Beware of the hobbywing SC8!

[rjm2519]

I don't know if I just got extremely unlucky or what but I am going to put this out there as fair warning!
My hobbywing SC8 lasted all of about 20 min total runtime between three runs. At first a slight puff of smoke took out the BEC, I thought it was something I did but now I am not so sure.

Last run ended with my esc looking like this...






This has been my experience, and I am not pleased at all. I bought the system from kershaw designs it was brand new unopened so if it was defective it was built and shipped overseas that way. Maybe hobbywing will honor the warranty, I doubt it though.

The motor however seems to be just fine, and has plenty of get up and go. I will clean it up and keep it for future use with a different esc probably not another hobbywing.

[87 GN]

what gearing & how many cells..........& bummer

[rjm2519]

19/58 gearing 4s, Yep bummer indeed. My first run the after 10 min or so the esc/motor were around 140/160 and stayed there through a few more minutes of running. Didn't seem like they were being pushed very hard. I could be wrong but I would expect that the motor would be hotter if it were really straining.

edit-I have been in contact with Dan at KD where I purchased the system, he is going to replace the esc at a discount. Which I am very grateful for I was hoping for a warranty from HW but have not heard back from them. His opinion was the system was overgeared and that is what took out the esc, I don't like it but it's hard to argue with the logic... I will most likely be looking into a bigger motor for a long term fix. Lower gearing will suffice for now.

[oakvad]

I have really been fighting the erge to get the 150a one. But I know from experience about the cheaper china electronics

[rjm2519]

Well Oakvad, I just ordered the 150amp one with a 2250kv motor, so I will let you know how it goes. I can't really say that the mamba is better, just google castle MMM and failures...so I figured I am this far in might as well dig deeper, lol. Might dig all the way to china...I suppose that whichever you choose to go with be sure you are willing to live with the cost of it or replacing it.

[oakvad]

Well Oakvad, I just ordered the 150amp one with a 2250kv motor, so I will let you know how it goes. I can't really say that the mamba is better, just google castle MMM and failures...so I figured I am this far in might as well dig deeper, lol. Might dig all the way to china...I suppose that whichever you choose to go with be sure you are willing to live with the cost of it or replacing it.

Ya, please do let me know. I think I have already made up my mind and gonna try it though. I believe your gonna take a chance no matter what you buy!

[Novarider]

The xerun esc's are great. Lots of summit owners use them and they are great .

[vxlrocket]

Castle had it's fair share of failures in the mm early on, but they've gone through a good 5-7 revisions. i have mine geared 54/22 and my fan doesn't even come on unless i'm running in thick tall grass for almst an entire pack.

Those caps on the hw esc look terribly swollen. you might think about getting a castle caps pack. they really help with voltage spikes which is what i bet it was that blew them in the first place. I'm sorry for your loss. it's never fun to blow the heart of your ride.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXBVNB&P=ML

[rjm2519]

I really cant tell where the problem started, the caps definitely popped and sizzled but the leads were also blown out of their solder joints and the connectors on the board, one was half melted the other blown off the board and lead. Basically whatever the issue was it shorted the two battery leads...125 amps at 16.8v...those packs are definitely powerful and thankfully undamaged.

I watched them discharge at .7 amps on my charger that was boatloads of fun! lol!

[87 GN]

It might be over geared for that "ESC", but for the Castle that is average gearing, I run 21/54 MMM...
Castle has a full one year warrenty...too

[rjm2519]

Believe me I am leaning that way, but for now I just want to be able to run it. I will be saving for a new system if the future dictates I need one. I got a good deal from Kershaw so I couldn't say no at the very least I will have a combo system that I can sell off to fund the MMM if need be, or maybe do a stampede 4x4 build...(rusty wheel creaking in my head)...the wife is not going to be happy!

[87 GN]

always start with............ Honey I love you.......but...look at this...heheee

[oakvad]

I no longer have that issue!!!!
Mine is to decide which toy gets the hop ups. Usually whatever the pocket book can afford at the time.

