Just been given this to fix... gonna need some help tho!!!

[biggman100]

Still intrigued as to how it all broke down in the first place, I wonder if it was plugged up wrong at one point and that began the sh!tshow of melting wires and components lol

An educated guess, based on experience, the motor actually started all this. The motor wires on the FTX/HobbyKing cars are actually thinner than most every other motor (they use 3.5MM bullets instead of 4MM on 3650 motors), and are a semi-solid aluminum, and it doesn't take much for the motor to heat up, and transfer that heat to the ESC. I have 2 FTX/HK motors that started to get hot, and the wires on the motor are so stiff now, they wont move at all, but, since i caught it early, it didnt hurt the ESC (Turnigy), which still failed a few days later after swapping to a different motor. Another thing they are good for is putting 540 motors in 4WD off road stuff.

 

[Stigtheone]

An educated guess, based on experience, the motor actually started all this. The motor wires on the FTX/HobbyKing cars are actually thinner than most every other motor (they use 3.5MM bullets instead of 4MM on 3650 motors), and are a semi-solid aluminum, and it doesn't take much for the motor to heat up, and transfer that heat to the ESC. I have 2 FTX/HK motors that started to get hot, and the wires on the motor are so stiff now, they wont move at all, but, since i caught it early, it didnt hurt the ESC (Turnigy), which still failed a few days later after swapping to a different motor. Another thing they are good for is putting 540 motors in 4WD off road stuff.

The motor wires seem fine even the balance wires with the slightly scorched plug- the black wire of the three that goes from the esc to the Rx is what melted and badly! But only outside of the esc base as inside it’s fine and not burned... I’m not electrically experienced other than working on actual cars so my guesses are literal guesses though haha
I’m glad you mentioned the size of those bullets tho as I wouldn’t have known that, just checked with my verniers and yes they are 3.5 mm bullets (the femal side is closer to 3mm tbf) so I need any new esc I buy to match that too dont I

 

[Greywolf74]

Also when you plug the esc back in it doesn’t overheat or smoke, and outputs the right volts too...
the charger maybe scorched the battery plug, considering the battery is obviously degrading- given the car doesn’t look that old/that used it may be why it’s degrading already?

The battery is degrading already cuz its a cheap crappy battery and also probably wasn't maintained properly, especially if the charger you got with the kit is the only charger the original owner had too.

My best guess from what youd said and the pics I've seen, is that the ESC is probably fine.

Or maybe someone plugged the balance plug into the Rx? Would that be a no-no?

I'm not sure it would physically fit. If someone did do that then that would explain not only the scorch mark on the battery balance lead but also why the RX fried.

@StonerRC365 you’re forgetting my noob-ness mate lol is it worth risking the receiver from my other RC? The axis I wouldn’t dare use as I probably couldn’t find a replacement knowing that old thing haha And will a nitro receiver be the same? I’ll check the Camper and see what’s on that hold on....
So the axis is crystal anyway I forgot that,

A receiver is a receiver. Electric, nitro, AM, FM, or 2.4Ghz. Any of them will work in any RC for the most part.

the camper is a 2.4ghz set up here’s the Rx on that, where should I plug the wires into? And I’ll still need to repair the burned wire before I can plug it in

Once you repair the wire on the ESC it will plug into channel 2. Signal wire always faces toward the inside/center part of the receiver.

If I use this Rx will my other Tx work without having to bind etc?

You would have to have a compatible transmitter for that receiver. You can't use the receiver with the Bugsta transmitter.

The motor wires seem fine even the balance wires with the slightly scorched plug- the black wire of the three that goes from the esc to the Rx is what melted and badly! But only outside of the esc base as inside it’s fine and not burned... I’m not electrically experienced other than working on actual cars so my guesses are literal guesses though haha

In reference to what Biggman said, I can see a motor causing a problem with the ESC but not the RX. I mean maybe if the ESC had some sort of catostrophic meltdown because of the motor then maybe somehow it could have caused a meltdown of the RX too but there was no meltdown of the ESC so i dont believe that is what happened here.

