ESC Shorted and caused lipo to catch fire

[ptrautne]

Giving you guys a heads up, I am on my 3rd ESC from arrma on my senton and I have had 2 fail in a way that causes a dead short on the battery. The first ESC that failed this way caused one of the straps on the lipo to fail which stopped further issues. Today the second ESC failed on me when I was trying to figure out the issue with my faulty steering servo. The ESC let out some smoke and shorted the lipo batteries again but this time nothing shorted open so I had the battery catch fire. Just giving a heads up because 2 similar failures indicates this is not a fluke

 

[Kratonage]

Giving you guys a heads up, I am on my 3rd ESC from Arrma on my senton and I have had 2 fail in a way that causes a dead short on the battery. The first ESC that failed this way caused one of the straps on the LiPo to fail which stopped further issues. Today the second ESC failed on me when I was trying to figure out the issue with my faulty steering servo. The ESC let out some smoke and shorted the LiPo batteries again but this time nothing shorted open so I had the battery catch fire. Just giving a heads up because 2 similar failures indicates this is not a fluke

Wow sorry to hear...... If i were you i would get that esc sent in for warranty repairs again than invest in a hobbywing max8 or castle mamba2 esc (for awesome esc reliability) and use that returned blx esc as a "use in case i got no other choice esc".

 

[Dustin Mustangs]

I would be furious about this if I were you. There was a very real possibility this could of harmed you or your personal property! Failing esc's is one thing but this type of failure elevates the situation to a whole other level!

 

[ptrautne]

Yes this is a new level and to have two ESC that fail in the same way is not acceptable. I have contacted arrma and I am waiting for their response. I am lucky that I had a pot I could put over the fire to snuff the fire out. With out the pot I think the fire could have easily set the wood table on fire. Even with the fire being put out in less than 1 minute caused a nice size hole to be burned in the table.

 

[Jermzsatx]

I feel ya. On my fifth battery cycle running 6s my Typhon turned into a Roman candle.......

 

[ptrautne]

Did the ESC take out your battery? On my second ESC it took out a strap on the Lipo which stopped the battery from catching on fire also. Was not that lucky on the third ESC. I am hoping that I get a call early tomorrow to resolve this issue

 

[Jermzsatx]

I took the cover off immediately thinking I vented a lipo at first because that was a LOT of smoke and flare.. I was lucky my batteries were safe the ESC connectors soldered themselves to my battery connectors so I had to cut them and solder new Deans connectors on.

 

[ptrautne]

So arrma responded to my email. They want to replace the ESC with the new 185 ESC and give me to replacement batteries to replace the batteries that caught fire. I am trying to return the product and get a refund but give you guys a heads up if someone wants to try the 185 to see if its any better

 

[Kratonage]

So Arrma responded to my email. They want to replace the ESC with the new 185 ESC and give me to replacement batteries to replace the batteries that caught fire. I am trying to return the product and get a refund but give you guys a heads up if someone wants to try the 185 to see if its any better

Wow if they follow thru with the 185 esc and batteries id say that is some exceptional customer service right there.

 

[ptrautne]

I would agree with you if the product didn't ruin my personal property at the same time. The best customer service would have been to recall/replace all the ESC's after they found a rash of failures. I've worked for 2 major power tool companies so I know poop happens but there is a time when they need to admit the product is crap and fix it correctly.

 

[Kratonage]

I would agree with you if the product didn't ruin my personal property at the same time. The best customer service would have been to recall/replace all the ESC's after they found a rash of failures. I've worked for 2 major power tool companies so I know poop happens but there is a time when they need to admit the product is crap and fix it correctly.

Yes you are right about that they should recall all the esc's. Ive only now heard of them catching on fire in dramatic fashion like that. Definitely a huge liability for the company and for us customers who bought these products. We better make our voices heard so they can do the right thing or else we will have to move our money else where.

 

[ptrautne]

Giving everyone a update. Arrma customer service stepped up and is paying to fix the damage and a full refund for the truck. I am going to keep a eye if the new 185 fixes the problems but for now wait and see.

 

[Jermzsatx]

I purchased mine on Amazon.... But the seller was arrma.. Who do I contact for warranty on ESC?

 

[ptrautne]

I emailed [email protected]. After the first email all contact has been with [email protected]

 

[Jermzsatx]

I emailed [email protected]. After the first email all contact has been with [email protected]

I will be sending an email. Thank you

 

[Alain]

Giving everyone a update. Arrma customer service stepped up and is paying to fix the damage and a full refund for the truck. I am going to keep a eye if the new 185 fixes the problems but for now wait and see.

Did they replaced the esc or in 2018 it is the same dangerous esc? I want to buy a kraton but not before i know if this situation is resolved. Thx

 

[chevys10zr2003]

Did they replaced the esc or in 2018 it is the same dangerous esc? I want to buy a kraton but not before i know if this situation is resolved. Thx

Yes, the red BLX180 Escs in the 2016 models were known to be problematic. For the 2017 and 2018 models they now have black BLX185 systems which are good systems.