12V power source on RC car?

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Dan_OZ

Member
Messages
44
Reaction score
26
Location
Brisbane - Australia
Arrma RC's
  1. Kraton 6s
Hey there,
quick question.
Is there a simple way to get 12V from the onboard electronics in a 6S? Like a converter or BEC? Don't need more than a few milliamps.
Reason is that there are more choices of 12V fans than there is of 5V ones.

I could plug in a 12V fan into the receiver Aux channel but it would only run on 50% speed right?

Anyone running 12V fans in their car?
 
Not installed yet, fans are still on order but I'm planning on using the ones below. They are small and you have to bridge 2 contacts i.e. some soldering required. Clear coat them and place them in shrinktube and they should be fine.
You can solder these to the battery wires and they will work on 2-6S.

12V fan might not even turn on at 5V or 6V, really depends on the fan itself and associated datasheet. Check the current draw of the fans, haven't seen one that just draws a few milliamps. The BEC below wouldn't have any issues.
You might want to check out 24V fans, they can be powered directly of 6S and will work fine on 4S. I had no luck finding a correct size (35/36mm) but 40mm fans come in 24V versions.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PLSYX9G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20200709-203341_Amazon Shopping.jpg
    Screenshot_20200709-203341_Amazon Shopping.jpg
    153 KB · Views: 44
For myself, I'm having issues with ESC overheating and going into shutdown after ~ 8 min. Max 6 combo with a retrofit 30mm turbofan (HobbyStar Turbo-Ventilator from RCJuice) guess on CFm is 5-6, maybe 7 as there is no datasheet. I have 2 on the 4985 motor and it stays around 160F and is fine, ESC is not.
Stock 35mm had the same issue before it broke i.e. no improvement.

40mm fans (12V) does not fit without major mods, now about to try a 12V 36mm fan with 14CFM, and higher static pressure.
https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/sanyo-denki-america-inc/9GV3612P3G03/1688-1697-ND/6192413
Have to remove the ESC cover for the height but that is not a problem. On order i.e. not installed just yet.

Should fit on stock ESC as well which will allow me to run a higher pinion again on my Talion.

This is all in grass and it's not the clean nice trimmed version, public park.
 
Thanks guys for all the replies!

Not installed yet, fans are still on order but I'm planning on using the ones below. They are small and you have to bridge 2 contacts i.e. some soldering required. Clear coat them and place them in shrinktube and they should be fine.
You can solder these to the battery wires and they will work on 2-6S.

12V fan might not even turn on at 5V or 6V, really depends on the fan itself and associated datasheet. Check the current draw of the fans, haven't seen one that just draws a few milliamps. The BEC below wouldn't have any issues.
You might want to check out 24V fans, they can be powered directly of 6S and will work fine on 4S. I had no luck finding a correct size (35/36mm) but 40mm fans come in 24V versions.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PLSYX9G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Yes, it'll be a 40x40mm fan for the motor so yeah, I will have a look for 24V fans.
Otherwise you suggest a mini BEC? I'm fine with soldering. Do I just run some wires parallel to the BEC between battery and ESC or from where do I grab the power?
The one on Amazon is currently unavailable, at least for where I live. But I found one on eBay:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Micro-5...m4b6b06d5e5:g:5hoAAOSwt5VbHj-Z&frcectupt=true
Should work too I guess.

I also thought of just connecting it to a 3S Lipo as I have a 500mah one laying around. But probably a bit too much of a hassle...

Cheers
Dan
 
Yes, that should work at 5V/6V. Check your ESC voltage to get the right input.
Otherwise I'm planning on running wires to the battery connector.
If you run a 3S pack you won't need a BEC for a 12V fan.
 
Yes, that should work at 5V/6V. Check your ESC voltage to get the right input.
Otherwise I'm planning on running wires to the battery connector.
If you run a 3S pack you won't need a BEC for a 12V fan.

Yeah, I bought another 5V fan for now to replace the broken one.
If the new fan breaks again I might try it with a DC-DC converter and buy some 12V fans which are cheaper and probably more powerful...?!
The 5V fan I have moves 6cfm of air at 3000rpm I believe it was. So if the 12V one spins faster it should move more air (y)

Thanks for the info guys!
 
I have a friend running 4s and 6s power to his fans (made for that power level)
They move some serious air!

Some times the best way to reduce stress on the other electronics is to run a separate battery for the fans.
I understand this is extra batteries and some hassle, but you would run LiFe battery which can stay fully charged without danger like LiPos.
 
Thanks mate, that sounds easy!
There are "step up" and "step down" converter. When I get a step up converter, can I connect it to the 6V AUX port on the receiver and turn it into 12V?

Something like that:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/XL6009-...870769?hash=item3fba42aa31:g:1KgAAOSwVblcb6We

That should work . Just remember that if you are drawing 400 ma at 12 v the input current at 6v will be over 800ma . Just make sure your aux port is capable to handle the current.
 
Alrighto!
So if my upcoming 5V fan breaks again I'll have 3 options:
1. Istall a DC-DC converter to turn 6V into 12V after checking if the output of the stock ARRMA 6s receiver port if it's capable of let's say 1A.
2. Run a separate little LiFe battery pack just for a 12V fan.
3. Get a 24V fan and somehow solder a Y-lead for the 6s pack.

I'll stick to these options for now!

Thanks guys!
 
Old Thread: Hello . There have been no replies in this thread for 90 days.
Content in this thread may no longer be relevant.
Perhaps it would be better to start a new thread instead.
Back
Top