KingOr28

I just bought an Exceed RC Electric 1/10 truck online. The instructions said to charge the 7.2v 1800mah battery for 8-10 hours for the first time. It did not however say how long to charge the battery after that.

Well the truck worked for a little bit but was unresponsive at times it was strange it only worked for like 5 minutes and then died pretty darn quick. Now I don't know how long to charge it after the first charge cause the instructions doesn't say.

Can anyone help me with what may be going on maybe a bad battery or something? I am going to call the company tomorrow and hopefully they can help. I hope I didn't buy a bad product as I did a little research on this company and it seems they got they stuff together....

Any responces that can help in this situation would be appreciated!

Thanks,
James

Slo-V Flyer

I've owned their Falcon 40 heli, and it was decent for the price.

As for charging the battery with the included charger, I'm guessing it's a simple plug-in wall charger? In that case, you charge it for about 4-6 hours depending on the "ma" output rating of the charger. If the batteries are warm for a while, then the battery is basically charged.

If you can give us more info on the charger, we can help out more. Mainly, does the charger say anywhere what the output milliamp rating is? 50, 70, 100, 200 ma or milliamps?

I would suggest getting a decent peak charger that can charge your battery correctly and shut off automatically when done. Look into the Duratrax Digital Piranha on towerhobbies.com. It can charge Nicad and Nimh batteries.

As for runtimes, I am afraid 5 minutes is all you can expect from the 1800 mah battery they give you. I'd invest in at least a good charger AND battery. For batteries, look into EP/IB/Duratrax 3800-4200 mah, Tenergy, Maxamps 4.4K, basically most batteries over 3000-3300 mah and above, and at 7.2 volts (to keep the same voltage as your stock battery). The runtime will increase with a battery that has a higher milli amp hour rating or mah (capacity). Also, even though a battery is 7.2 volts, if it is one of the first few brands I mentioned, it is of higher quality (in no particular order) and will give better top speeds and acceleration compared to the cheapy one like your 1800 mah stick pack.

Side-by-side configuration batteries, where the cells are laid down sideways from the front to the back and soldered with bars across one another, will give better performance than the regular "double barreled shotgun" style stick packs.

KingOr28

I'm looking at the battery charger now it reads as follows: Class 2 Power Supply, Input 120 V AC 60mhz, Output: 9V DC 250mA

I guess that would explain why it would only seem to run for 2-3 minutes it wouldn't even really work in the grass but would run on cement for a lil while but VERY unresponsive it was really strange and weird something was wrong it felt like.

Do I not have to worry about overdoin the power Amps, etc on the battery and going over the 1800mAH or does the mAH just control how long it can run as long as I stay within the 7.2 V it should be ok?

Also what if I went above 7.2 volts would that overheat and melt it? How does that work thanks 4 your help this is my first RC CAR I wanna get into the hobby but this has upset me greatly and I feel dispointed I just want this thing to WORK so I can have some FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Slo-V Flyer

Well, the car's electronic speed controller (ESC) is designed to operate on a certain voltage and depending on the designer, can work with 7.2 (6-cell nicad/nimh) and maybe higher voltage pack (8.4 volts, 7-cell, for example). I'd stick with 6-cells, (7.2 volts) since I don't have the info on the truck. Just get some good quality batteries, like the ones I suggested, they'll last longer and also you can use them in your other r/c later on.

As for the charger, 250 mA is the rate at which it will charge the battery, so.... 1800 mAh / 250 mA = ~7 hours to charge assuming the battery is dead when charged. Again, if it feels hot, stop the charge, though warm is good because that means the cells are taking the charge and nearing the top. Since this is a simple plug in charger, there is no way it will "know" when to shut off. To keep things simple, run the battery down until it is just moving slow, and then put it on the charger for 6-7 hours.

Again, if you're interested in this hobby, and I was right there in your shoes 4 years ago, I'd start to save up and invest in a good charger (like the example above, and many more) and batteries. Stick with 7.2 volt packs for now, it is a standard voltage on most 1/10th scale R/C vehicles. I know you're thinking it's a lot of money to spend on a charger and battery, perhaps as much as you may have spent on the truck, but in the long run it will pay off. With one of those batteries, you will nearly double or triple your run time, as well as get a nice boost in speed (even if it's slight).

