Light Controller Fried

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Losi5ive

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Hey guys I was running a 1/5 scale size led light bar and 4 spotlights in place of the factory losi 5t light bar. The 4 spot lights that I wired into one connector... I plugged it into the light controller and it ended up frying it.

My question is... does anyone have some info about wiring up a lot of lights to a light controller? The light controller I had had two outputs... and it starts stinking when I plugged the 4 spotlights in. Is there a light controller that can handle this power draw?? They are 3w LED spot lights and the light bar is also a 56led "3w" rated with same sorta power draw.

I would not be very happy with a 5t on fire ... so any input would be a great.
I think I need a heavier duty relay switch like this one?
https://www.amazon.ca/Remote-Contro..._10?keywords=rc+switch&qid=1682479617&sr=8-10
 
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Hey thanks for the response...
I have daisy chained the 4 LED spot lights into one main lead .... one main for + and one main for -
I also have another LED light bar as mentioned which is plugged into a Y / JST plug going into the light controller.

I was reading online and someone was mentioned even with a plug and play TAMIYA style light set (with its own controller ... head light/blinker/tail pigtail etc...) an amp meter showed they are drawing like 3.5 amps with just that.

Going back to the light setup I am running... I plugged it directly into the battery and it works fine without any temperature issues? Then I see remote controller relay switches with amp ratings of like upto 10 amps (turnigy makes one)

Anyone have a definitive answer to why the light controller fried?? too much draw? Do I need this crazier higher amp handling switch??

thanks everyone... helpppppp
 
Take the signal wire to the buss on the rx then direct power off the battery. Takes the load off the rx buss, but you can still turn it on and off from the TX.
Thinking about your amp load, I read you have 2 3watt lights and a 3 watt light bar, after reading your original post again, you have 4 3 watt lights and the 3watt light bar for a total of 15 watts? If so that brings your amp load up to around 2 amps. Any sag in voltage will jump the amp load up. This is assuming they are only pulling the wattage they state and not more, so depending on what the switch is rated for and what the voltage is, you could possibly be overworking the switch. The switch it's self will draw a but if current too.
 
That's some good detail... yeah I was wondering how my futaba rx was doing pushing power through the bus ports. And yes it is 4 / 3 watt spot lights up front and 1 3 watt 56led light bar and then the tail lights in the rear. The light bar does flicker when the servos are under load... that should stop perhaps when pulling power direct from the battery ... and it should fix the issue with frying switches. Thanks!
 
Lol...
I was waiting to post the end result...

Yeah I found an 8 amp (this I reckon will handle everything!) Relay switch.... where it has a jst in/out for power and lights. And a separate signal input for the relay inside the kit. Going to run a separate battery for the lights.

I actually figured out a clean way to mount the wide light bar behind the stock l5t front bumper..... jb weld my friends.... jb weld.

Pics to come.
 
Well I ordered more lights.... going to do some stuff to the body as well. But here it is the front and rear.

The Jb solution works nicely to hold that light bar precisely in place, going to paint that weld over though to match.
 

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Hello everyone... need some expert knowledge.

I connected a 10 amp rated electronic relay switch from my rx to an external battery solely powering the LED lights on my 5t.

However... when the motor is running for some reason when I start playing with it... all the lights want to dim amd eventually the low voltage capable lighrs stay on while the ones that require 6 plus voltage turn off. This only happen after its running?

Do I need a voltage regulator?? Or do I need to throw my lights away?
 
Okay I tested a few things...

The 7.4 lipo reads just over 8 volts... the output of the electronic relay switch reads about 7 volts.... with the motor not running.

But when running it drops the switch output to about 5 volts... it is weird because the switch is connected to the receiver for signal where there is an external battery powering the lights. Lights do not use the rx battery? So is this interference ? Or do I still need a voltage regulator of some sort?
 
try and post a pic of how you have it all wired mate,
that way one of us may be able to spot any issues or a mistake of some sort (y)
 
well guys you will have to endure my MS paint skills.

Wiring is in wire loom and out of sight on my losi... so real pictures might be a bit of an issue. But I have this diagram... which is probably MUCH easier to figure out wiring with. I forgot to mention on my rx also I have my sbus telemetry sensors plugged in as well.

I am thinking the switch first off is not able to put out the same voltage as its taking in?? I find switches are rated in amps... but not the voltage @ that amp rating... maybe one of those things companies can do for marketing.

But anyway... any input fellas??
 

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i'm no expert by any means and hopefully someone else will chime in to this as well mate,
but, the engine running cannot have any effect on your external battery except for the vibration or possibly heat if somethings too close to a hot bit,
what i mean is the vibration is causing either your switch or relay to short out or something when the engines running,
or the vibration is causing the relay to switch on and off rapidly causing the issue,
or there is a fault in your wiring or a connector thats again being affected by the vibration and causing a problem,
i'd say first thing to look at would be to check over every connector and then the relay,
 
By motor, I assume you mean engine.... Spents is right, it should have no bearing being hooked to a separate battery. The rx voltage doesn't matter either. It's just a signal telling the light controller what to do. The light controller is getting all its working power from the separate battery. Something is wrong with the controller, or associated wiring if you have that much of a voltage drop. Do any of the wires get hot? What about the light controller? Does it act the same way without the engine running? Out side of vibration or heat effecting the light controller I can't see how it would change voltage in the least. They are two separate systems.
Is there a time frame when it starts acting up, or immediately after the engine is running? Have you tried a stand alone test, no engine running with lights powered? Have you taken the switch out direct powered the lights, and checked voltage drop?
 
Ended up being a loose plug... voltage reads as it supposed to and the lights look brighter. This external battery power is nice not sharing servo power is nice. I got the muffler off aliexpress... definetly helps to be a little less hurtful to the ears. Last time it would not rev past 11xxx rpms but the routing the hose before this setup caused it to have a kink so hopefully next time I rip it will goto 18xxx like its rated for!

Piccccs
 

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spot on ya got the lights sorted mate (y),
but the muffler, i see that ust limiting yer pipe tbh, plus its slung super low, gonna be catching on the ground and may damage yer pipe,
 
I really enjoy 1/5 scale gas rc.... this one clearly is my favorite. I just lightly tear on it in a large paved parking lot and if I ever take it offroad away from hurting ears... then yeah I would take the muffler off.

And the rubber hose actually protects whatever it hits underneath.. it is a auto grade rad hose. But if this thing gets to 18xxx range of rpm on telemetry... it isnt really losing power. Just have to keep an eye on the temps!

Taylor rc makes on helluva engine!
 
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