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Saito2

The ups and downs of battery access.

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Here's something we all deal with but may not think about...accessing the battery on various models. When I'm out for a jaunt, I find switching battery packs can be so simple it goes by without a thought or it can be quite the annoyance. The Lunch Box is really simple in both battery access and getting at the plug. The Monster Beetle isn't too bad with its lower swing down battery door, just don't misplace the little white pin that holds things shut. The same could be said about the Boomerang.

There's also the matter of space. A Super Shot or the aforementioned Lunch Box does fine, but with a little grit and debris, a Manta Ray's battery can get lodged in its tub pretty tight. How about retention? Do you like little doors (bottom or side), removable caps or bars (which, for me, always seem to wander off) or just bending something out of the way like a Madcap?

Some battery changes are a downright pain. I generally don't care for changes that require body removal. This becomes more of an issue if there's an undertray with velcro to deal with or some fiddly front shock towers to finagle the body around (or worse, both). One of the reasons (a small one, admittedly) I don't have an Avante runner was reading the breakdown of changing a battery on Blackholesun's website. Unclip and pull down the undercowl, undo crosslinks on the shock towers, pull the body...all the change a battery.

The plugs themselves can be an issue too. Without some creativity, the plugs on the early buggies (Hot Shot, Fox, etc) just hang out the side and get beat up. But, I suppose its better than launching your Hornet off a jump, seeing the battery door sail off in another direction and watch the buggy land, dragging its battery behind it like a stubborn dog on a leash.

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My favourite battery retainer has to be the TL-01 spring loaded quick release one, ideally with the stamped fibreglass plates swapped out for precision cut carbon ones from Fybre Lyte.

Also compatible with the WR-01, WT-01, M-03, M-05 and possibly others with similar battery placement such as the MF-01X, it literally makes battery changes a snap, and is also easily spaced outwards to make room for longer-than-a-standard-NiMH rounded LiPo packs. 

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Actually, I'd rather have to take the body off, and have all the wiring contained. Dangling plugs and wires bother me; it looks sloppy, and it feels like lazy design. I mean, it's the most important wire connection on the whole car; why have it dangle out of the chassis like an afterthought? I always try to route the wires around a body post or something to take up the slack.

I've always been find of the RC10's plastic cradles. I've actually used them on several other cars over the years; as long as you have a flat chassis, there's almost nothing better. I'm also glad to see that Kyosho has finally given up on the zip-ties in favor of Velcro.

But I guess after spending the early Nineties strapping 4 and 6 cell saddle-packs into pan cars with packing tape, and soldering the wires directly to the pack right before each race (still not sure it was necessary to eliminate connectors, but everyone else did, so I had to), anything else seems like a cake walk...

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Check out the TA06 for battery access! 

😭

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The XV01.

I really don't understand why Tamiya went with the the underside battery.  Two tiny screws that get the heads filled with dirt, then there's the o-rings they have on the other side of the screws but are ridiculously small and easy to lose.  The design ends up limiting the servo, the ESC and receiver room, while requiring the aerial to be awkwardly fed through the battery compartment.  All because they decided they either didn't want people to have to remove the body or they wanted to protect the belt in the most awkward way possible.

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This is so true, especially the Hornet deciding to eject it's cover as it gets airborne.. Or catches a rock.. Of if I sneeze near it... Mines now held shut with a small screw with a Nimh that has permanent residence in it. 

I really like the simplicity of the DT-03 and TT-02, every battery I own fits in them from Shorty's to large Square Lipo's and everything in between. Probably why they get used so much. 

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My battery access/location views been flipped on its head, since i now only run lipos. 

Never gave it second thought ,a joy to change with nicad/nimh sticking out the sides of the chassis, no body to remove etc. Now with Lipo, especially softcase 3s ones (hardcase are a struggle to fit, in some instances), I'm loving the enclosed chassis, you need to take the body off for, no worrying (ok, not major worries but...) about rocks or high speed shrapnel bursting the soft Lipo casing..

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Currently struggling with a Corally 2S Lipo and a TT01E - have used the Dremel to open out the chassis, sanded down the battery clamp, and loosened the screws on the battery posts, but not having any joy getting the battery to fit. Doesn’t help that the battery wires leave the battery right at the point where the clamp wants to clamp.... anyone any suggestions? Are there taller battery posts available, or alternative clamps? 

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For all of my older Tamiyas I just use the mini 2-3S lipos.  They fit in everything and with up to 3000mah have plenty of run time.  I'd rather not permanently modify original battery boxes for full size Lipos when there's a very easy & cheap solution.  

As far as some being annoying to access no matter what size battery you're using I totally agree with that.  I actually dont mind the bottom loaders so you can leave the body completely in tact when removing/replacing.  

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12 hours ago, SimonL said:

Currently struggling with a Corally 2S Lipo and a TT01E - have used the Dremel to open out the chassis, sanded down the battery clamp, and loosened the screws on the battery posts, but not having any joy getting the battery to fit. Doesn’t help that the battery wires leave the battery right at the point where the clamp wants to clamp.... anyone any suggestions? Are there taller battery posts available, or alternative clamps? 

