Spektrum Firma 150A ESC, dead?
Discussion
Hi All,
I was out running my Infraction V2 earlier today. All fine and the car seemed to be running awesome until the throttle just died on me.
It seems the BEC in the ESC is working because all of the following work:
Any tips or ideas? Or is this just a goosed ESC? I haven't done a huge amount of digging but even a cursory glance would indicate these Firma 150 ESCs are not the most reliable.
If it's dead, what to replace with? Max8? Max6?
Any help or advice would be much appreciated.
I was out running my Infraction V2 earlier today. All fine and the car seemed to be running awesome until the throttle just died on me.
It seems the BEC in the ESC is working because all of the following work:
- Power button LED
- ESC fan
- Receiver
- Steering servo
- Handbrake servo
Any tips or ideas? Or is this just a goosed ESC? I haven't done a huge amount of digging but even a cursory glance would indicate these Firma 150 ESCs are not the most reliable.
If it's dead, what to replace with? Max8? Max6?
Any help or advice would be much appreciated.
My infraction has been through two of these....
The first at a year old was replaced under warranty... via the original retailer..
Logic rc who are the uk horizon hobby importer required the ESC and lots of images of the car to show the condition.... it needs to be mint, my retailer told me that they will always try to blame the user..
My retailer - my local shop who I have a relationship with (topping up his pension
) Handled the whole process which took about 3 weeks.
Even he was amazed when they replaced it so don't hold your breath!
Second time it was my fault.... over geared it and it caught fire at 92mph
I went with hobbywing as Castle don't have a great reliability record... 8s capable is nice to have so you can punch through to the the ton if you want - and runs much cooler on 6s although it's significantly chunkier than the spektrum unit but you already run alloy side plates so it shouldn't be an issue.
The first at a year old was replaced under warranty... via the original retailer..
Logic rc who are the uk horizon hobby importer required the ESC and lots of images of the car to show the condition.... it needs to be mint, my retailer told me that they will always try to blame the user..
My retailer - my local shop who I have a relationship with (topping up his pension
) Handled the whole process which took about 3 weeks.Even he was amazed when they replaced it so don't hold your breath!
Second time it was my fault.... over geared it and it caught fire at 92mph
I went with hobbywing as Castle don't have a great reliability record... 8s capable is nice to have so you can punch through to the the ton if you want - and runs much cooler on 6s although it's significantly chunkier than the spektrum unit but you already run alloy side plates so it shouldn't be an issue.
Sadly, it was a 2nd hand purchase a few months ago. It was in absolute mint condition (judging by the tyres a couple of runs tops) but warranties are, I believe, non-transferable. And, of course, I've run it a few times now and done some mods.
Not sure if there's anything I can do to diagnose the ESC further because it's completely unresponsive (bar the BEC). I'll test the motor out on one of my other cars just to make sure it's not dead too, before I order anything.
Did you go for the Max5 or Max6 for yours? I was planning on getting one or the other for the XRT at some point. Ah, that gives me a thought...
I wonder if I could throw the Traxxas 8S ESC into the Infraction. Saying that, it's not a fantastic ESC to be honest and lacks many of the settings offered by the HW.
Not sure if there's anything I can do to diagnose the ESC further because it's completely unresponsive (bar the BEC). I'll test the motor out on one of my other cars just to make sure it's not dead too, before I order anything.
Did you go for the Max5 or Max6 for yours? I was planning on getting one or the other for the XRT at some point. Ah, that gives me a thought...
I wonder if I could throw the Traxxas 8S ESC into the Infraction. Saying that, it's not a fantastic ESC to be honest and lacks many of the settings offered by the HW.
The stock motors are pretty strong and can run 8s if cooled properly so it is unlikely to be that but a process of elimination is best followed before spending on a new ESC, if there is no play in the shaft and it doesn't smell cooked its probably OK!
Did it just cut mid run with no other symptoms, jittering or hesitation? What pinion were you running?
The symptoms you describe sound like thermal cut out but if you were running a 15t pinion it's unlikely...
I went with the max5 as I had a short lived ambition of speed running and enjoy drifting and hooning around with a 22t pinion.... plus the max6 didn't feel like much of an upgrade over the stock ESC which gets worked pretty hard- and I felt it was good to have some headroom..... its a chunky beast though!
Did it just cut mid run with no other symptoms, jittering or hesitation? What pinion were you running?
The symptoms you describe sound like thermal cut out but if you were running a 15t pinion it's unlikely...
I went with the max5 as I had a short lived ambition of speed running and enjoy drifting and hooning around with a 22t pinion.... plus the max6 didn't feel like much of an upgrade over the stock ESC which gets worked pretty hard- and I felt it was good to have some headroom..... its a chunky beast though!
So, err...yeaaaaaah.
Started doing a little research last night and came to the conclusion that the Max5 is overkill, and its size makes it a PITA to fit. Took comfort in the fact that there are tonnes of people running Max6s in their Infraction / Felony / Limitless builds, as well as XMaxx and XRTs.
Started browsing the interwebs to see how much Max6s go for. £150 give or take seemed to be the ballpark. Then, naturally, I started looking at the combos, Max6 1100kV combos were around £280. Ended up on ebay, and stumbled on an Align Trex listing for a Max6 1100kV combo @ £300 which is on the expensive side.
But what's this?
20% off coupon, bringing the price down to £240
Got 2 on the way!
The ESCs will go into the Infraction and XRT immediately. Will need look into motor mounts before I can swap them out, but that I can wait.
Started doing a little research last night and came to the conclusion that the Max5 is overkill, and its size makes it a PITA to fit. Took comfort in the fact that there are tonnes of people running Max6s in their Infraction / Felony / Limitless builds, as well as XMaxx and XRTs.
Started browsing the interwebs to see how much Max6s go for. £150 give or take seemed to be the ballpark. Then, naturally, I started looking at the combos, Max6 1100kV combos were around £280. Ended up on ebay, and stumbled on an Align Trex listing for a Max6 1100kV combo @ £300 which is on the expensive side.
But what's this?
20% off coupon, bringing the price down to £240 Got 2 on the way!
The ESCs will go into the Infraction and XRT immediately. Will need look into motor mounts before I can swap them out, but that I can wait.
Boys and their toys Slight pang of regret initially, but that soon subsided 
I'll need aftermarket motor mounts that take a 5687 motor with 30mm hole spacings (something that doesn't cost the earth, not paying upwards of £100 for a mount), and some 8mm bore pinions in order to fit the new motors. But not in a huge rush for that.
I'll report back once I get the ESCs fitted and get a couple of runs in.
Slight pang of regret initially, but that soon subsided I'll need aftermarket motor mounts that take a 5687 motor with 30mm hole spacings (something that doesn't cost the earth, not paying upwards of £100 for a mount), and some 8mm bore pinions in order to fit the new motors. But not in a huge rush for that.
I'll report back once I get the ESCs fitted and get a couple of runs in.
Gassing Station | Scale Models | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff