Impluse 31 Cut Off Voltage from Factory????

[TAMonti]

I have a new Impulse 31. I love it.

At the end of the run, at full throttle, the boat will come to a complete stop. I return the throttle to center then full which gives me a burst of power for a second. Repeating this procedure will get the boat back to shore.

I'm guessing this is caused by the Cut Off Voltage at the ESC??? Is the Impulse 31 programmed for High or Low Cutoff Mode from the factory??? I can't find any info on the web to answer my questions. I'm think I want High Cutoff so I have enough time to bring the boat to shore safely.

[Mr Blackwell]

Don't know if there is such a thing as high voltage cutoff!! The LV cutoff is to help protect your lipo's from discharging lower than around 3.0 volts per cell. If it is adjustable, ( I'm not sure on the Proboat 60amp that you have) you could raise the cutoff voltage to around 3.2v per cell, but it would still react in the same fashion, just sooner than 3.0volts. The thing to do would be time some runs so you know about when you are going to run out of steam.

[TAMonti]

Thank you for the reply, Mr Blackwell. Am I correct in assuming that the boat will shut down when the voltage get to around 3.0V?? But I can still get small bursts of power from the motor every few seconds??

[Mr Blackwell]

Correct, the small bursts of power are from your batteries voltage stabilizing then dropping to 3.0v when you hit the gas and the esc cuts the power. Have you ever had a dead car battery? Same principle applies, turn the key, engine turns over for a second then starts slowing down, stop and wait a minute turn the key over turns the engine for a second and goes down again.

[ClintIII]

TAMonti, That is your LOW voltage cutoff. ITs set around 6 volts on a new impulse not 3V so its just like a safety mechanism, not the battery dying. Those bursts are the battery reserves getting back over the 6 v threshold after a brief rest so that you can get the boat to shore after several short bursts. 7.4 v LIPOS wont be harmed until the voltage drops under around 3 volts. You will never see that on the Impulse unless you mess with the settings.

[Diesel6401]

The lvc has to different settings either "low" which is 2.7v per cell or "high" which is 3.0v per cell. The esc senses total system voltage, meaning on 4s low would = 10.8volts and high would be 12volts total. Sounds like it is set @ high by what the OP is mentioning. I would recommend getting the programming card for feature use. The are also 2 cutoff types "Idle" and "Slow down", once again based on the OP statement sounds like ""ideal" is default.

http://www.horizonhobby.com/ProdInfo/Files/PRB3311_Programming_Module.pdf

* It is recommended not to run lipo's down past 3.2 volts per cell, meaning a 2s lipos would not last long at being consistantly drained to 6.4v total. When the boat hits the LVC bring it in!

It's a good idea to start timing your runs and not relying on the lvc.

[TAMonti]

Thank you for all the great info. I think I will just leave the settings were they are. I am use to a rc truck with NIMH batteries. The truck just slows down when the batteries are depleted. I wasn't expecting the boat to come to a complete STOP in the middle of the lake!!! Old dog, new tricks!! Thanks again.