traxxas xl5 esc problems

[ymft81]

Hey everyone
So having issues with my 2wd rustler brushed esc. Everything is stock except its the xl5 3s esc. Many issues with this. one being sometimes when i steer its also makes the car accelerate. I have the servo in channel 1b and esc in channel 2. batteries in remote are new, have full charge 2s lipo hooked up, have tried resetting esc and remote and also calibrate esc. this is another problem, everytime i reset the esc the throttle is backwards even when i calibrate it. Only fix seems to be switching motor wire backwards. It seems to disconnect from the receiver as it stops working and the esc flashes green.
Am I missing something? really starting to think I have a loose wire/connection. Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[luke66]

maybe reset the remote?

 

[DavidB1126]

Thats good ole traxxas electronics for you. No clue. Traxxas electronics are confusing and hard to figure out. Thats why I got rid of all my traxxas electronics and went with other brands which I have 0 issues with.

How about move the steering / servo to channel 1 slot 1? And leave ESC in channel 2 slot 3? See if that helps. Because traxxas receivers have 2 slots for channel 1. Probably because of the TRX4 crawlers. If not. I actually got no clue other than recalibrating esc / radio. Making sure everything is fully charged, ect.

 

[tntpoof]

adjust channel setting from either fwd to rev.or rev to fwb that fixes the esc direction

 

[ferrebee88]

Call traxxas. They actually have excellent customer service

 

[ymft81]

maybe reset the remote?

maybe reset the remote?

yes I have also done that, does the same thing.

Thats good ole traxxas electronics for you. No clue. Traxxas electronics are confusing and hard to figure out. Thats why I got rid of all my traxxas electronics and went with other brands which I have 0 issues with.

How about move the steering / servo to channel 1 slot 1? And leave ESC in channel 2 slot 3? See if that helps. Because traxxas receivers have 2 slots for channel 1. Probably because of the TRX4 crawlers. If not. I actually got no clue other than recalibrating esc / radio. Making sure everything is fully charged, ect.

ya I've done all that, last time i tried it out it ran for about 2 mins then stopped and green light on esc was flashing

 

[luke66]

maybe you have the lvd on with a nimh? or no LVD with lipo?

 

[ymft81]

maybe you have the lvd on with a nimh? or no LVD with lipo?

I have a 2s lipo hooked up, how do i know if lvd is on? here is the car

I have a 2s lipo hooked up, how do i know if lvd is on? here is the car

the green light is on the esc

 

[DavidB1126]

Green light is lipo mode, which is LVD on. Red light is nimh mode which is LVD off.
That's a weird battery situation. Are you running them parallel for more run time?
Ah saddle packs. Haven't seen those in a long time

 

[ymft81]

I have also tried another remote/receiver and same issuses.

Green light is lipo mode, which is LVD on. Red light is nimh mode which is LVD off.
That's a weird battery situation. Are you running them parallel for more run time?
Ah saddle packs. Haven't seen those in a long time

i bought this off someone recently, thats how it was set up, but does same thing with a traxxas 2s battery

 

[DavidB1126]

Looks to be a esc issue. Id call up or email traxxas support, or get a different brushed esc, or upgrade to a brushless combo, which will be more reliable and faster. (and efficient)

 

[ymft81]

Looks to be a esc issue. Id call up or email traxxas support, or get a different brushed esc, or upgrade to a brushless combo, which will be more reliable and faster. (and efficient)

Ok I thought I read something the other day about being able to trade in your old brushed motor and esc for a new one. Dont really wanna spend much money. Bought this and a “parts car” for cheap, had enough spare parts to complete the second rustler. Plan on selling both rustler 2wd as I already have a 2wd slash and 4x4 rustler.
just want to make sure everything works before selling. My buddies will probly end up buying anyway.

 

[ymft81]

so i noticed this is a traxxas xl5 hv does this make a difference?

 

[DavidB1126]

so i noticed this is a traxxas xl5 hv does this make a difference?

No, it really doesn't make a difference. The normal XL5 is 2s max and without a heatsink, and the HV (High Voltage) is 3s max and with a heatsink.
The normal XL5 escs used to be in the bashers and the HV ones are in the crawlers. But I seen people use the HV in the bashers no problems. The only pro to it is that you can 3s (11.1v) max. Which if you do run 3s with the paired Titan 12T motor, yes the motor and esc will be more hot on top of what it used to be with only running nimh or 2s, and it might wear the motor out quicker. With that extra voltage, you will expect more punch and a little more speed out of it, but out of a bash session / run ,the motor will smell like burning and very hot. Its brushed technology. I call it vintage, but its brushed so all good if it overheats, because it is normal.

 

[ymft81]

No, it really doesn't make a difference. The normal XL5 is 2s max and without a heatsink, and the HV (High Voltage) is 3s max and with a heatsink.
The normal XL5 escs used to be in the bashers and the HV ones are in the crawlers. But I seen people use the HV in the bashers no problems. The only pro to it is that you can 3s (11.1v) max. Which if you do run 3s with the paired Titan 12T motor, yes the motor and esc will be more hot on top of what it used to be with only running nimh or 2s, and it might wear the motor out quicker.

ok, I should update first…a few weeks ago I brought this over to my cousins to show him the issues and guess what, it worked fine! but now that it work its like it running at half speed or training mode. put a new traxxas esc xl5 and same thing. also tried 2s and nimh. maybe my remote is not compatable? its not traxxas

 

[DavidB1126]

Weird. Any esc is compatible with any radio system so thats not the issue.
id make sure the battery is actually fully charged (and balanced if its a lipo)
I would recalibrate the esc to the radio and check the settings to make sure its in sport mode for full 100% throttle and brake.
Something to note is that XL5 and XL5 HV have some issues with not recalibrating and not letting you change modes and such. I had the same problem back when, and I seen alot of people have that problem too. One time, I changed to lipo mode, and for some reason, I just could not get the esc back into nimh mode. And this happened with both escs I had. Its traxxas so what else is new.

 

[ymft81]

nope.. i think the motor is done…

nope.. i think the motor is done…

i just hooked everything up to a different motor and it seems alot faster

 

[DavidB1126]

Could be that too, I went through 3 traxxas titan motors when I started out.

 

[ymft81]

Could be that too, I went through 3 traxxas titan motors when I started out.

i guess the titan wear out over time..this was a rc i bought 2nd hand.

 

[9x19]

Yeah, those brushed motors, have, well 'brushes' to transfer electricity to the commutator. The brushes most definitely wear out.