OMG, it's ridiculous:oh: It's a new controller who's suppose to be good, and now, we've to modify them to make it work properly.

This is a real joke.......

I've take the plunge and order a MMM V2, i don't have recieve it yet, but now i've a BIG regret to have spend $200.00 on it.

So guys, if somebody here want a brand new V2, as soon as i'll recieve mine next week, i'am ready to ship it for the same price i've paid for mine, $216.00US + $5.00 for shipping, so for $221.00 i'll let it goes, and i'll not open the box, so you'll recieve it factory seal:yes:

And with this $221.00, i'll order a revo 3.3 frame and trany and converted my e-revo to nitro.

END...........

PM Arct1k. He offered to buy the MMM I'm waiting for because I was complaining about how long it was taking to get to me.

He said this on one of his posts:

Yep no problem George16 if you bought from mike and paid 145...

However David, Brian's mods are on a v1 that failed - You ran with the MGM for a while before you had problems - I see no reason not to give it a try...

Actually, my V1 hadn't failed yet. It was more of a precautionary measure...

Nice job keep us up to date. So Joe Ling and BrianG neither of you have tried this modification on a v2 yet right? I am going to wait it out because I liked Castles products in the past and I dont *Need* it right now so I will wait for them to iron this out, I know they will. Patience is key guys.

I have tried out my modded V1 this afternoon at the track. Hard driving until the rain came. No problem. So, the power section of the esc is ok. Just the bec section that needs a rethink.

IMHO at this moment in time, this is cutting edge stuff. I'm willing to put in some effort to make electric 1/8 scale buggy / truggy a reality.

Regards,
Joe Ling

Patience is key, but when we have the truck, li-po and motor on the banch, and the only thing missing is the ESC, it's hard to keep patience:whip:

Look at some porn, always cheers me up :yes:

Anyway, would I be the only person thinking that castle could re-coup some losses by selling all the (re-sellable) dead V1s as opto escs? Simply by doing what Brian and joeling have done (bundled with a pre-installed CCBEC or wires so you can attach your own as per the diagram)?

Limited edition opto-MMM, get 'em while they last; what say you Patrick?

I have already approached Patrick with that question... (the limited-edition V1 ESC, not the porn :smile:)

:lol: So true...

So Patrick is this applicable to V2 also?

I'm happy to report that I have put V1 through the torture hoping I will kill it but still it lives. I took my Jammin' conversion out in the blazing sun around 4pm this afternoon & put the buggy through its paces. Ambient temperature was around 30+ degree C & humidity must have been pretty high too. I jumped & basically paid no regard to the survival of the buggy for nearly 2 packs until the spur ate my UBEC wires. This is a keeper. I hope I don't jinx it though.

Anyway, I got no answers whether I can do the same to the DOA V2. I think I will just go ahead anyway. I really want to run my X2 tomorrow - still a holiday here.

Regards,
Joe Ling

Hey Joe, keep us posted....My V2 is still running fine on my heavy EMAXX Only damage so far are CVD bending and ripping of glued tire. Anyway, I want to be prepared. Actually like Brian, I rather do preventive measure :lol:

I have done the deed & the Monster lives :

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...ng39/xxxx2.jpg

Regards,
Joe Ling

Thanks Joe...as soon as my UBEC arrives ill do this mod too...

Looks like I'm finally ready to try out this truggy :

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...ing39/X201.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...ing39/X202.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...ing39/X203.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...ing39/X204.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...ing39/X205.jpg

Regards,
Joe Ling

WOW that is very nice, love the color combo, now just dye your wheels black :lol:

thats an x2!! prettyy

Excellent news- CC should give you guys a job...

They couldn't afford me TBH. Maybe parttime. :smile:

Nah, just gimme a year's supply of free CC products will be fine :yipi: & I want it shipped courier.


BTW, it's day light once again. I will try out this guy in the afternoon if the rain does not come.

Regards,
Joe Ling

Waiting....:na:

maybe someone should do a step by step how to on the MMM bec removal mod you guys are doing....maybe in the long run you guys can save a lot of our MMMs from dying ...lol....thanks

im not steady handed enough to unsolder the tiny @$$ parts on the pcb could i run an external bec and maybee see some extended life from my next v2?

I'm pretty handy with a soldering iron but I can't unsolder SMD parts as well. What I did was to use a brutal wire cutter & chomp away at the chips until I severe the connections & destroy the parts. I did use a desolering gun to attempt to suck away the excess solder for show show only. Couldn't be sure how much it helped. I did however use a multimeter to check that there is no short between pads but also take note that some pads are common.


In my experience, running an external BEC without the mod will not work. U need to remove the parts. I was already running an external BEC in my V1 buggy conversion when it died & I had to follow BrianG's way.


