Lipo battery to Esc Connectors.

[Ross Clarkson]

Hi,

 

My new electric Parkzone Extra 300 has come with ESC already installed with a blue + and - connector.

Problem is, my Overlander Sport Lipo's seem to have come without any connector and just black and red heatshrink on the leads!!!

 

Help please? What do i do?? Is this normal for a Lipo to come without a connector?

[Pete B]

Some do, some don't, Ross. That'll be an EC3 connector on the ESC.

 

You can either get the appropriate socket for the LiPo or go with whatever system suits you - bullets, Deans, XT60, etc etc.

 

There's a lot to choose from and it helps if you settle on a system early in your leccy life!

 

Pete

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

I fit 4mm bullets to everything - then all my batteries work in all my models ("all my models" that sounds grand doesn't it? - I only have 3 electric models! But at least they can share batteries)

 

Its good idea to adopt a convention not just on size Ross but if you are using bullets then also on polarity. So for example the +ve battery lead always has a plug while the -ve battery lead has a socket. ESC's are obviously all then wired the other way for compatability. The advantage is it makes it impossible to plug a +ve into a -ve line.

 

BEB

[Ross Clarkson]

Thanks guys but how do i connect them when i decide?

Am i going to have to learn how to solder??

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

'Fraid so mate! It isn't hard, honest.

 

Alternatively bribe someone into doing it for you!

 

BEB

[Ross Clarkson]

Go on then BEB, explain all???

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

OK Ross, here's what you will need:

 

A soldering iron - a standard 25-50W job is fine.

 

Some solder - standard electronic solder from the likes of B&Q is fine you don't need anything exotic for this. You want some with a melting point of about 170-210C

 

You will need some way of holding the wire and the plug that leaves your hands free. I use one of those "Helping Hands" things, others use a little home made jig with some holes to hold the connectors and clothes pegs to hold the wire!

 

Some connectors. Its up to you. Each person will tell you their choice of connector is best! As I said I use 4mm bullets and I like them. But then I have big sausage like fingers so I can't separate Deans connectors! If you go for bullets buy 10 males and 10 sockets - Gaint Cod is a good place to get them from.

 

Finally you will need some heat shrink tubing - preferably some black and some red.

 

Right that is all the kit so let's do some soldering. In soldering you only have to remember three things;

 

1. Its got to be clean - really clean - chemically clean.

 

2. Its got to be hot! Not warm - hot!

 

3. You apply the heat to the job - not the solder!

 

So, if as you say there is heat shrink on the Lipo now take it off one of the wires. Only work on one wire from the battery at a time - making sure the other is insulated and can't (in any way) touch the first one. If they do touchthen firstly its really not good for the battery and secondly you'll probably need to change your trousers!

 

If necessary strip back a bit of insultion off the wire. Not much. Look at the connectors and you will see, if they are bullets, that the back end has a little "bucket" you just need to strip off enough insulation to fit in the depth of there. Try not to touch the bare wires. Even if you think are hands are clean, they're not, they're greasy and solder hates grease! If your lucky the wire will already be tinned - it will be a silver colour. If not, hold the wire in your clamp put the soldering iron on the wire, leave it there for a few seconds then put the solder against the wire - not on the soldering iron! If you have got the wire hot enough it will melt the solder. If the wire is clean the solder will flow all over the wire on its own without you doing anything else. If the solder just sits there in a blob then the wire isn't clean enough and/or hot enough. Clean it either with an abrasive (I sometimes use a fibreglass pencil for this or better (quicker) I'd use a mild acid as a etch. Hopefully you will not need to know that!

 

Now put the connector in your clamp. Put the iron against the connect very near the bucket. Touch the inside of the bucket with your solder and let just a little solder coat the inside. Again if its hot enough and clean the solder will flow over the surface. Don't fill the bucket with solder - you just want a coating. A lot of folks don't do this step - that's fine. But I prefer to have both components tinned.

 

Now assemble the joint - put the tinned wire into the tinned bucket. Apply the iron to the connector again near the lip of the bucket. Let it all heat up. The solder you have in there should now start to flow. What I do now is, keeping the iron in place, there is a very tiny hole in the side of the bucket. I shove the solder in there! That floods the chamber with solder. Withdraw the solder, withdraw the iron and let it all cool down.

