RCCrawler Forums

outlikealight · 10-29-2008, 12:36 PM

Lately I have noticed my mini crawler getting real hot . All of the electrics are heating up to the point they smell like burning electrics . I have heard of issues with the electrics on these things , but have been having good luck until now . My battery run time is about 15 mins , it used to be 1 1/2 hrs or so . Could this be a bunk battery , or esc ? Maybe a motor going south ( it gets the hottest ) ? Would a bad reciever do this ? Any ideas where to start would be great . I am a newb with electrics , only nitro experience . I run a HT 645 full size servo on it , could this be an issue ? Not compatable with the reciever or esc maybe ? I had weight on it , but when this issue started showing up , I took 90% of it off it , still no difference .

Anyone know of another mini motor that will fit , or another esc to use for this rig ? Looks like I am going to need them soon hahaa . These ones dont seem healthy at all lol . Thanks for looking .

toybuilder · 10-29-2008, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by outlikealight

All of the electrics are heating up to the point they smell like burning electrics .

Anyone know of another mini motor that will fit , or another esc to use for this rig ? Looks like I am going to need them soon hahaa . These ones dont seem healthy at all lol . Thanks for looking .

IS the receiver getting hot too?

Holmes Hobbies has a very nice replacement motor available.

BILLYGOAT · 10-29-2008, 12:43 PM

do you have a bec conected to that 645? that could be your issue . the servo may be eating up all your power.

outlikealight · 10-29-2008, 12:46 PM

I am possitive it is only getting radiant heat off the motor ( warmish , not HOT lol ) , I have it fastened to my chassis cross brace I made , and sits just above the motor . The motor will almost burn you , and the esc is uncomfortable to touch .

outlikealight · 10-29-2008, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BILLYGOAT

do you have a bec conected to that 645? that could be your issue . the servo may be eating up all your power.

BEC ? I am a total newb to electrics sorry , but my guess is that is a capacitor type thing that stores power for the servo ? I think I mave heard guys talking about that at the last crawl . So much to learn haha . Are these expensive , and are they readily available at LHS ? Thanks a bunch for the quick responses guys , I am totally addicted to crawling now since buying this , and cant go without my rig hahaaa .

juan916 · 10-29-2008, 12:51 PM

That's what my motor was doing(very HOT and smoked evertime i ran it for 15-20 seconds) then it died now i bought a Holmes Hobbies Torque master mini and it's awesome on 2s Lipo

outlikealight · 10-29-2008, 01:15 PM

I just talked to Horizon Hobby on their 1-877-504-1233 help line . And the tech said he hasnt heard of 1 issue with these hahaa such bs . And he told me to ship the pos esc back to them for a review . So , I ship it back , pay int shipping costs , to get a pos esc back to abuse whats left of my motor ? I am going to update the motor to the mini torque one , so my question is , whats a good speed controller to run on this thing ? I asked about the BEC thing , and he assured me it wasnt needed . Do these techs know anything , should I trust them ? Officially confuzzled now hahaa .

ecoli · 10-29-2008, 01:51 PM

The techs are pretty good. As with any general r/c tech, they know a bit about everything, but for really detailed stuff it's best to turn to the boards.

The 645MG is not electric, so the draw on the battery shouldn't be much worse than the stock servo. It also wouldn't explain why the motor is heating up so much. Likewise, the receiver wouldn't be the issue.

Biggest cause of motor overheating is binding (which will also spike and draw bigger amperage from the battery and drain it faster). Assuming your gear mesh is set right, it could be a misaligned brush or mis-set timing.

I think you're in Calgary, right (going by cowtown as your location). If so, my suggestion would be to take it in to PM Hobbycraft and get one of the guys there to look at the motor. They're experienced enough that they'd be able to tell you pretty quick if something internal is screwed up. If you're not in Calgary, take it in to your lhs and have them take a look. Again, if they've been around electric r/c for any length of time, they'll be able to tell pretty quick if something's messed up with your motor.

outlikealight · 10-29-2008, 02:16 PM

Yeah , I deal with PM lots . Talked to Bruce , he had no answers except reccomending calling Horizon direct . They have nothing to replace the motor esc , and probably will not get anything either . And he as well said bec wasnt needed . I took your advice on "bind" , I did put Traxxas Stampede wheel hexs on it because they were way wider , but it seemed to not roll as freely , and torque seemed less , but wrote it off as my imagination . Today I have been switching all mods back to stock , and after changing wheel hexs back , it rolled free , and got wheel lifting torque back . Running it now to see if temps went down any . Maybe that was all it was . Hopefully caught it before it smoked the motor beyond use lol . Thanks for all the answers , I will post in a few mins how the batt life was , and if temps went down . How warm should these get running them on a big bad course lol . Some heat should be there I imagine , but nothing alarming like it was ,,, right ??

jccrawler · 10-29-2008, 02:42 PM

It sounds like you just found the problem, binding will heat up motors quick, and the esc, and drain you pack quicker. The binding must of been pretty bad. You can always remove the pinion, or loosen and adjust the motor (so the pinion and spur are not touching) then roll the tires by hand or roll the car, to check for binding also.

outlikealight · 10-29-2008, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jccrawler

It sounds like you just found the problem, binding will heat up motors quick, and the esc, and drain you pack quicker. The binding must of been pretty bad. You can always remove the pinion, or loosen and adjust the motor (so the pinion and spur are not touching) then roll the tires by hand or roll the car, to check for binding also.

