Outcast Outcast 4s V2 melted wire

[DCounc]

Hey y'all,
Been scraping around the net trying to find information about a melted motor wire.
I have been driving and outcast 4S V2 for the last 6 months and enjoying every minute of it. After my last bash I discovered that my blue motor wire had completely fused to the fan connector and started melting through the heat shrink. I don't recall any especially violent crashes or unique situations that may have caused this so I'm at a bit of a loss.
After I got home I did a deep clean and didn't find any binding connectors or anything out of place. It is possible a pebble got stuck in the drive shaft for an extended period of time but I usually hear that sort of thing happening.
The motor seems fine and the ESC seems fine but I'm not entirely sure how to confirm that.

I come to you looking for ideas about what may have happened or ideas about what to do moving forward. Do I just solder on new connectors and heat shrink it up? Do I try to get a motor that will run cooler?
This thing rips as you all know so I don't need more torque or higher top speed I just need cooler temperatures.
Thanks for your thoughts, arrmaforum

Pics below

One more pic of the male end the melted connector. A bit blackened

 

[Tex Koder]

Clean off the old shrink wrap,
Replace melted connector, and re-shrink wrap connectors.

 

[DCounc]

Clean off the old shrink wrap,
Replace melted connector, and re-shrink wrap connectors.

Hey yo, thanks for quick reply. Just like that, don't worry about the fact it melted? If it happens a second time then figure it out?

 

[Tex Koder]

Hey yo, thanks for quick reply. Just like that, don't worry about the fact it melted? If it happens a second time then figure it out?

If you look closely, the area doesn't look to be "melted"
It looks to be more from abrasion..

If it was from heat.. the fan connector would be more warped..

At least from the photos you provided.

Is there another angle that shows more damage??

 

[DCounc]

Thanks again! Oh it's def melted, the fan plug is fused to the metal of the bullet plug. I do see your argument for abrasion though, it's got that weird spot. I'll double check the placement next to the motor and see if it could be rubbing on something. I ripped the cords out of my motor fan trying to get it apart, so that's def something I'll have to replace and maybe a better fan will help the temps.

That spot that is rubbed off looks like it was where the yellow cord sits against it. None of that stuff close to the motor really moves anyway.

 

[Rocketzx1]

That one motor wire got really hot to melt that plastic connector.

Is it really easy to pull just the blue motor wires apart?
Also, when one motor wire is getting extremely hot, it’s because of a loose connection.

Upon looking at the pic of the 3 motor wires, the blue bullet connector looks to be pushed closer together than the other 2 bullet connectors.

Separate the prongs a tiny bit and test to see if the connectors are snug, not too tight and not too loose.

 

[DCounc]

That one motor wire got really hot to melt that plastic connector.

Is it really easy to pull just the blue motor wires apart?

They are actually pretty loose! Wish I knew if it was that way before or after this incident.. I will spread them out, or probably just replace the connector entirely... That probably explains the blackness And heat, if it was arcing in there.

Another clue.. I seem to recall the motor not really making it's 'ready to bash' beeps on power up, but it did drive without any issue (that I noticed)

 

[Rocketzx1]

Just wipe off the bullet connector with a dry cloth, spread out the prongs just enough to where it’s snug, but not too snug that it’s really hard to pull apart.

Once you have it set and put all back together, give it a go on a freshly charged lipo and let’s us kno!

 

[Mike'sGN-Kraton]

On the re-heatshrink leave the fan connection separate from the motor connector... could have been much more worse for you if it total melted through... Mike

 

[DCounc]

Got both connectors replaced finally! It sounds alive and well, and I got to dust off the soldering iron.

 

[lipo-joe]

good luck - keep us posted !

 

[Rocketzx1]

Looks good man, let us kno if that solved your issue.

 

[Xpress..]

What this looks like to me is the blue connector was not seated firmly inside of its mating connector and passed all of the current through a tiny area, causing intense heat buildup. Anytime you remove the motor and separate the connectors from the ESC, it is a good idea to expand the male bullets slightly to ensure they have a strong and frim connection inside of the female bullets to ensure minimal resistance.

Small contact area = big resistance, tons of heat buildup
Big contact area = little to no resistance, almost no heat buildup

 

[Tex Koder]

^^^

In addition to this, make sure there's no water (from melted snow, lake, ponds, puddles) that gets in between such connectors and end up causing rust.. Which obviously would increase resistance.

 

[Xpress..]

^^^

In addition to this, make sure there's no water (from melted snow, lake, ponds, puddles) that gets in between such connectors and end up causing rust.. Which obviously would increase resistance.

So these are gold plated so they will not rust, but they may oxidize slightly. In which case, a brass wire brush can clean it right off.

 

[SrC]

That one motor wire got really hot to melt that plastic connector.

Is it really easy to pull just the blue motor wires apart?
Also, when one motor wire is getting extremely hot, it’s because of a loose connection.

Upon looking at the pic of the 3 motor wires, the blue bullet connector looks to be pushed closer together than the other 2 bullet connectors.

Separate the prongs a tiny bit and test to see if the connectors are snug, not too tight and not too loose.

Sometimes the Motor connectors get dirty and fouled out, possibly even corroded, since they are not sealed perfect. Then you have a bad bullet connection. Which in turn creates undue Resistance. Hence heat. I never felt that the Fan connector wire should be attached to the motor wire like it is. I would remove it from that motor phase wires. Tidy up the motor wires and all with Zip ties. Sleeve "over" each of the 3 phase connectors with shrink wrap to keep them clean and connected better. The blue phase wire looks to be ok Otherwise, IMHO. Clean all up well with Elect. contact spray or alcohol. All The 3 motor wires while you are there.
>>You said that you have much mileage on your 4s 4x4. I would take the time to also open and clean out the motor with Electrical Contact Spray ( CRC automotive elec. spray is fine), Both BB's and all. Let dry. Then A drop of synthetic oil on each motor BB. I would consider this necessary since this is all motor and wiring related, having the motor out right now. BLX motors need to be maintained like this regularly.
>>Get a better Motor fan setup. Use a "Fan mount" not the the Stocker Heatsink. Possibly a better 40mm x 40mm 20mm(taller) fan setup. Even a double fan setup will be better using a Double motor Fan mount. Air blowing directly to the motor is way better. Using the stocker HS is not all that, IMHO.
Good luck.