So the other day someone told me there was a way to modify certain ESCs to work with 3s batteries when they were originally only supposed to work with 2s batts. The Novak Havoc was one of these he said.

Does anyone know what he was talking about? I didn't get any specifics from him, and search terms like "modify esc for 3s" or even just "modify esc" didn't really turn up anything.

We offer a Havoc 3S version.

I know. But I already have a Havoc that only does 2s. So unless you have some sort of trade up program, I'd like to see if I can just mod the one I have instead of having to drop more money on it. At the very least I'd like to know how it's done and then decide if I want to try.


The guy also said this procedure would work with the Tamiya teu-101 esc, so I'm thinking it's probably something like changing a transistor or voltage regulator or something..

With the original Mamba Max ESC people would eliminate the internal BEC and use either a separate BEC or receiver pack. This would allow use of 4s instead of 3s. I assume this is what he was talking about, but I dont know of anyone who has tried is with any other ESCs. I know Novak stuff does not typically respond well to use outside of it rated parameters, I have fried a few Novak products with only slight overvolting.
To do this you simply remove the red wire from the harness that goes from the ESC to the receiver. Then install a BEC or receiver pack.

Hmm. I didn't think the BEC had anything to do with the max. voltage it will run on, but it sounds like that probably is what he was talking about. Well that's kind of disappointing, I was hoping it involved actually modding the thing to handle the extra power, not just eliminating the safety and hoping for the best. Maybe I will see about just getting myself a 3s havoc.

What he is reffering to about the mamba max is disabling the internal bec of the esc, beaucse this is where the weak point on this by running a larger external bec you can run higher voltages. I did this on my mamba max and ran 5s

The weak point of most ESCs is the BEC, it has to step down high voltage to a usable amount for the receiver. This is where lots of heat is generated because heat is the only way to get rid of the extra power.

Knowing what works for Castle MM may not help overvolt a Havoc. I'm not even sure how you would disable the esc BEC which is the 1st necessary step in doing this with the MM - its the red wire in the plugin going to the rx, you pull it out of the lead and tape it off or something to insulate it.

Its hard to believe the limiting 2S to 3S in a Havoc would be the bec.

All four of our Havoc controllers feature the same 6.0 volt/3.0 amp BEC.

Then possible the difference is the lipo cutoff that they program into them.

Well, maybe. I know I'd need my own cutoff if I did mod mine for 3s.. I think I will call tomorrow and ask about the specific hardware differences between the two models. Maybe they will offer me a trade up, which would be nice, because I just bought this one a month or two ago, and am kinda displeased that I didn't wait a bit longer and get the 3s. :P

We have not yet implemented a "group" exchange option among the Havoc controllers, such as the "G" group exchange with the GTBs.

I will inquire about the difference with the Havoc 3S design; the engineer, who designs our PCBs, just told me that the Havoc 3S has different Mosfet drivers than the 2S.

Ah, I figured that would be the case. Different drivers.


Well, it sure would be nice if you guys did implement a group exchange option.. I just bought the thing a month or so ago, before the 3s was available, so I'm really wishing I had known the 3s would be out soon and just waited.

As I see it right now, if I want to run 3s my options are either to try to sell this one and just buy a new 3s Havoc, or possibly see if I can replace the mosfet drivers in this one, but that's probably a bad idea..

For kicks and grins I hooked up my novak gtb to a 3s lipo and the only issue was the fan quit. So I replaced it with an hv fan. I monitored the temp and it seemed fine. I ran it like that a few times. If you are willing to take the havoc apart maybe just try it and see how it goes. Also check the voltage to the receiver but it sounds like the bec is the same as the havoc 3s so it should be fine.

HavokTwo, is the bec in the gtb the same as in the havoc?