Have a look at this: https://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?/topic/90839-cup-racer-20-or-the-ultimate-tt01dr-type-e-build/

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4 hours ago, ThunderDragonCy said:

Thanks, I read that earlier. His battery, at least in the photos, doesn’t have any cables coming out of it. My issue is the cables leave the battery in the middle at one end so it interferes with the clamp (I see they appear to have fixed this problem with the TT02 by making the clamp go diagonally across the battery from corner to corner). 

Maybe I can get away without the clamp at all though if I use foam tape....

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I run NiMh as we have a family fleet of bashers.

As such i want fast easy changes as the 3 littles all run to me to change their batteries.

Madbull's (was 2 in fleet now just 1) have been modified so they have a simple over center flip to retain battery. They are actually front shock mounts from Thundershot series.

WT-01 (used to be 3 now only 1) no mods as work ok

Traxxas Stampede's now 3 in fleet all had to be modified so I can change the battery with ONLY......removing 1 R clip, I have on all 3 trucks extra R clips in the body posts so WHEN I loose one at a battery change it does not interrupt play.

SO for me I want a fast change with a reliable retainer IDEALLY with nothing to remove that is easily lost....

JUST realised if I use a cable tie on the traxxas battery R clip I can stop loosing them.. back in 5 min!

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I personally prefer a solution that saves removing the body, but I appreciate that comes with its own problems (Hornet / Grasshopper battery tray being an obvious one)

I do love the M03/M04/TL01 hop-up battery clip, which mostly means easy removal of battery without taking off shell or removing any clips.  As has been said, it can easily be spaced out to fit many LiPo packs and the end clip can be used to hold the wires out of the way so they don't look ugly / distort the shell / get hit on the track.  Downside of those is the parts are quite sharp and after some close track battles they will leave marks on the body (more so than the plastic clips).

The TA01/DF01/CC01 type clips usually mean the battery comes out without the body coming off, but why-oh-why do people keep losing them?  So many times I've bought a used Tamiya to find the clips missing.  Also unless you make a custom part it's hard to make a modern LiPo fit those chassis.  I've recently worked on a 3D design to replace all my missing clips with a clip that has an extra bracket to hold the wires against the tub, so they don't distort lexan bodies.  So far only tested on my CC01 Land Cruiser and only works with NiMHs or a Core RC LiPo which fits old NiMH dimensions.  Link and description in the TC Builds subforum for those who want to have a look.

I thought the DT03 design was neat enough, although a little bit fiddly.  The chassis seems to take modern packs better than most, and of course the body does have to come off.  It's way better than the shortsighted DF03 design, which was great in principle but in practice never worked: 1) the clip almost always got wedged and had to be pushed out by a screwdriver, and 2) sure, you can get the battery in and out without removing the body, but how in the badword do you plug it in..?

The Blitzer / Bear Hawk chassis annoys me greatly in this respect.  The rear battery post is screwed in with a self-tapping thread.  If you don't start the screw at the right point, it will bottom out with the pinhole for the R-clip in an inconvenient location, and there's nothing you can do about it.  On the plus side, this chassis is closed at both sides so the wires never poke out into the track, and for that reason I hate the Hotshot re-re's battery situation.  There's absolutely nothing to be done about those ugly and awkward wires besides cable-tying them down every time you change battery.  What a pain.

I should probably consider using smaller LiPos in some of my cars (the HotShot is a good potential contender for a shorty square pack) and avoid issues like this entirely.

I do like how the big rigs have a plug locator in the battery tray so that not only is the battery secured but the plug too, with all the wiring neatly routed through a plastic channel.  However it only works with genuine Tamiya batteries or any other battery where the leads are cut to the exact same length.  Some of my bigrig NiMHs have longer leads which force the plug to be located up inside the chassis works.

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ETA: as a major downside to the Euro big rig battery tray, the rig needs to be laid on its side to change the battery.  Considering most rigs have delicate side-mounted components like mirrors, as well as expensive paint finishes, this means having to carry around a "changing matt" for resting the rig on when changing batteries.  Or performing a very delicate real-world transmission change affair, with the truck propped up on stands and my fingers playing the part of a 1:14 scale truck mechanic underneath it.

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On 10/20/2019 at 2:55 PM, SimonL said:

Thanks, I read that earlier. His battery, at least in the photos, doesn’t have any cables coming out of it. My issue is the cables leave the battery in the middle at one end so it interferes with the clamp (I see they appear to have fixed this problem with the TT02 by making the clamp go diagonally across the battery from corner to corner). 

Maybe I can get away without the clamp at all though if I use foam tape....

Came up with what will hopefully be a suitable workaround, and also a faster way of changing batteries when necessary.

A length of bicycle inner tube stretched across the battery posts and held in place with the clips, and a bit of extra tubing to fill in the gap between the battery and the chassis - battery isn’t going anywhere and the rubber just wraps around the battery wires :)

 

9523C7A3-DCEB-4410-9DAE-CB26B3BDBCC3.jpeg

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