Nitro to electric conversion questions

[iceburgdesigns]

I have absolutely zero experience with electric RC, and minimal RC experience in general. I have an old HPI Nitro RS4 kit that doesn't run anymore. The radio still works and i can get the steering and throttle servos to respond from the transmitter (HPI TX2). I removed all of the unnessecary NITRO equipment and left the steering servo and radio receiver in place. My thought was that i buy a cheap ESC/Motor combo from Amazon, hook it up, and go. Something for my younger kids to mess around with on the cheap. I purchased a brushless 3900kv motor and 60A waterproof esc combo and 5200mah 7.4v lipo battery. From my basic research this seems like the right setup to get started. I got the battery charged up and hooked everything up. When i plug everything in and turn it on, the motor beeps a slow, steady beep. But when i turn on the transmitter, i get a really fast beep from the motor, and no response when i hit the throttle on the remote. I turn the transmitter off again, and the fast beeping stops, and it goes back to a slow steady beep. The steering servo still responds from the the transmitter as it did before. I have a feeling that i am overlooking something very simple, but with my lack of experience, i am stuck.

I did get a ESC programmer with the combo, and messed around with a few settings, but nothing seems to work.

Any help would be appreciated!!!!

 

[tntpoof]

Yo are going to need to calibrate the esc to radio.. you might need to rev your throttle direction to get the fwd to work along with the reverse....sorry dont know the exacts on your chosen esc..Dont leave lipo changed for more than 24 hours... discharge to storage 7.85volts

 

[tntpoof]

never plug in a battery to any rc without having the radio ON and ready(run aways can HURT those around it). turn radio on then plug battery into ESC..just a fyi keep a hand on rc till you set it on the ground pointed in a safe place...while bench tests I always have a cord or solid anchor so it can't run away...play safe always. we deal with toys that can hurt others if we dont respect them

 

[Ericehess]

Is your transmitter linked to your receiver? Does your servo work? If so the esc needs to have throttle range calibrated. Cheap escs are difficult to calibrate..is there a set button on esc? Most cheap ones dont. If your receiver is connected to your transmitter you are half there. Disconnect battery and turn on transmitter..hold throttle all the way on and connect battery and turn on esc..hold for a few seconds then let throttle off into nuetral for a few seconds then go into full brake/reverse..if this series works you will get some indication in a beep or series of beeps letting you know you are calibrated. Turn off esc and turn back on. Cheap ecs give poopy instructions sometimes for the wrong esc since they are generic. Some dont require reverse/brake calibration so only do forward then neutral. You may have to mess with your throttle range on your transmitter to get it to calibrate so start at bottom and keep trying with increased throttle. I recently dealt with this same issue so I can give more detail if you need. What brand? Goolrc?

 

[iceburgdesigns]

Thanks all! So it was the reverse switch on the transmitter that was giving me issues. I flipped it to normal and it worked. Now I get a response through the motor from the transmitter. Seems to be right. I received my pinion gear yesterday and obviously I ordered the wrong one... Go figure. I'm having a hard time finding the right size. The gear on my nitro motor was stamped 18t so that's what I ordered. But the pitch is different. I ordered a 32p, and it appears (based on my calculation of the original gear) that I need a 30p. I'm not having any luck finding the right size online.

 

[Ericehess]

Thanks all! So it was the reverse switch on the transmitter that was giving me issues. I flipped it to normal and it worked. Now I get a response through the motor from the transmitter. Seems to be right. I received my pinion gear yesterday and obviously I ordered the wrong one... Go figure. I'm having a hard time finding the right size. The gear on my nitro motor was stamped 18t so that's what I ordered. But the pitch is different. I ordered a 32p, and it appears (based on my calculation of the original gear) that I need a 30p. I'm not having any luck finding the right size online.

What gear ratio is your spur gear? Need to match that. Never heard of 30p. If you are calculating based on measurements dont include teeth in measurement. Can get an adjustable motor mount to slide it over a couple mm to mesh with the spur gear correctly.

 

[iceburgdesigns]

the spur gear is a 47T 1M (HPI part number-76867) That explains why i couldnt find a 30P. i obviously measured it wrong. inside the teeth i have .6 inches (or 15.4mm)

 

[lopoli]

Thanks all! So it was the reverse switch on the transmitter that was giving me issues. I flipped it to normal and it worked. Now I get a response through the motor from the transmitter. Seems Lucky Patcher Kodi nox to be right. I received my pinion gear yesterday and obviously I ordered the wrong one... Go figure. I'm having a hard time finding the right size. The gear on my nitro motor was stamped 18t so that's what I ordered. But the pitch is different. I ordered a 32p, and it appears (based on my calculation of the original gear) that I need a 30p. I'm not having any luck finding the right size online.

I turn the transmitter off again, and the fast beeping stops, and it goes back to a slow steady beep. The steering servo still responds from the the transmitter as it did before. I have a feeling that i am overlooking something very simple, but with my lack of experience, i am stuck.

 

[Ericehess]

Still having issues with esc calibration? What brand ESC did you get? I recently got a 60A goolrc ESC and calibrating it was problematic. I got the same fast beeping when turning on until I got it calibrated. Figured it out with lots of trial and error..you can look at my post above. Did you figure out you gear issue? What pitch is your spur gear? I know it is 47T so divide 47 by the gear diameter(not including teeth) in inches to get the pitch.

 

[iceburgdesigns]

i got the ESC figured out. it was a throttle switch on the remote that was in the wrong position. I think i have the gear figured out now too. I didnt realize that 1M was a pitch measurement. i was looking for a whole number and i calculated to 30, which was not right. I ordered an 18T 1M gear now. Ill try that when it arrives, and i should be in business. Last piece of the puzzle (i hope).

 

[cbaker65]

i got the ESC figured out. it was a throttle switch on the remote that was in the wrong position. I think i have the gear figured out now too. I didnt realize that 1M was a pitch measurement. i was looking for a whole number and i calculated to 30, which was not right. I ordered an 18T 1M gear now. Ill try that when it arrives, and i should be in business. Last piece of the puzzle (i hope).

Should be ok with mod 1 gear on that ,it is traxxass with the funky pitch!.....

 

[iceburgdesigns]

Thanks for the help! Got everything up and running finally! Any advice to adjust the "out of the hole" lag? It doesn't just take off and go. Once it does get the signal, it goes, and is very manageable. I assume it is an esc setting. I am guessing it is: Start mode, minimum forward strength, or forward maximum throttle stroke. I have a Shaluoman (Amazon) 17 setting esc programmer which seems to give a lot of options. Just no real explanation as to what the settings actually do. Any advice?

 

[Ericehess]

Thanks for the help! Got everything up and running finally! Any advice to adjust the "out of the hole" lag? It doesn't just take off and go. Once it does get the signal, it goes, and is very manageable. I assume it is an esc setting. I am guessing it is: Start mode, minimum forward strength, or forward maximum throttle stroke. I have a Shaluoman (Amazon) 17 setting esc programmer which seems to give a lot of options. Just no real explanation as to what the settings actually do. Any advice?

If you can adjust the punch it might help..that would probably be the start mode setting..higher setting gives you more power from stop.

 

[iceburgdesigns]

If you can adjust the punch it might help..that would probably be the start mode setting..higher setting gives you more power from stop.

Cool. I will give that a shot. It isn't so much the power at start, but the lag/delay. There is a noticeable hesitation when I grip the throttle trigger, once it starts to go, it GOES.

 

[Ericehess]

Your receiver or remote may be a bit slow..could try upgrading them..more money!