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mooter

I Just Fried My New Brushless Motor :(

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Ok, so I went for the Losi Xcelorin 10.5 & ESC Combo. The battery is an HPI 7.4v 5300mah LiPo, deans connectors.

I rigged up the ESC to the PC using their software and all was well, I set all the settings correctly and made sure they were uploaded to the ESC. I tested the ESC and Motor without plugging the receiver in and it was fine; switched it on, ESC fan starts running and it seemed fine.

I turned it off, plugged it into the receiver, turned it back on again to go through the calibration setup and the motor got very hot, very quickly and literally fried :) Smoke came out the can and I turned it off and let it cool.

Just tried it again and no joy. The ESC does the steering fine, but the motor is completely dead - nothing happens when I use the throttle at all.

What happened?

I'll take it back to the shop in the hope they'll exhange for a new one and I'm hoping it was just a faulty unit. If I did something silly I'd love to hear it so I don't repeat with a replacement / new motor!

Was really looking forward to playing with it too.... :o

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Ok, so I went for the Losi Xcelorin 10.5 & ESC Combo. The battery is an HPI 7.4v 5300mah LiPo, deans connectors.

I rigged up the ESC to the PC using their software and all was well, I set all the settings correctly and made sure they were uploaded to the ESC. I tested the ESC and Motor without plugging the receiver in and it was fine; switched it on, ESC fan starts running and it seemed fine.

I turned it off, plugged it into the receiver, turned it back on again to go through the calibration setup and the motor got very hot, very quickly and literally fried :) Smoke came out the can and I turned it off and let it cool.

Just tried it again and no joy. The ESC does the steering fine, but the motor is completely dead - nothing happens when I use the throttle at all.

What happened?

I'll take it back to the shop in the hope they'll exhange for a new one and I'm hoping it was just a faulty unit. If I did something silly I'd love to hear it so I don't repeat with a replacement / new motor!

Was really looking forward to playing with it too.... :o

How much did you "test" the motor out of the car? From what I've read here, running a brushless motor with no load on it will ruin it.

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Is it possible the motor mount screws were too long and shorted the stator windings? 4.5mm (0.18in) into the can is the limit on these motors.

Was it wired to the motor in the right sequence? Sensored must connect to the right pole, to change rotation direction needs to be done from the setup software. Unsensored you can just swap 1 of the 3 wires to reverse rotation.

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How much did you "test" the motor out of the car? From what I've read here, running a brushless motor with no load on it will ruin it.

Oh.

A minute or two, if that. Unfortunately the instructions are less than adequate and there's no mention of it having to be under load :)

Just didn't want to rig it up on the vehicle if it wasn't right.

Any way of fixing things or should I just get a new motor and solder it in place of the fried one? I think the ESC is fine.

Expensive mistake....

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That sounds about right for the Losi Xcelorin range. I bought mine, attempted to update the firmware through my PC and fried the ESC straight away - it was less than 24 hours old and didn't even make it into the car. I sent it away and they gave me a brand new one in exchange with the latest firmware already installed. Two months later and it's broken again. The motor lacks power and wont spin unless it's spun by hand first. I'm going to send it back AGAIN and once it comes back from repair this time, i'm going to sell it. I have to say i think the Losi stuff is COMPLETE JUNK. Send it back and get shot of it. Everyone in my local club who ran that stuff no longer use or own it.

James.

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yeh sounds like a warranty swap here, i had heard not to run a brushless motor without load, hope you get it sorted quickly.

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A guy at the LHS claims he fried his Losi ESC by, as he put it, "having the audacity to try and find reverse" on his brand new Xcelorin system. :lol:

He went on to say some other things that I can't repeat here, so I'm gonna go out on a limb and say he didn't like the Losi Xcelorin too much.

The good new is: Horizon Hobbies or Losi should almost certainly cover this as a full warranty swap. [it would be suicidal customer service not to. :blink: ] Give 'em a call.

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Well I took it back to the shop earlier this week and the guy didnt even question it. He's ordered a new one for me already and I'm just waiting for it to be delivered. I'll wait until it's in the car before trying the setup calibration this time!

I've already installed a 5300mah LiPo by HPI (Plazma) - goes like a rocket! Once it has the brushless on I think I'll be repairing it as much as I bash it :wub:

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Quick update - heard back from the shop today - the replacement arrived, it's been tested and works fine. The shop owner used the programming card to set it up with reverse etc just to make sure it was ok and he even soldered on a Deans for me - don't get that with the internet!

I'll go pick it up at the weekend and hopefully get some video of it and the new 5300 LiPo in action.... the Mrs very kindly got me the world's smallest mini-DV recorder for Christmas so lots of "in car" action shots to follow!

Now, do I fit the brushless combo the Custom Monster Beetle or the Blitzer Beetle? ;)

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Quick update - heard back from the shop today - the replacement arrived, it's been tested and works fine. The shop owner used the programming card to set it up with reverse etc just to make sure it was ok and he even soldered on a Deans for me - don't get that with the internet!

he didn't trust your handiwork ;)

I'll go pick it up at the weekend and hopefully get some video of it and the new 5300 LiPo in action.... the Mrs very kindly got me the world's smallest mini-DV recorder for Christmas so lots of "in car" action shots to follow!

AEE MD80 aka Venom Snakeeye? they work good... best outdoors though.

Now, do I fit the brushless combo the Custom Monster Beetle or the Blitzer Beetle? ;)

Blitzer should handle better huh?

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Haha.... as it happens I picked up a cheap (mistake...) soldering iron and associated kit the other day. I took a course in electronics when I was (much) younger and I thought it would be like riding a bike, it's not. Managed it in the end though! Practice makes perfect and since I got my new charger (B6 Polimax - £30 on fleabay) I'll be switching everything to Deans so lots of practice to come!

And yeah, I think it'll go into the Blitzer. I had to "modify" the tub a little as I have a square hardcase LiPo, but it didn't take long to get it to fit. Just needed to square off some round bits.

And yes, it's the MD80! I like the sound activation function... it just sits on standby, hiding in a corner, waiting for sound and then it starts recording... much fun to be had me thinks :angry:

(Just took the Blitzer out in the snow - need 4WD really, the front wheels just accumulate so much that it stops dead! Might have to put the Blazing Star back together if I can't get to work tomorrow.... /crosses fingers)

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Just a quick update - I picked up my replacement combo setup today and it's in and running perfectly :D I'm very impressed. I've loaded it into my Blitzer Beetle (will update showroom pics shortly) and it goes like stink! I'm running a slightly larger gearing (15T) and the motor timing is on Low but she still has plenty of punch. I'll tweak it some more when I can get out to play properly, too much snow and ice for a real test here at the moment :(

I've also just ordered some of the Thundershot Universal Shaft's, should take out some of the slop and make for a more effective power transfer. Still LOTS of fun on stock though!

Losi Xcelorin Sensored Brushless is getting the thumbs up from me. As a side note the guy at the shop is still waiting for Losi to return the previous one and he doesn't currenty know what was the matter with it, thankfully this one is working as it should. 10.5T is plenty too, any faster and I'd probably shred the gearbox!

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This is the 14th time i have seen or read about these Xcelorin systems going up in smoke!

Surly if they seem to be going bang with alarming regularity then there must be a design or manufacturing (or even instructional) fault somewhere?

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