Power System Batteries; Battery Pack Construction; Construction: Battery Construction - Traxxas RUSTLER VXL Owner's Manual

The following Traxxas High
Current Connector packages
are available from your
hobby dealer. When using
adapters, be careful not to
exceed the current rating of
the Molex connector.
Part #3060 Part #3080
Single Male/Female 2-Pack Female
Part #3061 Part #3070
Male Charge Adapter
2-Pack Male
Part #3062
Female Charge Adapter
14 • TR A X X AS
The TQ Radio and Velineon Power System

Power System Batteries

Your model is equipped with a state of the art, high-performance
power system. It is designed to be able to flow large amounts
power with least amount of restriction. The benefits are drastically
increased speed and acceleration. However, this places extra
demands on the battery and electrical system connections.
The Traxxas High Current Connector
Your model is equipped with the Traxxas
High-Current Connector. Standard connectors
restrict current flow and are not capable of
delivering the power needed to maximize the
output of the Velineon Brushless Power system.
The Traxxas connector's gold-plated terminals with a large contact
surfaces ensure positive current flow with the least amount of
resistance. Secure, long-lasting, and easy to grip, the Traxxas
connector is engineered to extract all the power your battery has
to give.
To run this model, your batteries must be equipped with Traxxas
High-Current Connectors. Batteries can either be purchased new
with Traxxas connectors installed or Traxxas connectors can be
purchased to install on battery packs you already own. See sidebar
for packages available from your hobby dealer.

Battery Pack Construction

The Velineon Brushless Power System is designed to be able to flow
large amounts of current from the battery in order to make the
power and performance you expect. For best performance, your
model requires the use of NiMH battery packs that have cells rated
for high discharge and use high-quality, low-resistance assembly
techniques. Cheaply made battery packs do not retain their
performance characteristics after repeated uses in high-powered
electric applications. They will lose their punch and run time and
may require frequent replacement. In addition, poor-quality,
high-resistance cell connectors could fail, requiring disassembly
and repair. The main goal is to reduce all sources of high resistance
in the pack. This includes the connector, the wire, and the bars
attaching the cells together. High pack resistance will create
additional heat and rob you of the full power the cells are capable
of producing.
When choosing NiMH battery packs, look for the following:
Wire: The VXL-3s electronic speed control is equipped with 12-
gauge wire. For optimum performance, the battery pack should
also be equipped with 12-gauge wire. The minimum allowable wire
size is 14-gauge. Look for flexible wiring to prevent the possibility of
breakage, split insulation, and short circuits.

Construction: Battery construction

is very important in achieving low
pack resistance. The lowest resistance
assembly method is the side-by-side cell
configuration which uses thick copper
bars soldered directly to the battery cells.
Make sure these types of packs are fully
encased in shrink wrap to prevent the
danger of exposed battery terminals.
Stick style packs (end-to-end cell
configuration) are much more common.
Stick packs typically use thin spot welded
Nickel strips to connect the cells. Look
for the thickest metal strips (about the
thickness of a business card) and many
spot welds at each connection.
For 7-cell hump style packs
make sure that the 7th cell is
connected with 12 or 14-gauge
wire or thick copper battery
bars. If the 7th cell is connected
using the thin Nickel strips,
12-gauge wire
there will be too much resistance
and the pack may fail due to high current flow.
Connector: The typical Molex style connector is
inadequate for use in your model. It creates resistance
that becomes a bottleneck to current flow. If your
battery pack is equipped with a Molex connector,
it must be replaced with a Traxxas High-Current
Connector to mate with the VXL-3s electronic
speed control.
Side-by-side cells
Stick pack
(end cap removed)
Nickel bar
(ribbon wire)
Molex
connector