Do we need a revolution in connectors?
 

As I build my new truck (based off the new 1/8 Arrma Kraton EXB Roller) I can't help but wonder... Why aren't connectors better? Why is it so difficult to solder connectors well? And why can't any connector be more versitile and cover a wider range of wire sizes and amperage applications? Let me explain myself here...

So the XT90s are the most popular connector right now, and they are a great connector, but they have limits (90 Amps) which upgraded 1/8 scale and larger electronics packages can breach (such as my TP Power 4050 motor [150A]) and XT90's should not be used to power 1/6 or 1/5 electric vehicles. This I am sure most of you are already aware of.

Then you have EC5s and IC5s which have gained popularity in recent years. A good step in the right direction but still limited to 120A. EC5s are called EC5 because of there 5.0mm bullet connectors. From there, you have a massive jump from 5.0mm straight to 7.0mm with AS150 and XT150 connectors (150A), and then rediculously overpowered QS8 8.0mm connectors capable of a rated 300A. The scaling doesn't make sense either, how do you go from 4.0mm XT90s to 5mm EC5s and then somehow it takes a 2mm jump to increase 30 amps and suddenly 1mm above that you have obscene 300A power handling?

Another issue is that there are so many types of connectors that there is no real standard used by anyone to make things easier on everyone. I don't know about you but I like being able to get my connectors pre-soldered on my LiPos. I can solder just fine but I always feel nervous when Im screwing around with the danger that is a LiPo battery, especially considering the heat running down the wire you are soldering. I would much rather have the ability to choose the connectors I truly want as standard no matter what brand of LiPo I use, but that will simply never happen with the way things are now.

I have an idea as to how to solve this problem. A set of literally 3 different connectors that can handle everything from the small 1/16 and 1/18 models all the way up to monsterous 8S 1/5 models such as the Losi DBXLE 2.0. The idea comes from a combination of AS150 connectors as well as Castle Creations Polarized connectors and would feature anti-spark and easy pull-apart while not coming loose when wither bashing or racing. The ONLY surface system these connectors would not be able to handle is the MGM 12-15S extreme 1/5 conversion system. In which case, just use the QS8 connectors.

This idea would unify the entire RC community under a single set of 3 different sized connectors based off the same design, instead of having dozens of different options. Imagine being able to lend a battery to literally any of your RC buddies, or use eachothers chargers when in need because you all have the same connector that is able to run in any vehicle? Not having to hardly solder at all because most standard charge leads and batteries would be available with either of these connectors right from the factory?

So what is the idea? Well take a look at Castle connectors options and the AS150 connectors. The first connector will cover 1/10 all the way up to 8S 1/5 and use either a 6.0mm or 6.5mm set of bullets. This would allow for wire as small as 12AWG to as large as 8AWG to be soldered correctly and firmly, and since Castles 6.5mm option is rated up to 200A, I figure a high quality enough connector could reach at least ~160-180A continuous. The design of the casing would be reminiscent of the AS150 connectors.

They will have the ability to solder the bare bullet which will be threaded and then simply screw the bullet into the casing. The only thing different from the AS150's would be that the positive and negative cases would have a clip that would hold them together like a standard connector, but be removable if you wanted to seperate them and wire 2 4S packs together in series to make an 8S pack with a single final connector so a Y-plug is unnecessary.

As for the other two sizes? Simple, 4.0mm connector to handle up to ~60-80A and properly fit 16-12AWG wire, able to handle 1/14 up to 1/10 surface vehicles of just about any type. Then finally a 2.5mm connector for 1/16 and smaller micros and minis. This connector would handle just a tad bit more power and take a tad bit thicker wire than JST connectors (like one step up in AWG in comparison).

​​​I also think that all LiPos should allow you to pick your AWG size of wiring upon ordering, and inboard batteries should be switched from 5mm to 6mm or 6.5mm bullets. Its honestly not that much longer and means the larger batts can deliver more power safely. Opening up your pack to modify these kinds of things is NEVER recommended by anyone ever, so I think these changes need to be provided from the factory. Perhaps in direct wire packs, the AWG can be based off the connector you choose. The 6/6.5 connector would get 8AWG wire, while the 4mm gets 12AWG and the 2.5mm gets 18AWG maybe?

I don't know, Im just speaking my mind here. I think its i good idea (otherwise why would I post it lol 😂). Share your thoughts, how can we further improve the world of wiring and connectors?

I’m gonna take a guess, electrical engineering is your field?

About 90 percent of that went over my head. Some of those you mentioned I’ve never heard of. Traxxas, Deans, EC3, EX5, add EC2( Horizon/Losi), and 4-5mm bullets are what I’m used to.

