Traxxas electric RC caught on fire...

[kujiwara]

So I just pulled out my stock traxxas slash 4x4 which sat in the garage for 6 months, balance charged the 3s lipo battery and plugged it in the truck, and immediately the ESC caught on fire... Anyone know what's going on? This has never happened to any of my other cars and trucks which includes a drift car, rock crawler, road car..
The motor and all the electronics are waterproof and I only ran the truck in the past two summers on grass and dry pavement, I did install a bigger pinion gear but the truck never overheated though.

[Mantis]

Re: Traxxas electric RC caught on fire...

Are you sure it was the ESC or was it the lipo's that lit up

[kujiwara]

Re: Traxxas electric RC caught on fire...

Are you sure it was the ESC or was it the lipo's that lit up

Yaws, I'm sure it was the ESC because it was smoking, and I unplugged the battery as soon as the ESC began smoking. I tested the battery with my crawler and it works perfectly fine.

[Silverstoned]

Re: Traxxas electric RC caught on fire...

It sounds like something is shorting out in the ESC. Did you check all the input wires for any shorts?

[shconer]

Re: Traxxas electric RC caught on fire...

Its not uncommon for ECS to start on fire. I have seen it happen a few times.

[Canadian_R]

Re: Traxxas electric RC caught on fire...

I would be worried about your Lipo. Sounds like the ESC failed/shorted. You could try contacting Traxxas, they might send you a new one?

You probably already know, but the Lipo batteries used in hobby grade r/c cars pack a punch and can be a serious fire hazard. Shorting out, over charging, over-discharging, over heating, puffing... can cause them to ignite. When they ignite, yikes!

I have numerous Lipo packs because I race r/c cars, I store each pack in it's own fire resistant "lipo bag" and in metal boxes as well. You can't be too careful with Lipos!

You could look for info here: rctech.net and once you get it fixed come race it!

[kujiwara]

Re: Traxxas electric RC caught on fire...

I would be worried about your Lipo. Sounds like the ESC failed/shorted. You could try contacting Traxxas, they might send you a new one?

You probably already know, but the Lipo batteries used in hobby grade r/c cars pack a punch and can be a serious fire hazard. Shorting out, over charging, over-discharging, over heating, puffing... can cause them to ignite. When they ignite, yikes!

I have numerous Lipo packs because I race r/c cars, I store each pack in it's own fire resistant "lipo bag" and in metal boxes as well. You can't be too careful with Lipos!

You could look for info here: rctech.net and once you get it fixed come race it!

Thanks for the tips! I contacted traxxas and they can't do anything since my truck is three years old already. Ordered a stock ESC to hopefully be able to get it running ASAP.

[Stonewall]

Re: Traxxas electric RC caught on fire...

You probably already know, but the Lipo batteries used in hobby grade r/c cars pack a punch and can be a serious fire hazard.

Pfft your lithium batteries are nothing compared to the ones I deal with daily