Typhon Typhon 3S motor stopped working

[MiamiRC]

So the motor on my Typhon 3S appears to have died. Took the motor out as I thought originally maybe the spur or pinion gear had sheared teeth (which happened to me once already) but no joy. Under full power the pinion spins slowly for a brief period of time then stops altogether. Buggy is four months old so this is pretty disappointing. This is backyard bashing not full send craziness. Sent an email to Arrma warranty support to see what they say. My question for you guys is if I have to end up replacing the motor out of pocket should I get the same AR390214? Maybe I got a dud but this thing seems pretty poop to me. Is there a better alternative plug and play motor for 3S? My understanding (but correct me if I'm wrong) is the stock ESC is only good up to 3S. Should I do a 4S ESC and motor swap? What do you guys think I should do? I want it to have reliability first and foremost. I'm tired of something breaking everytime I use it. Thanks

 

[jondilly1974]

Did you check the bearings?

 

[slick2500]

Did you check the bearings?

This ^
The motor module trapping dirt is a common problem on these we have a thread somewhere with a few free/cheap homebrew fixes. Your motor lasted 2-3 times longer both of mine combined. I got about 6 runs out of my Typhon and Senton before I had to replace the bearings in the motors.

 

[MiamiRC]

Did you check the bearings?

Thanks. I haven’t opened up the motor itself. Sounds like I should. Is there a link or video you can point me to? I have no idea how to do this.

 

[Harriot10]

Taking the motor apart is easy, just don't loose any of the wavy washers or bushings that are on the motor shaft. Remove the 3 screws around the motor can on the side where the motor wires are coming out. Once you get the end cap off the can, take it apart slowly. Its not hard!

Unfortunately this is what happens when a bearing goes bad!

 

[slick2500]

Thanks. I haven’t opened up the motor itself. Sounds like I should. Is there a link or video you can point me to? I have no idea how to do this.

Not the exact motor but the steps are fairly similar.

On an unrelated note is Youtube not working for anyone else?

 

[Yas]

Do this mod with your next motor, it seals the motor bearings from the dirt build up:

https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/blx-motor.20999/post-290335

And try either:
- drilling or using a dremel to cut a hole in the chassis beneath the spur gear to allow dirt to escape
- sealing the power module at the open spur gap with tape to prevent dirt from getting in

 

[slick2500]

Do this mod with your next motor, it seals the motor bearings from the dirt build up:

https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/blx-motor.20999/post-290335

And try either:
- drilling or using a dremel to cut a hole in the chassis beneath the spur gear to allow dirt to escape
- sealing the power module at the open spur gap with tape to prevent dirt from getting in

I think that is the thread I was talking about.

 

[MiamiRC]

Taking the motor apart is easy, just don't loose any of the wavy washers or bushings that are on the motor shaft. Remove the 3 screws around the motor can on the side where the motor wires are coming out. Once you get the end cap off the can, take it apart slowly. Its not hard! View attachment 108875View attachment 108876
Unfortunately this is what happens when a bearing goes bad!

Awesome. Thanks. Once I'm in there do I just clean out any dirt and debris. Is there a bearing I need to look for and replace?

 

[jondilly1974]

Not the exact motor but the steps are fairly similar.

On an unrelated note is Youtube not working for anyone else?

YouTube is down as well as many other sites. Haven’t seen why yet.

 

[Surchaufeur]

If the bearing exploded your motor is pretty much totaled and go claim the warranty to horizon. Unless your hobbyshop can test your motors who had a bearing explosion before using them. My motors who did this seem to work fine. But when i see the coils everywhere down the motor out of their place next to where the bearing sits. Wont be a good idea to use it without testing.

 

[MiamiRC]

Taking the motor apart is easy, just don't loose any of the wavy washers or bushings that are on the motor shaft. Remove the 3 screws around the motor can on the side where the motor wires are coming out. Once you get the end cap off the can, take it apart slowly. Its not hard! View attachment 108875View attachment 108876
Unfortunately this is what happens when a bearing goes bad!

Ok, so I took the motor apart. It was a little dirty in there, some bits maybe of sand. Not crazy dirty though and the bearings are totally intact and spin freely. No rust. Cleaned it all out carefully and put the motor back together. The driveshaft coming out of the motor spins easily in my hand. But when I hook back up to the ESC it is the same. Very slow, very rough and then stops altogether. Could it be an ESC issue or is it still likely the motor and just something in the copper coils I can't see? Help.

If the bearing exploded your motor is pretty much totaled and go claim the warranty to horizon. Unless your hobbyshop can test your motors who had a bearing explosion before using them. My motors who did this seem to work fine. But when i see the coils everywhere down the motor out of their place next to where the bearing sits. Wont be a good idea to use it without testing.

So took it apart and good news is the bearings are fine. No rust and they spin freely. Cleaned out and put back together. But it still runs very slow, rough and then stops. What do you think?

 

[Yas]

Ok, so I took the motor apart. It was a little dirty in there, some bits maybe of sand. Not crazy dirty though and the bearings are totally intact and spin freely. No rust. Cleaned it all out carefully and put the motor back together. The driveshaft coming out of the motor spins easily in my hand. But when I hook back up to the ESC it is the same. Very slow, very rough and then stops altogether. Could it be an ESC issue or is it still likely the motor and just something in the copper coils I can't see? Help.

