Please help a new r/c owner

[trphyhntr]

Hello, this is my first post. I discovered RCZ while searching for information. I purchased a Traxxas Bandit for my son and a Rustler for myself, and as they are our first, we have had to overcome a few problems. My current problem is that I purchased a Venom 17-turn motor for my Rustler with the Traxxas XL-1 speed control, and after several days of use, the motor stopped responding unless I spin the shaft with my finger. Local hobby shop says the XL-1 esc is not really capable of handling a 17-turn motor, but they couldn't say why my Venom motor stopped working. Can anyone tell me what may have happened? thanks

[streetracer]

Ive heard this case with the XL-1's. They have these little heatsink/circut chips called Fets. Its possible that during run time, you blew a throttle Fet. This Speed Control was not made to handle a 17 turn Motor. If you upgrade, which now you may have to, get either a novak, LRP, Or a Tekin Speed control. These are great companis and will last you for a while. Make sure you tell the shop clerk what you want to do, for bashing im asuming, and that you would like a sport, or entry level speed control that can handle at least a 15 Turn motor. This will kepp your options open to try different set-ups, and Motors for the one that suites you best.
Good Luck.

[RCHavok797]

The first thing you should do to see if the speed control is to blame is put another motor in your truck. When you say the motor stops responding until you turn it by hand, do you mean when you spin it a little it will start working correctly for a little while or that the only way you can make it move is to spin it by hand?

[trphyhntr]

Thanks for the info ! I have already tried returning my Stinger motor to the car, so I don't think the speed control is dead. The info from Streetracer about esc is valuable because I am going to buy a Novak and give my son the Traxxas esc if it holds up.
As far as the Venom motor, I can hook it up to the car, turn the car on squeeze the throttle a little and spin the motor shaft and it will work in forward or reverse until I stop applying the throttle, at which point it will stop responding until I manually spin it again. My friend, an electrician, not an r/c guy, says a capacitor may be to blame. is this a possibility?

[RCHavok797]

Most likely you have a brush that is hanging up. To check the brushes give them a little tug to see if they snap back on the comm. I would take the motor apart and give it a really good cleaning with motor cleaner to see if that fixes it. After you clean it it is a good idea to relube the bearings with a good quality bearing oil. If you don't feel comfortable talking the motor apart atleast remove the brush springs and then the brushes and give the motor a several shots of motor cleaner until the run off is clear. You can also spary the brushes directly or take some rubbing alcohol and cotton swaps to clean them up.

[trphyhntr]

Thanks for the tips. Tested the motor by hooking up directly to a battery, same thing, I have to spin the shaft to start the motor turning, as soon as power is cut, no response. I disassembled and cleaned the motor and brushes also - could the brushes be forced against the comm too firmly by the springs? Again, this motor worked fast and fine for a few days, and my 20-turn motor works fine in the car now. This venom motor only cost me $15, but I still hate to see it go to waste as I am just bashing around and don't care to spend a fortune on upgrades yet, I've only had my Rustler for 35-40 days!

[TrickSpeed]

Thats exactly what happens when you have a hung brush. Make sure it can travel without getting hung up This also can happen when the brushes are too worn to keep contact with the comm, but i dont think that is your problem/

[RCHavok797]

Make sure the brushes slide freely in the brush hoods and if they don't inspect the brushes and the hoods for any burrs or debris.

[Cain]

I believe you have a hung brush or something inside the motor is slightly binding.

do you have any motor cleaning tools? make sure you haven't bent the hood, etc.

For a motor that the ESC would be better to handle ( assuming 18 turn limit ) and better quality look into either a Reedy Quad Mag or the Orion Element. Both are 19 turn and have alot of pop to them.

As for a new ESC, take a look at tekin. They are back and I have had great customer service with them. Also, they have products pretty cheap right now. That 4 wire G-10 is a RACE quality speedo that is in the perfect price range for someone wanting to save some money.

I think they also have the G-12 ESC for $25 bucks, can't argue with that.

[streetracer]

Here, check this out. www.teamtekin.com
Click on Speed controls and read up on the G-10. It most likely costs more then you want to spend, unless you buy a refurbished one for around $50.

[trphyhntr]

Thank you again for all the great input! Given all of your advice, and that of my local hobby shop, I can't find any reason why this motor is hanging up. :mad: I won't give up on it yet, but since it was cheap, and I don't expect my Stinger motor to last, I'm thinking of ordering another rebuildable motor. Leaning towards the Orion Rush. (again cheap)

[henry_huckem]

I'll tell ya, if you're going to spend the 18-19 bucks on an orion rush motor, you might want to think about moving up to like a trinity speedgems pro motor, tower sells them for around 30 bucks, and I love mine. I had a Rush 17x2 that only lasted me about 10 packs before a wire broke on the comm and I had to get a new one. I have put about 15-20 packs thru my speedgems motor and it still performs like a champ. In this case, the extra 11 or so bucks is welllllll worth it, these motors rock! :D either way you decide to go, good luck, and enjoy!

[TrickSpeed]

the difference between a budget mild mod and a racing stock motor is not much. you see lots of development goes into racing stock motors, while almost none goes towards budget mild mod motors.

but if you must have less than 27 turns, then i'd recommend the speed gems or speed gems pro.

[rcguy2477]

You may also want to look into a pair of new brushes first. This may be the cause of brush being hung up.

[TC4RACER]

you need to clean the brush cases, this happened to me many times with my truck

[trphyhntr]

Wow, great input, and thanks. I am looking into the speedgems series and it looks good, I am stoked! Also, I believe that I will try changing my brushes altogether on the Venom motor that is causing the issue in the first place. Continue to wish me luck!