what is wrong with my motor?

[Uranium 41]

i've been having issues these past few weeks. sometimes on my runs, the car just loses power completely and the accelerator/brake does not work. i know it's not 100% the ESC, because the servo still functions whenever i steer it. i suspect its the yellow connectors, seen here:

usually it's wrapped in electrical tape but for the sake of the photo i took it off. i don't think that's the core reason, as when i first ran it like that there was no loss of power or any weird things like that. it was only until a week or two ago i started to have problems, so i believe it's the motor. today, the car just completely died after about 30 seconds of actual driving, and yesterday the motor kept cutting out (i'm not lying when i said i had to push it with my foot for the power to kick in).  what do you guys think? i should mention i have not broken in the motor (mainly because i have no clue how to do it). it's a torque tuned motor with the TBLE-02S. my gearing uses a 28t pinion and a 63t spur, if that has anything to do with it. please help - any answer would be appreciated, thank you!

[Stefan(2) 89]

Usually a sign of "bad connection" 

I would just cut of the bad part, and put on a new plug,  it will most likely fix your issue.

 

[TurnipJF 9183]

Unless you plan on changing your motor on regular occasions, you would probably be best off simply soldering the ESC cables to the motor tabs. I do that on all of my race cars as it gives a really solid connection.

If that doesn't solve the issue, and you are completely certain your ESC is not failing intermittently, the next most likely suspect is a hung brush in the motor. If the brush is not moving properly on its mounting, it can make intermittent contact with the commutator and lead to the behaviour you are describing.

[Mad Ax 9306]

I would second the issue with the connector.  For a temporary fix, you could try a choc block connector.  It won't be a good permanent fix (although I have several project cars that have been using them for years!) but it should at least prove if the bad connector is your problem.  That seems most likely as it doesn't look healthy.

A sticky brush it another likely culprit as Turnip says.  Starting up again when you roll it is a common sign of a sticky brush.  How old is the motor?  IIRC the Torque Tuned is not rebuildable.

Other possibilities:

Random bad connection somewhere in the radio wiring - worth a look if the above don't fix it.

The battery is not able to supply the current demanded and is dropping below cut-off voltage.  IIRC the TBLE-02S doesn't have a LiPo cut-off and the LiFe cut-off is lower than that of LiPo, so this is not likely unless your battery is in a very poor state.

ESC is overheating and shutting down.  I don't know if the TBLE has a thermal shut-off.  Not likely after 30 seconds running a Torque Tuned.

[Uranium 41]

18 hours ago, Mad Ax said:

A sticky brush it another likely culprit as Turnip says.  Starting up again when you roll it is a common sign of a sticky brush.  How old is the motor?  IIRC the Torque Tuned is not rebuildable.

the motor is around 7 months old at this point.

[nowinaminute 2815]

Is that connector soldered on or just crimped? Either way, if it's not making good contact you would get power loses, sometimes intermiitant.

They aren't the most respected of connectors at the best of times. Much like the Tamiya battery connector.