Kraton Kraton v6 - Thermal shutdown issues

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thewanted

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Arrma RC's
  1. Kraton 6s
  2. Typhon Grom
Hi,

I ran my Kraton v6 yesterday, and it experienced thermal shutdown issues across 3 packs using either the 75% or 100% throttle setting on the transmitter.

It really wasn’t that warm yesterday (17c/63F) but it hasn’t happened over winter so I’m assuming that it’s down to the rising ambient temps.

Is there anyway to resolve this? I have a Rocket fan to install on the motor but I don’t think it’s going to be enough. How can I tell if it’s the ESC or motor that’s getting too hot?

Thanks :)
 
thewanted said:
Hi,

I ran my Kraton v6 yesterday, and it experienced thermal shutdown issues across 3 packs using either the 75% or 100% throttle setting on the transmitter.

It really wasn’t that warm yesterday (17c/63F) but it hasn’t happened over winter so I’m assuming that it’s down to the rising ambient temps.

Is there anyway to resolve this? I have a Rocket fan to install on the motor but I don’t think it’s going to be enough. How can I tell if it’s the ESC or motor that’s getting too hot?

Thanks :)
Click to expand...
You should consider getting a temp gun to keep tabs on your temps. You'll learn quickly what will cause temps to get out of hand.

Running in tall grass?
Running wot?
Ambient temp?
Whats too hot...motor or esc?
What gearing do you have?

Temp gun and trial and error will be your best bet for learning the do's and donts to prevent heat issues.
 
Stock Arrma systems have thermal control om the esc, not on the motor.
If it shuts down, cools down, and is ready to go again, it is the esc that shut down. A shut down due to an overheated motor is pretty permanent. The motor will be damaged.
If this occurrence persists, you should use a smaller pinion.
If the motor overheats, it is commonly caused by spinning into high revs too easily. Then you should gear up.
 
SirCrashALot said:
Stock Arrma systems have thermal control om the esc, not on the motor.
If it shuts down, cools down, and is ready to go again, it is the esc that shut down. A shut down due to an overheated motor is pretty permanent. The motor will be damaged.
If this occurrence persists, you should use a smaller pinion.
If the motor overheats, it is commonly caused by spinning into high revs too easily. Then you should gear up.
Click to expand...

Thanks very much. It’s a completely stock Kraton v6 so surely it should be designed to run in all environments? I wouldn’t have thought that changing the pinion would be required.

However, it’s a much cheaper solution than replacing the electronics so I think I’ll try it. I also think that the ESC fan is very low RPM for its size so maybe there’s a way to install a larger one with a different mount.
 
It's not just the environment and surface.
Your own style of driving the car plays a part as well. A lot of people tend to be very hard on the throttle. Braking also takes a lot of power. Smooth throttle delivery is more efficient than full trigger pulls. Also the type of body on the car makes a difference.
Buggies usually have bodies that seal the chassis off pretty tight and trap heat.
I cut out the wind screen on my Corally Asugas. The airflow alone, at the speeds it is capable of, cools it down enough.
Truggies and SCT's are open at the front and rear, which makes for a nice air flow under the body.

It is quite common to overpower rc cars with bigger motor systems, just to prevent overheating. A big motor with conservative gearing is less prone to overheating, simply because the system doesn't have to work as hard. Cons are that bigger motors are heavier and more powerful. That requires more maintenance and could cause more damage in crashes.
Stock systems are pretty good. You just have to set them up right.
It's all part of the hobby. Some people just like to run their cars and do the bare minimum maintenance, others are always tinkering and trying different setups. I myself have a lot of fun working on the cars. I always have one on the bench to work on. I don't even drive them often.
 
Last edited:
If it's a recurring issue, & the V6 runs a 16t pinion, maybe that's a little high with the new more powerful B5.12 firmware, dropping to a 15t or 14t is a cheap & easy swap to keep it from going thermal & the rig will still be really fast.
 
Barmaleus said:
I have not experienced this issue, but the plan is to slap a Rocket fan which is higher RPM and cools better.
Already swapped the poopy stock motor fan for Rocket and it is solid.
Click to expand...
Just keep in mind that when running the car, the motor generates a lot more heat than any fan can ever generate cooling. The cooling happens when you are off the throttle!
 
Right!
Thing is, the factory motor fan lacked any QA and one of the cables was attached to the fan mb in such a way that it was randomly turning off while driving. I wanted to resolder, but the stock fan is non-repairable. Too much glue everywhere. Threw it out.
 
Last edited:
N.Mango said:
You should consider getting a temp gun to keep tabs on your temps. You'll learn quickly what will cause temps to get out of hand.

Running in tall grass?
Running wot?
Ambient temp?
Whats too hot...motor or esc?
What gearing do you have?

Temp gun and trial and error will be your best bet for learning the do's and donts to prevent heat issues.
Click to expand...

