Novak HV Maxx 4.5 Problems/Questions
 

I was running my electric revo on the Gorillamaxx G3R chassis with Novak HV 4.5 and 14 cells. Two old 7 cell packs (14cell 16.8v). The run time was low but still ran good for 5 mins. I probably ran it twice, then decided I needed better batteries. Everything is brand new (except for the old packs)

I just purchased two Venom 8.4v 7 cell packs (14 cell, 16.8v). I put deans on the packs and tested to see if they were charged from factory. They weren't and the truck ran for 7 seconds. Put a charge on them the next day. The truck ran for a total of 20 seconds, glitched and wouldn't move. Now, you have to push it with your hand to get it going and it doesn't travel for long. I backed the motor off the emaxx tranny and it sort of works if you push the pinion gear to get it going. It will run if you have some throttle on it but then it doesn't move. Sometimes a glitch. Pull the throttle and get two blinking leds on ESC, blue and green.

I am running spool in rear, diff in front. 16t pinion and 1/8th 51t spur both Module 1. A good airtronics servo and traxxas TC3 radio/receiver.

Not a good experience for my first brushless setup. I went with Novak because the setup seemed simple. What am I missing here? If someone can help, please do. Here are some pictures.

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/2...3839ce0.th.jpg http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/9...3837gz5.th.jpghttp://img181.imageshack.us/img181/4...3790lq4.th.jpg http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/1...3789ma9.th.jpg
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/9...3783hq8.th.jpghttp://img521.imageshack.us/img521/6...3798sk5.th.jpghttp://img521.imageshack.us/img521/1...3825zg4.th.jpg

The same thing happened to me. Your speed control is toast. Send it in and get it replaced.

I've been saying for the longest time that the HV ESC is just not up to the task of handling the HV4.5 motor...

Did you receive another ESC? Any problems now? I emailed two people at Novak on Thursday with no reply yet. Thanks for the heads up.

Yeah...they replaced it, and I got rid of it right after (sold it). The 6.5 was a great system - super reliable, it just didn't have that top seed I wanted. The 4.5 had the top speed I wanted, just not the reliability. When Novak comes out with a true HV (6S) setup thats reliable, I'll probably pick one up, as I love the sensored operation.

You could check the wires that go from the motor to the speedo; both the sensor and the main leads.

Everything looks good. No signs of overheating.

Must be the controller itself. You could contact Novak over this matter; they are very responsive to their email.

One cause of the problem could be that your waaayyy overgeared for the 4.5.
Someone who knows more about the novak's or has the manual might be able to tell you for sure, but I think novak recommended around 28:1 or maybe even 30:1 final drive ratio for the 4.5 on 14 cells. Yours is 15.6:1.
Check the HV manual to see if it gives you gearing recommendation.

Would that have caused internal problems in the ESC or motor? I only ran it a total of 20 secs on new batteries. I ordered 9t, 10t and 11t pinions today.That won't matter if the systemed is jacked now.

I backed the motor off the strobe clutch. Have to "push" the pinion with your finger to get it going. Once it's running you can stay on the throttle to keep it going.

It could be possible that it happened from over gearing.
Sounds like you'll have to send the esc in like the other guys said.
Just make sure you use the right gearing with the next one. A lot of people have bad luck when using the wrong gearing on the 4.5.

It does definitely appear that you're overgeared. I'm not sure what the loaded kv is for the motor, but if it's as low as 4000 (which I'm sure it is higher than that), you'd be looking at 70mph top speed. The HV ESC has a hard enough time with 40mph...

I picked the HV 4.5 system cause it looked simple and I was new to brushless setups. Yeah, I should be down on a 8t or 9t pinion with the 51t spur.

Now it's decision time. Keep the HV 4.5 or upgrade.

Well since the mamba monster maxx is due soon I would wait. Also, you should be able to trade in the hv system and for novak's 6s system when it comes out for a small cost.

Yes, you are way overgeared! Didn't noticed that.

The 6.5 would be a better option IMO, but if geared right, the 4.5 can be a strong/fast setup too.

You can simple download the gearing table of the novak site.

I have a G2R (I think, bought a used rolling chassis) running the Novak HV 4.5 setup. I have run 70/18 with no problems other than all it wants to do is flip over when I hit the throttle! I have upped the gearing a bit to 64/18 but had the same problem. I have actually pulled a complete flip on take off and kept going! I have now upped the gearing to 64/22 and am awaiting dry ground to test it. with 70/18 I was getting close to 30 MPH and 12-15 min run times on some cheapo 4500mAh 6 cell packs and pretty much the same with Venom 4200mAh 7 cells. If I burn mine up I will be waiting for the MMM as well. Good luck with yours!