Fix your own esc
 

Anybody know how to fix there own esc's?

Fix it how?

For instance I have a tekin rs that went bad. when I was racing and the positive bullet connector came out and I'm guessing it touched the negative connector which was still plugged in. Now I don't have any throttle. Is there a specific part that goes bad? Is this fixable without a whole new board of some kind?

The only reason I ask is that their service charge went up to $97 plus shipping and I could easily find a used one for that. Any help would be appreciated.

$97 is the cost of replacement. if it still powers up im sure it can still be repaired.


Replacement
(Does not reflect upgrade or trade-in cost)
B1, B1R $34 Pro4 $83
Mini Rage $46 SC4X $85
FX & FXR $61 T8 Buggy Motor $92
FX & FXR Pro $75 T8 Truggy Motor $96
RS $97 Redline Motor $61
RS Pro $123 Gen2 Redline $67
RX8 $123 Crawler Motor $33
Hotwire $18 Crawler Pro Motor $51
ROC412 $83

Minimum Repair Cost
$25 Basic Service (i.e. Plug, Wires, Case)
$40 RX8 (Control Board, Case)
$60 RX8 (Power Board, Case)

Unfortunately you are likely in the market for a used one if the cost favors that over sending it in.

Depends on how well your electronics background is. Odds are you wont be able to fix it yourself.

You will need to open up the case and start looking for obvious damage first. If nothing looks burnt, you will need to use a multimeter to find out whats been blown, which can be a PITA. Start looking at the MOSFETs first, trying to find any that have a dead short or really low resistance. From there, you will also want to check the gate drives, as they are likely to get taken out as well.

I do this stuff for a living, and I dont even bother anymore. Its not worth my time to try and fix it, I just buy a new/used one.

Same here. The days of fixing electronics is pretty much gone! It's generally not worth the time or expense.

Yeah.... That's kind of what I was Thinking. At this point, I'm pulling it apart...just cuz. Oh well, worth a shot.

I fix consumer electronics for a living, like The Captain, and I'll echo that without specialized tools, it's difficult.

Even with the tools, it can be hard to resolve things like a blown FET in an ESC, as most of them don't seem to protect the microprocessor very well, and if that goes, you are dead in the water, as code isn't available to reprogram them.

I've fixed a few ESC's that friends have blown up (generally exploded caps from reverse polarity or shorted FET's), and while it was easy for me (I have the tools) they were all rather dicey. I've yet to see an ESC with good heat/fire/damage resistant PCB materials used. It's all the same junk consumer stuff. The best I've seen out of them was at least the Hobbywing ESC's, as they tend to be thicker then the rest and a little more durable. Note; I've never seen the inside of a Tekin, so I can't comment.

Let the service departments of those companies handle it, or buy a used one.

Not to mention, I have seen NUMEROUS times where they have filed off the part numbers on ICs, making it impossible to repair.

Thanks Drake, I forgot to mention the capacitors as well. That one is relatively easy to diagnose and fix. Look at the ends, and see if they are bulging or if they are split down the side. If they are, you can try and replace them with at least the same rating. You can always go higher on the ratings if the replacement part will fit. You probably get a 50-50 chance of fixing it if its obvious that the capacitors are blown.

Just send it in , I sent one in and it was replaced for free and they sent me a piece of candy back with it . It was Halloween LOL

It's out of warranty.

That doesn't matter, the replacement cost gets you a brand new ESC. The warranty period covers manufacturer defects, this case wouldn't fall under that catagory since it was a bullet connector that caused a short. You won't find a brand new ESC for the same price we offer under our replacement program.

smell it lol, if it has a bad Oder to it then the mosfet are burnt up

Hey Ty, I hear ya and I'm not complaining. I like the tekin speedo's and that's why I want to use the one I broke. The customer service has always been great as well. Quite honestly, I'm just balling on a budget. I pay for my stuff as well as the families stuff and that's why I'm looking to see if I can fix it on my own. Looks like I won't be able to but that's how it goes.