Adding a Light Switch

[mason2245]

I'm new to the hobby and loving it so far! The information on this site from everyone is awesome! I've finally ran into an issue I could use some help with.

I'm wiring up some led lights to use with my Element Enduro Sendero and would like them to work on the 3rd channel switch. I'm using an aux on/off switch that has wiring for input voltage and receiver input. I've plugged the input voltage to the 6V plug on the ESC and the receiver input to the 3rd channel on the receiver. It works great, but as soon as i apply any steering servo input the lights cut out and I have to reset the switch before they will work again. Any ideas on how to fix this? Could it be a voltage issue where the aux switch isn't getting enough? The aux switch is rated to handle the 6V input voltage, but I can't find specs for the voltage rating from the receiver. Sorry if this is an obvious answer and thanks in advance for the help!

Mason

[HumboldtEF]

Sounds like either the lights, the servo or the combination of both are drawing too many amps. What ESC is it?

You may need an external BEC, this is typical if you have a strong servo. Most ESC's dont provide enough amps to power stronger servos and they will "brown out".
Does the servo also brown out while you drive or turn the lights on?

I will say it would be a bit odd if the lights and or switch are pushing it over the edge as usually thats due to the servo.

Oh and did you double check the wiring? some of those switches are pretty vague about how they install.

[JatoTheRipper]

Welcome to this awesome hobby and the site!

If LED's are cutting out it definitely seems like a power draw issue and a BEC might help.

I pretty much refuse to run external BEC's these days unless absolutely necessary. Instead, I choose to run an ESC with a strong internal BEC like a Castle Mamba X or HobbyWing WP 1080.

[mason2245]

Thanks for the help guys! It makes sense that I'm getting brown outs causing the lights to shut off. I'll look into the BEC option, but if those higher end ESC's generally work well enough with the internal BEC's, I may just wait till I upgrade electronics. There's definitely no real need to have the lights work off a switch, it was just a cool option I was trying to add . Thanks again for the help and I'll report back if I end up getting the switch working at some point.

Mason