I’m glad you mentioned the size of those bullets tho as I wouldn’t have known that, just checked with my verniers and yes they are 3.5 mm bullets (the femal side is closer to 3mm tbf) so I need any new esc I buy to match that too dont I

If you reuse the existing ESC then it doesn't matter because they both have 3.5mm. If you end up buying another ESC that has 4mm bullets then you could simply order some 4mm bullets and replace the 3.5mm bullets that are on it now or visa versa. Or if you wanted to you could repalce all the 3.5mm bullets on the existing equipment with 4mm but if the wire on the motors in smaller than 12AWG then 3.5 are fine anyway. I hope that made sense.

 

[Stigtheone]

The battery is degrading already cuz its a cheap crappy battery and also probably wasn't maintained properly, especially if the charger you got with the kit is the only charger the original owner had too.

My best guess from what youd said and the pics I've seen, is that the ESC is probably fine.


I'm not sure it would physically fit. If someone did do that then that would explain not only the scorch mark on the battery balance lead but also why the RX fried.


A receiver is a receiver. Electric, nitro, AM, FM, or 2.4Ghz. Any of them will work in any RC for the most part.


Once you repair the wire on the ESC it will plug into channel 2. Signal wire always faces toward the inside/center part of the receiver.


You would have to have a compatible transmitter for that receiver. You can't use the receiver with the Bugsta transmitter.


In reference to what Biggman said, I can see a motor causing a problem with the ESC but not the RX. I mean maybe if the ESC had some sort of catostrophic meltdown because of the motor then maybe somehow it could have caused a meltdown of the RX too but there was no meltdown of the ESC so i dont believe that is what happened here.


If you reuse the existing ESC then it doesn't matter because they both have 3.5mm. If you end up buying another ESC that has 4mm bullets then you could simply order some 4mm bullets and replace the 3.5mm bullets that are on it now or visa versa. Or if you wanted to you could repalce all the 3.5mm bullets on the existing equipment with 4mm but if the wire on the motors in smaller than 12AWG then 3.5 are fine anyway. I hope that made sense.

That all makes sense to me buddy, just digging through my bits to find some suitable wire to repair the esc with!
And I’ll try the Tx that came with the RC nitro I’ve taken the Rx from!
Fingers crossed it doesn’t Fry that Rx lmao
And I’ll cross the bullet connector bridge if/when I come to it lmao

 

[biggman100]

Looking closely at this pic:

the motor wires look like they are fried, unless that is just that plastic mesh they put over them..
This is the replacement motor they use in the Bugsta: https://ftx-rc.com/index.php?_route...photon-2-1-sensorless-1-10-13-0r-2950kv-motor Look closely at the wires coming out of the motor.

 

[Stigtheone]

Looking closely at this pic:

View attachment 135370
the motor wires look like they are fried, unless that is just that plastic mesh they put over them..
This is the replacement motor they use in the Bugsta: https://ftx-rc.com/index.php?_route...photon-2-1-sensorless-1-10-13-0r-2950kv-motor Look closely at the wires coming out of the motor.

The black part is a mesh wrap on the wires bud

 

[WickedFog]

The black part is a mesh wrap on the wires bud

I saw the same thing on the other side of the wires. There was a spot that looked fried, but the pic is too blurry to tell for sure.

 

[biggman100]

The black part is a mesh wrap on the wires bud

Ok, i definitely looked at it wrong. Its partly because i am biased against HK/FTX motors, because i have fried too many of them.

 

[Stigtheone]

I saw the same thing on the other side of the wires. There was a spot that looked fried, but the pic is too blurry to tell for sure.

There is some staining on the yellow wire, just from where the esc servo wire burned out and was touching the motor cables but it hasn’t damaged the coating. Not sure why the pics are always such low quality when they upload to the site

Ok, i definitely looked at it wrong. Its partly because i am biased against HK/FTX motors, because i have fried too many of them.

No worries mate, its all good incase I did miss something

 

[Stigtheone]

Well, I've managed to get a new wire soldered from the esc board to the pin at the plug end (even managed to get the pin out and run the wire into it) and I’m getting 5.04v at the plug so it’s working... Not the most beautiful of work but considering the numb soldering iron I have it will do for now at least lol
Now do I dare plug it into the receiver lol

 

[Greywolf74]

Well, I've managed to get a new wire soldered from the esc board to the pin at the plug end (even managed to get the pin out and run the wire into it) and I’m getting 5.04v at the plug so it’s working... Not the most beautiful of work but considering the numb soldering iron I have it will do for now at least lol
Now do I dare plug it into the receiver lol

That signal wire looks a little worse for wear right up there by the plug. I'm assuming youve doubled checked that to make sure its intact?