The biggest problem would be getting any of the brands to agree. Local HobbyTown owner pointed out to me few years back that each brand is picking their connector. And use of anything outside of that will instantly void any warranty the brand offers. At one point HobbyTown was very close to no longer allowing any of their store to offer soldering for customers. All those that were trying to get the biggest, most powerful batteries possible in their Xmaxx when it came out. Traxxas has moved to an built in balance port inside their connectors. You can still use the older Traxxas connectors. But their new batteries can’t be charged with their older charge plugs. Required a special adaptor.


One thing I’d like to see is an improvement to the balance plugs. I’ve lost the use of more batteries from a broke balance wire then anything else.

Lol not at all. Ive Ive done a lot of research on LiPos, connectors, and wiring because Ive had a few fires with RC in the past.

I agree about balance ports. They are horribly fragile and luckily SMC Racing has already redesigned theirs.

Id be happy with a square connector for negative and round for positive so that I dont have to watch my buddy fry another esc. or have 1 male and female on a battery so you cant mix it up. its all simple stuff that could have been done along time ago.

Here are more ideas.

the voltages are going to have to get higher. you cant even get a decent vacuum under 24 volts now. this makes your connectors smaller.

I think you can make connectors smaller if the contact area had more surface area. for example a copper screw.

Ive been working on magnetic charge leads. polarized so you can hook them up backwards. 30 amps requires allot of surface area.

Lol man that sucks. Well it would be cool to plug negative of one batt into positive of another to create an 8S pack with no adapters but a square + round idea would be cool for safety too. If only I knew someone who could help me get started in making these connectors and selling them, I would totally do it. Sell them in bulk to all the different LiPo providers and make it a stock option. Like honestly this idea covers pretty much every electric RC ever made (surface at least).

Edit: Magnetic charge leads??? Thats insane on RC LiPos lol. I have no idea how you could pull it off, this isn't a smartphone we are talking about lol 😂😂😂 but yea I guess with enough surface area you could possibly pull it off.

Ok. Nothing against engineers, but they to tend to over think some things.

It does seem a bit odd looking back at something like the SavageHP. 6s with Deans connectors. Now they’d probably be something different.

I’d be all for something that made changing connectors simple. I’ve never considered trying to solder a battery. I still can’t solder a wire to a motor. I almost damaged an esc last time I tried.


I’ll have to see what SMC has. I haven’t looked in quite sometime. Since I crossed into the race side, bullet plugs have become mostly what I use.

​​​Lol well Im not an engineer but I wish I was 😂. Ya Deans were strange to see on 6S. Ive had Deans melt on 4S in a lightweight buggy. Its just some people get lucky, others don't.

My system would require the same work as swapping to any other connector. But since the power handling, bullet sizes, and wiring are all safe and appropriate, once my system is installed on all LiPos, ESCs and Chargers, You would never need to do it again.

Additionally, if your friends swapped for the convenience of one set of connectors, you would now be able to swap batteries any time with anyone. Say you are at the track, and like my track there is a bashing area outside. You brought your 4S LiPos for the track but have no 6S on you. You win a race, and wanna run 6S in a rig for bashing. Well ur buddy can just give you his to run for a cycle.
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​​​Now say you wanna but out the big guns, you have an X-Maxx or Kraton 8S in the trunk or back seat. No problem, your 1/8 connectors and 8AWG wire can handle whatever stock or aftermarket system those trucks could have. Then a buddy has a DBXL-E he wants to run. No problem, because the wiring and connectors are strong enough for that too.

Ive saw a YouTube video a while back where someone with a lot of money, but not well educated enough, did a 12S electric conversation on a Losi 5T and used freaking 12AWG wire and Deans Connectors. In the video the truck is obviously strangled for power and cut out now and then. And then he wonders why? It literally took me and other people 50 comments to be like "Hey man, your wiring and connectors aren't good enough, you are lucky it didn't start on fire!"

People who like the hobby are often under-educated regarding the danger of the amount of electricity running around in these machines. And whats staggering is when they see these machines do 60+ MPH and triple backflips off jumps, it never occurs to them to stop and think "Wow, thats a lot of power, I better make sure I set this thing up correctly" LOL

I’ll be honest, I’m probably one of those. I’ve never considered what wire or anything like it. Just used what the ESC came with. I’m pretty sure my 8s Hpi zzz Baja came from hpi with Deans. But can’t remember, store owner suggested using EC5 so I had them do that before it left the store.

There’s no track running 4s with 100 miles. It’s all 2s. And with as weight obsessed as some racers are. You’d never convince them to change.

Then there’s that factory warranty thing. Once you change a ESC connector. You void the warranty. Plus trying to convince any of the brands to cooperate. Horizon used different plugs in their different brands. Losi gets EC3. Vaterra gets deans. Not sure what they give Axial( or if that brand will survive much longer, but that’s a different topic). Tamiya still in its own dimension, all but ignoring that Lipo is common. Then there Redcat. Also split into two separate divisions. The cheap stuff used a connector I don’t even know what it called. I don’t know what the redcat racing side uses.

