Senton Senton 4x4 Mega : Journey from stock breakages to brushless and beyond.

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Curvin

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Location
Melbourne, Australia
Arrma RC's
  1. 4x4-Mega
Purchased a Senton 4x4 Mega for my son , within the first week we had stripped the standard Servo within an hour of total usage. Replaced with a Power HD 20KG metal geared Servo with a matching Glitch Buster.

Purchased a 5000 NiMH battery as the standard supplied 2400 NiMH was already noticeably dropping off.

Next outing within 20 minutes it had snapped a front shocker at the bottom eyelet, no spares available locally, all the rest of the shocks were leaking oil as well. Decided to upgrade the shocks using HSP Aluminium bodied shocks that were recommended on this forum.

Finished the shocker install this morning, minimal bashing, few small jumps , after about 20-25 minutes , started noticing an electrical burning smell as the car was going past , still seemed to powering along fine , plenty of charge left in the battery judging by speed of car. Car got caught on a small tree branch which had some smaller twigs/leaves on the ground , we pulled the car free, but it was no longer responding to forward or reverse commands, steering was fine. Engine and battery were noticeably warm, both smelled.

Hoping it had powered down due to overheating, we shut it all down, let it cool, recharged battery and tested the unit again. No go, steering is OK, ESC lighting up and responding to controller inputs, no drive from engine, so I can only suspect the engine has blown.

So in the whole time we have owned the truck, we have managed under 2 hours total , doing very minimal bashing, and its literally blowing or breaking something every time we venture out.

This is our first RC car, and will be our very last with anything to do with ARRMA , the componant level on the standard truck is garbage IMO.

I have no choice to now replace the engine as I have already invested too much money into the truck to just bin it, but I am seriously considering it.

Is anyone else having the same level of issues with the truck, or have we just been unlucky ?
 
RTR rc car kits from every manufacture have weak links lets say,, You changed most of the same parts as I have, The one thing you haven't that I have is the motor/ esc combo ,I went on ebay and bought a motor/esc combo for under 40.00. Its a brushless combo that has been working great and been having lots of fun with it. even 500.00 dollar RTR kits have problems,, It would be a shame to get rid of something that could be very good for your son . Meaning out side activities, instead him playing some mind boggling video games. I understand your frustration , Thing is your getting close to having a nice little running truck ..
 
The front shocks are definitely a weak point, as I have broken one on each of my two trucks. But they are cheap and easy to fix IF parts are available (that is an issue right now). I found a place that had some shock perch/shafts and bought a few since I'll probably need them. The front perch/eyelet is simply poor design and highly exposed. Other trucks have the shock mounting inside the A arm and are therefore far more protected.

One truck I broke the servo (same impact as I broke a shock), so I replaced that...a little more pricey than I would have liked, but the replacement should now last. The other truck servo is still intact.

Blown both motors...those I am most disappointed in. I have some replacements coming from Arrma under warranty. In terms of total running time, I probably was at about 3 hours max on each of my two trucks I'm looking into brushless replacements now, mostly for durability, but also to get an ESC that has better programming capability, for reverse, brakes, etc.

As far as "ready to run" is concerned, I do think they went a little too cheap in some areas. You're not alone, but Arrma definitely made a few boneheaded decisions.
 
Thanks KMS, Guy,

O.K, so I am not on an island with the breakages it seems.

@Guy, I agree re ARRMA making some bonehead decisions and cheaping out where they really shouldn't have on a trcuk at this price point.

@KMS , as you say I have already replaced the most common weak points, just need to sort the engine now , so need to decide which direction to take there. I will contact the local supplier re possible warranty for the engine, but there is no stock locally , so I am in for a long wait either way. I am thinking of going brushless to put a more permanent and reliable stamp on the repair , but despite the easiest being an ARRMA direct replacement, I am loathe to give them another cent.

Can you please link me to the brushless engine/ESC combo you settled on , the few I looked at locally are far more pricey here in Australia , but don't mind sourcing from OS again. I ordered the shocks from China, ( which are good quality for the money and far stronger than the originals ) took about 4 weeks, but managed to get 2 sets for less than the price of a single set locally.

I will most likely also move to Lipo as well and be done with it, otherwise I can see this just being be a continuing cycle.

Most disappointed for my son, in the 6 weeks we have had the truck, its spent 5 of those broken !
 
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Definately not alone Curvin!
Brushed motors are hopeless things, I think dusty roads are their cyptonite!

I went to my LHS and bought a Hobbywing Ezrun combo for around $100aus. Best upgrade i've done.
 
Definately not alone Curvin!
Brushed motors are hopeless things, I think dusty roads are their cyptonite!

I went to my LHS and bought a Hobbywing Ezrun combo for around $100aus. Best upgrade i've done.