 

Once cool give the joint a good tug - it should withstand quite a firm pull without coming apart if its a good joint. Then slide some heat shrink over and give it blast from a hairdrier (or cigarette lighter in my case!) and bingo - job done! Now, if you have just done a male connector - slide a bit of fuel tube over it to insulate it before exposing the other battery lead wire!

 

If you want to - practice on a bit of gash copper wire. Soldering is a knack. Its not particularly difficult nor does it require a high level of skill. But it does respond to a bit of practice.

 

If you make a pig's breakfast of it - don't worry. The most likely thing to go wrong is that when you tug the joint it just comes apart. That means that the joint is "dry" i.e. the solder has not probably melded with the base metal - there are only two reasons why that can happen:

 

1. You didn't have it clean enough

 

2. You didn't have it hot enough.

 

So. just melt the rubbish solder that is there and flick it off, clean everything up and have another go. Nothing lost.

 

Final point - a good solder joint is a bright silver colour. If the solder looks a dirty, dull, grey colour the joint is almost certainly dry.

 

BEB

 

 

[Cyclicscooby]

Very well put BEB...

 

Dont forget you can pratice on any scrap bits of wire first, to get an idea of what happens..

 

As said already, NEVER short out the Lipo wires.. ONLY do ONE wire at a time, leaving the heatshrink on the second

 

Dont buy expensive handy hands, just put a laccy band on a pair of pliers and use them like a vice, or buy a cheap vice.. !!

 

Most importantly of all is, dont BURN yourself... And if you're not used to soldering, expect 'blobs' to drip off, HOT blobs.. Make sure what ever is underneath is OK to burn, i.e. not the dinning room table, etc..

 

 

Luv

Chrisie.. xx

[Pete B]

Excellent tutorial, BEB, but on the basis that a picture is worth a thousand words, it may help if Ross searches Youtube for soldering vids, perhaps specifying the type of connector he plans to use.

 

I haven't looked at these so I don't know how competent they are, but this page might be a start. Some will be awful, others very helpful.

 

By the way, Ross - hasn't your job taught you there ain't such a word as 'can't' !!!

 

Pete

[Kozmyk]

The 4mm +ve Male/-ve Female convention is fine unless you are going to use multiple batteries in an installation.

Then there is a real danger of plugging one pack into another by mistake and shorting them both out.

BIG spark!!!! Lots of magic smoke.

 

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

If you're using Deans or other twinned connectors - don't forget to slide the heat shrink on to the wire first (and as far from the heat at the joint as possible) or you'll have to regard the first attempt as a practice!

 

The nice thing about soldering LiPo connectors is that the insulation on the battery and ESC wires is almost invariably silicone covered so it won't melt back, giving you a much easier job than PVC insulation where you have to be quick and positive with your technique.

 

With the twinned type, make sure you shrink the heatshrink on the first joint before starting the second one to avoid embarrassing amounts of smoke from the battery if (when) you accidentally short the wires.

 

...and in the excitement of having completed the first one, don't forget the heatshrink on the second wire before attaching that one!

 

Although sooner or later you will...

Edited By Martin Harris on 20/08/2011 00:16:10

[Ross Clarkson]

Great guys, absolutely top stuff.

Have watched some vids, now off to my LMS to get some supplies.

Will let you know how i get on.

 

Just one last question, the ESC already installed comes with a EC3 connector. Whats the best way of getting this off so i can put whatever connector i decide on?

[Pete B]

Simplest way is with a wire-cutter as close to the connector as possible, then strip back 1/8 - 3/16 to tin newly exposed wire. Alternatively, cut the connector open with a Stanley knife, heat solder joint until the the original end is released and you're ready to fix new connector.

 

Not a problem with an ESC but if you're doing it with a battery, just complete one half at a time to avoid inadvertent shorts - they make you jump!

 

Pete

[Frank Skilbeck]

Ross, the EC3 connector is becoming quite popular and they are very good, I've got some on my planes and i'm thinking of changing the other ones I have on Deans to these.

 

I'd leave the plug on the ESC and fir an EC3 to your battery, they are quite neat as you solder the wire to the plug and then push the plug into the housing, if you don't cut too much insulation off the wire no heat shrink is required. Fairly easy to solder to as well.

 

 

[Ross Clarkson]

Thanks guys,

I decided to go with Deans for 2 x reasons.

1. My charger does not have an EC3 charging lead and..

2. The LMS only had Deans!!!!

 

Will let you know how i get on.

 

Thanks a lot.