5V seems awefully low. Typically its 6V. Maybe theres a setting you can change in the ESC to bring it up to 6V or maybe its just made that way. If tehres a way to bump it up with a setting or a jumper or something Id turn it up to 6V otherwise it will work on 5V.

 

[Stigtheone]

That signal wire looks a little worse for wear right up there by the plug. I'm assuming youve doubled checked that to make sure its intact?

5V seems awefully low. Typically its 6V. Maybe theres a setting you can change in the ESC to bring it up to 6V or maybe its just made that way. If tehres a way to bump it up with a setting or a jumper or something Id turn it up to 6V otherwise it will work on 5V.

The wire coating has defo seen better days but it’s intact, the black wire was melted all along it so it’s to be expected though lol
And I don’t have a card to program the esc, it was reading 5v before I put the new wire in so I assumed that’s what it was running on anyway bud?

 

[biggman100]

That signal wire looks a little worse for wear right up there by the plug. I'm assuming youve doubled checked that to make sure its intact?

5V seems awefully low. Typically its 6V. Maybe theres a setting you can change in the ESC to bring it up to 6V or maybe its just made that way. If tehres a way to bump it up with a setting or a jumper or something Id turn it up to 6V otherwise it will work on 5V.

If it is the 45A Photon ESC, it is only 5V. If it is the 60A Photon ESC, then it should be 6V.

 

[Stigtheone]

If it is the 45A Photon ESC, it is only 5V. If it is the 60A Photon ESC, then it should be 6V.

Says 60a on the side mate... so somethings not right if you’re certain that’s the figures

 

[biggman100]

Says 60a on the side mate... so somethings not right if you’re certain that’s the figures

I just checked the manual, and i was wrong. Apparently the Photon Leopard series 45A and 60A are both a 5V BEC. This is the manual for the ESC: https://www.etronix-rc.com/manuals/ET0400-0403.pdf If you are on a mobile device though, it may not load, since it is a PDF.


This is the product page for that ESC: https://www.etronix-rc.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=515
And this is the page for the optional program card: https://www.etronix-rc.com/etronix-photon-sbs-led-programming-card?search=ET0107

 

[Stigtheone]

I just checked the manual, and i was wrong. Apparently the Photon Leopard series 45A and 60A are both a 5V BEC. This is the manual for the ESC: https://www.etronix-rc.com/manuals/ET0400-0403.pdf If you are on a mobile device though, it may not load, since it is a PDF.


This is the product page for that ESC: https://www.etronix-rc.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=515
And this is the page for the optional program card: https://www.etronix-rc.com/etronix-photon-sbs-led-programming-card?search=ET0107

Well that’s good news mate thanks very much the pdf worked, I’ve ptinted a copy too for my growing collection of manuals lol
Really appreciate the help, I’ll plug it all in tomorrow and see if it works, fingers crossed it won’t fry my Rx lol
May buy that programming card if all is well with this esc too

 

[biggman100]

Not sure I understand this suggestion as the ESCs are cheaper than that on HW's website. $39/$47 respectively. Am I missing something here?

Where do you see the WP 10BL60 for $39? I just looked on HW's site, and it's $49.99.

 

[Greywolf74]

Well that’s good news mate thanks very much the pdf worked, I’ve ptinted a copy too for my growing collection of manuals lol
Really appreciate the help, I’ll plug it all in tomorrow and see if it works, fingers crossed it won’t fry my Rx lol
May buy that programming card if all is well with this esc too

You should be able to program it without a card, the card just makes it easier.

Where do you see the WP 10BL60 for $39? I just looked on HW's site, and it's $49.99.

https://www.hobbywingdirect.com/collections/quicrun-brushless-system

 

[biggman100]

You should be able to program it without a card, the card just makes it easier.


View attachment 135389

https://www.hobbywingdirect.com/collections/quicrun-brushless-system

That's for the sensored one, which you then have to solder wires on. I can get the sensor less with no soldering for about the same price on eBay.

 

[WideOpen]

All of it is worth fix'n