Holmes Hobbies Motor

[MountainJam]

I'm writing this because I'm upset with Holmes Hobbies customer service. My friend and I ordered two 35 T Handwound Motors from John. Installed the first motor in my buggy and ran it only a few days before it started working intermittently. I had to tap the motor to get it to start running every few seconds. I emailed John twice over a period of two weeks with no response. I ordered a Warrior motor from JP Customs and have been very happy and have had no issues. My friend just got his buggy finished and the Holmes Hobby motor only lasted about 1 hour of run time before it started doing the same thing. He is going to order and warrior motor as well.
We ordered the holmes hobby motors originally because of friends that have had good luck with them. Recently I've heard rumor that the latest batch of homles hobby motors were having problems. I'm simply iritated that John has not replied to my emails and is not standing behind his product. These two motors are not dirty and were only run for a very short amount of time.

 

[JSN]

This won't end well......

 

[Cave Dave]

JRH is a busy guy,but he stands behind his products.I'm sure you will read more good experiances than bad are had by his customers.I have one of the "new" 35ts and have had no problems at all,I also have one of the old ones and it still works perfect.Post up in his vendor thread on this site and he WILL give you a response as soon as he can.

 

[Arct1k]

Perhaps posting in his feedback / Help thread would be a start

 

[BigSki]

yes, you should post in his 'customer support' thread, he will answer you there. I recently returned a LiPo balancer to him for replacement, after he responded to my question about it being covered under a warranty. I didn't hear anything else from him, but the new balancer showed up today.

 

[mtnhrdgr2]

Just to add my 2 cents...

I have purchased a 7T puller, and 2 35THH motors. Both work awesome.

I agree with most everyone here that he is quite a busy guy. Post in his feedback thread or tech support thread. He will reply. He definitely stands by his products, and he does provide GREAT customer service. I mean c'mon, he even answers technical questions that have nothing to do with what he sells.

 

[JohnRobHolmes]

I had about two weeks of emails that didn't get responded to, while I was gone for vacation and right after. My bad there, but I am back on the ball.


All I can say about the brushless motors is this- they are mechanical parts that sometimes fail. I test every motor and can't guess whether they will fail when you get them. I have had plenty of returned motors and only one had a real problem. The rest were dirty, had the brush wire hung, or needed a comm cut. If it is a failed motor I will replace it no questions asked on my dime. If it is a dirty motor I will fix it up for a few bucks. Send me another email and I will get right back to you.


Having to tap the motor, sounds like a hung brush.



You wouldn't believe how many times I have gotten a motor that only worked "for an hour or so" to find that it is totally packed full of dirt. Not saying this is the case here, but just for some knowledge that brushed motors are finicky and must be kept clean.

 

[Reflection]

Having to tap the motor, sounds like a hung brush.

X2.

Over the years,I've had allot of motors act the same way. It's been either a bad/weak spring,hung or broken brush.

 

[Ripperfi]

JRH is the man. The man is busy and truly is an army of one yet still finds time to answer emails and questions. If you have a motor from Holmes Hobbies, you should feel grateful and blessed. Thats right, blessed with a little slice of power heaven. When you hear thunder, its because John is testing a new armature. You can see his torque from space. The Dos Equis most interesting man in the world guy was based off John Rob Holmes. He is... the most insightful electrical savant in the world.

 

[Rick Findley]

My 2 cents too!

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to work on many a brushed motors. It has been rare, that I have had a problem with any brushed motor straight out of the box. But my friends have . . . So being a motor tuner I got many a request to help them out. I have found that most "new" brushed motor issues have been owner induced.

Improper break in, improper lubrication and dirt! Then there are these people that take a new motor and take it apart just to see what makes it tick and put them back together wrong (yes I took my Big Jim Greenmeyer motors apart to see what he was doing different from me). Most generally reversing the spring pos to neg.

With open endbells, vents, and exposed brush hoods these motors will suck up anything at any opportunity. This fine grit settles every where it can, especially where any lubrication has been applied. So a can of Dynamite Magnum Force 2 Electric Motor Cleaner or the like will work wonders and cure many issues with a brushed motor. Recommend cleaning your motor after every run.

Brushless motors are a different animal, but they will suck up dirt too and need a preventative cleaning too!

With a little maintenance most motors will work as designed. If you must take them apart, remember how things go back together, because all springs are not created equal and there are more than two on a brushed motor.

 

[Badmuthatrucker]

Agreed with the hung brush thing.

I've been doing things to electric motors that'd probably be illegal in 35 states for the last 25 years, and I've never had an intermittent motor problem that wasn't either a hung brush or something out side the motor (like a dry solder joint on a plug, being held in place by the heatshrink). They either work or let out the magic smoke out if it's motor.

 

[Big Mike]

You wouldn't believe how many times I have gotten a motor that only worked "for an hour or so" to find that it is totally packed full of dirt. Not saying this is the case here, but just for some knowledge that brushed motors are finicky and must be kept clean.

Sounds familiar. I hear the same thing from my customers about my product all the time. I'm really very lenient about our warranty policies, but still some guys seem to think they need to try to pull a fast one on me.

Most commonly they'll apply 230 volts to one, with the selector set to 115 volts. The screen even TELLS them they're doing something wrong, and they have 45 seconds to shut the power back off. But they don't, they stand there and scratch their heads until the factory smoke is let out. Then they set the selector to 230 and send it back to me, telling me "it never powered up". What they don't know is that there are 2 fusible links on the board that burn open to prevent more serious damage. This is incontrovertible evidence that can't be denied, and it takes me about 5 seconds to determine this is what happened.

If you had to tap the motor case to get it to turn under power, you definitely had either a hung brush or foreign material got inside the can. I'd give JRH a chance to help you out if I were you, he definitely stands behind what he sells...

 

[MountainJam]

posted my comment b/c i was simply frustrated that I have not heard from John via email. Customers service begins with good communication. I have nothing against John. I can't get on these forums very often due to surf control at work. I did find a piece of metal shaving in my motor. However, my friends motor never left the garage and had only been run for about a total of 45 minutes. I'll admit I have a lot to learn about motors and the whole RC World. Sorry if I rubbed anyone the wrong way. Sounds like John has treated a lot of people good. I plan on taking my friends motor apart later to see what may be wrong with it before I request John to look at it. Thanks for the advice and dealing with my frustrations. I may have jumped the gun on this one.

 

[JohnRobHolmes]

I would be frustrated too, no worries at all from me. Send me an email when you get it figured out and I WILL get back to you promptly this time.

 

[ScalerLover]

Hope everything works out good here.
Im running a second hand Torquemaster Mini and its just awesome.
JRH has very very nice products "thumbsup"

 

[CD13]

posted my comment b/c i was simply frustrated that I have not heard from John via email. Customers service begins with good communication. I have nothing against John. I can't get on these forums very often due to surf control at work. I did find a piece of metal shaving in my motor. However, my friends motor never left the garage and had only been run for about a total of 45 minutes. I'll admit I have a lot to learn about motors and the whole RC World. Sorry if I rubbed anyone the wrong way. Sounds like John has treated a lot of people good. I plan on taking my friends motor apart later to see what may be wrong with it before I request John to look at it. Thanks for the advice and dealing with my frustrations. I may have jumped the gun on this one.

Very honorable to admit your frustration and put it in writing.We have all been there but most won't admit it. "thumbsup"