020 Author Share Posted July 7, 2020 I bought a dedicated balance charger, only £10, and a spare battery. The old battery needs to be rebuilt but the new one is fine after many many charges. I think the USB charge cable is a bit of a joke really as it just is not up to the task. I think the LiPo i have been using needs more current than USB can supply Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmc0011 Posted July 23, 2020 Author Share Posted July 23, 2020 Spoke too soon. Both batteries only lasted about 5 charges. I’m so pd off I am either really unlucky or doing something fundamentally wrong. I’m £40 down now on what I thought was a ready to run! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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