Smokin Motor - Help

[TTTOtis]

From what I have searched on so far I have come to the conclusion that smoke coming out of the motor is not exactly a good thing. I'm not 100% sure why mine was smoking and was wondering if anyone can help me find out why.

Here is the situation:
Went out crawling today, it was cold and raining, fair amount of mud but didnt really get in or on the motor. I would say i was running for about 30 to 45 min constantly. Crawlin around on the bigger rocks then I started climbing the hill, not full throttle, just creapin up the rocks but fairly steep. That is when i started to smell and then a few min later lost some power and noticed the smoke.

I'm running a Used Losi Night Crawler. Has a Titan Monster 550 motor and stock esc. I have been using NiMH battery but just made the switch to Lipo. The Lipo i was using today is a 2c 4000mah 25c.

Because I am so new to this i really don't know what I did wrong and am assuming it was a rookie mistake, i just dont want to do it again. Did i just over due it and not let the thing cool enough? Because this was my first time running on the lipo, could it be the fact that i had a Lipo in it?

It runs fine now, didnt do any crawling with it just ran it around the garage when i got home, seams to be ok but still nervous.

Bottom line? Because there was smoke, even though it runs, is it still a dead soldier? Can i do any harm to the rest of my rig if i continue to run it until it completely dies? What else do i need to take a look at?

Thanks,
Otis

[53 willys]

I thought you worm gear losi guys had to run brushless motors or else you will smoke brushed motors daily??

[SMR 510RR]

Originally Posted by 53 willys

I thought you worm gear losi guys had to run brushless motors or else you will smoke brushed motors daily??

I believe the Night Crawler has a different gear ratio in the trans making it brushed motor friendly.

As far as the smoke, I have no idea what that is about. You could pull the endbell off and check the armature out and see if it looks toasted. It could have just been steam if the can was wet and rather hot, combine that with a low air temp and that may have been what you were seeing. It is also quite normal to notice a drop in power right at the end of a pack, that may have been what you noticed.

[JeremyH]

Originally Posted by 53 willys

I thought you worm gear losi guys had to run brushless motors or else you will smoke brushed motors daily??

EeePee runs brushed motors on his LCC.

[AreCee]

I think the 30 to 45 minutes of constant running could be a viable suspect. Regardless of battery chemistry that's a lot of running without letting the motor cool down.

Essentially what burns up in a motor is the insullation on the wires wrapped around the armature. As long as there isn't a short and the motor runs it should be OK but the heat may have affected the magnets reducing their efficiency. Also as you said it was rainy so cold water hitting a hot motor produces steam but not the burnt electric smell.

Those motors are not rebuildable so when it is toast you just toss it.

[TTTOtis]

Originally Posted by AreCee

I think the 30 to 45 minutes of constant running could be a viable suspect. Regardless of battery chemistry that's a lot of running without letting the motor cool down.

Essentially what burns up in a motor is the insullation on the wires wrapped around the armature. As long as there isn't a short and the motor runs it should be OK but the heat may have affected the magnets reducing their efficiency. Also as you said it was rainy so cold water hitting a hot motor produces steam but not the burnt electric smell.

Those motors are not rebuildable so when it is toast you just toss it.

Ok so steam sounds like a possiblity but I definately smelled something out of the ordinary. And because you said that 30 to 45 min was too long, what is the recomended run time b4 a break? 15-20? I guess that is the problem with running such a large battery, you dont have to stop and change them out and allow things to cool down.

I have never taken a motor apart b4. Is there anything i shoudl watch out for? Or are they dummy proof, within reason of course.

Thanks for the replies
Otis

[EeePee]

Originally Posted by JeremyH

EeePee runs brushed motors on his LCC.

He's dumb!

If you want to run for extended periods of time I highly suggest a fan blowing over the motor, or sucking air away from the motor, either one, just make air move over the motor.

I didn't run much more than 4 minutes at a time and my motors were typically about 120 degrees, so already on their way up there in temp. But again, I was using a LCC, not the LNC, a harder load for any motor.

Here I have the fan hanging from the rear chassis brace, blowing towards the rear. So it's sucking hot air away from the motor, and blowing it right over the ESC. Brilliant. Nonetheless, all my stuffs stayed within their working temperature range for the length of a comp course. Never really ran any longer than that because practice is overrated.





Get a fan.

Though maybe don't listen to me, I don't have one on the truck currently. But I recommend it.

[demonoid369]

^^ haha that's funny.

[Charlie-III]

Geeeee EeePee, that's a hell of a heat sink you have under your rig, probably works well but kills ground clearance....

OP, yep, worm drives put a lot more load on a motor (especially a brushed motor) and heat is the byproduct. Couple that with a long run time makes smoking hot motors.
At this point, run it until the motor melts.

[losikid]

I heard novak sells refill packs to put the smoke back in their esc's, maybe you ought to see if you can pump that stuff into that traxxas motor

Anyways yea you most likely toasted the motor, it'l still run after you let the smoke out but there will be very little power and little torque coming from the motor, in a losi crawler, sensored brushless is the way to go

[losikid]

Originally Posted by Charlie-III

Geeeee EeePee, that's a hell of a heat sink you have under your rig, probably works well but kills ground clearance....

:

I always wondered how he managed to use brushed motors in the lcc, that heat sink explains it quite well.