SCX6 Fire due to bad factory wiring

[Arma]

I was casually driving when my lights shut off - I stopped the rig to investigate and saw a smoke and wiring on fire. You can see it was caused by a pinch point that led to a short. Axial's engineering is lame and their manufacturing is lazy - the best thing about my SCX6 was a complete disassembly and re-assembly properly and upgrading 90% of the parts after I understood its weak points.

The pinch point between rails and center mount caused an internal short / high resistance, which started a thermal runaway, cooked the insulation and started a fire.

• Never trust pre-wired lighting harnesses blindly, especially on RTRs—they’re often underbuilt and routed poorly.
• Always run a visual check under the battery tray or body mounts—pinch points are surprisingly common.

It's been a month since I got my SCX6 and have replaced almost all parts but haven't touched the factory lighting wires as I haven't been replacing the center mount yet. To be honest I haven't seen this pinch point because it was hidden below the rail.

 

[Arma]

Also it needs to be said that the stock 30 - 32 AWG is thinner than a typical servo lead which is far too small for anything over ~0.5 amps continuous.

It's alright for the individual diodes but not enough to power the whole lighting harness.

After an experience with my SCX6 (at over $1,200 - I was under the impression that it's Axial's flagship), I have removed all "Axial" branding from the rig as I'm not keeping it stock anyway and it seems like "Axial" is nothing to brag about

 

[Cheetah928]

Ooh that doesn't look good. Hey, at least you got to upgrade stuff. What did you upgrade specifically?

 

[Arma]

Ooh that doesn't look good. Hey, at least you got to upgrade stuff. What did you upgrade specifically?

Right, it's always good to have the opportunity to upgrade stuff. I have installed 26 AWG leads and added rock lights and also a magnetic connector between the main light harness on the chassis and the body lights so now when you open it, it doesn't stretch the cables. Also, when you close it, it connects automatically.

 

[Arma]

Regarding all the other upgrades - that's for a new thread - ELRS with custom MT12 lua for telemetry, then the much needed aluminium, brass and made custom front diff protector front sheet metal

 

[Cheetah928]

Right, it's always good to have the opportunity to upgrade stuff. I have installed 26 AWG leads and added rock lights and also a magnetic connector between the main light harness on the chassis and the body lights so now when you open it, it doesn't stretch the cables. Also, when you close it, it connects automatically.

I'm confused. How exactly does it work? Photos?

 

[Arma]

I'm confused. How exactly does it work? Photos?

Look up how FMS FCX10 LC80 connection works. So mine is similar, just less sophisticated. I'll upload a video.

 

[Arma]

I'm confused. How exactly does it work? Photos?

SCX6 Magnetic lighting harness connector