Thanks Crash,

What was the exact model of the EZrun Combo you ended up running with ?
 
I did add a heat sink fan to the motor , Temps are good with a 17 tooth pinion speed might be too much for son ,14 tooth better might try the smallest one that will fit in the predrilled holes ..not sure what one that is ,,motor temps will be good and run time will be better,,
COMBO.jpg
COMBO1.jpg
 
Thank you KMS, Crash,

@KMS, the GoolRC you linked to looks great for the money, found a local listing in Ebay , turns out to be a Singapore vendor advertising being local, with 0 feedback so far, so am a bit wary. There are some of the earlier model 45A non water proof combos available locally , just a bit hesitant as I'd prefer waterproof if possible.

What was required to program the unit to the truck ?

@Crash, not much info available for the Ace branded combo's, no detail on the Hobby Wing site at all, seems to be a rebrand by the local distro. Do you know if its waterproof ?
 
Well, it says it's waterproof. I've hosed it off a few times.
Motor is a 4-pole 4000kV, i think there's a 3000kV version too.
ESC is 50amp, ive been running 3s on it quite nicely.
I think i have a data sheet at home if you need more info.
 
Thanks Crash,

I managed to dig up some additional info.

Are you running the 4000KV on the standard gearing OK ?

I'll most likely stick to a 2S battery for the interim.
 
Its a 2WD Fury with standard gearing, more than enough power! Just put M/T tyres on and it does wheelies now, but have also stripped the gearbox idler gears, haha.
 
I changed my Radio at the same time had a extra FlySki GT3C so using it , just did a rebind and it works great ,Just make sure all the TRIM dials are on zero ,,Should be good ,,,
 
I changed my Radio at the same time had a extra FlySki GT3C so using it , just did a rebind and it works great ,Just make sure all the TRIM dials are on zero ,,Should be good ,,,

Cool, thanks for that.

I took the plunge and ordered a GoolRC 3650 3900KV/60A ESC, as I am keeping the standard 17T pinion, so should be a little more manageable than the 4300KV.

Will take a week or 2 to get to me, but I don't mind the wait. I just couldn't justify the more expensive options locally, with also having to buy a 2S Lipo and charger as well , I will put the money towards the later.

I'll pop back on once its all installed and up and running.

Thanks to all who have contributed , very much appreciated.
 
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A quick follow up on the warranty here in Australia.

I have been informed the motor is covered under warranty, but only for 30 Days , and because I have owned the car 50 days, its not covered.

Well considering the first 30 days of ownership consisted of less than 1 hr of usage over the first 14 days, being sidelined with a broken servo in that time and then completely sidelined due to broken shocks the rest, the warranty isn't worth the paper its written on !
 
That's a bummer , I bought many new rc cars and they never had a warranty. But most of them were kit's that I put together,10scale buggies, stadium truck's, Dirt oval and carpet cars. Used Novak esc, Trinity motor's. I even raced quarter scale cars and designed parts for them .started using RC back in the late 80's been a strong habit ever since.
 
You're not alone. Servo went first in mine. Replaced it with a 7kg Armma unit, locally. Arrma is sending me a replacement, but don't know if it's the plastic geared 5kg stock unit or the metal geared 7kg. People on this forum have mostly gotten the metal 7kg as a replacement.

My motor is blown as well. I think a piece of gravel got in and obliterated my fan blades and it overheated. Check to see if you're blades are still there.

If you're going to stick with brushed (not recommended), use LiPo batteries - and learn how to use, charge, store them because they're dangerous.

Many people have replaced their motors with the brushless Castle SCT 3800kv 3s motor/esc combo and it works really great. It's $110US+/- and you'll have way more fun with the speed. Don't go above 3800kv or you're likely to strip your input shaft at the rear differential.

All rtrs will break and need replacement. Part of the fun of this hobby is upgrading parts to improve performance. Yes it does get expensive, but it can be done on a budget.

Your local shops will be key. Online is a headache but good for references and deals.

Upgrade your motor to brushless and you'll really see it shine. It's not a lemon. It just comes with somesome parts - like most rtrs. Especially those under $500.
 
My motor is blown as well. I think a piece of gravel got in and obliterated my fan blades and it overheated. Check to see if you're blades are still there.

I think one issue is that the way the motor is attached to the power unit, the intake holes at the shaft end are blocked. Maybe cutting some side vents would help prolong the brushed motors.
 
A big factor in the overheating is the electronics aren't getting good airflow with the tall chassis dirt guards in the front.

This combo in the 3400kv version is also a good option for the ARRMA Mega 4x4 - https://www.rcjuice.com/motor-esc/m...hless-4-pole-motor-includes-program-card.html

I have been using a lot of the HobbyStar brushless motors in various RC vehicles with good results.

Best regards,
Brian
 
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