ESC problems... help

[TC3Racer]

well i've had my RTR T3 for a little over a month now and i have driven it whenever possible. recently i put a set of ball bearings in it and lubed the diff. about a week ago i was driving and something broke in the diff. and i bought a new part to fix it and everything was good. now that its going it put in a battery and just put it out in my living room to see how it runs... i try it out a bit and it seems to run ok... then i see smoke coming from the ESC and i'm not about to touch it cuz its probably hotter than **** . so i immediately unplugged the battery and turned the radio off. i have come to 2 different conclusions. 1. my diff. is to tight which can be easily fixed or 2. since the bottom casing of the ESC is weak and i can often literally pull the ESC apart and see the circuit panel in it can mean that some how some moisture got in there. i have not done anything with it since because if it is damaged i dont want to jack it up further. please help me on this one guys, the ESC is an LRP Runner that came with the RTR T3. thanks in advance for any help;.

[XXXER]

I am not quite sure what the question here is, but here goes...

Sounds like your ESC is toast, contact the manufacturer, which, of course is LRP, they can be found at www.rc10.com (http://www.rc10.com) . They may have a warranty of some kind concerning this, it will almost definately need to be sent in for repair.

Reason for this that has happened can be a few things:
1: Your battery plugs, my guess is you are still running the Tamyia "J" Style plugs(they are white plastic), and the pins are not making full contact with the ones on the ESC, or the battery. The solution to this, is to push the pins out more, and make sure not to dent the female ends, because you want as much contact as possible. Another solution is to replace them with higher end plugs, such as Dean's 2-pin Ultra Plugs, or the "Sermos" type connectors, made by Duratrax(refered to as "Power Pole connectors), and Acer Racing.

2: Your motor plugs are not making full contact, you can replace them with plugs, again, like Dean's or the Sermos connectors, or you can hardwire the wires directly to the motor.

3: Your motor itself, it may be worn, and dirty, the motor that comes with the RTR truck, is a sealed endbell, and can only last so long, it will sometime need to be replaced. You can pick up some motor spray, that you can use to clean your motor, but they will still wear out.

When purchasing a new motor, pick up a rebuildable one, they are much longer lasting. I do not think it is the motor, but it very well may be, there can be something lodged inside the can, stuck between the armerature.

Good luck, if you need any more help, just ask.

-Steve

[TC3Racer]

yea that could very well be the problem but as soon as i got it i sautered on the deans 2 pin connectors because thats what i run on my TC3. i also directly hardwired the motor to the ESC. do u think that moisture thing is a possibility?

[Emaxx3]

IMHO I think the ESC is toast. I got the first production run of the RTR T3 and toasted that LRP Runner three times. I finally gave up and tossed it in the trash. The guys at LRP warrenty take a little long to replace the speed control... took a few weeks. I got the first run of the Novak cyclone C2 to replace the Runner - HUGE difference. I would send that Runner back to LRP and wait for the replacement. It will probably take a couple weeks minimum.

Emaxx3

[TC3Racer]

k thanks. my friend has a novak C2 for sale for 50 bucks so i'll probably buy that from him. thanks alot.