Hobbywing Seaking 180 GO BOOM

[scooterP]

I must be the only one that got a bad one!! This was the forth run total on this esc since I recieved it last Thursday. Went 10 feet from shore and blew the top off of my Fountain and proceeded to erupt into a little bonfire.

I'm really amazed that the hull survived with only smoke damage that can mostly be rubbed out. I can tell ya one thing, I'm sure glad I wasn't standing over it when it happened. Sounded and looked like a little cannon going off!!!

Well, I guess it was time for me to take a break............

[Raydee]

Welcome to the smelly boat club......

[m4a1usr]

Why did the motor wires burn off the speedo? Thats an odd one.

John

[Jeff Wohlt]

Yep...something more than a little wrong there. Still thinking of putting my cheapo ESCs in a cut small lipo bag.

[scooterP]

I have no idea of what went wrong. I haven't changed anything at all since the last run the other day. It sure blew my top off of my boat!! I had it active while I taped the boat up, and even bumped the throttle for a split second to listen to the drive train and tossed her in the water. Hit the throttle and that's what I got......who knows.

[BHChieftain]

How many cells were you running through it?
-Chief

[scooterP]

I was running a 4s2p setup that I had ran with it for 4 runs previously. I was really impressed with this esc before it went boom. It had one of the smoothest throttle responses of all the esc's that I have used. I honestly don't know what could have went wrong.

[Mel279]

whats your motor kv, prop size and boat length?thats whats happen when your motor failed

[scooterP]

I was running an 8xl. I think the kv is around 2023. Prop size is an Octura 640. It's the same setup that I have been running for months now. I changed esc's because I had a cheap chinese 200a that starting having some weird issues, so I changed to this HW 180A. The esc and motor were only barely warm after a full run, so I don't think heat was an issue. Also, it failed on what was going to be my first run of the day on Sunday. Really strange how it happened.

[Ctonez]

is it possible the batteries got wired in series rather than parallel?
Looks and sounds alot like when I accidently wired my SV in series...REALLY FAST!!!...for 10 feet, then BOOM!
burning on my toasted ESC looks nearly identical to yours.

[scooterP]

Well, I guess anything is possible, but the way I have my "Y" connectors, kind of makes it physically impossible to wire in series. The esc also beeped 4 times indicating that it recognized 4 cells. It blew right when I hit the throttle....so I don't know. I agree though, it looks like a REALLY high voltage spike.

[LiPo Power]

Hmmm....
I was just reading this:
http://forums.offshoreelectrics.com/...ad.php?t=14314
Very close scenarios....

[scooterP]

My motor appears to be undamaged and no wires have any sign of heat or shorting out. My question is......could something with the motor have caused this? the reason I ask is I just want to make sure not to blow another esc when I hook this motor back up to it. I know that there isn't much to a brushless motor to cause an issue, I just wanted to make sure.

[cybercrxt]

I hate to say it, but those xl motors are nothing but amp hogs. The Castle/Neu, Neu, and Medusa motors just don't pull that many amps, and run so much more efficiently. I had an 8xl, and it got everything super hot in a Titan 29 I had. Mike

[scooterP]

I had ran it 4 packs previously a couple of days before the blowout. The temps on the motor and esc were low....barely warm.....but I don't know what the spikes were to the esc while running when my prop comes out of the water. Heck, I guess it just could boil down to a defective esc

I know the Neu/Medusa and so on are higher quality motors, but the initial costs of one keeps me away........I know the pay now or pay later scenario..... It's just that since the first of the year my boat budget has been WAY low....along with everything else.

Hopefully it will not happen again. I could see if I pushed it while running and it fried for some reason, and I always check my caps, but the thing was barely warm after a wide open run for the duration of the pack. It's just the way it happened that makes me think that maybe.........just maybe it was a defect.

What's so bad is that I sold my only other running boat to help fund the new esc. Thankful though that it wasn't the esc along with the hull