What voltage should be coming out of my power panels ?
#1
What voltage should be coming out of my power panels ?
I`ve always used power panels on my starter boxes . I`ve been running lipo in my buggy box and recently bought the same box for my truggy . I`ve never checked the voltage before as I never had problems . I never had this problem until I got my new engines which run turbo plugs . I was going through plugs everyday , sometimes 2 a day . I found out when I checked my plug with my glow starter that the coils were super bright and then burn out within seconds . I got my meter out and both power panels have 14 volts on the glow starter side . Shouldn`t the voltage be around 1.5 ? Again I`ve never had problems before and not sure why both would be so high .
Thanks for any help .
Thanks for any help .
#2
Tech Adept
You see 14 volts @ the panel outputs, or out of the glow starter tip?
Most panels that I have seen simply provide access to the battery inside. There is no regulator or anything to reduce/increase the voltage from the battery. If you have a standard lead/acid battery, 14 volts would indicate you have a charged lead acid battery installed!
Now on to the point. Typical (self contained battery powered) glow igniters run off of 1.2v, standard C/sub C nimh/nicad voltage. If you are hooking your glow igniter up to the panel, this leads me to believe you are using one that is NOT self contained, therefore my GUESS is that it is designed to run on a typical 12V lead acid field battery (nominal 13.8 volts no load if I remember right). I would think that type of igniter would have circuitry to reduce or limit the voltage to that of a standard required by the glow plug itself (I am guessing in then neighborhood of 1.2V DC). However, I have seen some panels that have an output that says "Glow ...". If that is the case, potentially there could be pig tail igniters that do NOT have circuitry to limit the voltage and they are expected to be plugged into a supply (glow output) that contains the correct voltage (whatever that is).
Hope this helps you diagnose your problems, with a little more information I may be able to respond more directly.
(Edit) sorry just read you are running on Lipos. How many cells are you running? It could be precisely what you say, the glow igniter could be made to run on 12V DC and you are running it at 4s (4cells in series) which is 4x3.7 volts or 14.8 volts. I would definitely think that could cause some problems. The solution: get a portable self contained glow plug igniter that runs on a 1.2v battery. Very handy
Most panels that I have seen simply provide access to the battery inside. There is no regulator or anything to reduce/increase the voltage from the battery. If you have a standard lead/acid battery, 14 volts would indicate you have a charged lead acid battery installed!
Now on to the point. Typical (self contained battery powered) glow igniters run off of 1.2v, standard C/sub C nimh/nicad voltage. If you are hooking your glow igniter up to the panel, this leads me to believe you are using one that is NOT self contained, therefore my GUESS is that it is designed to run on a typical 12V lead acid field battery (nominal 13.8 volts no load if I remember right). I would think that type of igniter would have circuitry to reduce or limit the voltage to that of a standard required by the glow plug itself (I am guessing in then neighborhood of 1.2V DC). However, I have seen some panels that have an output that says "Glow ...". If that is the case, potentially there could be pig tail igniters that do NOT have circuitry to limit the voltage and they are expected to be plugged into a supply (glow output) that contains the correct voltage (whatever that is).
Hope this helps you diagnose your problems, with a little more information I may be able to respond more directly.
(Edit) sorry just read you are running on Lipos. How many cells are you running? It could be precisely what you say, the glow igniter could be made to run on 12V DC and you are running it at 4s (4cells in series) which is 4x3.7 volts or 14.8 volts. I would definitely think that could cause some problems. The solution: get a portable self contained glow plug igniter that runs on a 1.2v battery. Very handy
#4
Tech Adept
Make sure the new panel accepts inputs has high as 14.8 volts
#5
I found the problem . The heat adjustment was cranked up all the way , not sure how it got turned up that high . Have a feeling my nephew had something to do with it . He likes to help me when I work on my R/C stuff and he grabs whatever he can reach and go to town .
At least I found this before Saturday !
At least I found this before Saturday !