Please excuse me if I posted this in the wrong place, but can I please get some recommendations on a motor problem I am having? I just installed a new water proof trailmaster bl pro on Saturday night. I havent submerged the motor but i did run in the yard during some rain. I have less than 2 hours on this motor and I think I have a bad bearing in the rear. It sounds awful. I made a short video of the motor if some of you experts might can take a look and advise me please. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KENBxhwe1E As you can see in the video it smooths out at high rpm. I have sent an email to Holmes for support, but I figured they will take a while to get back with me. I have plans for a club crawl and comp on Saturday and really want to be up and running on this motor by then if I can. Despite the noise, would it be safe to continue running this motor? It looks like maybe there is something loose inside, maybe the sensor ring that might be causing this. I havent taken the motor apart to check it out. Do you all know if that would void my warranty, or if there is any chance I could perform the repairs myself without risking more damage? Thanks in advance.
-
Welcome to RCCrawler Forums.
It looks like you're enjoying RCCrawler's Forums but haven't created an account yet. Why not take a minute to register for your own free account now? As a member you get free access to all of our forums and posts plus the ability to post your own messages, communicate directly with other members, and much more. Register now!
Already a member? Login at the top of this page to stop seeing this message.
Bad bearing in Holmes Trailmaster BL Pro?
- Thread starter slaiche
- Start date
Why not call them? This is directly from their website
Thank you for patronage! Please contact us via phone for questions regarding pending orders, repairs, and warranties at (573) 289-6747 from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM Monday through Friday.
Thank you for patronage! Please contact us via phone for questions regarding pending orders, repairs, and warranties at (573) 289-6747 from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM Monday through Friday.
EddieO
I wanna be Dave
Doesn't sound like a bad bearing to me(may be the sound quality of the video), sounds like the motor is firing weird until the it hits higher upper RPMS. I would check your settings on the ESC and the sensor cable (try unplugging it and look at the connector, trying a new cable is a good idea if you have one). Check the sensor board as well.
I don't think John voids warranties to take apart and clean a motor....just make sure to pay attention to where washers go and such.
Later EddieO
I don't think John voids warranties to take apart and clean a motor....just make sure to pay attention to where washers go and such.
Later EddieO
No answer. Also the recording says the fastest way to get a reply is from an email, which I have already done. I was just hoping someone could give some helpful advice here a little quicker, even if it is to not run the motor and wait on Holmes support. It is not likely they can do anything by this weekend unless its something I might can try myself. This is my first brushless setup and I was really hoping to use it this weekend.
Thanks EddieO. I will inspect the cable and sensor. I do not have another cable to test with unfortunately. I will check my mmp settings, but I am not sure if I would catch something even if it was wrong. I may post them here if you could review them for me.
So I think I have found the problem. While I was at home for lunch I did open the motor. The sensor ring in the rear of the motor was just about to fall out. The three screws that held the main board in place had almost backed all the way out. The only thing that was holding it in was a single screw that was cross threaded. The other two were maybe holding on by a thread. I did look at the two screws that could come out and I did not see any type of thread lock on them. I am not sure if there should have been or if the screws were never properly tightened to begin with. One thing that is for sure is that the third screw was badly cross threaded. It is in there bad enough that I am scared to try to take it out. The metal spacer and bearing was extremely loose because of the entire assembly was about to fall out. I am pretty sure that is where the bad vibration and noise was coming from. I did not have time to re assemble the motor and test before coming back to work. Do any of you have one of these motors that can verify if those three screws should have threadlock? Also, what type of oil is recommended for lubricating the bearings?
flyboy320
Rock Stacker
Looking at your video you can clearly see the sensor port vibrate and move badly, it shouldn't be loose like that. I would also dry out the motor as best you can as it looks like there is water sitting in the faceplate where the rear bearing sits. I have the same motor and I had to replace my sensor board as it was bad when it was shipped to me, and those three screws that hold the board in place should be tight and not let the board vibrate like that.
When I talked to John at HH he said you shouldn't need threadlock on those screws, but I figure it couldn't hurt.
When I talked to John at HH he said you shouldn't need threadlock on those screws, but I figure it couldn't hurt.
Thanks flyboy320. I got an email from Holmes that said send the motor back in. That wasnt water in the video. That is where I had hit the back of the motor with some spray lube to try to help that bearing out. How has your replacement held up?
flyboy320
Rock Stacker
I've only run about 5 packs through it so far, but it works great. I didn't put any loctite on the screws that hold the sensor board, or the long screws that hold the motor together, and I haven't had any problems so far.
Threadlock shouldn't be needed, but it also doesn't hurt.
This last batch of motors has been generally troublesome. We checked through every motor and tightened some up. I think the vendor swapped hardware grades on us trying to save some pennies, so we have seen screws coming loose that weren't a problem before. Although this motor base is pretty good, the next one will be higher quality in parts and assembly. Long story short, we are no longer using the same factory because they can't meet our standards. Every batch seemed to get sloppier and they made little "improvements" without our consent. Moving forward, all TrailMaster Pro motors under warranty claim will be swapped for new motors or rebuilt with current parts per the customer's request and our inventory levels.
This last batch of motors has been generally troublesome. We checked through every motor and tightened some up. I think the vendor swapped hardware grades on us trying to save some pennies, so we have seen screws coming loose that weren't a problem before. Although this motor base is pretty good, the next one will be higher quality in parts and assembly. Long story short, we are no longer using the same factory because they can't meet our standards. Every batch seemed to get sloppier and they made little "improvements" without our consent. Moving forward, all TrailMaster Pro motors under warranty claim will be swapped for new motors or rebuilt with current parts per the customer's request and our inventory levels.
allanon1965
I wanna be Dave
Thanks John, you continue to provide the best customer service I have ever encountered! Thats why I keep coming back!
We can also send parts for rebuilds if folks are comfy with doing it themselves. Would save about 5 business days between our rebuild turnover and return ship time.
We don't void warranty if motors are taken apart or rebuilt by customers, as long as they weren't damaged because of it.
We don't void warranty if motors are taken apart or rebuilt by customers, as long as they weren't damaged because of it.
