Blackened connection between motor and esc on black wire
 

Congratulations to me buying my first hobby rc today. Sportwerks Raven BX. I Blackened the connection between motor and esc on black wire (negative i think). It occured between that plastic coated plug where you can detach the motor from the esc. It has blackened some what on the inside of the plastic only on the black side however. Was this something like a poor connection on my intial runs with the unit?????

Other quick question is can anyone tell me quickly about cycling batterys or where i coud find some (rc related) info on how to perform properly as instuctions come up a little short.

Thankyou and i do appreciate these maybe apparently obvious questions but i figure if i dont ask i will never learn.

The blackening was likely due to a poor connection and arcing (sparking). I'm guessing you are not wired up using Deans Super connectors, which are a two blade connector and make a really good connection that can sustain high amperage with low resistance. The kind of plug connector that has round pins inside typically a white plug, used by Tamiya, isnt as good for high current. It can get hot from the resistance, the plastic melts, etc.

What kind of batteries do you have? Are they a stick pack, where all the cells are sealed in a package? If so, the only way to cycle them is through the connector. You drain them down to 0.9volts per cell, so six cell you drain down to 5.4 volts then stop. A good charger will have this feature. That measurement is under load, by the way, not just measuring a pack sitting there. They used to sell bulb dischargers, which you could plug into a pack and it would run until a cutoff voltage was met. Ask at your local hobby shop what's available.

Response
 

Thanks for the response. Information was greatly appreciated. Does my battery charger have a function where it can measure remaining power in a battery in case i forget which ones are charged or how much power has been used out of one after a run etc? I have a Swallow 2 charger? Thanks for all your help again.

Tim.

You might have also pinched a wire. I have done that before and it fired my negative wire on the wire harness.

Pinched wire
 

By pinched wire do you mean crossed wire. If so that cant have been the problem because they were plastic coated with little clear sleaves.