Hi Im building an RC car with the ARDUINO UNO and this is my first project. Im still learning terms and it would be great when replying if you could explain complex terms.
My problem is I'm looking online for batteries able to power my 4 dc gear motors. Each motor is 4.5-6 volts and i need to power all four of the motors. If powering all four of the motors at their 6 volt maximum it would take 24 volts. Thats a lot of power and I have yet to find anything with the range. Sorry I don't know much about electronics I'm still learning.
QUESTION: Could someone explain to me how I could power all four motors with their maximum voltage intake without having to buy a very large battery??? Please explain how this all works because even I know that a 24 volt battery is very very large and makes no sense in powering a arduino based small rc car.
Running the batteries in parallel only increases the current needed, the source voltage stays the same. So if they need 6V, 1A, then 4 of them would need 4A.
So strings of 4 AA/C/D batteries connected in parallel for example.
You are not going to need to power 4X6V = 24V. What you need is a battery (say 6V) that has a current rating that exceeds single motor current X 4 + safety margin (find that from your motor specs), so for instance each motor is rated at 4A, then you need a battery that can handle 16A + some margin of error (say maybe 18A).
Edit: Yes, what CrossRoads said while I was typing...
Wait so the motors are 4.5-6 volts so if I want to power all four of them do I need 6 volts or do I need 4*6 since all four need 6 volts. Sorry I don't understand the power needed. If someone could find a product online perfect for powering 4 motors each 6volts and post a link that would be awesome.
We would need the specifications of your motors to link you a product
24V - Motor - Motor - Motor - Motor - GND <----Not the way to wire it
6V --------------------
| | | |
Motor Motor Motor Motor <---It get wired like this
| | | |
GND -------------------
They all share the 6V, it just has to be able to provide enough current for all, which is why we need the specifications for your motor in order to select something that has enough current capacity.
