Battery Connectors

[Shark413]

It's just that I had an Eagle Tree system hooked up for some testing and I saw some big voltage spikes (160 amps) during my testing on the track. So it seemed to me if the motor is rated at 125 amps, the ESC can handle 150 amps and the battery can supply 100 amps constant it just seemed odd to have 75 amp plugs in the middle of all of this.

[BrianG]

Remember, those are spikes that last milli-seconds. It's all about duty cycle. If you are pulling 160A for 100ms every 10 seconds (1%), and then 15A for the remaining 9.9s, that equates to 16.45A average. Most electronics/switches/etc have a burst duty cycle that they can run. As long as you stay within that range, all is well. Unfortunately, Deans do not publish that level of data so it's hard to tell, but they say their connectors have less resistance that equal length of wire, so you should be fine.

[Shark413]

BrianG, thanks for the info and explanation. I feel better already. I already ordered a bunch of those Losi EC5 plugs, so I will replace the Deans on my batteries mostly for ease of use (getting the plugs apart).

U dah man

Does anyone have a photo of the insides of the EC5 connector? I have some Great Planes 4mm bullets which have a cutout that makes soldering SUPER easy...I was hoping the same was true about the EC5...

[jhautz]

http://www.impaktrc.com/popup_image.php?pID=3272

Doesnt look like it has cut outs.

[Shark413]

Just got a few of the Losi EC5 plugs today and I am liking them. I didn't realize how big they are, should be easy to pull apart and they look like they can handle plenty of amps. Here they are next to a male Deans Ultra plug.

Rats, no cut outs...

[Shark413]

"Cut outs"??

Originally Posted by MacII

Rats, no cut outs...

[Shark413]

Oh yeah, somebody asked on another forum. The plugs are keyed (polarized) and can only be connected one way.

Sorry for posting without including a photo...have a look at this:



You put the wire in the plug and you can solder right onto the wire. My problem with the other 4mm (and other size bullets) is that you stick the wire in then what? How do you get the solder in? It's a pain. Plus often if you tin the wire and the "hole" where you put the wire, it no longer fits.

Anyway soldering it up with these cut outs works like a champ and it results in awesome solder joints.

[BrianG]

Using the kind with the cutouts is somewhat easier, and also allows for cleaner angled wire/connector setups (where the wire is soldered at an angle to the connector so the wire doesn't have to bend so much for certain setups).

However, using the regular kind is easy too if you do it right. Tin the "hole" about 1/4 to 1/3 full. Tin the wire. Use a vice or something to hold the plug in place. Then put the tinned wire into the hole as far as it will go. Apply the soldering iron. Once the wire and connector get hot enough, the wire will simply "sink" into the hole. Done.

What is the "little hole" on the side of most of the bullets without the cutout for?

I'm considering switching to those castle 6.5mm connectors but the difficulty in soldering them up has held me back.

[brushlessboy16]

i use it to add solder to the connector, but it allows you to run your connectors at a 90 degree angle

[Patrick]

I solder the bullet plugs the same way Brian suggested and I think it's easier than soldering deans. As long as you've got melted solder and you push the wire into the hole you can't really go wrong.