Yet Another Yeti Build

[Sh0rtBus]

Update on the servo issue:

Holmes will replace my defective servo. Seems it was just a bad part, which happens. I need to stick it in the mail and send it out, so I'll handle that soon. Having a new baby pretty well put things on the back burner for a bit, but we'll be underway again shortly. I did; however, get lenses and lights for the rear light bar, so I'll have pics of that soon.

Figured I'd show you guys how my Saturday went. Let me just say....Much Fun Was Had!!!!!







Video

[Rockwolf]

Yea beat the hell outta my weekend! Awesome rig I'll watch the vid later when I have more time, on my way to work right now.

[Sh0rtBus]

Lil' update on the current build status. Got my new HH servo in the mail yesterday, so I'll try to get it connected and tested in the next couple days. Still need to wire up my rear lights and pick up a Gear Head Six Shooter & Yeti mount for the front. Short list also includes either a Futaba 4PL or Airtronics MT4. Not that I absolutely need 4 channels, but it'll be a dual purpose radio, being used for my yeti and my Wraith, which is currently undergoing a transformation similar to DickyT's WranglAR, with the exception of a NB JK hard body rather than a lexan one. But that's another project for another thread.

Not sure which direction I'm headed from here, though. Guess I need to get some actual run time out of my Yeti at this point. Not sure which direction I want to go with the front axles, whether it be the Blue Monkey stuff or the Dlux option. My concern is going to be how everything works with the wheels, as I'm not looking to change them anytime soon.

Anyway....I'll report back once I get the servo tested and hopefully installed. There may even be some running video to come in the future.....no promises, though.

[Sh0rtBus]

So I installed my replacement BL400 servo Saturday morning and made sure I bench tested it several times before I buttoned everything up. Servo seemed to work flawlessly! So I was pretty excited. Buttoned my Yeti back up and tested the steering, which worked perfectly.....until I applied throttle. When going forward, the steering glitches and wants to turn left on its own. If I get into any sort of situation where there's even a slight bind, and try to turn one direction, my Yeti turns the other direction. Well...at least when I try to turn to the left. I was crawling over a couple of large stuffed animals my son had in the floor. And of course if I blip the throttle forward from a stop, it turns left. Blip it in reverse from a stop and it does the same. I've checked all my connections and double-checked to make sure there are no crossed wires, shorted wired, etc. and I'm at a loss at this point. Does my stock Vanguard system just not play well with the Holmes servo? Do I need to just rip out the stock esc & motor and replace it with an MMP/Tekin Pro4 HD set-up? I mean, I can still drive the Yeti...sort of. But these are not things that should be happening with basically brand new electronics. I've dropped quite a bit of coin on this rig and for it to not be functioning properly is quite aggravating.

Any advice on how to solve this issue aside from replacing the stock esc & motor with something better? At this point I'm pretty certain it's not a servo issue. And I'm pretty sure it's not a BEC issue, as both are brand new and freshly installed.

[hobbez84]

Did you try rebinding the Tx/Rx after everything was installed?

ETA: Can you also try a different Tx/Rx?

[DickyT]

Can you put up a wiring diagram on how you have everything configured?

I would lean towards tx\rx issue over esc\motor being the issue.

[Sh0rtBus]

Originally Posted by hobbez84

Did you try rebinding the Tx/Rx after everything was installed?

ETA: Can you also try a different Tx/Rx?

Haven't done either since I installed the new servo, but I did try a different TX & RX after I installed the new BEC and it wasn't that.

Originally Posted by DickyT

Can you put up a wiring diagram on how you have everything configured?

I would lean towards tx\rx issue over esc\motor being the issue.

BEC directly powers the servo and the signal wire from the servo goes to the rx. I have my Wraith wired the same way w/ no issues. I'll draw up a diagram, though.

[DickyT]

Originally Posted by Sh0rtBus

I did try a different TX & RX after I installed the new BEC and it wasn't that.

That was on the old servo though. Different issue you have here, no?

[ninja turtle]

I would try adding the ground wire from the servo to rx.

[Sh0rtBus]

Originally Posted by DickyT

That was on the old servo though. Different issue you have here, no?

Yes and no. The old servo did the same thing under throttle. But it had another issue, too, which was evident in the videos I posted the first time. It was attributed to a bad resistor in the servo, so HH sent me a new servo.

The servo and BEC are connected via a Y adapter and I've checked that to make sure all the connections are good and nothing's damaged/crossed. I may try deleting that Y and just making the connector from the servo a female JST rather than a male. That's how I have it wired on my Wraith and it works fine. But different servo and of course ESC, too.

Originally Posted by ninja turtle

I would try adding the ground wire from the servo to rx.

As opposed to have it connected to the ground from the BEC?

[rob4607]

Uh, did you forget to disco? Where's the droop? You at Katemecy or the other? I can't ever remember how in the hel to spell it.

I took my son and both the Yeti and the Yeti Xl, before we left the XL was fine, at the beach (San Luis Pass) the XL somehow lost binding and I had no tools. (Mothers day lunch with the MIL before the beach). I was irritated, so my son got the regular yeti and played around, I had it on 3s as opposed to the usual 2s and the rear gears are shot, I let him drive it till it blew since the other was down. Needless to say a new centered Currie will be here tomorrow with all the VP fixin's...

Between the yeti and all the people destroying their vehicles driving through the salt water, marshlands and sand dunes my son was thoroughly entertained for the day, may need to get sand paddles though, the Super Swamper Xl's didn't do too bad but paddles would probably be a blast.