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Hi Ross,

 

one further tips regarding Deans connectors - connect the one you are soldering to a partner Deans connector - it keeps the pins in position and correct alignment.

 

BEB

[Anthony Billings]

Hi, some of my heli's had Deans, the only trouble is that you need to get a lot of heat onto the terminal to solder the wire correctly due to the thickness of the terminal, and it tends to melt the plastic making it unsightly. EC 3's howeber are soldered out of the plastic holder and then locked into the holder on completion, makes a much neater job.

The other problem with Deans that I found was the problem of sparking when connecting the lipo, it is fairly difficult to mate a deans connection without sparking, having raised this problem on a heli forum a lot of the expeirienced guy's put me onto EC 3's or EC 5's depending on the size of wire, due to the individual sockets for the +ve and -ve terminals, even if you do get a spark when mating the connection there is less liklehood of a short which as we all know is not good for lipo's.

Tony

[Olly Giles]

I had the same experience as tony. Deans were difficult to solder with the larger guage wires i was using. I switched to EC5 and cant really fault them. i only use deans on 3 cells max.

[Keith Simmons]

Deans soldering was too difficult for me, Managed to solder one pin and made a mess with the other with the iron or wire touching the finished joint while soldering the other pin making a short with the li-po's. Gave up and made bullet connections instead.

[Ben B]

Suprised no-one has mentioned XT60 connectors. No sparking (the connectors are shielded anyway), fairly easy to solder etc etc, cheap, easy to seperate.

Always worth putting a socket and plug together as mentioned before soldering, helps prevent the connectors going out of alignment.

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

C'mon then Ross - spill the beans. Do we have working connections yet?

 

BEB

[Ross Clarkson]

Well, what a nightmare that was!!!!!!

Wish i had read some posts today before starting.

 

Everything started off well, seemed to be going so well and after first battery completed, i looked at it and was so proud!! This isn't that hard i thought.

Until, i then went to connect it to the male Deans connector, only to find it wouldn't go in. BEB, absolutely right, make sure you connect a pair up so that you don't melt the plastic distorting the joint!!!! Pride to embarrassment very quickly!

 

After that little mishap, i dismantled it, looked on here and tried again, a bit frustrating and very fiddly but both batteries seemed to be completed satisfactory! Not sure the joints look the prettiest but they seem strong and have held.

 

The ESC was a pain in the backside. I tinned the 2 wires i had just cut but i think i must not have done it properly as trying to get these to stick to the deans was horrible. After much cussing and tantrums thrown, i calmed myself down and managed it.

Again, definitely not the prettiest.

I just didnt know where to put my Solder iron when the too wires were placed together and i ended up melting the solder and then placing the wire on top quickly, and then putting some more solder on top of that. I am sure this is bad!!!

 

I have to say, now that i have looked at EC and Bullet connectors, these seem to be much easier than Deans and i wished i had looked back at this thread before staring this morning.

Im not completely confident about my joints so i am going to order some different connectors and change them!

 

Saying that, i have tried the set-up and everything works!!

 

The only problem i have stumbled across, is that my Imax6 charger doesn't seem to like them. Im not sure if this is to do with the joints or my charger!

 

When plugged in via the mains, it starts to charge but then stops instantly saying Input Voltage Error but when i use my 12v battery, it is fine for a bit but then suddenly says the same!!

I am confused and worn out. Deans are hard work!!

 

[Ross Clarkson]

Im not sure my 25w Iron helped either, but i might be wrong.

[Pete B]

You're not the first and you won't be the last, Ross - I've had a few frustrations this afternoon making up some 12AWG - Deans connections It's important to tin both the spade and the wire first and then keep the heat on for as short a time as possible.

 

I've decided to change over to the XT60 connectors and some are winging their way towards me as I type, although as they're coming by Swiss Post they'd be faster by boat. Casting round the Net, they seem to be regarded quite favourably.

 

Regarding the charging issue, what's your power supply rated at - and is your 12V battery fully charged? If it was simply your joints, you'd probably get something like 'Connection Break' showing up.

 

Pete

 

ps just read your second post - 25W might be a bit marginal. Mine is 30W and only just about adequate.

Edited By Pete B on 23/08/2011 17:39:57

[Ross Clarkson]

Pete,

Thanks. My power supply is one of those cheap white adapter type ones that is set at 12v with a little push switch and the end of the wire has different connectors!

Do you think this might be the prob?