Thanks @N.Mango for the suggestions. The car is running the stock electronics and gearing (16T pinion). At the moment I'm running mainly on a flat, sandy and stoney area with lots of WOT, trying to link corners etc. I don't really have any interest in big jumps.

I don't know what's getting too hot, which is what I put in my opening post. I'm pretty sure that the motor is not sensored, so if it's shutting down it must be because the ESC is getting too hot.

I don't have a temp gun but it sounds like it may be a good idea to get one.

SirCrashALot said:
It's not just the environment and surface.
Your own style of driving the car plays a part as well. A lot of people tend to be very hard on the throttle. Braking also takes a lot of power. Smooth throttle delivery is more efficient than full trigger pulls. Also the type of body on the car makes a difference.
Buggies usually have bodies that seal the chassis off pretty tight and trap heat.
I cut out the wind screen on my Corally Asugas. The airflow alone, at the speeds it is capable of, cools it down enough.
Truggies and SCT's are open at the front and rear, which makes for a nice air flow under the body.

It is quite common to overpower rc cars with bigger motor systems, just to prevent overheating. A big motor with conservative gearing is less prone to overheating, simply because the system doesn't have to work as hard. Cons are that bigger motors are heavier and more powerful. That requires more maintenance and could cause more damage in crashes.
Stock systems are pretty good. You just have to set them up right.
It's all part of the hobby. Some people just like to run their cars and do the bare minimum maintenance, others are always tinkering and trying different setups. I myself have a lot of fun working on the cars. I always have one on the bench to work on. I don't even drive them often.
Click to expand...

I prefer driving, but that's mostly because I have absolutely no clue what I'm doing when it comes to fixing them since I only got my first RC in December! I have become quite adept at fixing my son's Rival MT10 weekly so I'm not completely useless, but definitely a bit clueless.

This is the place I'm driving most often right now:

V9B4zU3.jpeg



DFfRVR0.jpeg
 
Upgraded fans and a temp gun will be your new best friends. The fans that come on these are yes better than nothing but not by much. A lot of good info and suggestions above from these guys. I would upgrade the fans anyways, get a good temp gun and see where you're at after that with how you run. Adjust from there because it can be a huge rabbit hole listing all the possible causes lol
 
Johnboy5586 said:
Upgraded fans and a temp gun will be your new best friends. The fans that come on these are yes better than nothing but not by much. A lot of good info and suggestions above from these guys. I would upgrade the fans anyways, get a good temp gun and see where you're at after that with how you run. Adjust from there because it can be a huge rabbit hole listing all the possible causes lol
Click to expand...

Thanks :)

With regards to the temp gun, it's going to give me a reading, but how do I tell if it's within tolerance or not?
 
Id have to dig around because I've had overheating issues in the past but these guys will tell you pretty quick what's too hot and what's good. I've gotten where I use the touch method now after using a heat gun so I know what's good and what isn't
 
Johnboy5586 said:
Id have to dig around because I've had overheating issues in the past but these guys will tell you pretty quick what's too hot and what's good. I've gotten where I use the touch method now after using a heat gun so I know what's good and what isn't
Click to expand...

The touch method resulted in two 4-letter swear words yesterday. One for the motor, and one for the ESC :P
 
thewanted said:
The touch method resulted in two 4-letter swear words yesterday. One for the motor, and one for the ESC :P
Click to expand...
Hahaha been there myself and that's definitely too hot! It should be pretty warm to the touch but not burn your finger warm
 
Johnboy5586 said:
Hahaha been there myself and that's definitely too hot! It should be pretty warm to the touch but not burn your finger warm
Click to expand...

That's what I figured :(


It looks like the ESC fan is a 35mm model. That's annoying because I just received an order from AliExpress yesterday with a Surpass Rocket fan for the motor. Had this happened previously, I could have got another one for the ESC.
 
I believe 150ish is the safe high for the motor temp. And yes you're correct the esc and motor fans are 35mm. I installed a 35mm rocket fan on my esc and dual 40mm rockets on the motor. Another thing that's easy to check is make sure the screw for your heatsink is tight. Mine was loose from the factory so the heatsink wasn't clamped tight around the motor which defeats the whole purpose of it
 
Johnboy5586 said:
I believe 150ish is the safe high for the motor temp. And yes you're correct the esc and motor fans are 35mm. I installed a 35mm rocket fan on my esc and dual 40mm rockets on the motor. Another thing that's easy to check is make sure the screw for your heatsink is tight. Mine was loose from the factory so the heatsink wasn't clamped tight around the motor which defeats the whole purpose of it
Click to expand...

Thanks very much :) I could move the new 35mm Rocket fan to the ESC.

Would you mind proving a link to the dual fan motor mount you used? Did you have to buy a splitter cable to run an extra fan?
 

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