Are LRP ESC's easily toasted?

[blautens]

I bought a couple of RC10 T4 SE RTR's, and they come with 15 turn motors and LRP Super Reverse Digital ESC's. I purchased four Epic 3000 mah 6 cell packs, as well as an MRC Super Brain 969 charger. I thought this should be a fairly bulletproof way to get back into RC after a 17 year absence (ahhhh, the sickening sound of my Trinity "Joel Johnson" motor propelling my Frog to a sickening thud into my neighbor's Hornet...heh-heh...).

Anyway, car #1 I dropped into the water behind my house - oops (just a wee bit in front), and the ESC stopped working - yes, it got a "little" wet, and apparently compressed air drying it out wasn't sufficient. Okay, so I hustled to my local hobby store and picked up a Novak Rooster (too big for that tub, by the way, should you wish to purchase one - be prepared to modify something). Car #1 is fairly happy (although the throttle doesn't feel as smooth as the LRP...could be imagining that, though...).

Car #2 (all stock) was on its second run in an hour and after a mild jump the car went into a sort of "limp-home" mode, and the ESC starting smoking like small brush fire. Burned a hole in the side of the ESC case and brought back familiar memories of too many amps and too little heat dissipation.

But here's my question - 6 cell pack, 15 turn motor, nothing special here. All stock RTR, except for the 3000 mah pack. ESC #1 died because of water (although it was VERY slight) - OK, my bad. But ESC #2 didn't even have back to back runs - there was about 10 minutes in between. Is this not a good combo? I'm sending the ESC back to Associated (I hope they replace it in good faith - less than a week old with 4 runs on it).

Should I look to upgrade? I'm not a kid anymore and although money doesn't grow on trees, I realize that initial purchase price does not equal total cost of ownership (any guesses as to my line of work?) - and I wanted a hotter motor anyway, which I don't see this ESC handling if I toasted it with the RTR package. I was going to step up to an Associated A.I. Automatic Bullet Reversible ESC, and not sure about the motor yet...hotter than the RTR but not too insane for the RTR chassis.

Then I though - should I avoid LRP ESC's? I want something reliable, with reverse, and the ability to handle a little hotter motor than the 15 turn RTR motor - maybe down to 10 turns - any suggestions for ESC and motor combo? Is brushless catching on? Or most bang for the buck still brushed. Keep in mind I have to buy an ESC anyway - I'm far too impatient to wait for repairs and I'm well aware you can NEVER have too many spares.

Thanks in advance.

[TC3Racer]

I toasted my LRP Runner ESC on my T3 RTR when it came in contact with a bit of moisture too. Thats pretty strange that it would fry so easily but these things are pretty sensitive to moisture.

As for the second one - where you running in wet grass or anything exposed to moisture? I would just send it in to AE and tell them what happened and i'm sure they will replace it for you. They are pretty good with their customer service and fairly prompt. Good luck.

[blautens]

Thanks for the prompt reply - and nope, no moisture whatsoever, just some mild jumping and bumping, but nothing serious. That's why I was questioning the durability of the units...

I'll certainly send it back...but I might consign it to spares and order a beefier a unit with a beefier motor - hence the request for recommendations.

The 15 turn motor in the kit is not weak (a safe choice for RTR newbies), but I've always believed in having a bit more motor than chassis - it makes for more exciting driving (kind of like an old Porsche 911 - oversteer separates the men from the boys).

[RH Customs]

I you are going to just be bashing get a speedo from Mtronicks, they are totaly waterproof.

[John2005]

I bought three T4 RTRs in december (one for me, and two for my kids). The first week, all three ESCs were toast. I've since upgraded all three to the LPR Pro Sport (no reverse). I think I've toasted one of those.. but shipped back to LRP which quickly replaced it. I think there's a lifetime warranty on the Pro Sport.

I've also had to upgrade all of the servos to something more durable. So far, the JR 570 (I think it's the 570) has held up the longest. We've broken the lobes off of the Hi-Tec servos.



John

John

[KTRTS]

I you are going to just be bashing get a speedo from Mtronicks, they are totaly waterproof.

