TOPIC:

Hello All,

I just bought a Blacksmith Products cheap ESC and it burned out (Melted with lots of smoke) after running it for the first time, for 15min. It was in the Blazing Star that I just built, with normal 540 motor and a race pack battery. They have sent me my money back. I plan to put a TEU-104-BK in instead. Just wondered if you know anything else that might have caused it to burn out, before I put the other one in? The battery is a new 7.2v 3000mAh one.

Does everything move smoothly when the wheels are turned?
I'm thinking faulty ESC...

Did the motor run hot too?

I'd say either a short in the motor wiring, battery connected backwards, or a duff ESC. I take it the ESC WASN'T the 70-turn crawler version they also do? - that might get upset with a 27t kit motor attached to it.

Er, what else... I'm assuming you 're not running the car with an additional receiver battery pack? - that might possibly upset the ESC's on-board battery eliminator, which would die in a manner involving smoke.... If so, you can get around it by either (1) don't use the Rx battery, or (2) cut the small ESC red wire from the plug that plugs into the Rx

Thumbs up to BSP for refunding ... but that's hardly a ringing endorsement of that line of ESCs

It all runs smoothly when the wheels are turned, no extra batteries added, and I didn't notice the motor running hot. Anyway, I'll put the other speed controller in this coming week and see what happens...

I'm gonna say it must've been a duff one, probably a loose solder joint got hot or maybe a rogue ball of solder-spatter rolling about in the case shorted it.
I've had a quick look at mine (Quick as in, I haven't taken the case off) but it appears the burnt bit in the pic is local to the motor wires, & as far as I can see there aren't any power handling components around there

I owe you an update on this one. Sorry for the delayed reply - life has been quite hectic and not enough time for RC cars...

It runs fine with a TEU-104Bk and everything else the same.

There is one thing that I have thought of that might have contributed to it getting too hot - as it was raining slightly, I had taped over the hole in the body shell, just above the ESC, with some masking tape to help prevent it from getting wet. So this would have cut down the air flow around the ESC and prevented some cooling.

Bl Star 1.tiff

The opening that I am talking about is just in front of the red triangle sticker in the picture.

Could well be of course but still that ESC may have been on the edge already...
Had a Top Force shell that had the upper bit of the front window cut out for this purpose, I suspect.