Lights and BEC
 

I finally got the bumpers for my scaler and wired up the lights to the RX. Everything works ok, but the lights dim/flash when I hit the throttle and shift the tranny, and the truck's speed is cut in half when they are switched on. I will be adding the Summit light bar (as soon as I can find a hobby store that has it in stock), which I am assuming will make my problems worse. There are two ways I can fix this problem, a BEC, or a dedicated receiver 5-cell pack just for the lights.

What are your thoughts?

TX/RX - Traxxas TQ3
ESC - Traxxas XL10
Battery - GP 6-cell 3300

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...l/DSC03267.jpg

ccbec"thumbsup"

X2"thumbsup"

OP, what rig are you running underneath that Summit body? It looks really good and I am curious to see if it would match up with my SCX10. I have a nice hard body, but, when the going gets rough, the rough get Lexan...

It is based on a TCS X-Trail chassis. If the WB of the SCX10 is the same as the Axial kit then it will have to be stretched a bit. I added 1.3" to the rear linkage to get the wheels to fit under the body. It works ok with the 3-link, but is has a bit of sway in it, I am installing a 4-link in the back to cure this.

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...l/DSC03196.jpg

This is what it looks like without the body, before I mounted the bumpers.

Also, the rear body mount for the Summit body is at an angle, I had to make a bent aluminum plate to get it to line up right.

I have a contact switch mounted on the servo arm for shift servo, when I shift the tranny (E-Maxx) to low it will turn on the lightbar.

So, I have a CC BEC (10A) wired up and not very happy with the results...

I have tried wiring it a couple of different ways, (the power leads are soldered onto the Deans plugs on the ESC side)

First was the BEC going to a splitter that connected up to the Traxxas 4-ch RX and the lights. The lights still glitch like crazy when I hit the throttle, and they are VERY dim.

I then tried the BEC going directly to CH4 of the RX and the lights connected up to the second ch1 with the same result, very dim and glitchy when I hit the throttle.

All other functions are working just fine (ESC, steering and shift servos).

I have tested the voltage coming out of the BEC, it is at 5.05vdc. The ESC is an XL5, which poops out 4.8 volts. The lights were a lot brighter when I was hooked directly in, so I really don't understand why they are so dim, and I thought the BEC was supposed to eliminate the glitching (yes, the red wire from the ESC to the RX has been cut). My next step is to get the programmer and up the voltage to 6volts...

Scott bring it in my shop and i'll set it for you.

You wanna know the best an most inexpensive solution to your problem?



Buy a 9 volt battery and hook the lights up to that. Now your lights have ample power and your rig performs at 100% (and 9 volt batteries are light too).

Re: Lights and BEC
 

this is how I did it, mine is bright for night runnin', and the 9 volt seems to last forever.

Re: Lights and BEC
 

I'm glad you posted this Scott. I was planning on running my lights off a Bec. Having said that, I was thinking of isolating it. Meaning, the bec would only power the lights, and none of the wires would go the rx. Has anyone tried this?

Re: Lights and BEC
 

The problem is the nimh battery. But if you are going to use it, I agree with BRNC and just run a 9v battery to it. Simple, small, light, cheap.

Re: Lights and BEC
 

It sure is "thumbsup", until one is trailing at night and the battery goes dead, and one forgot to bring a spare 9V along!

I like to travel light (loath having something on my back). So, I only carry the necessities, like spare lipos and rechargable AAs for my tx, a cellphone, and key ring filled with all those dreaded, but necessary keys... and that overfills all the available pockets I have during the summer - even if I'd remember to bring a spare 9V battery along. So, I like running as much off my main battery as possible, but that's just my personal prefference. ;-)

Re: Lights and BEC
 

I guess I should have said to lose the nimh pack and use a lipo.