They are pretty dodgy though; you have almost as much chance as getting one that doesn't work/ stops working soon after you bought it, as you are gettign one that does work :(

I've had no problems with my LRP speedo so far though :)

[Eightballracing]

I have an LRP F1 Pro Reverse and I haven't had any problems with it. It has gone into thermal shutdown once or twice from going foward, then braking, then reverse constantly with a 10 turn but thats about it. My friend drove his car through a puddle and his LRP Runner ESC stopped working temporarily. After about 6-8 hours when everything was dry it started working again. He said he ended up toasting it though while driving through another puddle a week later.

As for the Mtronicks ESCs, I think my brother got a bad one. It is one of the foward only ones and I think I put the shotkey diode (spelling?) on wrong so the motor dosen't really work right but I'm not sure if that is what is causing the problem or not. Does anyone have links on how to put on one of those shotkey diode type things and tell me how to spell it correctly? Thanks.

[Raster]

blautens,

I'm just surmising, but I think the problem with the ESC in your T4 SE is more than just the ESC. There is something about those trucks (I have one), that is not quite right, sometimes. I haven't investigated it on mine enough (I bought a different motor), but I think it's either that motor or the gearing is not right.

The T4 SE somtimes has been known to somehow cause the motor to get hot as a firecracker. Hotter than normal. It may be the cheap motor, which I don't think is any good. It's not as fast as a 15-turn should be and I've heard of other electronics meltdowns in these "SE" versions.

My guess is that the ESC is probably fine. I think the motor needs to be changed and the gearing evaluated.

Just my .02.

Raster

[blautens]

Raster and all -

That's very interesting that others have toasted the ESC's as well...

Thanks for all the input - I've decided to pick up another Novak ESC (I believe a Super Rooster Reversible instead of a regular Rooster, though) and A Team Orion Revolution motor (12 turn) for toasty car. And I'll keep an eye on the servos.

Someone has to keep contributing to the economy...

:)

[Raster]

Raster and all -

That's very interesting that others have toasted the ESC's as well...

Thanks for all the input - I've decided to pick up another Novak ESC (I believe a Super Rooster Reversible instead of a regular Rooster, though) and A Team Orion Revolution motor (12 turn) for toasty car. And I'll keep an eye on the servos.

Someone has to keep contributing to the economy...

:)


Sounds good. You probably need to re-gear, too. You might burn up another ESC if you don't.

Good luck.

[blautens]

[QUOTE=Raster]Sounds good. You probably need to re-gear, too. You might burn up another ESC if you don't.

Raster -

Thanks - what size pinion would you suggest?

[Mr. Furious]

Novak is a good choice for any electronics. I have all orange in my cars and they are fantastic. As far as gearing goes...I usually follow the recommendations that Associated puts in their manuals regarding motor turns to pinion selection. Most RTR's have really inexpensive motors and esc's to keep the cost in line but you shouldn't be toasting them in a week. How are you running these trucks to put so much strain on the electronics? If you run in the grass regularly with a stadium truck you will almost certainly kill anything you put in there because of all the strain runnning in grass puts on the motor and ESC. Also running flat out speed runs in a straight line all the time can really put a hurting on the esc in an offroad vehicle. The T4 was built for runnning offroad courses where a lot of off-throttle, on-throttle, brakes,etc will be used every lap. My ESC's rarely get warm and my motor is very comfortable to touch after a 5 minute race so you may need to rethink your driving style and or get some higher ground clearance somehow to save your electronics.

[blautens]

I don't really abuse them....a little grass, a little full throttle, but mostly bashing around the neighborhood...I've run my other cars much harder in the past.

I think the (or a) weak link is the ESCs. I'm gonna fix that today - the Super Rooster arrived for car #2 (according to Fedex). The

If I get the other ones fixed/replaced maybe I'll build a little less demanding car...whatever that might be. I supposed I should have known better - the RTR version was just too little money. Damn my laziness.

Thanks again.

[cheerwhiner]

my futaba msc230 is good. drove my tc4 through a mud puddle, switched it off, let it dry, works fine. Not the first time either. been in a t3, b3, and it still is going strong.

[always_opencarb]

they suck ive fried 3

[thewarrenator]

ive fried 2 in the past week, people say there the best... haha ya right

[smoothxxxs]

I could be wrong but doesn't LRP have lifetime warrenties on their electronics now? I am not too sure on the terms and conditions of that warrenty but it would be worth looking into I think.

[always_opencarb]

no only dumb things that will never happen