Got too much air

[Warlock]

Well today was the first time I dunked my Spartan. I had the big 8.400 lipos in and it was real windy today. The chop in the water was bad but the boat had seen worse. I was making a fast turn and into the wind it lifted off and did a back flip, while in a turn. I saw the canopy fly off being hit by one of the batteries I did not have tied down well enough to handle being inverted and smacking the water. From the bank it looked like I lost the canopy and the battery but after rowing out to get it found the battery was still connected to lead but that was all that kept it from going to the bottom and the canopy held by the clip. But it was floating straight up for 10 to15 minutes and a little water got into the reciever where the servo and esc wires go in it and knocked it out. The red light flashes but thats it. I dried it out in a bowl of rice and it should be ok........I hope.

I pulled the motor apart and cleaned it out with WD-40 blew it out with compressed air oiled the bearings and put it back together. The servo claims to be water proof, it looks to be and the esc seems to be ok, in the morning I'll put it back together and see.

[Fluxn81]

That was intense. I used velcro to keep the canopy on. I'm sure the rx will be ok, but I thought the motor was pretty much waterproof. I've seen a few vids of people submerging brushless motors with no problems. I'm glad you got it all back and I hope you stay away from choppy water. That stuff scares me.

[Fluid]

....I thought the motor was pretty much waterproof. I've seen a few vids of people submerging brushless motors with no problems.....

Bad assumption. While FE motors will run underwater, they are not meant to get wet. Soon after submersion the magnets will begin to rust, which can end up destroying the windings on some motors. The bearings will rust (even "sealed" ones many of which can still ingest water). The motor connectors can corrode too - even the "gold" ones. None of this is good for the motor's performance or longevity.

At the least, flush out the motor with WD-40 or CorrosionX and oil the bearings.



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[Warlock]

I removed the front plate on the motor but didnt have a allen wrench small enough to fit the rear screws. I did use WD-40 and cleaned the motor out which did have water in it. I blew it out with compressed air and cleaned it again then oiled the bearings and put it back together. The receiver is shot I guess and thats got me a bit upset since this is a new boat pretty much and though its not a sub marine its a boat, and boats get wet inside and out. The boat was standing straight up in the water for 10 to 15 minutes before I got the row boat out to it. There was a small amount of water in the receiver box which came in where the wires enter the box. The antenna wire was roughted wrong and not in its place, I guess the water came in there. When I first got the boat inside after the flip I used compressed air to clear out the hull of water. When I first tried the radio inside the motor spun up when I squeezed the trigger but the servo didnt work.

And then the servo did work about twice then nothing worked. I get a red flashing light out of the reciever and the esc goes through its beeps and flashes red then green and then red and green at once! Pushing the button on the receiver does nothing to hook it up. At first the red light flashed a bit slower when I turned off the transmitter, I of course always turn on the transmitter first then the receiver. But now the light just flashes regardless. I emailed Traxxas and asked about this but there closed till Monday. Ya think my receiver is toast? Pretty crappy if it is this soon, and after one mishap. I did put the receiver in a bowel of rice over night to dry it out but no luck.

And I am not sure which wire goes where on the reveiver. Either the rudder servo plugs into channel 1 and the esc into channel 2 or vise versa. I forgot to mark them but figured I had a 50/50 chance.

[GTRhino24]

Channel one goes to the servo and Channel 2 to the ESC. Hate to hear that man. You can pick up a new receiver on Ebay for relatively cheap. I went out today in some chop and wind, but I took it easy on 4s. It's probably a good thing my wires and connectors haven't shown up yet or I would have been on 5s in rough water.