[mike-susieq1]

That gearing i would say was a little over geared and temps for that esc was a little higher than it should have been. if you hit 160 that is something. I know with that motor being 2700kv i've read alot about it and you need to gear a little lower ok. go down on the pinion about 3-5t ok. that motor goes a little faster i've heard compared to say like i have 2000kv. I have the sc8 WP/2000kv xerun motor though its on my emaxx geared 21/65 and i run cool no more than 111 esc and 126 motor. i can run 21/58 and get away with it even. I think you may have gotton a dud esc but do gear down a little and watch the temps ok. enable the over temperature on the esc ok.

[87 GN]

I reread this thread did I miss the motor kv??

[mike-susieq1]

I reread this thread did I miss the motor kv??

nope you didnt miss it its just i know what combo is being talked about i had an uneasy feeling when looking at the combo at KD's site. its the SC8 esc+2700kv ezrun motor. great combo but the esc is the older model and not as updated as the WP SC8 is like i have.

[rjm2519]

Mike you hit it on the head, I ordered that kit, and didn't see the 4274 kit below it until I paid already. But the esc never got that hot the temp reading I got was 143 on the esc and 160 on the motor. I have only used the vxl before so my idea of acceptable may be skewed. Kershaw is sending me a pinion and spur that should keep everything in check(13t, 68t), but I also ordered the 150amp kit with a 2250 TP motor. One of those solutions is bound to work.

Also if it makes a difference I was literally idling around my backyard when it went up in flames, the one action pic was all the excitement in that run. Maybe that was enough, but it just seems to me that even overgeared severely that shouldn't happen so quickly. It's not like I was going all out for a land speed record. My packs weren't even fully charged... (kicking the dirt)

[mike-susieq1]

did you place that order for the 150a combo yet? if not i got a better deal for you if you dont mind me sharing it with you.
the esc can go up in flames if way over geared because its about the head that matters most. the e revo body sits closer to the esc than my emaxx does so air flow even with the fan on is limited more so either gearing lower or making some body holes is going to need to be done. My wp sc8 esc the fan is always on from when i first turn it on to i turn it off.

[Revoroller]

I have the same ESC. Geared at 22/68 with no issues. The first time I ran it I had a temp gun in hand monitoring every step of the way. Temps never crossed 110 degrees on my SC8 ESC . After those results I stayed with that gearing on 4S.

Sorry that happened to you

[rjm2519]

Well I am learning things all the time, the body and esc have plenty of clearance, I have a fan I in my parts box I have been trying to decide what to do with, I think I found a use for it, LOL!

Yep unfortunately order was placed, I can't be too upset though, KD has been pretty standup about this so I am happy to give him more of my business. I originally only cotacted him to see if he could get through to hobbywing better than me, but apparently unless you can knock on their door...

[mike-susieq1]

haha knock on their door thats a good one. hobbywing does have a supplier they deal directly with.
http://www.falconsekido.com/
thats another site i have yet to use but seem like they have some good stuff there. the wp sc8 is always sold out though. i will pick one up for my merv when my stock goes out since its been good so far with my maxx and i dont need a large esc for it.

clearance is important for airflow. fans are always good to keep around. i use to have a few laying around but didnt think i would need them so i threw them out a while back now i think about it i should have it them for this reason.

[IvVaum]

wow...thanks for the heads up...

[Money pit]

[QUOTE=vxlrocket;5320163]Castle had it's fair share of failures in the mm early on, but they've gone through a good 5-7 revisions...

I can definitely vouch for that statement.

Sorry about your loss, but did your chasis survive at least? mine melted a bit and warped from the heat. BUt mine also had the lipos go up too. Electronics run on smoke, and once you let that out they dont work any more.

[rjm2519]

Chassis seems to be fine, just cosmetic damage, I will probably replace it later anyway. I really want to get one and dye it black along with the rockers. The all black to me always looked better than the grey, but I guess traxxas wanted their trucks to stand out a little.

I was really more worried about my lipos, but thank goodness they didn't even get warm, I only charged them for 30 min or so, and they still discharged 2200mah before hitting storage, so they should be good to go when I get my new esc in.

wow...thanks for the heads up...

I am by no means putting hobbywing products down, just sharing my experience, the reviews on their products has still been pretty positive. I don't want anyone to think my experience so far has been the be all end all...but it is a possibility as with any electronic.