Aaaaaand exhale .... Thanks for the tips on checking for bind . It seems the stampede hex mod was causing it ( removed mods one by one and ran it ) because the heat has gone away . AWESOME that I caught it before it went up in smoke totally . After looking closer at the hexs , they have a ridge that the losi doesnt , and it is half ground off ( proof of bind ) . So to make that mod work , I would suggest carving that flat before install lol . Mine arent going back in just in case though hahaa . $2.99 wheel hexs almost smoked the rig hahaa lesson learned . Thanks again guys , much help .

jccrawler · 10-29-2008, 05:22 PM

What you can do is sand down the "wheel hex" the side that had wear marks on it, and use them, jsut check to see if there is at least a hair of play before running it again.

10-29-2008, 12:36 PM	#1
outlikealight Newbie Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: cowtown Posts: 18	LMRC electrics questions Lately I have noticed my mini crawler getting real hot . All of the electrics are heating up to the point they smell like burning electrics . I have heard of issues with the electrics on these things , but have been having good luck until now . My battery run time is about 15 mins , it used to be 1 1/2 hrs or so . Could this be a bunk battery , or esc ? Maybe a motor going south ( it gets the hottest ) ? Would a bad reciever do this ? Any ideas where to start would be great . I am a newb with electrics , only nitro experience . I run a HT 645 full size servo on it , could this be an issue ? Not compatable with the reciever or esc maybe ? I had weight on it , but when this issue started showing up , I took 90% of it off it , still no difference . Anyone know of another mini motor that will fit , or another esc to use for this rig ? Looks like I am going to need them soon hahaa . These ones dont seem healthy at all lol . Thanks for looking .

10-29-2008, 12:43 PM	#3
BILLYGOAT RCC Addict Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: RAMBLIN Posts: 1,713	do you have a bec conected to that 645? that could be your issue . the servo may be eating up all your power.

10-29-2008, 12:46 PM	#4
outlikealight Newbie Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: cowtown Posts: 18	I am possitive it is only getting radiant heat off the motor ( warmish , not HOT lol ) , I have it fastened to my chassis cross brace I made , and sits just above the motor . The motor will almost burn you , and the esc is uncomfortable to touch .

10-29-2008, 12:51 PM	#6
juan916 Pebble Pounder Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: kalispell Posts: 162	That's what my motor was doing(very HOT and smoked evertime i ran it for 15-20 seconds) then it died now i bought a Holmes Hobbies Torque master mini and it's awesome on 2s Lipo

10-29-2008, 01:15 PM	#7
outlikealight Newbie Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: cowtown Posts: 18	I just talked to Horizon Hobby on their 1-877-504-1233 help line . And the tech said he hasnt heard of 1 issue with these hahaa such bs . And he told me to ship the pos esc back to them for a review . So , I ship it back , pay int shipping costs , to get a pos esc back to abuse whats left of my motor ? I am going to update the motor to the mini torque one , so my question is , whats a good speed controller to run on this thing ? I asked about the BEC thing , and he assured me it wasnt needed . Do these techs know anything , should I trust them ? Officially confuzzled now hahaa .

10-29-2008, 01:51 PM	#8
ecoli I wanna be Dave Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Canada, eh. Posts: 2,919	The techs are pretty good. As with any general r/c tech, they know a bit about everything, but for really detailed stuff it's best to turn to the boards. The 645MG is not electric, so the draw on the battery shouldn't be much worse than the stock servo. It also wouldn't explain why the motor is heating up so much. Likewise, the receiver wouldn't be the issue. Biggest cause of motor overheating is binding (which will also spike and draw bigger amperage from the battery and drain it faster). Assuming your gear mesh is set right, it could be a misaligned brush or mis-set timing. I think you're in Calgary, right (going by cowtown as your location). If so, my suggestion would be to take it in to PM Hobbycraft and get one of the guys there to look at the motor. They're experienced enough that they'd be able to tell you pretty quick if something internal is screwed up. If you're not in Calgary, take it in to your lhs and have them take a look. Again, if they've been around electric r/c for any length of time, they'll be able to tell pretty quick if something's messed up with your motor.

10-29-2008, 02:16 PM	#9
outlikealight Newbie Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: cowtown Posts: 18	Yeah , I deal with PM lots . Talked to Bruce , he had no answers except reccomending calling Horizon direct . They have nothing to replace the motor esc , and probably will not get anything either . And he as well said bec wasnt needed . I took your advice on "bind" , I did put Traxxas Stampede wheel hexs on it because they were way wider , but it seemed to not roll as freely , and torque seemed less , but wrote it off as my imagination . Today I have been switching all mods back to stock , and after changing wheel hexs back , it rolled free , and got wheel lifting torque back . Running it now to see if temps went down any . Maybe that was all it was . Hopefully caught it before it smoked the motor beyond use lol . Thanks for all the answers , I will post in a few mins how the batt life was , and if temps went down . How warm should these get running them on a big bad course lol . Some heat should be there I imagine , but nothing alarming like it was ,,, right ??

10-29-2008, 02:42 PM	#10
jccrawler Newbie Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Fullerton Posts: 14	It sounds like you just found the problem, binding will heat up motors quick, and the esc, and drain you pack quicker. The binding must of been pretty bad. You can always remove the pinion, or loosen and adjust the motor (so the pinion and spur are not touching) then roll the tires by hand or roll the car, to check for binding also.

10-29-2008, 05:22 PM	#12
jccrawler Newbie Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Fullerton Posts: 14	What you can do is sand down the "wheel hex" the side that had wear marks on it, and use them, jsut check to see if there is at least a hair of play before running it again.

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