Trying to install a Traxxas led bar... With no luck

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DP Renilo

DP Renilo

Active Member
Messages
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Location
Antwerp, Belgium
Arrma RC's
  1. Infraction
  2. Kraton 8S
Hi,

I'm trying to install a Traxxas led bar (trx8488) on my kraton 8s.
I thought it was a quite simple job... 🙃
But I can't get it to work with soldering it to a regular servo plug

Unfortunately, I can't find any more info about the wiring (1 blue and 2 black).
But it seems it needs to be plugged in into an amplifier? (High voltage led's?!) Too bad the seller didn't warn me about that (as he knew I was trying to fit on a K8s)

Is there anyone out there that tried and succeeded to get it working on a non-traxxas rig without the amplifier?

Or is it a better option to find another curved led bar with already a regular servo plug factory installed?


Thanks in advance!

Screenshot_2022-09-23-09-17-22-32_40deb401b9ffe8e1df2f1cc5ba480b12.jpg
 
I don’t have a Trapas, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you need the Traxxas led receiver or whatever it’s called.
I’ve had Proline and Aliexpress light bars that look pretty similar, but are plug and play from your receiver or external battery.
 
Sandracer_NL said:
I don’t have a Trapas, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you need the Traxxas led receiver or whatever it’s called.
I’ve had Proline and Aliexpress light bars that look pretty similar, but are plug and play from your receiver or external battery.
Click to expand...
Looking all over the place... But a curved bar that's 20cm/8inch wide and plug and play is pretty hard to find/non-existent

I'm guessing looking to another one will be reality...
But still hoping someone has the answer 😉
 
Last edited:
The Proline double row was the alternative in my mind...
But made the "mistake" to buy the other one because it was a very clean fit on the wide exb bumper!

I prolly end up with the double row... But still hoping... 😋
 
I saw them passing by, yes. Thx for the reply!

But for now, I just want to find a solution to get light from the led bar that I, unfortunately, already bought 😉 (IF there is a solution, off course...)
 
DP Renilo said:
And unfortunately, this power amplifier only works with the original ESC of the UDR or X-maxx.
Click to expand...
Says who?

-edit- okay I see now it has a proprietary 8 pin connector on the end of it. I thought that was a jst connector.
 
Last edited:
real_name_hidden said:
Good ol traxass. But in all seriousness. If it requires to buy more stuff to get it going. I'd send it back? Even though it's a perfect fit it may not be worth it to make it work. Good luck 👍
Click to expand...
Contacted the seller to see what solution he can offer (the seller (traxxas-dealer) and I talked about the plan to mount this bar to the K8s, he didn't warn me that it would not work... So I hope we can work something out)
 
DP Renilo said:
Hi,

I'm trying to install a Traxxas led bar (trx8488) on my kraton 8s.
I thought it was a quite simple job... 🙃
But I can't get it to work with soldering it to a regular servo plug

Unfortunately, I can't find any more info about the wiring (1 blue and 2 black).
But it seems it needs to be plugged in into an amplifier? (High voltage led's?!) Too bad the seller didn't warn me about that (as he knew I was trying to fit on a K8s)

Is there anyone out there that tried and succeeded to get it working on a non-traxxas rig without the amplifier?

Or is it a better option to find another curved led bar with already a regular servo plug factory installed?


Thanks in advance!

View attachment 245300
Click to expand...
You might want to check out these guys: https://mytrickrc.com/ They may have a solution for it.
 
LEDs generally need a fixed constant voltage. Some have quite a narrow operating range in terms of voltage (not suitable for a battery). Lets say it was 12v for a good amount of light. 11V may not light it up much and 12,6v may blow it up depending on the LED type. You need to know the exact voltage the light bar requires, or try and find that voltage by using something like an adjustable power supply or appropriate adjustable DC/DC converter. Could be a bit risky if you don`t know what you are doing and set the voltage too high.

A DC-DC converter is essentially a device that can convert a certain voltage (like your battery voltage) to a fixed voltage(that you light bar requires). Same as what we refer to as a BEC in the RC world. Such a device can be as cheap as 2-3 bucks (open circuit /not waterproof and adjustable output voltage). A small 2amp should be enough. You could make it waterproof. See this thread for more info. I made a post in it showing where I adjusted a 5A version to output 8,39V for a servo and made it waterproof.

It`s relatively easy to make it work but if these things sound complicated to you I would not recommend it. I would try and have it returned or sell it and buy a lightbar suitable for "plug and play" into your receiver.
 
Last edited:
biggman100 said:
You might want to check out these guys: https://mytrickrc.com/ They may have a solution for it.
Click to expand...
Mailed the company! Thanks for pointing it out!
NorwegianBasher said:
It`s relatively easy to make it work but if these things sound complicated to you I would not recommend it. I would try and have it returned or sell it and buy a lightbar suitable for "plug and play" into your receiver.
Click to expand...
Wow... That was a good read!! Thanks

Like you could have guessed 😉: it is not exactly my comfort zone... But I'll try and dive into the suggested threads!
 
You are going to need to find out what voltage that light bar runs at, you can use a constant current DC-DC buck/boost converter to help with this. For testing purposes set the current limit to say 100mAh, then slowly raise the voltage (start at around 2volts) until the LED light bar begins to light up, this will clue you in to what voltage that light bar is supposed to run at. Also remember LED's are polarity sensitive meaning they will not work if hooked up backwards.

It would be nice if someone had the specs on it (if it was even published) or better yet if anyone has a Traxxas light bar and can measure the voltage it runs at for you.

The reason voltage control is so important with LED's is because they have no current limiting capability, in other words if you crank up the voltage too high (and without current limiting capabilities) they will just consume all the current available and burn.
 
Update:
The seller took the led bar back (eventho I had cut the connector...) and apologized for the hassle. Apparently, he learned also something new.

Bought another (smaller) led bar with normal futaba-styled connector and installed everything without problems this time.

Thanks to all who contributed! Had a good lesson 👍🏻👍🏻
 
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