motor temp - how hot is too hot?

[wicked4x4]

system: novak rooster crawler, 55t, 2s lipos

some run time results in pretty warm motor temps. may be normal, but seems that it should be cooler than it is. NO I DO NOT HAVE A TEMP GUN.

with the 'finger test' - usually after about 3 seconds of touching, it is hot enough for me to not want my finger on it anymore. it does not instantly scald my finger, but is certainly warm/hot to the touch...


is this normal or too hot. and what is reccomendation?

[Duuuuuuuude]

I think 160* is about as hot as you want to get a motor. Temp guns are fairly cheap now...Harbor Freight has them for a few bucks.

I'm not sure what the guidelines are for the finger test.

[Grumpster1980]

My 45T Novak Motor with a 2s Lipo 30c is never more than just warm and that is after running it for about 45min-1hour. Both my ESC and motor are just warm never hot. If your worried then get a temp gun.

[wicked4x4]

esc does not get hot at all, barely warm. just motor. does this make a difference?

i think my spur and pinion are a bit tight, it was like that when i got it and never corrected it (bought used), i'll adjust that and see if it makes a difference.

any other advice?

[indiana mudcat]

If loosening the mesh doesn't let you hold your finger on it for 5 seconds gear the pinion down until you can.

[wicked4x4]

Originally Posted by indiana mudcat

If loosening the mesh doesn't let you hold your finger on it for 5 seconds gear the pinion down until you can.

sorry for the terrible question....
gear down pinion = less teeth?
or is it more teeth for a smaller ratio?

[indiana mudcat]

Less teeth for a lower gearing.

[Stormin2u]

Did you advance the timing for more rpm? That increases the amp draw which can cause a hot motor as well.

[wicked4x4]

Originally Posted by Stormin2u

Did you advance the timing for more rpm? That increases the amp draw which can cause a hot motor as well.

i did NOT do this. however, i bought this used, it may have been done, i think not likely, but how would i check?

[wanantrdsc]

Your motor should not get anything more than warm. Some motors if you hit 170 degrees or higher, the heat kills the magnet. The "heat touch rule" is 5 seconds, but your figures are very sensitive to heat, so it may not be nearly as hot as you think it is.

[Duuuuuuuude]

Originally Posted by wicked4x4

i did NOT do this. however, i bought this used, it may have been done, i think not likely, but how would i check?

The easiest way is to see if it runs faster one way than it does the other. If so, loosen the end bell and turn it the same direction that the motor spins the fastest, this will bring the timing down and bring the foreward/backward rpms closer together.

The other way is to chuck the motor in a drill and hook a voltmeter to the pos and neg terminals. At zero timing the voltage should be very nearly the same. Adjust the endbell if it is not.

[wicked4x4]

Originally Posted by Duuuuuuuude

The easiest way is to see if it runs faster one way than it does the other. If so, loosen the end bell and turn it the same direction that the motor spins the fastest, this will bring the timing down and bring the foreward/backward rpms closer together.

The other way is to chuck the motor in a drill and hook a voltmeter to the pos and neg terminals. At zero timing the voltage should be very nearly the same. Adjust the endbell if it is not.

the motor definately does run faster in fwd than it does in rev. so it sounds like the timing is advanced.

so, is this bad? what is the advantage/disadvantage of advancing the timing on the motor? (other than additional heat)



oh, also, someone mentioned that i may have delicate and sensative fingers when finger testing motor for heat (thanks for asking ) - no, i pretty much have the opposite, which makes me think the motor is pretty hot.
i'll need to grab a little temp gun i guess.

[wicked4x4]

Originally Posted by wicked4x4

the motor definately does run faster in fwd than it does in rev. so it sounds like the timing is advanced.

so, is this bad? what is the advantage/disadvantage of advancing the timing on the motor? (other than additional heat)

can anyone answer this?

[peterbilt]

I know when I ran nitro's, there was the "spit test" for heat. Any such thing exist for electrics?

[wanantrdsc]

It makes the motor go faster, but its a crawler, so why? Thats what gearing is for.

[Fordx4Ranger]

from what i was told when i was having overheating issues on my axial was if you cant hold your fingers on the motor longer than a few seconds its too hot. i knew mine was getting hot because of the burning electronics smell.

[wicked4x4]

Originally Posted by Fordx4Ranger

from what i was told when i was having overheating issues on my axial was if you cant hold your fingers on the motor longer than a few seconds its too hot. i knew mine was getting hot because of the burning electronics smell.

ha! well i'm glad i'm not getting that burning smell ... but i am at that not being able to hold my finger on there for more than a few seconds. i have not taken it off the shelf for a few days not, i still need to adjust my gear mesh, which i know is too tight. hopefully that does it for me. if not, i'll be turning the timing down a bit to adjust.

i guess i had my head in my ass when i was asking about the timing and what it does. i can obviously see that with it advanced, it is faster in forward than it is in reverse. does it make more torque this way though, or is it only for wheel-speed? and adversly, is it decreasing my torque in reverse? (not that i'm doing comps in reverse - i'm just curious)

thanks for the helpful information guys