Question:
Mr. Doc-
I just bought a Traxxas Summit VXL from a guy and it only runs steadily for about 1 minute. After that, it will consistently lose acceleration, stopping throttle response altogether. It will, 1 second later, run again, but then have the same problem again but more often. Then it just does alternating beep tones with a green solid light at receiver. It just quits & beeps. A few other mods: speed control/module(?); TQ 2242 (weird part#, setup like 2238) transmitter; was Y’d into 2 batts when got it. I have set the transmitter only for Summit.
Toni
Answer:
Hey Toni.
The Traxxas Summit VXL is a fun little truck! The amount of power you can put through it is pretty amazing and, for it’s size, can crawl over quite a few obstacles.
The beeping you are referring to sounds like your low-voltage detection on the VXL-3m speed control (assuming it still has the stock Traxxas ESC in it). Basically, if the voltage in one (or both) of your LiPo batteries gets below a certain point, the ESC will detect this and shut the system down. This detection system helps protect the LiPo batteries from over-discharging and ruining them. It is crucial that you keep this system engaged. DO NOT TURN IT OFF! Doing so could cause one (or both) of your batteries to fail…something that could result in a fire in your truck.
So, what’s the cure? Simple…charge your batteries! It’s possible that one (or both) of your packs does not have enough charge in them. Hook them up and start your charging process. Wait a few minutes to make sure the batteries start to take a charge; a fully or partially discharged pack should take at least 15+ minutes to charge. Once both batteries are charged, plug them in and give the truck a go. If you still have the same problem, it could be a bad battery. Try only using one at a time to figure out which one.
On a side note, do not, for any reason, leave your batteries unattended while charging. If you do need to walk away, start the charging process someplace safe and away from anything that can catch fire. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard the story of an unattended battery going up in flames! The Doc certainly cannot help you there…
Good luck!
The Doc