Maybe what you should take from this is that if you have an SC8 and your BEC fails then don't continue running the truck or it will catch fire and cause you much mental agony as you watch your truck billow smoke and then hope your lipos are ok.

[pavmentsurfer]

Any product, good or bad, will fail if pushed too hard. The problem IMO is that much of the chinese stuff is WAY over rated. The SC8 running that 2700kv motor (which i have and feel is a decent motor) is way better suited to a 1/10 SC truck VS a 1/8 monster truck. You could very likely run high gearing on that thing all day in a lighter vehicle. But, to be honest, id never run that setup in an ERBE...

I did put that motor in an Emaxx with a higher rated ESC and, when geared VERY low it performs excellent and is very fast. With a 2700kv motor you need to be geared somewhere around 15/68ish... that motor is, by percentage, a very high KV for a big truck like an E-Revo. Why kershaw sells these setups for 1/8 trucks I have no idea. But I wouldnt trust one in a truck I planned to bash hard.

[mike-susieq1]

Any product, good or bad, will fail if pushed too hard. The problem IMO is that much of the chinese stuff is WAY over rated. The SC8 running that 2700kv motor (which i have and feel is a decent motor) is way better suited to a 1/10 SC truck VS a 1/8 monster truck. You could very likely run high gearing on that thing all day in a lighter vehicle. But, to be honest, id never run that setup in an ERBE...

I did put that motor in an Emaxx with a higher rated ESC and, when geared VERY low it performs excellent and is very fast. With a 2700kv motor you need to be geared somewhere around 15/68ish... that motor is, by percentage, a very high KV for a big truck like an E-Revo. Why kershaw sells these setups for 1/8 trucks I have no idea. But I wouldnt trust one in a truck I planned to bash hard.

this was the reason why i didnt get that same combo because i felt the motor had a little too high of a KV rating nice setup for a 1/10 slash 4x4 and be a monster with tons of power and speed. I didnt like the esc something didnt set right stating for a 1/10 & motor. i found a few videos stating and showing how it performs in an emaxx and that its really not built for it. a lower KV motor is better suited for a 1/8. I thought even of putting a larger motor something like 4282 or slightly larger but what i have is nice.

[Revoroller]

My hobbywing combo came with a 2000 KV motor. It is currently in an E maxx with no issues. Feels like the e maxx chassis is also lighter than the Erevo chassis.

[rjm2519]

I am seriousy thinking that the issue was not the motor or its kv rating but the esc, I may try the same motor on the 150 amp esc and see how it runs geared down.

Sent from my Torch!

[mike-susieq1]

you can try it and it should work out ok.

[soundmaster]

I know this thread is pretty old but I have a similar issue. One of the capacitors of my WP-SC8 went bad and the BEC is very weak now and collapses when put under load, but the ESC still working with no issues. I now use an extrenal bec and only the Fan is being powered by the internal BEC that is still providing 5,1V. From the factory it is rated 6V though.

Now I am wondering if it is a huge risk to continue running with this setup in my BL Summit. Motor is the castle 1415 2400kv geared 14/68 on 4s.

I really don't want to experience the same as rjm2519

[Imprez]

14/68 is a good gearing for a 2400kV motor on 4S... must have plenty of torque, and no, there shouldn't be any problems.

[soundmaster]

Already removed the old and put new Capacitors on my ESC.

[Ray00Ray]

Bummer!!! Its the ESC...

[whitie_bear]

same problem here, ESC was all of 8 minutes old, lost reverse then brought it in to investigate when it puffed up in smoke right before my eyes and sizzled like a firecracker...not melted like yours though. I was running 54T Spur 13 T pinion, 3s lipo 5000 mah, tenshock sc401v2 3400 kv motor - not pushing it at all and it was dry as can be with -5C temp outside (23 F)

Ive been hearing about this elusive puff of smoke and I doubt it has anything to do with gearing as mine was geared somewhat conservatively (Slash ultimate, believe from the factory its 54/14)

[whitie_bear]

oh and it was the WP SC8 ... the only reason I swapped is the factory ESC burnt out on me two weeks ago (not a year old yet)...ESC's I tell ya, can I just get a bulletproof one jeez