31 replies to this topic

[Gas Mask Guy]

So, I don't want to make another thread about the Vulcan, and I think this would be a good place for the following statement:

Either an 18V cordless drill battery is too much for the Vulcan, or I suck at wiring.

I don't think it's destroyed, but once I had finally hooked up all the goodies, I pulled the trigger, the gun cocked halfway, and then there was a bright light in the middle of the motor. I think I got it turned off before real damage was done, because there was very little smoke or smell, but I don't know how much can happen in a split second.

Again, if those of you that know more about electrical happiness think this sounds preposterous, I might have just wired it backwards, but I'm going to let it chill before I try anything else.

(And no, I'm not too bent up about it if my motor is fscked. The Vulcan is awesome, but I'd trust a Nightfinder or Recon more in a zombie situation. I refuse to use this thing unless it's modded. Besides, if the motor's broken, I can get a bigger better motor)

[keef]

Post your wiring diagram. Odds are you wired two hotwires, and no neutral or something easy to mess up like that

[Gas Mask Guy]

Hmm, I'll see what I can do with ascii...

Red line from on/off switch ---- red line from connector to 18V battery (I got a cordless drill set that came with a flashlight that ran off the 18V batteries. It was a noble sacrifice)

Black line from connector to 18V battery ---- orange line to motor

Like I said, I might have put the battery in backwards. If that would've done it, then I feel stupid but happier.

[Split]

The motor is fine I'm sure; it's the big circuit on top that's burned out. It's the same effect though - you can't use one without the other.

[Gas Mask Guy]

Yeah, I figured it was dead. The questions now are 1: was it the voltage or the wiring that was the problem and 2: where would I get a motor that could handle 18V batteries? The guy at the hobby store couldn't think of anything that could handle it, but someone said in one of Split's other threads that the Vulcan motor should've been able to handle up to 20V.

[Split]

I've used allelectronics.com many times with good results. They buy things from others' overstocks in bulk then resell it really cheap. It's the same (pretty cheap) shipping for no matter how much you buy, and the site is organized pretty well to find things. I don't recommend using the search on that site though. Just browse down to motors to find what you need.

I would take out the Vulcan motor to see what kind of connection to the gear box you need as well.

[Gas Mask Guy]

Good news, after very hesitant testing, I've found that our little motor is still alive. I held the current hookup to the stock battery pack, and our hero was turning fine once again. Feeling saucy, I tried the drill battery again, and it actually went through I'd say 2.3 firing revolutions in the second that I had the trigger down, but it did spark again. Just to make sure, I tried the stock battery pack again, and he was still alive.

So, I think either the motor could probably take the voltage if there wasn't so much force acting against it, or the motor/circuit board can't handle the heat of moving that fast. Either way, I need to figure out how best to curb its enthusiasm.