Duratrax Onyx Batteries

[evilunclefred]

So I bought a brand new axial honcho and two duratrax onyx 7 cell 3000mah NiMH batteries with tamiya connectors. I have a prophet sport 2 peak charger that's about a year old and never had a problem with. I do not have any other chargers or batteries right now, nor do I have a volt meter. But the batteries were charged 7 times and never ran at full capacity or longer than 3 minutes on flat ground. I called tower and they sent me 2 more of the same batteries. They both took a first charge at 2a for over an hour. They lasted about 30 sec on a uphill climb. The second charge lasted 12 minutes at 2a. Still no difference. Is my charger junk or are duratrax onyx batteries garbage? Never had an issue with my last rtr I had.

[benoj]

i would think its your charger. i have a couple of the onyx nimh packs and they have taken a real beating (overheated from excess amp draw enough to melt the shrink wrap) and they still work quite well and the bad one still holds approx. 80% capacity and ive had them for roughly 3 years

[CRAWLERJOE]

It's your got to be your charger! I have some of their 5000 mah NIMH and they can run for 2 hours apiece!

[evilunclefred]

I figure the odds are against the charger. Anyone recommend a nice charger? I'm not planning to switch to lipo, so it really only needs to be a NiMH charger

[Charlie-III]

Tamiya connectors??!! First thing I would change. They WILL fail over time giving many of the indicated issues.

Deans are most common, there are many acceptable brands.

[RadioFlyer]

Originally Posted by Charlie-III

Tamiya connectors??!! First thing I would change. They WILL fail over time giving many of the indicated issues.

Deans are most common, there are many acceptable brands.

Haha. First sentence, that's what I thought too. Shook my head. Even when you stay within a reasonable amperage, Tamiya connectors are so loosey-goosey that just moving the battery around can cause problems.


Sean

[evilunclefred]

I know. I am planning to upgrade them, but it's all practically new stuff. I honestly had less than ten charges on my prophet before I bought this axial. Was hoping to make due with the tamiya plugs for a few runs til winter sets in and I tear the truck apart for some upgrades. But I bought a new mrc super brain 960. Back in the late 90's I had an mrc charger and loved it. I bought this prophet charger on impulse at my lhs with my vxl stampede. I really hope this new charger fixes my problem. I've had my honcho for a month now and haven't been able to run it. Too busy being a god damn adult........

[Charlie-III]

To start, charge at "1C", this means a 1200mah pack charges @ 1.2 amps, a 3000mah pack charges @ 3 amps.

Also, check the temp of the battery connector, if it's warmer than ambient temp, you're losing power and killing performance.

Also check your ESC, it may be hitting LVC (low voltage cutoff) if it thinks you're running a LiPO but are actually running NiMH. For NiCD/NiMH I would likely just turn off the LVC if it's on.

When the truck "dies" does the motor die or does the steering also die??

If just the motor dies, it may be the LVC, if the steering also dies, it's likely battery voltage.

[indiana mudcat]

Originally Posted by Charlie-III

Also check your ESC, it may be hitting LVC (low voltage cutoff) if it thinks you're running a LiPO but are actually running NiMH. For NiCD/NiMH I would likely just turn off the LVC if it's on.

When the truck "dies" does the motor die or does the steering also die??

If just the motor dies, it may be the LVC, if the steering also dies, it's likely battery voltage.

This. First and foremost sounds like LVC, the SCX's come with it turned on. Next would be the plugs, which need swapped anyways.

[evilunclefred]

It's the voltage. The truck has no go, and the steering will weaken under full throttle. There isn't enough power to move forward, at least not on an uphill grade. Downhill it will start to go, but that's not why I bought this truck. As far as temp goes, the batteries only get Luke warm. The connectors do not heat up at all. I'm fairly confident at this point my charger is bad. I bought a new charger and it should be in my mailbox soon.
Thanks for all the help

[indiana mudcat]

Originally Posted by evilunclefred

It's the voltage. The truck has no go, and the steering will weaken under full throttle. There isn't enough power to move forward, at least not on an uphill grade. Downhill it will start to go, but that's not why I bought this truck. As far as temp goes, the batteries only get Luke warm. The connectors do not heat up at all. I'm fairly confident at this point my charger is bad. I bought a new charger and it should be in my mailbox soon.
Thanks for all the help

Waste money if you want. After the new charger doesn't change anything take the truck to a LHS or friend with a castlelink (or buy one) and turn the LVC off.

Your ESC comes set for Lipo, NiMh doesn't hold voltage like Lipo does and the ESC goes into LVC anytime you ask for power.

[monkeymagic9]

I also have a prophet sport charger and I hate the f'ing thing. But it works.

But the real answer is to STOP guessing and go BUY a VOLTMETER. No way we can solve your question from here.

7 Function Multimeter

EDIT: Didn't mean for my post to sound rude

[Dostradamas]

There is a thread on here somewhere that shows how to change the lipo setting on the AE-2 with your TX & no castle link. I am looking. If I can find I will link


AE-2 ESC Programming WITHOUT Castle Link

Funny I cant find shizzle using this engine but rccrawler: on google is fast!

[evilunclefred]

I guess I'm just the a-hole. I programmed the ESC. Seems I have a back up charger and 2 free batteries.