Soft start quesion

[tomo256]

Hi Everybody
I bought a complete series 1 kit about 3 years ago and i am just getting around to building it, a conscious decision as aged 5 he will now appreciate it a little better,  but i have a question regarding the resistor in the soft start system. It states in the build manual that you should not push the car for n more than 5 seconds or you will blow the resistor, so what happens when my son is going down a slight incline ( supervised ) and is using his brake and not touching the go pedal for more than 5 seconds will this blow the resistor or not. Has anybody else ever blown one of these resistors.

Ta

[markh15]

Hi There, and welcome to the forum,
I might be wrong on this (I usually am), as electronics is not my strong suit, but the way it was explained to me is that, when the motor is off (not powered), if the car is pushed, the 'Wheels' turn the motor (obviously), and it becomes a 'Generator' of sorts, producing an electrical current, and it's this that causes the resistor to blow.

As I say, I'm no expert, and would recommend that this question be answered by Brian, who is a qualified electrical engineer, or by Walter (Multisync) who also has a good knowledge of electrical components and the like.

You can either wait until one of them signs in to the forum, and I'm sure they will answer your queery, or you can look them up on the 'Members' list, click on their name, and send them a personal message via their profile.

Hope this has helped,
Regards,
Mark.

[multisync]

hi tomo256
and hi Mark and thanks for your confidence in me but I'm afraid I can't give a definite answer to this particular query as I have no experience of the setup as supplied in the kit. I think Richard at Toylander will be able to put your mind at rest though.
What Mark says is also my interpretation of the problem; but I can only assume that pushing means that the motor drive is completely off, however, when going downhill the motor may actually require some amount of current to maintain forward motion. Because the motors in the kit are worm drive, I think it may take considerable effort to freewheel, so hopefully the problem may be more imaginary then real.
If you havn't had occasion to speak to Richard, just give him a ring, you'll find he's very helpful and approachable, I'm sure he will help.
If and when you do get the full answer, perhaps you will post it here, as I'd like to know the outcome, and I expect Mark and Brian are interested too.
Best of Luck
Walter

[tomo256]

Hi all.
I have spoken to Richard at Real Life Toys and he has suggested that if it is a long downhill run then maybe i can turn off the battery master switch, this will then have the same effect as disconnecting the battery.
I may also just let it run downhill and see what happens, if it blows the resistor i will just replace it and then i will know for definite.

Regards Martin

[wilco184]

Hello,

You could try using a blocking diode to stop the current from going from the motor to the soft start.

Wilco184