Brxl issues.

[Roman5150]

Alright, I've been running my brxl on a Nimh batt I've had laying around until I could get a hold of some battery connectors (traxxas) for a 2s lipo I ordered.. Anyway, I finally get it all soldered up and when I plugged it in there was a pop and I saw some smoke. My heart dropped. Now when I plug in the lipo, the motor hits full throttle and my string servo is unresponsive. I tried recalibrating the esc to my radio and no dice. Other observations are that the esc does get hot, which may be normal a I'm new to this. Also I've noticed that the lights on the brxl are very dim and when I unplug the receiver they brighten back up.

Scx dingo kit
Brxl torque master
savox sc0254 mg
Axial 27t brushed motor
2s lipo

[AsILayDying]

Did you solder Traxxas Connectors onto the BRXL ESC? (Have no idea why this would be done. Thats like driving a Ferrari and using Reg 87 gas) Check the solder points and make sure nothing is over hanging or touching. LiPo batteries have a small pop when connected but there should be no smoke. Have you set the ESC for LVC using LiPos now. Check and make sure the LiPo is full charge. My BRXL doesnt even get very warm while Im running it all day, I think you have a wiring issue. If anything just cut off your connectors and re-solder DEANS on there. Good luck

[benoj]

the pop and smoke came from the esc? if so its toast, caused by either a faulty unit or from your soldering. is the polarity of the connectors correct so you dont hook + to - ? i would get ahold of holmes about it see what he says

[Mud Puppy]

There's nothing wrong with Traxxas connectors (as long as they are soldered correctly). The metal quality and contact area is similar to deans.

Has the ESC been working fine up to this point?

tripple check your wires to make sure you have the polarity correct.

[Roman5150]

I put on traxxas connectors because that's what came on the lipo pack, and i really didn't want to mess with cutting leads and soldering on a lipo just because i'm not that great at it. I couldn't tell if the smoke was coming from the esc but if it was fried would it still connect to castle link? I guess that's something id have to check with john. Yes the esc had been working fine. This was more likely my fault i more than likely had the polarities wrong. would that explain the motor jumping on throttle?

[Jslick]

How short were the wires that you soldered the connector to? If it was cut short, the heat from the soldering iron might have gone down the wire and metled the board. Just a thought.

[Roman5150]

I suppose that's entirely possible but i don't think they are. On a sort of related note, Is there a cheapo throw away ESC I could use as a back up? It doesn't need to be waterproof an LVD would be nice but i guess not a must. Something besides an xl-5 i guess is what i'm asking. Maybe ill look into the stuff at hobbypartz.com

[Big Daddy]

Just pick an AE-2 for the time being. You can usually find them for around $20 or so as take offs. They work fine on 2s lipo.

[Roman5150]

oh yeah? Brand new or in the classifieds?

[Roman5150]

Just purchased a new ae-1 drum amainhobbies

[Lo3]

I purchased a brand new br-xl and 7t puller, got everything soldered up (deans for battery and bullets for motor) all connections were correct. Calibrated the esc, and once it armed it started smoking. The esc was fried but the weird thing is it still works. The car has forward throttle but no reverse. I think I got a bum unit, what does everyone think? I contacted HH but no response yet.

[Roman5150]

That's a toughie. Well you coups hook out up to castle link and check if singeing got knocked out. You're certain you didn't mix up the polarities?

[Lo3]

I hooked up to castle link, nothing wrong. I even reloaded the firmware. I can still get the esc to calibrate correctly and it has forward throttle but no reverse. It does have the red light for reverse but no movement. I triple checked that polarities were correct.

[alexchen86]

I've never had these issues with any of my BRXL's and I run nothing but Traxxas connectors since all my lipos have them on it. I only run deans on my comp rig. I've been shocked too many times swapping batteries out during wet runs with lipos that have deans on them lol. I would contact John at Holmes and see what he says. From what Lo3 said if your Castlelink is showing nothing wrong try turning the firmware to an earlier version.

Then make sure you don't have reverse disengaged. If I remember correctly it should be the second option where you have instant reverse with no delay.

[Roman5150]

I think your best bet is to wait for John to reply to you. Poor got gets like 300+ emails a day so he's probably gonna take a long while, But they pride themselves on their customer service. I already sent mine back in.

[Lo3]

Yea I was hoping John would reply but I understand he is busy. The esc smoked and melted under the heat sink. I am running 2s lipo on my axial wraith and everything was hooked up correctly. On another note I bought the br-XL b/c my AE-2 got wet in the snow and now won't calibrate, chime or have throttle. The motor pulses when power is supplied through the esc. I think it's ruined, can you reload firmware through castle link on the AE-2? I think it's running V 1.04

[Duuuuuuuude]

I've blown a few esc's, and they've exhibited the behaviors described by everyone above. Every time its been because I had the polarity wrong.

[Roman5150]

Originally Posted by Duuuuuuuude

I've blown a few esc's, and they've exhibited the behaviors described by everyone above. Every time its been because I had the polarity wrong.

thank you for clarifying.

[kaneohecrawler]

I fried a br/xl simply by plugging it into the reciever backwards.. fried reciever and servo as well as the esc... again it was my fault for incorrect polarity... not anything to do with the esc itself. I ordered a new one and works perfect as advertised. Love the br/xl

Side note: if you fry a castle or br/xl like this... DO NOT plug into castle link. If you do..just put your finger on link and see how fast it gets to hot to even touch down by the led... just a fair warning.

[Lo3]

I agree it could have blown from my soldering but the esc still works and the servo still has power so I don't think it is a receiver problem. I can power up the esc and no smoke but when I took off the plastic case the unit was fried right under the heat sink. I pulled the heat sink right out of the waterproof casing.