So took it apart and good news is the bearings are fine. No rust and they spin freely. Cleaned out and put back together. But it still runs very slow, rough and then stops. What do you think?

Hmmm ? it could be a faulty ESC...

Did you take the rotor out and did it look ok? And yes, it could potentially be a breakdown in one of the copper windings too

When you hooked it back to the ESC, was it after you fully installed the motor back into the car, or was the motor still out? I.e. did you try revving the motor without a pinion on it? (Don't try that for too long though, it's just to see if it could be a pinion/spur mesh issue - like due to a bent motor mount)

You could also link us a YT video of what's happening for a better insight ?

 

[MiamiRC]

Hmmm ? it could be a faulty ESC...

Did you take the rotor out and did it look ok? And yes, it could potentially be a breakdown in one of the copper windings too

When you hooked it back to the ESC, was it after you fully installed the motor back into the car, or was the motor still out? I.e. did you try revving the motor without a pinion on it? (Don't try that for too long though, it's just to see if it could be a pinion/spur mesh issue - like due to a bent motor mount)

You could also link us a YT video of what's happening for a better insight ?

I haven't' fully installed the motor back. I just tried revving the motor without a pinion and the problem persists. So I think it has to be the motor or the ESC. The whole process is like this. Turn on ESC. One green flash and then blinks red. Solid red on throttle. I think that is normal but now I'm questioning my memory too. The ESC fan isn't kicking on either which seems a little weird. Motor turns a little but sputters and then stops altogether. Tried three different batteries all with same result. But maybe ESC isn't transferring power to the motor. I don't know. I'll see if I can figure out how to post a video. Thank you so much for the advice.
Here is video link

 

[Yas]

I haven't' fully installed the motor back. I just tried revving the motor without a pinion and the problem persists. So I think it has to be the motor or the ESC. The whole process is like this. Turn on ESC. One green flash and then blinks red. Solid red on throttle. I think that is normal but now I'm questioning my memory too. The ESC fan isn't kicking on either which seems a little weird. Motor turns a little but sputters and then stops altogether. Tried three different batteries all with same result. But maybe ESC isn't transferring power to the motor. I don't know. I'll see if I can figure out how to post a video. Thank you so much for the advice.
Here is video link

You're right - the solid red on the ESC is normal. This cogging is usually what happens when there is a poor connection or too much resistance in one of the phases, due to loose connectors or a breakdown in the motor's copper windings. However, what's concerning is that your fan doesn't work either. Unless you've got something blocking your fan, it's looking like a faulty ESC to me ?

Definitely a call to HH - they may ask you to send both ESC and the motor back

 

[MiamiRC]

You're right - the solid red on the ESC is normal. This cogging is usually what happens when there is a poor connection or too much resistance in one of the phases, due to loose connectors or a breakdown in the motor's copper windings. However, what's concerning is that your fan doesn't work either. Unless you've got something blocking your fan, it's looking like a faulty ESC to me ?

Definitely a call to HH - they may ask you to send both ESC and the motor back

Took the fan apart and it had a small stone in it. Fan now works fine. So that was a red herring of my own making.

 

[Surchaufeur]

I think the motor is just done

 

[SrC]

Awesome. Thanks. Once I'm in there do I just clean out any dirt and debris. Is there a bearing I need to look for and replace?

Examine the armature well. Bearings that explode like above almost always damage the armature. If its damaged it will explode within the motor can sooner than later. (consider the high RPMs that it spins at) It will unravel and explode locking your motor up. Then all your effort changing out the bearings would be wasted. The armatures are not a replaceable item. The whole motor is essentially bricked.
Best scenario is you take a brand new motor and put in quality sealed bearings lubed to your liking before you run it. That should keep you ahead of the game for a good long while. The stock bearings are not all that. Rarely are they lubed well if at all. And are far from average quality as of late.
I always disassemble my new motors and examine them. This is what I see and what I've been doing. Works for me. Opening up motors is part of the hobby.

 

[GRC]

That motor doesn't sound right at all. By any chance did you overheat before this started happening? I recently overheated my motor (I still don't know why it overheated) and afterwards it had sputtering performance. Replaced the motor and it was fine. From what I've read, overheating messes with the magnets and causes the motor to malfunction.

 

[Bmc_rckid]

I have the same exact issue occurring after some BIG sends at the bmx track yesterday. Motor jammed\cogged up after jumping it big. Took the motor apart and nothing looked damaged, (how do I know if the bearings went bad in the motor?) also wondered if the shaft could be bent after some hard hits. Could I just replace the bearings and that might fix the issue?

This is what my motor looks like taken apart. Could I replace the rotor by chance instead of having to buy a new motor?

I haven't' fully installed the motor back. I just tried revving the motor without a pinion and the problem persists. So I think it has to be the motor or the ESC. The whole process is like this. Turn on ESC. One green flash and then blinks red. Solid red on throttle. I think that is normal but now I'm questioning my memory too. The ESC fan isn't kicking on either which seems a little weird. Motor turns a little but sputters and then stops altogether. Tried three different batteries all with same result. But maybe ESC isn't transferring power to the motor. I don't know. I'll see if I can figure out how to post a video. Thank you so much for the advice.
Here is video link

Mine sounds the exact same.