Regards,
Joe Ling

WOW that sounds like alot of fun!!!! can i use my kleins?lol thanks for the quick reply. not sure if i want to do this yet still trying to get a hold of castle about #1

Here is something to try if you dont want to void your warranty, I know external bec and fan might not solve the problem but it could take the load of internal bec and rule out problem with fan, fan wire/plug

http://monster.traxxas.com/showthread.php?t=435810

do you think castle would do this mod for a fee? i would like to avoid the internal bec completely if thats all it takes. even if i use an ubec without the mod then the bec will still be running all the time just with no load, so its only a matter of time until...

LOL....i was just thinking the same exact thing ....or wondering what kind of shop i could take this to to have it done ,as long as i know what exactly needs done ...cause i know there's no way i could do it ....LOL....maybe there's someone on here that would like to make a little extra cash ....:whistle:...although i can't believe i just paid 200 bucks for this and now i'm gonna have someone tear it up

yeah a little bummed myself but what can ya do? CC will work it out, now if i could just talk to someone there.....

The only thing using an external BEC does is isolate any external loads. But no one knows exactly what is causing the BEC to fail. Is is overcurrent? Is it some voltage spike thing? Maybe just an IC reliability issue totally unrelated to current or voltage.

The mod is fairly easy to do, but there is room for problems. It can be done with an less-than-ideal iron, you just have to make sure you don't create any solder bridges or unsolder adjacent components with the heat.

The surface mount ICs have some sort of adhesive aside from the solder connections. So, breaking apart the ICs may be easier, but also increases the chance of wrecking a nearby trace if not careful.

In my case, I removed the components in the following order mostly due to ease:

1: Desolder the fan connector.

2: Cut the small leads connecting the coil itseld to the connections leading to the PCB. Then, remove the leftover leads.

3: Desolder the two FETs. If your iron is not small enough to do this reliably, you can break apart the two FETs, and then desolder the little leftover legs still attached to the PCB. Clean as much extra solder off as possible to avoid bridging to nearby traces.

4: Desolder the 8 pin IC (10 pin on the V2). Again, if your iron is not small enough to do this reliably, you can break apart the IC, and then desolder the little leftover legs still attached to the PCB. Clean as much extra solder off as possible to avoid bridging to nearby traces.

5: Desolder then external switch wires. The switch can't be used anymore, so it's not needed. Simply bridge the solder pads where it was connected. This will make it "on" all the time. This needs to be done, trust me.

6: While you have the MMM apart, make some foam padding to protect the rest of the ICs from the case. Cut a strip of 1/8" thick foam and place it over the 3 motor solder connections. Cut two squares of foam and place it over the 2 power solder connections.

7: Reassemble the case.

Below are some pics:

V1 MMM showing components to remove:

http://scriptasylum.com/forumpics/mmm_bec_mod.jpg

V1 MMM showing mods completed (switch bridge graphically altered because I didn't have an actual picture):

http://scriptasylum.com/forumpics/mmm_bec_mod_done.jpg

V2 MMM showing mods complete (courtesy of Joe Ling - slightly altered for size):

http://scriptasylum.com/forumpics/mm...c_mod_done.jpg

A little schematic showing how the external UBEC could be attached:

http://scriptasylum.com/forumpics/mmm_bec_mod_schem.jpg

The BEC issue isn't related to the meltdown though is it??

I am happy to remove the parts (thanks BrianG), and it seems this can be done before or after failure.
But having the whole MMM combust on a plastic model is no appealing thought.
I would have guessed that was a separate issue due to overloading/current spikes, but
the setups listed don't appear to be that extreme (only going by what others have said).

So it has to be asked of those who have had a meltdown (their MMM that is) was it, quote
"More Than You Can Handle?" :mdr:

Nice to see that someone other than myself is "self-promoting"!

Most people just call me arrogant, though...

GT35R: No, meltdowns are something (usually) totally different. That type of thing can happen to any ESC. The BEC issue is when it outputs 0v or close to 0v.

linc: Yeah, I suppose it did sound arrogant. :oops:

I was wondering what is the purpose of the bec mod above if it doesn't help with melt down problem? why is it not the same as using an external bec beside that it won't disable the internal bec

The MMMs with melt down is far less common than the ones with BEC problems. Generally, the ones with BEC problems can be fixed with this mod.

Using an external BEC is all fine and good, but if the internal one goes south, the ESC is dead, even if the external BEC is still perfectly fine. Since we don't know exactly what causes the BEC issue, so using an external one (without disabling the internal one) may not help at all.

Ok so to my understanding I can continue to use the external bec until the esc died without smoking, I can then do the bec mod and get it back to live? or is it too late by then?

It should be able to be broght back to life then. However, if the mod doesn't help (or you accidentally messed up something doing the mod), your warranty is void.

Bah, what good is the warranty when some of us have to pay international shipping and wait ages anyway. And just to have it replaced by another potentially faulty unit.
Heck, Traxxas replaced my VXL-3s for free incl postage after I had opened it and sawed the female bullets off among other things.

OK, just wanted to reiterate the disclaimer. Don't need people saying "BrianG said this would work for sure and it doesn't, and now I can't even get it fixed under warranty."