Help! Motor Wire getting pulled out of ESC

[kaladeth]

During practice yesterday, I lost power to the car after bumping slightly into the rails at the end of a straight. Servo was working fine but motor wouldn’t spin.

Turns out wire C got pulled out.

When I tried to plug it back in I noticed it was too loose!

Is it ok to just carefully bend the bullet fins out a bit to make it snug enough again? Have done this for QS8 battery connectors but never on motor wires before.

I also noticed some buildup on the ESC cup. Any issues or things I need to watch out for with that?

 

[cancelthefuture]

During practice yesterday, I lost power to the car after bumping slightly into the rails at the end of a straight. Servo was working fine but motor wouldn’t spin.

Turns out wire C got pulled out.

View attachment 361096

When I tried to plug it back in I noticed it was too loose!

Is it ok to just carefully bend the bullet fins out a bit to make it snug enough again? Have done this for QS8 battery connectors but never on motor wires before.

I also noticed some buildup on the ESC cup. Any issues or things I need to watch out for with that?

View attachment 361098

How long have you had it? I would probably replace the bullet altogether on the motor wire personally, if a new one is also loose the esc cup might also need replaced. Might have Castle do a repair/replace for that honestly.

 

[Tex Koder]

During practice yesterday, I lost power to the car after bumping slightly into the rails at the end of a straight. Servo was working fine but motor wouldn’t spin.

Turns out wire C got pulled out.

View attachment 361096

When I tried to plug it back in I noticed it was too loose!

Is it ok to just carefully bend the bullet fins out a bit to make it snug enough again? Have done this for QS8 battery connectors but never on motor wires before.

I also noticed some buildup on the ESC cup. Any issues or things I need to watch out for with that?

View attachment 361098

Yes.
Bend the prongs out a bit to make it fit more snug.

Yes.
Clean off the buildup.

 

[trexdd]

If it were ME I’d bend that bullet apart a bit and let it run. I won’t speak to others on the forum however.

Those marks are arcing burns. Possibly when the lead pulled out. If you’ve got some scotcthbrite or emery cloth I’d clean it up before re-connecting the wire lead.

 

[LibertyMKiii]

That "build up" I see in the cup is where the bullet was loose and the electrical current was creating an arc between the two. It is almost like a small welding arc.
stretch the male side a bit and you should be good. It looks like you could use a little more slack in the wires if possible.

 

[Moirae]

Heat shrink over the male/female bullet helps a lot too

 

[Dan B.]

Yes, just spread the plug bullet a bit and shove it back into the ESC. Check the others, too. No need for warranty, resoldering, end of the world, etc.
Apart from that issue, how was the practice? Are you getting it dialed in?

 

[cancelthefuture]

Yes, just spread the plug bullet a bit and shove it back into the ESC. Check the others, too. No need for warranty, resoldering, end of the world, etc.
Apart from that issue, how was the practice? Are you getting it dialed in?

I would agree if this were not such a high amperage system. My vendetta had a bullet start to get loose and it arced so bad the whole bullet got hot and unsoldered. It looked like a burnt marshmallow when I replaced it. Personally I wouldn't feel comfortable with running it until it had bullets so tight you have to smash it in there with elbow grease.

 

[Garcbomber]

Fill the cup with solder, stick stripped wire in direct. Never come loose again!

 

[Dan B.]

Personally I wouldn't feel comfortable with running it until it had bullets so tight you have to smash it in there with elbow grease.

Me too. I accomplish that by slightly spreading the bullets that go into the ESC. Even in brand new setups some are loose, some are tight. If I don’t have to forcibly insert them to some degree I’m not happy with it. They should be rather difficult to insert and even more difficult to remove.

 

[kaladeth]

Bullet restored. All 3 cups were fine. On the male side, C is slightly tighter than B, and B is slightly tighter than A. Will keep a close eye on it this race weekend!

I also need to find a better way to secure the ESC to the chassis. Dual Lock holds fine on a normal run, but in case of a heavy crash - or when the car flips upside down, it does end up getting pulled off resulting in stress on the motor wires among other things.

Maybe zip-tie somewhere? Has anyone actually used screws on an XLX2?

 

[kaladeth]

PSA: I replaced the dual lock with double-sided tape, and no more problems!

 

[slick2500]

PSA: I replaced the dual lock with double-sided tape, and no more problems!

I've always had great luck with this https://www.walmart.com/ip/3M-Super...e&athbdg=null&athbdg=L1100_L1100&from=/search

 

[Hammer Down]

I use an mip driver and wobble/rotate it around in the hole of the male bullet to spread the prongs out. A screw driver or anything that fits in the hole should work.

 

[slick2500]

I use an mip driver and wobble/rotate it around in the hole of the male bullet to spread the prongs out. A screw driver or anything that fits in the hole should work.

The phiilips screwdriver that came in one of my rc starter kits works great.