Help a noob out... How do you wire this thing up?

[Greatscott]

As I write this, I am bowing my head in shame...

I bought a 'Winch & LED Light/Flash Multi-Function Remote Controller for RC Scale Model C30161'. (link below).

Looking at this mess of wires, I am trying to figure out what goes where. This thing is supposed to be a winch and 2-LED controller, but for something that controls three items, it has six leads. Of course I went to the website, foolishly looking for instructions and saw this: If you do not know how to assemble, install, configure, or use a product, please ask your local hobby dealer for assistance. Nope, did not buy it from my LHS, he refuses to carry any Integy items, he says that if he will not put the part on one of his rigs, he will not sell it in his store.

***sigh***

Yeah, I should have spent a bit more, bought a Hey'OK controller, been happy that the extra money spent was buying a quality part with an really good guy to talk to if I had any issues... my bad...

But, I did not buy Hey'OK's controller... so here is what I think is going on here...

To me, it looks like it has three possible power inputs, the white plug, the male JST, and the male servo plug. If that is so, then the two female servo plugs are the lights, and the female JST goes to the winch (which, in my case, is not a winch)...

Anyone have any experience with one of these and help a brother out?

Winch & LED Light/Flash Multi-Function Remote Controller for RC Scale Model for R/C or RC - Team Integy

Incase you are wondering, this is actually going on my King Hauler's flatbed. The winch controller will drive the landing gear, and the two LED channels with turn on and off the back lights and clearance lights.

Thanks peeps!!!

[Timmahh]

Not an integy fan myself. they steal and just resell others stuff.

They should have given at least a sheet naming labeling what is what. Typical Integy/China schmutz.

The white end should be for the lights as that is the general end use for most of the lights. But without just plugging in a few things and checking voltages. you may be guessing.

[OnTheTrail]

Wow, that is quite a bundle of wires. No experience with this but shouldn't be hard to figure out with some experimenting. The red JST female plug most likely goes to the the battery you'd choose to power the winch and LEDs (Great idea by the way). Plug that connector to a battery. Then start pushing buttons and check each lead with a volt meter. If the volt meter reads the same as the voltage of the battery you just hooked up, then you know what does what. One of the leads for the winch motor will make the meter reading register a negative number one way and positive the other (i.e. winch out, winch in).

Good luck!

[Voodoobrew]

Look at pictures of the plugs on their other lights and that should narrow it down some,
I would be scared to just start throwing power at it, the stuff lets out the magic smoke so easily.

[heyok]

Hey, thanks for the mention.
Hope you are able to make it work.
If not, I'm always here.
It's been very quiet lately so either guys aren't putting many winches or lights in their rigs anymore or they prefer to shop other places.

[nightcrawler48]

For what it's worth, have you tried contacting them by e-mail through their help desk. If you go to the Integy website, click on Orders/Help and then click on
IF YOU HAVE PRODUCT QUESTIONS, NEED ASSISTANCE PLACING AN ORDER, AND FOR ANY OTHER GENERAL ISSUES PLEASE CONTACT US THROUGH OUR HELP DESK BY CLICKING HERE. Depending on your luck, they may or may not respond.

IIRC, most of the electronic stuff like this I have purchased has the female connectors being the outputs and the male connectors being the inputs. I think it is done that way so you can't short out the electronics if you have it connected to a battery and the outputs aren't connected to anything. Just my observations but who knows what Integy does.

Generally speaking, on a lot of this stuff, the different male and female connecters are redundant as this allows the end user to plug in with a connector they have already. So, in your case, the red male connector would plug in to a power source and you may have to use the red female connector as your power/control output.

Pretty much all of this is speculation, so, as mentioned, be careful what you plug in to a battery.

[Greatscott]

Originally Posted by heyok

Hey, thanks for the mention.
Hope you are able to make it work.
If not, I'm always here.
It's been very quiet lately so either guys aren't putting many winches or lights in their rigs anymore or they prefer to shop other places.

You are quite welcome. This is not just lip service, I really do wish I had ordered one of your controllers. But my hobby budget is a little thin at the moment and was trying to get this done on the cheap.

Originally Posted by nightcrawler48

For what it's worth, have you tried contacting them by e-mail through their help desk. If you go to the Integy website, click on Orders/Help and then click on
IF YOU HAVE PRODUCT QUESTIONS, NEED ASSISTANCE PLACING AN ORDER, AND FOR ANY OTHER GENERAL ISSUES PLEASE CONTACT US THROUGH OUR HELP DESK BY CLICKING HERE. Depending on your luck, they may or may not respond.

IIRC, most of the electronic stuff like this I have purchased has the female connectors being the outputs and the male connectors being the inputs. I think it is done that way so you can't short out the electronics if you have it connected to a battery and the outputs aren't connected to anything. Just my observations but who knows what Integy does.

Generally speaking, on a lot of this stuff, the different male and female connecters are redundant as this allows the end user to plug in with a connector they have already. So, in your case, the red male connector would plug in to a power source and you may have to use the red female connector as your power/control output.

Pretty much all of this is speculation, so, as mentioned, be careful what you plug in to a battery.

The last time I contacted Integy's help desk, it did not go well at all. I had just installed Integy bulkheads for my E-Maxx and sent it off a very minor curb. When it landed, I knew something was horribly wrong. Not only had several of the screw holes had stripped out, but the round differential through holes were eggish. After spending almost two hours to get a human on their phone line, I was connected to a very rude woman that explained to me in overly simplistic terms that Integy's warranty does not cover abnormal used and abuse; and taking the parts out of the package and mounting them on my truck constituted "abnormal use and abuse". Then she hung up, and I did not try calling back.

But, I did navigate their little customer service labyrinth and submitted a help ticket requesting a wiring diagram for their product that I had ordered directly from them. Actually wanting the wiring diagram, I made sure that the email was very clear, very direct, and very polite, avoiding the use of any of my sailor words... So, we'll see what happens....

[Greatscott]

After one week, there are no replies from Integy, other than the auto-reply that was sent when I submitted my request. It is disappointing, but not unexpected; it was worth a try through...

Using just a bit of deductive reasoning, I have been able to figure out the ins and outs of this thing. And, it will work exactly as I want it to, so I feel that my money has not been wasted. The one big thing I don't know is the maximum input voltage. I would like to run it directly off of a battery, I just don't know if it can handle 2S voltage, and, given what packs I have charged, and which I don't, I could throw a 3S pack in. I figure that it can take at least normal RX voltage, so I am throwing a BEC in line and setting it for 6VDC. I have tested it at this voltage, so I am pretty sure I am safe.

The wiring...
Power in:
• There are two power inputs, the male Futaba J (servo) connector, or the female JST connector.
LED Control:
• The two female Futaba J (servo) connectors control the LEDs. They are three mode: Off, flashing, and on.
Winch/motor Control:
• There are to outputs for the winch/motor control. The male JST and the make JST-PH (square white connector).
Seriously, would have been so hard for Integy to post this on their site?

Here are some pictures of the mess...

Untitled by Scott O, on Flickr

The grouping to the wires is clean, so this helps identify who-is-who-in-the-zoo...
Untitled by Scott O, on Flickr

I have a little soldering to do to get this whole mess wired and working. When I get it done I'll throw up a video of the whole mess in action.