sneakydavis

Hey, new to the hobby and site so if this is in the wrong place I apologize.

Just bought the six year old a an RC car to get him into it. Something not to fast and something we can replace all the parts on.

It's a River Hobby - VRX Sword with a Brushed Motor.

The other day we ran the car on a 40 degree day, and Ran through 2 7.2 3600mh batteries. By the end of the second battery the car came in and was smoking, I assumed this was bad. I let it sit for about 5 mins and tried a third battery. And the car ran slow, and had no power either. (Like it's running on a low battery) The motor stank so I assume it was cooked and replaced it with a Titan 550 12T. Put it and ran the car last night and I assume there is something still wrong with it, the car struggles to do a donut in the gravel, slow on take off and not a lot of top end either. Could we have damaged the ESC? I thought they would simply work or not?
Is there a way I can test it. Thanks for any advice.

Darkgenerals

iTrader: (71)

I would say yes the ESC is gone. No real way to test it, if you put in a good working motor and had the same problem. It looks like both over heated and fried.

asc6000

iTrader: (15)

Giving a 6year old a 12turn motor is like giving him a 600hp Hemi Cuda for his first real car. Tone that down asap. Easier to drive, more run time and far less chance of smoking something. Also driving around in grass (if you are) is a lot of extra strain on the system so avoid that. like water... bad.

Sharkey_t

a titan 12 turn 550 can is what comes stock in non brushless traxxas stuff, its basicly entry level of entry level. its roughly equivilent to a 20 turn 540 can. if it were a 12t 540 can, different story.

its possible the esc is damaged. first thing id do is make your your radio endpoints are at 100%, . unbolt the motor and pull full throttle, see how it sounds. now hook the motor direct to a 7.2v battery and see how it sounds. if hooked to the battery it spins up faster and sounds like its going higher rpm, then you have something wrong with the esc. check your settings, but you may need to replace it. also gear down to make sure you dont cook things again.

rok55

iTrader: (17)

While it is possible that you damaged the ESC, it is usually the case that either they work or they don't. Unusual to hear of limited output from the ESC.

What specifically was smoking after the second battery; Motor, ESC or Trans mission? Don't overlook the trans and gear set which will give exactly the symptoms you describe if it has some internal issues.

Loosen the motor from the spur gear and check for free rotation of all the drive line components, you be pleasantly surprised to find something much less expensive to repair or replace.

p.s. Unless you got that car 2nd hand (we call that cheap) you probably could have got a more mainstream RC from a manufacturer with local hobby shop support for about the same money.

p.s.s. +1 on that being too much car for a 6 year old. Unless you turn it way down and/or limit the throttle input..

sneakydavis

Got the problem sorted. Apparently, according to the local shop the Titan Motor I bought from them is designed to run on 8.4 volts not 7.2 ?? Bought another 550 20 turn and put it in. Much much better, kind of back to where we started.

Sometimes I do think I bought the wrong car to start with. Not for any reason except none of the local shops stock the parts for it which is real frustrating seem as how this is what I wanted from the shop I bought it from in the first place. Regardless he has a blast with it. Now I need something to drive with him. Thinking of a Savage Flux HP. Any advice..

Thanks again all.

ThePanda

iTrader: (68)

how about a traxxas slash 2wd? simple, easy, durable. I hope you were joking with the savage. certainly not a truck for someone new, or someone young.

davidwills

take off the ESC, connect it to the battery, then test the output current.

As long as you change a new battery, but the battery run slow, already was basic may determine--the ESC was damaged.