Another thing to look at is those battery connectors. I think the Exceed trucks come with the standard "Tamiya" style white plastic battery connectors. Those will be OK for mild motors possibly like your truck's stock motor and battery. But they have a lot of resistance and are prone to melt together when running a hotter motor and / or battery combo. If you are good at soldering, or know someone who is, get yourself some "Deans Ultra" or "Traxxas High current" connectors for your batteries and ESC (that's the thing that you plug your battery into that controls how fast your truck goes...). Again, look at towerhobbies.com for those connectors.

Start small and slowly, but smartly, and you'll not be disappointed.

May I recommend if you want a dependable and tried and true beginner R/C that comes ready to run (BUT need batteries and charger) look into the Traxxas Rustler/Stampede/Bandit, the even race-able Duratrax Evader EXT (?). Those two, especially Traxxas, are some of the most popular truck/buggy choices that hobby shops carry parts for like AKs in Russia.... Spare parts is one thing you don't want to wait on in the mail or have a hard time finding. Go to your local hobby shop and see what truck/parts they carry and go with it.

KingOr28

The instructions read 6-7 cells (7.2-8.4V) Power Supply

Does this mean I can get the 8.4V for it and it won't melt or mess anything up and have more power and run faster better?!

This stuff is pretty confusing I didn't know it was going 2 be this complex!!

Well I guess I need to start pricing new batteries and good charger huh that seems to be the problem? I was thinking it may have been interference or something the way it wasn't responding so bad, maybe it was just a bad battery....

This is frustrating but I am going to stick with it cause I was able to see the potential breifly today as it ran kinda fast for a lil while when it was responding ...

Slo-V Flyer

It can be radio interference. ... most packaged radio equipment despite their marketing claims in a usual urban neighborhood is good for 50-100 ft of distance before succumbing to rf noise and glitches.

Try to drive it in an open field or area and see if it does the same thing.

And if your manual does say 7-cells, then I guess it can handle more power. Though be warned that running more volts will heat the motor up more, and I don't know how hot your motor runs right now for the few minutes you use it. A very broad but general rule of thumb is if you can keep your finger on the motor for about 5 seconds, it is not too hot. If you allow your motor to reach 200' F, it will ruin the magnets inside it, and won't work any more.

Also, running more volts with identical battery capacity, e.g. 6-cell 1800 mah vs. a 7-cell 1800 mah, will result in lesser run times, because a motor will pull more amps with higher voltage being fed to it (more amps being drawn from the battery means lesser runtime). "Ohm's" rules of electricity... blah blah blah

Though again, I'd stick with good 6-cell packs and maybe one or two 7-cell pack(s) for the occasional speed itch.

j.m.

Your speedo or radio might also be the issue. Though, that's gonna be another $100 to get good equipment.

paintstikker

The ESC on that truck is just a knockoff from the Futaba MC330CR, so it'll take 6 or 7 cells.

I can't really determine the what the motor is, but it seems similar to a Venom Fireball model motor.

cen123

How do you know it's a knock off?????

KingOr28

********* UPDATE **************

OK, well I charged up the 7.2V 1800mAH battery up last night for around 7-8 hours. Well I woke up this morning and to my suprise the thing actually was working A LOT better than it was yesterday on the very first charge (I used a different wall outlet in our house not sure if that made a difference or if it was just that these Ni mh battery is picky about the very first few charges setting the memory or what not??)

I am really happy that it started to work this morning. Slo-V flyer said I could expect about 5 minutes of use from that battery, well it actually kept kicking for around 8 to almost 10 minutes which I was pretty happy about....

OK so here is the big question 4 you guys... What should be the next battery's/charger that I should get (mind you as I said above that the Manual said 6-7 cell 7.2-8.4V but there is 4 different models within that manual but I figure those specs should apply for all 4).

I would LOVE to get around a 8.4V 4000V battery do you think the RC540 stock motor could handle that power increase without buring up the motor? Let me know cause I'm real excited to see how fast it would run with more power, and also more mAH to last even longer!!!

