Losi Night Crawler 2.0 help!

[mudholestomper]

Originally Posted by Olle P

Unfortunately I think the ESC can be to blame. I've never heard anything good about ESCs from Dynamite, and the one I used myself (Tazer 10T, IIRC) gave up in half a year of use.

As you can probably tell, I couldn't agree with you more

[GiJoe]

All of the above is true^^^^^


And I would still install a Castle BEC.

[beachbum976]

I vote esc... received my new 2.0 today and it was dead on arrival. At least horizon had no issue sending me a new one out the same day!

[C0LTERGEIST]

Well I have come to the conclusion that I have a bad motor. I tore the axles apart and heavily greased them and put them back together and ran for about 5 minutes before it started to stall again. I have a Venom LVM (Low Voltage Monitor) that I put on the battery and monitored the voltages live and the voltages came no where near the cut off point so I think that eliminates the ESC as a problem. I also closely monitored the ESC and watched for it to blink giving me a low voltage warning and it never did. I was just crawling around the house cause there is too much snow outside and was crawling up the side of a couple of cardboard boxes and it would stall out and I noticed a little bit of smoke when it stalled out so I picked it up and it looked and smelled like it was coming from the motor. So I think I need to get a new motor and while I am at it I will just get a better ESC too.

So on that note, what do you guys recommend?? Brushed or brushless?? Thanks for all of your help and input everyone, I appreciate it!!

[84yoda]

MMP + brushless motor. To many options on motors so you can decide that. Figure out what you want to spend and how fast you want it to go.

[Leon Sidursky]

Definitely sensored brushless.

[C0LTERGEIST]

Ok cool! Can the stock worm gears handle brushless motors ok?? And I have been looking at the Tekin ROC412 brushless crawling motor, does anyone have any experience with this motor?? And is the MMP ESC waterproof?? I can't see that it says anywhere on their site. Thanks!

[C0LTERGEIST]

Also looking at the Novak Ballistic crawler motor, any input on this??

[84yoda]

Yes worms will handle it no problem. But plastic tranny gears and front pins in axle shafts are the 2 things you may have trouble with depending on the motor kv, pinion and what cell battery you'll run. Both of those motors are very good choices for the losi (I run mmp/roc412 3100kv/3s in mine). You can get the mmp and roc waterproofed from holmes.

[mudholestomper]

I just installed this:

HOBBYWING TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.

and this: (13.5t)

HOBBYWING TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.

and am running the HD worms with a 14t pinion and I'm very happy - got the esc/motor/programming box as a package deal off of eBay for pretty cheap - my build is a "budget" build and, if money was not an issue, I'd have probably gone with the MMP, but the hobbywing setup is very smooth in the lowest of RPM ranges and flat out boogies when I floor the throttle - I run it on a 3 cell, 2200mah, 20-30c turnigy lipo and the motor is around 140 degrees after the battery is done - I've got 15 and 16 tooth pinions on the way and will also be playing with the timing on the esc for even more wheel speed

The build is intended as a crawler/trail truck hybrid that I built to accompany me on hiking trips through the woods - many will suggest a 17.5t or 21.5t motor, as they are more "crawler" oriented motors, but I wanted my slow Losi to entertain me on flat ground between obstacles and I am very happy that I chose the higher kv motor - like I said, it crawls very smoothly and, when I ask for it, absolutely rips up and over obstacles and climbs…and it easily and quickly goes from super low RPMs to full speed instantly

Also, I think hobbywing offers the esc in waterproof - the motor has vents in the can, so I don't think it would appreciate being TOO wet none too much - but I certainly don't have any reservations about it handling some moisture…but while I plan on running it through wet grass, shallow water (1-2"), and shallow mud (the type encountered on the surface of moist soil, not soupy mud bogs that are mostly water), I won't be running it submerged in liquid

My LNC used to bore me so much that I never ran it (because of the lame sauce speed and having the majority of my RC interests in high speed, high voltage monster trucks), but with this brushless setup, the quicker HD worms, and larger rover ex tires, this thing is a blast to drive now! - it pulls small wheelies, spins the tires/throws dirt around, hauls a$$ between obstacles, and crawls powerfully

mudholestomper

[mudholestomper]

Originally Posted by C0LTERGEIST

Well I have come to the conclusion that I have a bad motor. I tore the axles apart and heavily greased them and put them back together and ran for about 5 minutes before it started to stall again. I have a Venom LVM (Low Voltage Monitor) that I put on the battery and monitored the voltages live and the voltages came no where near the cut off point so I think that eliminates the ESC as a problem. I also closely monitored the ESC and watched for it to blink giving me a low voltage warning and it never did. I was just crawling around the house cause there is too much snow outside and was crawling up the side of a couple of cardboard boxes and it would stall out and I noticed a little bit of smoke when it stalled out so I picked it up and it looked and smelled like it was coming from the motor. So I think I need to get a new motor and while I am at it I will just get a better ESC too.

So on that note, what do you guys recommend?? Brushed or brushless?? Thanks for all of your help and input everyone, I appreciate it!!

now that's good troubleshooting COULTERGEIST! - I think you've got your problems figured out, especially if you saw smoke - as everyone who runs electric RCs will arrest to, any smoke coming from your electronics is a bad thing and will point you directly to the part that is causing the problem

I ran my stock nc motor on 3 cell lipos using a cheap, no-name esc forever and it held up well - but I think I just got lucky - it's far from a great design and, while usually durable with reasonable use, is pretty much a typical throwaway RTR type part

go sensored brushless, go 3 cell lipo, don't get anything less than a 2500kv sensored motor (540 size works just fine), and you'll really start enjoying that truck much more than you did in stock form

Don't forget to look through the thread regarding reducing the friction on the whole vehicle

mudholestomper

[C0LTERGEIST]

Yeah I think that I will go with the Tekin ROC412 3100Kv motor and the MMP ESC . With the 3100Kv motor do you think I should go down to a smaller pinion from the stock?? I am not really look for speed, but if I can get some more speed out of it and still have it be an incredible crawler I am all for it!! If I feel the need for speed I will break out my HPI E-Firestorm Flux lol

[C0LTERGEIST]

I will also be upgrading the steering servo soon. And that brings up another question......will the BEC in the MMP be enough or will I still need to get a separate BEC??

[simo]

I use a separate BEC on my LNC. Figure it is cheaper to kill a separate BEC rather than the MMP.

[cabron]

you use a bec to be able to provide higher voltages to the servo
look at the specs of the servo and you will see that with a higher voltage
you get more torque.

typically the built in becs in the escs are set to 5 volts the better servos can use 7 volts or more

[MaFoDes]

I recently installed a Hobbywing sensored combo 17,5T in my LNC and love it! The smoothness is has.... Awesome!
Asiatees even has a 10% discount at this moment.

And yes, a Bec should be mandatory... . Check HeyOk here in Vendors. He has a NoBrainer, works flawless!

Hobbywing Hobbywing QuicRun Sensored Brushless System: WP-10BL60 ESC+3650-17.5T Motor Combo For 1/10 & 1/12 RC Red HW/QUICRUN-10BL60+3650SD17.5T

[crashtestheli]

Originally Posted by C0LTERGEIST

Yeah I think that I will go with the Tekin ROC412 3100Kv motor and the MMP ESC . With the 3100Kv motor do you think I should go down to a smaller pinion from the stock?? I am not really look for speed, but if I can get some more speed out of it and still have it be an incredible crawler I am all for it!! If I feel the need for speed I will break out my HPI E-Firestorm Flux lol

With 3100 kv and three cell you will want about 12 for pinion