Winch Waterproofing

[Leadfoot_11]

I have an RC4WD winch on my SCX10 that is now dead. I am guessing it didn't like getting wet (by wet I mean submerged). I hit it with a bit of WD40 after the last run (when it got wet) and everything worked ok.

The winch came with an extra motor and gearbox. I plan on putting it in, but I want to know how to waterproof this thing before I run it again so I don't kill this one too.

Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.

[C*H*U*D]

You shouldn't have to worry about waterproofing the winch itself, but the control board needs to be sealed up. I use a balloon on mine.

[Leadfoot_11]

That's what I was thinking since the motor is just a tiny brushed unit.
The controller was in a balloon and didn't get wet.
If getting wet didn't kill this thing, why dosen't it work any more? Could the WD40 have done damage?

[scottanthony]

Junk it and buy a servo winch...Keep the scale winch only as a dummy and run your servo winch thru the dummy. Trust me , you wont regret it..

[Leadfoot_11]

Originally Posted by scottanthony

Junk it and buy a servo winch...Keep the scale winch only as a dummy and run your servo winch thru the dummy. Trust me , you wont regret it..

Where do I get a servo winch/How do I build one?
What kind of torque should I be looking for?

[Grizzly4x4]

Originally Posted by Leadfoot_11

That's what I was thinking since the motor is just a tiny brushed unit.
The controller was in a balloon and didn't get wet.
If getting wet didn't kill this thing, why dosen't it work any more? Could the WD40 have done damage?

No, WD-40 does not hurt brushed motors. It's acually helpful for motors that get submerged a lot. I've been using WD-40 and Liquid Wrench on brushed motors for the last 4 years.

Your winch died because it has a cheap crappy motor in it. I have a a 3Racing winch that worked for 4 years and finally burned up this last weekend because I forgot to turn it off. The brand new one I bought for the rear is showing signs of death after 1 day in the water.

Crawler Tech: How to Build a Winch
Use the best servo you can justify spending money on. I have always had good luck with Hitec servos in the water.

[heyok]

Originally Posted by Leadfoot_11

Where do I get a servo winch/How do I build one?
What kind of torque should I be looking for?

If you just want a servo winch that is almost ready to go - just add line and a hook, have a look here:
Servo Winch - Complete with Controller