jm8186

I'm new to rc and got my redcat which came with a ni-hm 7.2 battery and brushless 3300kv 540 motor. I charged the battery for 10 hrs. It run great for about 15 min then it started lurching and the light on the bottom of the esc was flashing when pulled throttle. The Battery was completely dead about 2 min later is the batterys that bad or is it the esc.

john01374

The Battery isn't "bad" it just doesn't have the power to run for more than 10-15 minutes.

Get yourself a decent 2S 5000 LiPo pack and Charger from Hobby King and you'll be much happier. A charger and a couple of batteries should be less than $100.

Do some homework as LiPo packs do have some specific handling needs that you need to be familiar with.

If you have specific questions feel free to send me a PM. I'm always willing to help.

nitrosportsandrunner

yep, 10-15 min on the stock pack. a better 5000mah pack will get you 20 minutes or so.
The lurching you noticed is a function of the ESC. It is when the esc detects low voltage of the battery. This setting is not actually needed for your stock nimh battery....but it is needed for Lipo batteries. Lipo batteries have a lot more power but they cannot be completely drained like a nimh can. If you over drain them they will not re-charge. Thus, the esc cuts power when it detects power from battery is below 6.2v
You can look up the manual and disable that function....tho it does not hurt your nimh pack to stop running before it completely dies either.
A 2s, 8.4v 5000mah lipo battery will run for 25-30 minutes per charge and add more acceleration and a good 5-8mph better top speed. It should be your 1st upgrade!
But there is nothing wrong with your stock battery or esc. It actually sounds like you got a good stock battery. some owners get 5 minutes tops of runtime. to get 10-15 minutes means you got a decent stock battery.

jm8186

Thanks for the info I charged the battery up and it runs for about 10 to 15 just according to how hard its run. I'm going to look into the lipo battery's , longer run time is a plus so is the speed.

nitrosportsandrunner

I get my lipos from hobbypartz.com
several good packs on there run $30 or so.
You will want a 2s 7.4v (over 8 volts when fully charged) lipo that has 5000mah and is rated at at least 30c (constant amps) This kind of pack will provide considerable more punch and top speed.
The stock nimh pack does the job...but the brushless system on the epx pro wants lipo power. running it on nimh is like running a drag racing car on regular pump gas...it will run, but not near its potential.
Don't forget that you will need a new charger as well. Lipos require a lipo charger. The thunder AC6 is a good affordable option. It will charge a 2s 5000mah lipo in just over 1 hour. 1 hour charge time=half our of runtime! RC batteries have come a LONG way.
I use both Gens Ace and Skylipo brand packs. Both are sold on the site I mentioned and both can come with the same style plug your rc already has (4.0mm or banana plug as they are called)

Bsteele78

Hey guys I'm a total newbie at rc cars. Should my redcat tornado exp esc keep flashing red. And the steering works but nothing else.

RustyUs

I don't know what speed control you have, but you might have triggered the LVC (low voltage cutoff).

Is the flashing happening during a run?
Is your battery charged?
What battery type are you using?
Which ESC?
Battery LVC setting on ESC?
Any tones when turning on the ESC?

Bsteele78

Thanks for responding RustyUs. I just received the buggy and have not been able to run it yet because of this. I'm using the 5000mah Nicole hydride battery? (Not li-po). After charging checked it with volt meter and putting out 8.0v. It's flashing soon as I switch it on and has never stopped. If it helps it's brand new and has never been ran. For the rest of your questions I will check when I get home from work.

RustyUs

Calibrate the ESC to the transmitter's neutral/max forward throtttle/max brake points.