Any help is really appreciated!

James who is "Happy it is finally working this morning"

P.S. - I forgot to add and tell you guys this, the responsivness was A LOT better today, BUT I was driving it in the street and all of a sudden it died and would not move at all, which is VERY dangerous when you are out in the street. Well I ran out there and turned the power button on and off again which seems to fix it when it does this. It only did it one time, but this concerns me and I see it as a flaw. Maybe newer better batterys may fix this problem, or however it might not and may be a seperate issue...

cen123

The motor should probably handle it but I don't know if the ESC would. This is a good battery http://www.maxamps.com/44K-Sport-Pack.htm this is an even better battery http://www.maxamps.com/proddetail.ph...ll-Flat&cat=13

Slo-V Flyer

I don't think he may want to spend $67 on a battery.... Maybe the IB4200 or Duratrax 4200s from towerhobbies.com around $40-$45 would be a little more attractive on a budget. But yeah those EP batteries are probably some of the best Nimh out there.

As I mentioned earlier, look into the Duratrax Digital Piranha charger. It's about $50 and can do Nimh/Nicads. R/C application Sub-C sized Nicad cells only go up to about 2400 mah, and Nimh can go above that, in general.

KingOr28

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8raOmuwIWk <----- check out this link (this is to help repay you guys 4 all of the helpful advice!) if you laughed as hard as I did watching this you should enjoy it, it was one of the funniest things I have seen all week!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Slo-V Flyer

Sorry, I'm one of those crazy people who don't think that video's funny. That girl could have been seriously injured. And thanks to jack-asses like the driver of the truck driving in a BIKE trail, more and more parks do NOT allow r/cs of ANY kind to be run.

KingOr28

ya I agree with you 100% on your points but something about it made me laugh uncontrolably...

Any idea on whats causing the car to completly die like it did that one time today? Maybe its a flakey ESC?

cen123

Not very funny.

j.m.

like these:
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXLZK6&P=ML

And this:
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXCLD5&P=ML

Loco rc

Thats funny I just got my truck yesterday it still works but the instructions didnt say how long to charge tha batteries
I feel the same way as the poster i hope i didnt buy a lemon I was thinking about getting the traxxas stampeede but
wanted to save a lil cash

KingOr28

If I were to buy a decent peak charger like the Duratrax Digital Piranha, would this speed up the 6-7 hour charge time? How long would it take to charge a 4200mAH battery? If this thing can speed up the charge time faster than the standard plug in charger I have now I think I am going to have to buy it... This 6-7 hour wait time blows...

Also does that charger allow you to charge more than one battery at a time? Does it come with everything you need to do that?

pede_187

4200/5000=0.84 hours. It will take that long on the highest charge rate, which is 5 amps.

DriftingDragon

the battery connector might be loose on 1 wire, just get a new battery http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXMUT9&P=0

KingOr28

http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...entPage=family <----- what about this? Can I go into radioshack tomorrow and buy one of these, looks like it got decent reviews but I saw a post on there about how they used to be good battery's but now they replacing them with generic ones with same name....

DriftingDragon

i would not advise buying from radio shack if you want a 3600mAh try this------------>http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXLFW4&P=0 it may cost more but integy is great quality

Always Dreamin

The story goes, radioshack started selling gp cells. Everyone bought them, then they started using knock off cells.
I was lucky and went into my lrs (local radioshack) and found they had two left over, so I bought them.

Slo-V Flyer

That Piranha there only charges one battery at a time.. I think there is a "Dual" version also, but I forget the full name, probably just search with Dual at the beginning of the name, it should show up.

As for charge times, yes it will significantly decrease it. I would advise that for the best lifespan of your batteries you charge them with at no more than 3 amps. That will take anywhere from 1 to 1.5 hours depending on the battery pack's mah rating.

Typically, the faster you charge a battery, the hotter it gets, the more initial punch it has, BUT it does not store as much of a full charge as it could if you were to charge it slowly (as before with your wall charger) at a lower amp rate, such as 1-2 amps. Sure it takes a little longer at 2 amps (maybe 1.5-2 hours) but that will help keep your battery's lifespan from shortening too early.