RCCrawler Forums

muddeprived · 06-10-2007, 06:37 PM

My front motor started smoking today. I took it out for a 5 min spin and it was smoking lightly and that great burning smell was there. I checked the pinion mesh and it was good. There's barely any friction in the axle since i just lubed every bearing and gear. Turning the tires by hand with the motor installed is a little harder than normal. I broke in the motors with water when i first got em and oiled the bearings. They've been used about 10-15 times so far, mostly on rocks but a few water crossings as well. The motors did get submerged once or twice. There are sparks near the comm, but not continuous. Power and speed is noticeably weaker/slower. The front spins slightly faster than the rear (when motor is installed).

Does this seem rather early for the motors to go bad or need maintained or is this the norm?

I've never maintained a motor before and based on my research, i need to inspect the brushes, cut the comm., and lube the bushings/bearings. I don't have the parts or equipment to do this (i do have 3 in 1) so that's not gonna happen right now. I read that a few dipped them in water to clean the brushes and they ran better so i was thinking of trying this again and see what happens.

What you guys think is going on with my motors?

Edit: i forgot to ask this. Will running the motors in a glass of water with the esc and speed control cause damage to any of these components? I read about this happening to some but then others do it without a problem. I have the evx esc.

sloppy · 06-10-2007, 06:42 PM

no way 15 minutes of running should smoke any motor. unless it is really overgeared or somthing is not rolling right. check the comm is it black? if so clean it with some light sand paper or a comm stick or one of those green pads for dishes. you can just chuck it up in the drill and spin it dont go crazy all you want to do is take off the black. if the comm is not black somthin else is wrong.

muddeprived · 06-10-2007, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sloppy

no way 15 minutes of running should smoke any motor. unless it is really overgeared or somthing is not rolling right. check the comm is it black? if so clean it with some light sand paper or a comm stick or one of those green pads for dishes. you can just chuck it up in the drill and spin it dont go crazy all you want to do is take off the black. if the comm is not black somthin else is wrong.

Sorry if i was misunderstood. I ran it 10-15 times so far. Each runtime was 1.5hrs. It's a 1:6 scaled 15 pounder on nylint rubber.

Flip · 06-10-2007, 09:15 PM

That many times with that long of runs equals about 20 hours of run time. Sounds like you are due for a brush change and comm. true up.

K_Willis · 06-11-2007, 09:06 AM

What gearing are you running in the axles? And what motors are they?

muddeprived · 06-11-2007, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by K_Willis

What gearing are you running in the axles? And what motors are they?

10 tooth pinions, stock clod gearing, integy lathe 55t's.

I inspected the comm (visually) and both were black as black can be. The rear motor had black debris (powder) around the top of the can near the comm. I ran them in water until the comm. got it's original copper color back. I haven't tested them yet....

Flip · 06-11-2007, 10:41 PM

That black debris is carbon dust from your brushes.

muddeprived · 06-12-2007, 05:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flip

That black debris is carbon dust from your brushes.

Yeah but one has it all over and the other doesnt? (the rear has a coating of it). Is this because the rear has alot of stress on hill climbs and is working harder?

Flip · 06-12-2007, 06:06 PM

It could be from a number of things like brush spring tension, brush/ holder alignment and polarity (+/-) of the brush. Check to see if the motor shaft bearing is loose or wore to one side. Most times it's brush spring tension. Pull your brushes and see if the wear pattern is the same or if one brush is longer than the other.

muddeprived · 06-12-2007, 07:58 PM

Update: After cleaning them in water, i swapped the rear motor to the front and vise versa.

I'm popping wheelies now....

i dunno what i did but it sure has more power than it did on it's first run. I couldn't do wheelies with it before.

DaViolentOne · 06-13-2007, 12:20 AM

Running a motor in water does more than just clean it.. It seats the brushes better to the comm for better conductivity... That's why it's doin' wheelies now... It's makin' a bit more power 'cos the brushes are more efficient in gettin' the power thru the motor...

muddeprived · 06-13-2007, 04:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaViolentOne

Running a motor in water does more than just clean it.. It seats the brushes better to the comm for better conductivity... That's why it's doin' wheelies now... It's makin' a bit more power 'cos the brushes are more efficient in gettin' the power thru the motor...

Yeah and i'm lovin it

It's just sweet how it can lift off like the WK, especially with two 6-cell battery packs up front and being 15 lbs. I better go easy or i'll end up with a "snapped dana 35"

Thanks for the help ya all

cartronicshn · 06-13-2007, 08:10 AM

Also could be that oil got in the comms or brushes and that why it was smoking, i had the same problem with a friends rig, he brought it to me and the motors was producing a lot of sparks and smoke + it had no power, he thought his motor was toast

, i only pulled the brushes out and cleaned them and problem solved

, he later me told he cleaned his motors and srayed wd 40 on them, so there you have it, lubricant on your bearings and try not to get them on your brushes or comms

muddeprived · 06-13-2007, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cartronicshn

Also could be that oil got in the comms or brushes and that why it was smoking, i had the same problem with a friends rig, he brought it to me and the motors was producing a lot of sparks and smoke + it had no power, he thought his motor was toast

, i only pulled the brushes out and cleaned them and problem solved

, he later me told he cleaned his motors and srayed wd 40 on them, so there you have it, lubricant on your bearings and try not to get them on your brushes or comms

Good possibility. I put two drops of 3 in 1 on the bearings after each H20 ride, which was frequent so i may have gotten oil in there.

