P2k on the fritz!!

[dugrant153]

hi folks,
so I have a used P2k, and just recently rebuilt it.
However, when I went to try the motor out (after I soldered it directly to the ESC), when I tried to give it throttle, the p2k would sometimes delay/give half throttle when I pressed full/not respond and my servo would glitch like mad.

I'm guessing my motor needs a capacitor? Or could it be something else?

[shadowghost1]

Yes it needs a diode but when you rebuilt it did you cut the com? You cannot just put new brushes in it because the com already has its groove from the other set of brushes and it will cause a arc with on and off power.

[dugrant153]

have not cut the comm yet.
and thanks for warning me. uhhh... what' arcing though? I did see the comm spark a bit... but I think that's normal.

[AudiTT-Quattro]

Excessive amount of sparks is NOT normal. It's caused by the brushes making intermittent contact with the comm. You can get away with not cutting the comm and the brushes will break themselves in but I don't recommend it.

[dugrant153]

I'm not getting excessive sparks, but just a few.
Is it normal if there are no sparks at all?

[rcguy2477]

If you look at the comm while the motor is running, you should just see a couple areas where it is slightly sparking(it will look almost like its glowing). If there are larger sparks that "come off" the comm and brushes(ie- the sparks are longer than about 2mm), the comm should definitely be cut.

Capacitors are most likely not your problem as they wouldnt cause the type of glitching you described. Diodes just use up the current released from the motor under braking so that it does go to your esc; it would never cause this.

I would suggest going through the motor and making sure that you assembled everything correctly.

[Mini-Z man]

keep us updated, let us know how you fixed the problem. i'm curious because I plan on buying a used p2k aswell.

[dugrant153]

oh, the p2k worked fine with my Hitec Lynx AM + Novak Explorer (no glitches at all).

I just found out that my Futaba 2PL (the radio I used to test with the p2k as of today) is not compatible with Hitec crystals (atleast in the 75mhz AM range). As soon as I put in my buddy's Futaba AM crystals, my car didn't glitch AT ALL with the Tamiya Silver Can. I'm guessing the P2k should be fine.

Will test very soon.

[EvaderSTKid]

Well if you changed motors and crystals, theres a 50% chance of the glitching being caused by the motor isn't there? Or is my math off? :confused:

[dugrant153]

I think the motor does have a potential to glitch.
However, I think because I was using the wrong crystals, teh glitching just went overboard and completely nuts.

Now it runs fine, thanks to the crystal change. Probably not a motor thing, although capacitors will help when I go running against other guys.