Often times the question of motor wires is asked. The exact wire in question is the three motor wires that exit the can of the motor. They can be up to several inches in length down to only an inch or so from the can of the motor. Many would like to know if it is safe to reduce the length of the wires coming out from the motor. Most importantly, if this is a common question there must be some sort of significance behind it.
So, is it safe to trim the motor wires?
There is actually no exact answer for this. The best possible answer is it depends on the motor itself to determine whether or not it is safe to reduce the length of the wires. But here we will explain this in more detail so you can determine for your self if it is safe.
Why does it matter from motor to motor?
In every brushless motor there are several windings of copper wires that make up the stator. This is inside the motor itself. These windings are the wires you may be able to see through cooling vents in the motor itself. The windings must then be brought to the Electronic Speed Control. (ESC) There may be several strands of windings inside the motor and it is up to the wires termination points to take all these wires and make only three ends from them. Remember, there are only three wires coming from your ESC.
This motor wire termination is the important factor in whether you can cut your motor wires or not. In some motors the wire termination is actually done inside the motor can. In other motors, the wire termination point may actually be placed outside the motor. This means the wire coming outside the motor may contain the termination point.
This is important as if you cut the motor wires with a termination point inside the motor you will be fine. However, if you cut motor wires where the termination point is outside the can of the motor you may actually damage the termination of the motor. This may lead to shorts in the motor ultimately damaging it.
When is Cutting Brushless Motor wires Safe?
In general, if you don’t know for certain that your motors wire termination is inside the can, it is highly recommended to just leave them as is.
Motors that have long leads in excess of 150mm or 6″ usually have internal wire termination. This is motors similar to the Castle 15xx series. Motors that have leads only 25-75mm 1-3 inches in length are known to have wire termination outside the motor can.