TRX 4 ESC up in smoke

[RockEFella]

Looks like my stock trx 4 XL-5HV is burnt out. Was doing some climbing with it and it eventually gave out. Took the body off and saw smoke coming out the esc by the wires. I was running a Gens Ace 5000 mAh 3S 50c battery. Battery was at about 73% (11.94V) when this happened. Both the motor and the steering servo were fairly hot to the touch.

Had the truck for about a year now. I swapped out the steering servo for the Savox 1210SG, added a castle creations BEC 2.0 (set to 7.4 volts I believe), and also recently put in a racers edge glitch buster.

I think the issue might have been when I was trying to get the truck out of a tight spot amongst some rocks I was crawling around. I never pushed too hard when the truck was resisting. Just some back and forth, trying different angles of approach. Eventually pulled it out by hand and ran it around some easier inclines for a few minutes. That's when the esc gave out. I'm still super new to this hobby and learning as I go along. Any ideas or suggestions are most appreciated.

One question is, shouldn't my glitch buster have prevented the esc from burning out or is it just to reduce noise in the system?

Thanks for reading!

[AnimalHippie]

I've heard of these going up in smoke, but I didn't even run my stock ESC. Installed a hobbywing 1080 ESC before I ever powered it up. They're a great budget esc and will do most of which the high end ESCs will do. For $40 you can't beat it. Yes you are correct about the glitch buster. Only to get rid of noise. If you're doing mostly crawling I would suggest a 9t pinion to help get that motor temp down. You will lose about 20% of top speed, but it will give you allot more torque. When that motor goes. I and allot of others will suggest a Holmes Hobbies Trailmaster Sport. I went with the 27t. Which is slower then the stock 21t, but I really only crawl my rig. Good luck!

[RockEFella]

Yea, I'm contacting Traxxas to see if they're willing to send a replacement. Thanks for the suggestions! I use it for both rock crawling and as a trail/hike buddy, so I would like to retain the speed. I'm actually planning to upgrade to the Hobbywing AXE550 3300kv FOC system, but they're being vague about the release date. Hopefully sometime this year. If Traxxas doesn't cover the esc then I'll look into that 1080 ESC you mentioned. Would the 1080 ESC work with the stock Traxxas motor, cuz it's only the esc that fried?

Thanks again for the info!

[AnimalHippie]

Yes the 1080 will work fine with the stock motor.

[OSRC]

If it's a year old, it's a tall sell getting Traxxas to replace it. They may, but I wouldn't count on it.

Agree 100% on the 1080. It's a far better ESC, and well worth the $40.

[rschoi_75]

Glitch busters don't prevent esc's from burning out because it only provides a buffer to your receiver, not your esc. You'd have to install a cap at your battery connector to give an assist to your esc, and even then it's still possible to burn it up.

[durok]

If Traxxas does replace it, just sell it - it will only let you down again eventually.

HW 1080 FTW.

Mine toasted as well, and I was running the servo off the 3S LiPo - hooked it up and POOF!

Happened up on my desk, with the body removed - almost singed my beard off.

[Inspector86]

I would not waste my energy or time replacing the XL5. The HW1080 is SOOOO much better that you might decide to skip the HW AXE.

[RockEFella]

Would you guys recommend still installing the external BEC, since I already have it, with the HW1080, or is there no need? Also, any thoughts on the WP880 that's coming out (link below), instead of the 1080? Also, what would be a good motor upgrade if I'm using it for both hiking and crawling?

Thanks ya'll

https://www.asiatees.com/display?Mis...d=157023&pid=1

[cartronicshn]

Originally Posted by AnimalHippie

I've heard of these going up in smoke, but I didn't even run my stock ESC. Installed a hobbywing 1080 ESC before I ever powered it up. They're a great budget esc and will do most of which the high end ESCs will do. For $40 you can't beat it. Yes you are correct about the glitch buster. Only to get rid of noise. If you're doing mostly crawling I would suggest a 9t pinion to help get that motor temp down. You will lose about 20% of top speed, but it will give you allot more torque. When that motor goes. I and allot of others will suggest a Holmes Hobbies Trailmaster Sport. I went with the 27t. Which is slower then the stock 21t, but I really only crawl my rig. Good luck!

my exact setup, 1080hw, 9t pinion, 27t trailmaster, i definetly love the low end response with that combo. Also stock esc i did use it for a couple of packs before my hw esc arrived, definetly a difference there on the response, hw is much better.

[magic_yeti]

Originally Posted by RockEFella

Would you guys recommend still installing the external BEC, since I already have it, with the HW1080, or is there no need? Also, any thoughts on the WP880 that's coming out (link below), instead of the 1080? Also, what would be a good motor upgrade if I'm using it for both hiking and crawling?

Thanks ya'll

https://www.asiatees.com/display?Mis...d=157023&pid=1

If you still need the bec depends how much power you need from the buildin bec.
Stock is rated at 1A, the hw1080 3A. The new HW880 is a dual motor ESC, the trx-4 uses 1 motor, so no need for it.

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[TheLetterJ]

Dual motor leads aside, the wp880 does everything the 1080 does, AND is 4s capable, AND has a stronger (4a) BEC. If I find myself in need of another brushed ESC, the 880 will be it. Side bonus for those of us that already have the programmer that comes with the 1080's, the 880 is only $33.99 (no programmer included) vs the 1080 at $41.99 (programmer is included.)

[Inspector86]

There is a huge following for the HW1080 here at RCC but the OP would still need a programmer for the 880 so any price advantage would be lost and I can't imagine anyone needing 4s for a crawler. 4s might be fine for a basher but they would probably also prefer a brushless system.