And no, I didn't take the RUbi down there, it is not allowed to go near anything salt after Sasquatch hauled me down there about 3 weeks after I bought it, I've been fighting the light rust on the frame and axles since. I'm probably going to remove the body and Por-15 the frame and axles and whatever else I can.

Anyway just messing with you, the Jeep looks good! People just don't give the oem rubi rails enough credit.

[ninja turtle]

Originally Posted by Sh0rtBus

As opposed to have it connected to the ground from the BEC?

No, add it. As in addition to, not opposed to. You only have the signal wire going to channel 1 on the tx right? I would add a ground wire that also goes to channel 1. You might already have it this way and I just didn't read it right.

[Sh0rtBus]

Originally Posted by rob4607

Uh, did you forget to disco? Where's the droop? You at Katemecy or the other? I can't ever remember how in the hel to spell it.

I took my son and both the Yeti and the Yeti Xl, before we left the XL was fine, at the beach (San Luis Pass) the XL somehow lost binding and I had no tools. (Mothers day lunch with the MIL before the beach). I was irritated, so my son got the regular yeti and played around, I had it on 3s as opposed to the usual 2s and the rear gears are shot, I let him drive it till it blew since the other was down. Needless to say a new centered Currie will be here tomorrow with all the VP fixin's...

Between the yeti and all the people destroying their vehicles driving through the salt water, marshlands and sand dunes my son was thoroughly entertained for the day, may need to get sand paddles though, the Super Swamper Xl's didn't do too bad but paddles would probably be a blast.

And no, I didn't take the RUbi down there, it is not allowed to go near anything salt after Sasquatch hauled me down there about 3 weeks after I bought it, I've been fighting the light rust on the frame and axles since. I'm probably going to remove the body and Por-15 the frame and axles and whatever else I can.

Anyway just messing with you, the Jeep looks good! People just don't give the oem rubi rails enough credit.

LOL....yeah....I was disco'd! And had enough droop that my springs were off their perches! First time I've ever gotten a front tire into the fender/body. I never added additional bump stop up front because I never needed it.

I've had my Rubi down to Galveston once. Took it down last year and went out to Stuart beach for a bit. Drove up part way on one of the dunes and got a warning from the Beach Patrol. Something about there's a $500 fine for driving on the dunes. I wasn't actually driving on it....just pulled part way up it to see how vertical I could get my Jeep. Likely won't take it back to the island for a good long while. Spent too much of my youth there, and burnt out just doesn't quite seem to cut it. I do miss sitting on the seawall watching storms roll in, though.

[RickM]

That 1:1 video. Was that shot in Bridgeport. Did not look like Barnwell.

[Sh0rtBus]

Originally Posted by RickM

That 1:1 video. Was that shot in Bridgeport. Did not look like Barnwell.

Bridgeport indeed. I've admittedly never been to Barnwell. Too far to drive for a day and just never had made a weekend trip out of it. Only other place I've wheeled is Hidden Falls. Would like to go back again soon.

[Sh0rtBus]

Okay not sure why it made a difference, but I think I fixed the Yeti. Talked to one of the guys at my LHS and he suggested connecting the BEC via Castle's instructions on the package. So BEC plugged into BATT slot on RX, servo connected to STR slot on RX and esc connected to the THR slot on the RX w/ the red wire pulled out. Again, I'm not sure why it made a difference, but it seems to work just fine now. Hopefully this will be the end of my electronics woes and I can start enjoying my Yeti. Well....as soon as everything dries out from the bad weather we've been having the past couple weeks.

[ccbg]

My guess is that the ESC is starving the RX, hence the steering issues My exo with a Velineon system in it does that...

[DickyT]

Originally Posted by Sh0rtBus

Okay not sure why it made a difference, but I think I fixed the Yeti. Talked to one of the guys at my LHS and he suggested connecting the BEC via Castle's instructions on the package. So BEC plugged into BATT slot on RX, servo connected to STR slot on RX and esc connected to the THR slot on the RX w/ the red wire pulled out. Again, I'm not sure why it made a difference, but it seems to work just fine now. Hopefully this will be the end of my electronics woes and I can start enjoying my Yeti. Well....as soon as everything dries out from the bad weather we've been having the past couple weeks.

That is the way I run all of mine. Not all RX's can handle the higher voltage is why many use the method you had before. If it is working now, it was something bad in the Y cable you were using. Glad it is sorted

[Sh0rtBus]

So finally got a chance to take my Yeti out of the house over the weekend and had some fun tearing up a dirt road and throwing pea gravel everywhere. But it was pretty short lived, as I only got about 10 minutes of run time before the next stock part grenaded. Took the Yeti from dirt to asphalt and as soon as I did, I heard the dreaded clicking sound, suggesting the ring and pinion were probably toast. So I pulled the rear diff cover off and as suspected, the teeth on the ring gear are rounded off and shiny, not to mention the metal shavings in the grease. I didn't bother to pull it apart, but I'm pretty sure the pinion is chewed up, too, so guess it's time for another upgrade.

Axial HD gears will be installed very soon!

Also, something I noticed just messing with it while it was off.....I noticed when I push down on the rear end, it doesn't seem to rebound at all. I'm running 40wt oil in the rear shocks so it seems like that should be enough. Guess I'll have to pull them apart and see what's going on internally.

[DickyT]

Answered your PM questions, Crunchy!