Smoking parts?

Fdnavy

Fdnavy

Active Member
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I bought the Amp Mt for my son. So far he has used it about 3 times. Yesterday when I hooked up the battery and powered it on, the wheels started on their own at full throttle. Before I could discount the the battery the ecm/receiver module (I think) began to smoke like crazy.
  1. Why would this happen?
  2. What would be a better comparable part to replace this with?
Should I buy a separate receiver and ecm? My son is only 9. I don’t want to spend more than 100.00 to upgrade the parts.

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BA86DBF3-89C6-4EF9-ABD7-3512E73B4695.jpeg
 
I'll contact Horizon Hobby claiming for warranty. I haven't done it, but several guys say they've an awesome customers service. And if you want to upgrade, I'd look for another radio with a separate receiver and ESC.
 
Any recommendations on upgrade parts that won’t cost more than the car? If it’s too much I’ll go through customer service. I originally bought the car with the intention of upgrading the parts as he got older.
 
I'd just call customer service-- especially since the car has only been driven three times!

However, if you DO want to upgrade...

If you stick with a brushed power system, I'd recommend this ESC (US$45). Then you'd need a receiver and radio. I really like the Spektrum stuff: DX2E (US$60) and SR210 (US$30) receiver. If you get a three or four channel Rx (SR310, SR410) you can use the extra ports to power lights, fans, etc.) That right there is about the cost of the AMP. But consider it an investment-- you can always move good electronics to a new car or sell it.

A brushless power system is going to be a bit more expensive.

I know a lot of guys are going to suggest you head to Ebay or Amazon and get a FlySky radio system or GoolRC motor/ESC. They're going to be cheaper but here's why: when something goes wrong, good luck getting customer service. I've used Horizon Hobby customer service a couple of times in the past and it has been FANTASTIC. They'll generally help you out without having you jump through a bunch of hoops.
 
Flysky Gt3c tx/rx combo ($50-60)and a Hobbywing Brushed 1060 esc($20) will bring you way under $100, until you are ready for brushless, no more upgrades needed for lipo.

We have the dx2e and the gt3c here and the gt3c is a way better combo, fully adjustable computer radio, and the range is quite a bit more too. The son who owns the dx2e is very jealous of the gt3c

But Horizons service is very good, they should replace the stock esc/rx no worries
Same thing happened to my son. Sent out a new one no questions asked
 
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Real_sparky said:
...and a Hobbywing Brushed 1060 esc($20) will bring you way under $100 and get you ready for brushless when the time comes, no more upgrades needed.
Click to expand...
"No more upgrades needed" is not quite accurate-- the HW 1060 brushed ESC will only work with brushed motors. If you move to a brushless motor you will absolutely have to switch to a brushless ESC. Brushed ESCs are only compatible with brushed motors and brushless ESCs are only compatible with brushless motors. Perhaps Real_Sparky was thinking about LiPo compatibility. The Dynamite ESC I mentioned a couple of posts up and the HobbyWing 1060 both provide LiPo low voltage cut-off (or an alarm) thus making them "compatible" with LiPo batteries without needing an external low-voltage alarm.
 
you dont think that is implied in the fact it is a BRUSHED esc OMG
I was actually thinking of the rx
The lipo cut off in most esc's is not a great way to treat your batteries
Lipo Alarm is a must if you ask me

Have edited post
 
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Calm down, I wasn't dissing you. I don't presume the experience level of the OP and just wanted to offer some clarification since you wrote that "no further upgrades were necessary" and that a brushless system is an upgrade.

Regards.
 
FDNavy, thank's for your service, I have an AMP it was my first RC and now we have 22 1/10 scale RC's. The AMP is a great beginning RC for kids and even better when upgraded. There is a lot of good ideas here for upgrades, but I must say, the best and first upgrade should be to trash the brushed motor. I know you want to stay at $ 100, but there are some great buys on EBay for combo brushless motors, combos meaning the motor and ESC. The only problem with the AMP is you will have to get another radio when you go brushless ($ 40 to 60). Depending on how your son uses his AMP, you will go through a few brushed motors at about $15 to $20 a shot. The brushed motors don't last that long and do get very hot, although you can install a fan but it takes some designing techniques. I went through 4 motors before I realized I could of bought a combination motor and ESC for the money i spent on brushed motors.
I have nothing against Horizon Hobbies, there a great company and have super customer support. So, the GoolRc 4900KV with ESC is around $39 to $40 and you have money's for the new radio ( which comes with the receiver) on EBay , it's not the best motor combo but it will last longer the the stock brushed until your ready for a better motor upgrade like a Castle 3900KV or 4900 KV at $110, less if you get it on EBay. The only problem with the GoolRc combo brushless is you will have to get the program card with it in order to program the ESC $12 , sometimes you can get all three together on EBay. This is only my opinion and like I mentioned, there's a lot of good info here from other users. Hope everything works out.

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Fdnavy said:
I bought the Amp Mt for my son. So far he has used it about 3 times. Yesterday when I hooked up the battery and powered it on, the wheels started on their own at full throttle. Before I could discount the the battery the ecm/receiver module (I think) began to smoke like crazy.
  1. Why would this happen?
  2. What would be a better comparable part to replace this with?
Should I buy a separate receiver and ecm? My son is only 9. I don’t want to spend more than 100.00 to upgrade the parts.

View attachment 3054
View attachment 3054
Click to expand...
Hi I have this new unused I pulled out for a brushless.
 
Have exactly the same problem as Fdnavy. The only differences are: my son is 13 years old (the car was a gift for this birthday) and we have used the new car only once. This morning the wheels start on their own and later smoke from the ESC. The ESC is clearly isn't waterproof at all. I will try to contact support this shouldn't happened so quickly.
 

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