[Warlock]

Big time thanks for pointing out which wires went where. I was pretty sure the rice trick would work and the receiver would be ok, but I guess not. I went out again a bit ago and tried it and still nothing but a red flashing light on the receiver. My motor feels better I bet, the WD 40 washed out some gunk in it and after blowing it all out and oiling it up it feels ready to rock when you turn it, clean and smooth. Man the Spartan can take some major chop even going fast, but it wont do major chop and high winds in a hard turn! No sir it will become airborn and at least 3 feet up as it flips. And when you have three pounds of lipos in there and dont have them tied well enough for going inverted........your screwed.

Good thing the Traxxas connectors are tight or I would have lost a $120.00 battery to the bottom of the lake. The connector was all that was holding the battery with the boat dangling under it and the little clip that holds the canopy did its job too...I sure was glad cause I saw it fly off and hit the water , then the big 8.400 mah lipo, then the boat. UGLY.. I'm pretty sure the servo is fine as well as the esc. The receiver may be ok too, and there is some trick I need to know to make it work, but I dont think so. I will wait to hear from Traxxas about it and go from there. This is the point where I will test for my self if Traxxas is as bad as so many claim.
I might be out of line thinking that the receiver should be water proof on a boat like this but I feel it should be. I may do some silicone around the point where the wires go into the receiver box, next time.

[roadrashracing]

I had put fiberglass under my hatch and it never flew off again.

[Warlock]

Well Traxxas got back with me quickly today on Saturday! I would need to pay a total of $20.00 to thave the receiver "repaired". I would rather have a new one, and do my own water sealing on the box. Next time it wont leak.

[lenny]

May be it just needs to be reprogrammed,
And I would put the Rx in the window in the sun for a day or so.
Than if you get it working again, Put it in a finger glove with a bread tie and you should be safe on that part.

[Warlock]

May be it just needs to be reprogrammed,
And I would put the Rx in the window in the sun for a day or so.
Than if you get it working again, Put it in a finger glove with a bread tie and you should be safe on that part.

Thanks, thats another good way to keep things dry, I dont think water will be a problem next time, and I KNOW there will one day be a next time.

[roadrashracing]

you can get a brand new one for under $30 on ebay

[Fluxn81]

Bad assumption. While FE motors will run underwater, they are not meant to get wet. Soon after submersion the magnets will begin to rust, which can end up destroying the windings on some motors. The bearings will rust (even "sealed" ones many of which can still ingest water). The motor connectors can corrode too - even the "gold" ones. None of this is good for the motor's performance or longevity.

At the least, flush out the motor with WD-40 or CorrosionX and oil the bearings.



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It wasn't an assumption.

[GTRhino24]

Warlock, you back running yet? I'm just curious as to whether the rx was the only issue and if it's running smoothly.

[Warlock]

Hi, no I havent got the receiver yet but it should be here today most likely. I hope thats all it was, I will be sure and let you know. I do know that I will use some silicone where the wires go into the receiver. And I suppose it would be a good idea to find something to help seal the canopy a bit. I do know that adding that extra seal behind the one on the transome around the prop shaft does a great job of holding in some grease. The cable would be clean before after a run or two.

[Warlock]

Well today my new receiver came in the mail. I rushed out to the shop to test it on the boat and got the same results, a slow flashing red light. Same as the old receiver. But luck was with me, I normally keep my Spartan at work and thats where the manual is, not home with me. Good thing the new receiver had BINDING INSTRUCTIONS!!!!!! I mean how dumb can I be? I followed the simple directions for binding the receiver to the transmitter and all was good, green light ready to rock!

Then this big dummy took the old receiver and hooked it up and binded it like your SUPPOSED TO DO, and what do you know? It works perfectly. I left the old one in the box and sealed it up, and I'll keep the new one for "someday". All in all its not that big a deal to revive your dunked Spartan. The motor did have a little water in it, you just need to remove the front cover on the motor and spray WD-40 down it holding it up right. Man all the old oil, and crap rolls right out till its clean. Oil up the bearings and screw it together and it sounds perfect and smooth.

The bowel of rice thing to dry the receiver works great and acts quickly. Too bad my brain didnt.