DaViolentOne · 06-13-2007, 09:34 AM

That sounds like a good possibility, too... WD40 isn't a motor lube... It's not really a lube at all as it evaporates over time... 'Sides... I'm not a big fan of fish oil on my stuff...;)

3 in 1 is good to use, yep... But after you get it wet and before you oil it, you should blast it out with some motor spray... Help get all the dust, residual water and left over oil out... Then you'll have a nice clean motor to oil and run... Plus it's also a good time to check yer brushes and comm and see if the need a stick run over them or not... And the motor spray will help ya keep from over-oiling it, too...

06-10-2007, 06:37 PM	#1
muddeprived RCC Addict Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Beaver Falls Posts: 1,166	magic smoke...... My front motor started smoking today. I took it out for a 5 min spin and it was smoking lightly and that great burning smell was there. I checked the pinion mesh and it was good. There's barely any friction in the axle since i just lubed every bearing and gear. Turning the tires by hand with the motor installed is a little harder than normal. I broke in the motors with water when i first got em and oiled the bearings. They've been used about 10-15 times so far, mostly on rocks but a few water crossings as well. The motors did get submerged once or twice. There are sparks near the comm, but not continuous. Power and speed is noticeably weaker/slower. The front spins slightly faster than the rear (when motor is installed). Does this seem rather early for the motors to go bad or need maintained or is this the norm? I've never maintained a motor before and based on my research, i need to inspect the brushes, cut the comm., and lube the bushings/bearings. I don't have the parts or equipment to do this (i do have 3 in 1) so that's not gonna happen right now. I read that a few dipped them in water to clean the brushes and they ran better so i was thinking of trying this again and see what happens. What you guys think is going on with my motors? Edit: i forgot to ask this. Will running the motors in a glass of water with the esc and speed control cause damage to any of these components? I read about this happening to some but then others do it without a problem. I have the evx esc. Last edited by muddeprived; 06-10-2007 at 06:41 PM.

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06-10-2007, 06:42 PM	#2
sloppy I wanna be Dave Join Date: May 2006 Location: akron Posts: 4,054	no way 15 minutes of running should smoke any motor. unless it is really overgeared or somthing is not rolling right. check the comm is it black? if so clean it with some light sand paper or a comm stick or one of those green pads for dishes. you can just chuck it up in the drill and spin it dont go crazy all you want to do is take off the black. if the comm is not black somthin else is wrong.

06-10-2007, 09:15 PM	#4
Flip Quarry Creeper Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: St. Louis Posts: 267	That many times with that long of runs equals about 20 hours of run time. Sounds like you are due for a brush change and comm. true up.

06-11-2007, 09:06 AM	#5
K_Willis Quarry Creeper Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: The Great White North Posts: 465	What gearing are you running in the axles? And what motors are they?

06-11-2007, 10:41 PM	#7
Flip Quarry Creeper Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: St. Louis Posts: 267	That black debris is carbon dust from your brushes.

06-12-2007, 06:06 PM	#9
Flip Quarry Creeper Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: St. Louis Posts: 267	It could be from a number of things like brush spring tension, brush/ holder alignment and polarity (+/-) of the brush. Check to see if the motor shaft bearing is loose or wore to one side. Most times it's brush spring tension. Pull your brushes and see if the wear pattern is the same or if one brush is longer than the other.

06-12-2007, 07:58 PM	#10
muddeprived RCC Addict Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Beaver Falls Posts: 1,166	Update: After cleaning them in water, i swapped the rear motor to the front and vise versa. I'm popping wheelies now.... i dunno what i did but it sure has more power than it did on it's first run. I couldn't do wheelies with it before.

06-13-2007, 12:20 AM	#11
DaViolentOne Rock Crawler Join Date: May 2006 Location: Surrey, BC, Canada Posts: 870	Running a motor in water does more than just clean it.. It seats the brushes better to the comm for better conductivity... That's why it's doin' wheelies now... It's makin' a bit more power 'cos the brushes are more efficient in gettin' the power thru the motor...

06-13-2007, 08:10 AM	#13
cartronicshn I wanna be Dave Join Date: May 2006 Location: HONDURAS...ROCK HEAVEN Posts: 5,064	Also could be that oil got in the comms or brushes and that why it was smoking, i had the same problem with a friends rig, he brought it to me and the motors was producing a lot of sparks and smoke + it had no power, he thought his motor was toast , i only pulled the brushes out and cleaned them and problem solved , he later me told he cleaned his motors and srayed wd 40 on them, so there you have it, lubricant on your bearings and try not to get them on your brushes or comms

06-13-2007, 09:34 AM	#15
DaViolentOne Rock Crawler Join Date: May 2006 Location: Surrey, BC, Canada Posts: 870	That sounds like a good possibility, too... WD40 isn't a motor lube... It's not really a lube at all as it evaporates over time... 'Sides... I'm not a big fan of fish oil on my stuff...;) 3 in 1 is good to use, yep... But after you get it wet and before you oil it, you should blast it out with some motor spray... Help get all the dust, residual water and left over oil out... Then you'll have a nice clean motor to oil and run... Plus it's also a good time to check yer brushes and comm and see if the need a stick run over them or not... And the motor spray will help ya keep from over-oiling it, too...

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