There’s a few things that should be made uniformly that would make thing easier. But can’t even get the different touring cars to use the same width body post. So my Xray, Serpet , Awesomatix, and Mugen can’t share a body. Each requires their own. Or have multiple holes punch into each.

I have a question that is somewhat related to this topic. One of my ESC's is a used Maclan Pico I bought on this forum. The wires were cut to a length that were just barely usable in my vehicles. Seriously 1/4 inch shorter and I couldn't have made them reach. Used them for a while what a nightmare get the battery in and out. I decided to solder some short wires to the motor and connect to the speed control with 4 mm castle bullets and then I covered them with shrink wrap. Here is a picture of what it is now.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rct...c80848a333.jpg
As a side note I was surprised to find that there doesn't seem to be any good 3 wire connectors available. Maybe I'm wrong? Shortly after making this change I completely smoked the motor I was using at that time. A Schuurspeed17.5 V4. Here is a picture of that.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rct...f6424f2420.jpg
Now finally here is my question. I know it sounds crazy but is there a chance that adding these bullets between the ESC and motor had something to do with frying the motor? Maybe on a microscopic level there is some kind of arcing inside the bullets or contamination of the electrical signal? Or am I overthinking this as I usually do? All opinions even insults (if tasteful) are welcome 🥴

Ya I think EC5s/IC5s are the best standard for now, I just hope it changes soon. We are always getting more powerful and faster trucks that require more amperage. Or at least that has been the trend thus far.

Im actually thinking about just doing the work (even with my LiPos) to swap over to RCProPlus S6 connectors. They are great connectors with plenty of casing options, but just aren't considered a "standard" for any company which I find rediculous. They offer the best engineering, and yes I do also hate that HPI, Traxxas, Arrma, Losi and all the other brands all need their own connector for some reason. As if connectors even matter in the big scheme of things. Its like a 50 cents a piece to actually manufacture, maybe even less.

What I really can't stand is Traxxas connectors. Absolutely horrible garbage that is near impossible to work with, and can't even handle a great amount of power. If companies were to just allow the warranty after swapping connectors, then this wouldn't be such an insane issue for so many people. But even then, its completely inconvenient to have to do all the work just because they refuse to decide on a standard.

BTW, I was using 1/8 racing as an example, not 1/10. 1/8 pretty much always uses 4S. I use that example specifically because the I/8 electrical demands warrant the larger 6mm connector idea, where as 1/10 could easily deal with the 4mm option. Once that 6mm is in place, just about any larger vehicle can be safely powered off of it. Well all except the massive 12-15S conversions as stated in the OP. But those are specialty builds anyways so using a specialty connector (QS8) or maybe even 6AWG wire should be implied from the very beginning on a build like that.

No insults required man (LOL) you did a good job wiring there 👍. It appears to be a 1/10 rig so no, 4mm bullets wouldn't have fried the motor. The motor requests whatever current is needed from the ESC when you hit the throttle. As long as your ESC is powerful enough to run the motor and you LiPo is powerful enough to run your setup, all is well. The wiring has nothing to do with it so long as it can handle the current and doesn't short out. Frying a motor is generally due to the motor overheating. You probably just ran full throttle too long because you were racing (racers fry a LOT of motors, its normal). On a different note, most people use wire "combs" on motor wiring to make them neat if desired.

MT60: MR60: There is no issues with having bullets between motor and ESC as long as they are not able to spark against each other. If you were to install bullets inline on the wire between the motor and ESC I would add a bit of shrink of the bullet to help keep it connected and isolated. Motor bullets are more prone to blowup the ESC than the motors. I would be surprised if adding a connector between the two contributed in any way to a motor failure. All Castle Motors come with bullets on the motor wires and most Castle ESC's have bullets soldered directly to the PCB to make motor swaps easy. Many racing ESCs and motors have solder posts/tabs to reduce the number of connections(Every connection/solder joint is a potential place of failure). There is a certain DIY aspect to the hobby and many people would rather install their own wires than have to deal with long wires hanging about. I think Hobbywing made(maybe still makes) a motor that had 4mm bullets soldered to the motor but they used the cage style bullets which are prone to failure over time.

There are plenty of connector types to find outside the RC world, and there you will see that connectors are much larger to withstand 100A or more. Within the RC world we see seveal manufacturers with their quality differences. Even with the simple 4mm banana plugs at an electronic parts shop you see different specs from 4A up to 60A and maybe even higher depending the build and yes or not gold plated.

120A or 150A is no continious current but only peak power, the drive time with the capacity can easilly calculated to an avarage current.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rct...79d5840447.png

Some batteries have used different sized bullets (one 4m, one 5mm) for exactly this reason. It didn't take off for some reason.