Grimaces 'POS' Wraith

[Grimace83]

Sweet, once again thanks for all the advice. I glued them and took it out for it's first proper run last weekend.
It surprised me. It performed much better then I expected in pretty much stock form with the lower link mounts flipped.

The 35t torque master with 87/14 gearing worked perfectly. And I got 2 hours crawling out of one 2200mah pack.
The carter fab panels are fantastic. So glad I decided to purchase them. They look even Bete with some trail rash now love them! Just need a matching hinged bonnet/hood.

I have just ordered some vanquish steer arms and have a couple alloy servo horns here that I modified to suit the wraith.
I also ordered some new bling SLW wheels and some knuckle weights. Thinking the money would have been better spent on chubs and knuckles but meh, I wanted proper beadlocks.
Next I'd like to start planning for a dig arrangement.

Can't wait to get back home next week to give it another run.

Cheers
Grimace

 

[mbrycet]

glad to hear that you are liking the 35t torquemaster. I have one in the mail as I speak, with same spur and pinion. It cant get here fast enough!

 

[Grimace83]

glad to hear that you are liking the 35t torquemaster. I have one in the mail as I speak, with same spur and pinion. It cant get here fast enough!

You won't be disappointed. Only gearing change now is to underdrive the rear or overdrive the front.
Alternatively I think the dig will be my next major upgrade.

Some photos from the previous outing;

 

[Grimace83]

Ok so onto about the 6th battery pack and it's broken already.

Fault is the steering still works fine but the throttle does nothing (and it's not a flat battery).
Happened on and off but the last time (3rd time) it's done something worse.

The drivetrain is locked up, the motor will not turn and it smells burnt.
Another fault is the ESC does not beep when connected to the battery like it used to.

Am yet to pull it apart. Wanted some opinions before I go contacting the supplier of suspect bits.

It has been run in water up to about 4 inch deep, but not much.
The motor and ESC combo are Torquemaster Expert 35T and BRXL waterproof.
Battery packs are 3s Turnigy 2200mah (40C).

Any ideas on what's wrong and why? I certainly can not afford to go replacing motors every handful of uses

Cheers
Grimace

 

[allanon1965]

sounds like the motor is toast..water will cause very accelerated wear on a brushed motor, particularly with the brushes and com bars...also if its being run full throttle or near it for extended periods of time, that will also cause very rapid wear..it happened to my 27t torquemaster sport. I was able to revive it by lightly sanding the com bars and brushes until I get replacements from Homes Hobbies..

also here is the trouble shooting.care blog from HH
http://www.holmeshobbies.com/blog/?page_id=373

 

[Grimace83]

sounds like the motor is toast..water will cause very accelerated wear on a brushed motor, particularly with the brushes and com bars...also if its being run full throttle or near it for extended periods of time, that will also cause very rapid wear..it happened to my 27t torquemaster sport. I was able to revive it by lightly sanding the com bars and brushes until I get replacements from Homes Hobbies..

also here is the trouble shooting.care blog from HH
540 Brushed Motor Care, Installation, and Troubleshoot | The Search for Power

Thanks for that, seems I might have to take more care.
Does the above still have an effect on the ESC not giving the warning/binding beeps on first power up? Or could the ESC also be damaged?

 

[allanon1965]

When i toasted mine the esc did not beep at all...the led on the esc was blinking weird and not normal...after cleaning the brushes and com bars it worked fine after the first couple of trigger pulls...take it apart and check it...its really easy to do...just make a note of where the timing mark is on the case....it should be at zero unless it was advanced...there is a 0 marked on the edge of the case where the endbell meets...there is a slot mark on the endbell that should line up with the zero...

 

[tnt-salvage]

Hey guys just letting you know your esc dont make the beep sounds. Its the motor that makes the noises. The esc sends power to the motor in such a away and it makes the noise.

 

[Grimace83]

Hey guys just letting you know your esc dont make the beep sounds. Its the motor that makes the noises. The esc sends power to the motor in such a away and it makes the noise.

Thanks for letting me know, that explains it.

Will strip it down sometime this week to see if I can learn something

 

[Grimace83]

Hmm.... Not good!

 

[Japanwraith]

Looks like you have a small problem there.

 

[Grimace83]

What you beleive would be the main cause of this considering the relatively short life span?

I have already ordered another motor. But would like to follow up on this one to have as a spare.

 

[Grimace83]

Now has Vanquish Chubs and Knuckles, with weights fitted!

Crawlmaster 16T is waiting to have the leads fit then installed. "thumbsup"

Hope it last longer then the first can!

Edit: Just realised I also forgot to update on the latest wheel purchase and the upgrade to Vanquish steer links! Will get some images up shortly.

 

[Grimace83]

So here is the contents of my order from vanquish;

Wheels, beadlocks and SLW adaptors, ready for assembly;

Wheels slowly getting there;

One done!;

Done! Test flex;

I also cut the foams a touch, and am contemplating drilling the wheels with a small hole for air flow. CI foams are also on the wish list.

For now I want to get the motor in and go crawling again

 

[Grimace83]

Another item I forgot to mention is the front 'medium' springs have been replaced with softs.

Next on the agenda is to get the castle link to program my BEC to 7.4V "thumbsup"

 

[Grimace83]

Vanquish chubs, knuckles & weights fitted;

Current front end arrangement;

Crawlermaster 16t;

Which I timed at approx 6 degrees;

So is back together. Fingers crossed it holds up to the task!

 

[Grimace83]

Also Castle link has been ordered along with HD diff gears!

 

[allanon1965]

What you beleive would be the main cause of this considering the relatively short life span?

I have already ordered another motor. But would like to follow up on this one to have as a spare.

overheating is the cause of that, could be due to many factors, but running in water accelerates wear on the brushes, when they get worn down past a certain point they overheat rapidly and grenade the comm..also running all out alot will accelerate the wear and build up heat. The brushes are soft copper and wear fairly quickly if ran on the fast side of the trigger.

That has been my experience with brushed motors, since I tend to have a heavy trigger finger, I went to sensored brushless on my blue flame wraith and will be converting all my other rigs to sensored brushless as well..."thumbsup"

 

[der ceej]

that motor really blew! being that far gone, is that salvageable?

 

[allanon1965]

as long as the can magnets are ok, you can replace the rotor and brushes