Issues in the snow

[DrFranz]

So I set up my Rustler for snow, although the VXL is swapped for a 2-cell ESC and motor, and it tears it up really great with paddle tires, but only for a minute or so then goes into some shut down mode. Turn it off and then back on and it's good for a very short time. It packs with snow, but no damage. What's going on here?

 

[DavidB1126]

Are the batteries fully charged? (Low voltage cutoff?)

What is the temps of the motor and esc? (Thermal cutoff?)

If the motor is getting hot, I would gear down as the paddle tires are a bit bigger than the stock ones. And maybe add some fans to the motor. VXL systems like to overheat and catch on fire alot. They like to catch fire due to the heat they produce.

Or it can be just because of the snow. Traxxas electronics quality isn't that good.

Like I always say, thats Traxxas electronics for you / a Traxxas car doing Traxxas things.

 

[Tunedfrog]

Changing from 2s to 3s does that to a couple of mine for some odd reason.

 

[Weezel]

So I set up my Rustler for snow, although the VXL is swapped for a 2-cell ESC and motor, and it tears it up really great with paddle tires, but only for a minute or so then goes into some shut down mode. Turn it off and then back on and it's good for a very short time. It packs with snow, but no damage. What's going on here?

Are you saying you're using a 2cell battery on the VXL or that you are using another ESC and motor combo?

Any ESC codes? If not heat it sounds like maybe LVC is kicking in because your battery isn't that good. Running in snow you are probably running full throttle which will tax your batteries causing, basically a huge voltage sag.

 

[DrFranz]

Yeah, I thought of those factors; did the same with a fresh battery, and stock tire size.
Not overheating as it's packed with snow and not even warm.
It's not Traxxas electrics anymore, but I'm thinking to swap it back and see if it persists.

It's 2-cell with Smart Spectrum ESC and motor (long story) but I'm thinking to swap back to stock VXL and see.
You're right, though, it's a lot of full throttle.

 

[Weezel]

Any codes?
What is your setup? ESC/motor and what batteries.

 

[tntpoof]

name all electronics and pinion and spur sizes...sounds like either batteries or esc is in thermal protection mode

 

[coldvod]

Yeah, I thought of those factors; did the same with a fresh battery, and stock tire size.
Not overheating as it's packed with snow and not even warm.
It's not Traxxas electrics anymore, but I'm thinking to swap it back and see if it persists.

It's 2-cell with Smart Spectrum ESC and motor (long story) but I'm thinking to swap back to stock VXL and see.
You're right, though, it's a lot of full throttle.

snow insulates heat for future reference

 

[WickedFog]

Just saying, I’m pretty sure those paddles are on backwards

They are on correct.

 

[F.R.S. Ninja_007]

They are on correct.

My bad

 

[WickedFog]

My bad

Although, I wonder what running them backwards would do in snow

 

[DrFranz]

Love you guys, but those paddles are mounted correctly.
The roosts are magnificent.
I'll get the other specs but codes and such go beyond me.

 

[Weezel]

The roosts are magnificent.

They do look cool.

I'll get the other specs but codes and such go beyond me.

When the truck acts up the ESC should flash a led light. Depending on what code it will flash fast or slow or a combination of flash speeds. And the led light can be red or yellow. This flash code will tell you why the truck shut down.

 

[Lucifur10]

Another foot photo!

 

[blaster27]

Thermal shutdown. I believe the paddle tires are causing this. Do you have twin fans? My Rusty ran for 5 minutes out of the box. Then shutdown. Added fans to fix it. Drop a pinion.

 

[DrFranz]

I think you guys are right. I switched the whole powertrain back to standard Traxxas VXL and ran a full pack in the snow, no problem, it's ready for more.
Conditions were fantastic for roosting! Lots of full throttle.
The 2S setup, back in the rallye car, with smaller wheels, ran perfectly as well.
So I'm guessing those massive paddles are too much for the 2S setup?

 

[9x19]

It does sound that way!

Glad you got it sorted!

 

[WickedFog]

I think you guys are right. I switched the whole powertrain back to standard Traxxas VXL and ran a full pack in the snow, no problem, it's ready for more.
Conditions were fantastic for roosting! Lots of full throttle.
The 2S setup, back in the rallye car, with smaller wheels, ran perfectly as well.
So I'm guessing those massive paddles are too much for the 2S setup?

Those paddles are a lot bigger than stock tires right? If so, you increased your final drive ratio, which would require a smaller pinion to get it back closer to stock. You were likely putting a lot more strain on the electronics by too high a ratio as well as the motor trying to turn the extra weight of the paddles. A lot of times people change tires and don't think about what it does to their drive ratio.

 

[DrFranz]

Those paddles are a lot bigger than stock tires right? If so, you increased your final drive ratio, which would require a smaller pinion to get it back closer to stock. You were likely putting a lot more strain on the electronics by too high a ratio as well as the motor trying to turn the extra weight of the paddles. A lot of times people change tires and don't think about what it does to their drive ratio.

Yes, that's my conclusion, Wicked. Not only are those paddles larger, but they really balloon a lot when they get to spinning.....
VXL power is pretty impressive, to me.