First let me say that I love Castle for the previous experiences I've had with them. My Mamba Max and Mamba systems have sold me to the point that even after a long wait, and countless returns of my first Monster, I still went out to purchase another one. Not only that, but I spent extra money with the company in the form of two ccbec's to try revive them when they died. When the mod came out on this forum, I thought it was a godsend. I did it to both of them as they needed it, and have continued to enjoy them. Unfortunately, my ccbec units have both since died and now I still can't use them. I know that my controllers still work because they fire right up with a reciever pack (which I have no room for on my cars). I knew beforehand that performing the mod would void the warranty if I messed up, but now you say that even if done successfully, the warranty is still voided on the fact that successfully doing the mods is unlikely. The only reason we do the mods in the first place is because it is the very definition of insanity to keep repeating the same cycle with the return process, and expect a different outcome with an identical controller. Not to mention the down time in between.

jhautz,

The failures we see cluster with certain people and their set ups. If someone has a failure it raises the probability that they will have another. Most of the MMMs are running with no problems, include v1. This does not mean that the people who are having problems are doing anything wrong but it is a clue we need to follow up on. Yes, the data seems to be random but my guess is there is some statistical information that is not obvious. (our engineers will be parsing the data.) If you have had more than one failure in the same vehicle we would like to have the vehicle sent to us so we can hopefully recreate the problem. We will make arrangements for shipping.

There are MMMS that have failed with the on board BEC disabled and using an external BEC. The truth is, less than 5% of the people who drive RC visit forums with any frequency. The issues on forums have to be approached with that understanding or you get a distorted view of what is going on. (Sorry forum posters, but that is reality.)

I do need to let you know you were right about my 'fishy' comment on the BEC and the Micro processor. On most of our ESCS the BEC (if they have one) and the 3.5 volt power supply for the Micro processor are separate. On the MMM the on board switching regulator does supply power to the processor power supply which ultimately lowers voltage to 3.5. So in the case of the MMM, if the BEC failes the processor quits working. My mistake.

Bernie

myndseye,

We welcome and appreciate we all who are willing to experiment and try out different things with our products as long as this is done with a clear eye towards the warranty ramifications. More power to you!

Send those BECS in and we will get them fixed or replaced for you. I would be interesting to exploring what happened to them with you but we do not do this type of technical support in forums. Tech support gets paid for answering questions from direct customer contact, I.E. phone calls and emails. We also feel trouble shooting individual issue in forums is not a good use of our time partly because of the likelihood of misinterpretation. This is primarily from others viewing these discussions and the viewer assuming that individual problems are somehow universal.

Our contact info is either support[at]castlecreations.com or 913-390-6939.

Bernie

Well, I do hope you also take into consideration that most of the setup that people had are working ones and even work on your under rated 3S Mamba max controller. And works great on other controllers even the cheapo ones.

I think its a big mistake to look into wonder around peoples setup for this failure. Well it will help at first to isolate any problem but you said it your self. There is no common setup that fails and irregardless of External and Internal BEC it still fails. Which means setup is not the cause, and the only common factor is the MMM itself.

Not that I hate CC, I still use your products and I love MM. But I also want MMM to work so lets face the facts. The failure rate is small at this point and that only those guys that complains are joining the forum to tell about the MMM tail. But let us not forget that most of the CC MMM are also on the shelves, RCM/Impack/Tower and even Ebay now are stacking up with MMM so the actual figure that you manufactured is not the total number of MMM to compare the failure...rates will be higher....

I honestly hope you figure this thing out so I can use the MMM....ohh and BTW I am one of the ones that modded my MMM which lasted longer that the stock MMM....it died now but I enjoyed it...sad that its not on warranty but its ok...I can even donate it to you so you can check it....

I'm one of those forum members who modified the MMM. I'm stationed at a Navy base here in Japan. Let me make it clear to you that I asked for permission before attempting to do the mods myself. Heck, I even drop the name of BrianG (sorry Brian) during my conversation with the tech. I only did the mod after I received an explicit go ahead signal from the tech. In fact, I had to pay overseas phone call rates just to be able to talk to one of your reps before doing this mod. I did this to ensure my bases are covered if something bad happened (which it did). I was also told to send it in to get it fixed or replaced under warranty if it didn't work after the modification. I would have never done this if he said the warranty is voided.

Send me a prepaid express/overnight shipping box so I can ship my truck from Japan to your facility. Before I do that though, I want to make sure you will send it back to me on a set date (not a when "we are done with testing date"). I will also only send it by express shipping (you pay for it) because even Priority mail takes about over a week from Japan and even longer for a package coming from the US.

By the way, I emailed him (the tech I talked to Monday night) about my dead modified MMM and I still have to receive a reply. I know you are swamped with work but I think if you have time to post here, somebody would also have the time to check their emails. I will be calling again tonight at around 11:00 pm Japan time (9:00 in the morning in Kansas) and would like to talked to you. I had been very upfront on what I was doing or plan on doing with the MMM as shwon by my posts in this board.

I'm hoping that CC will be able to sort this problem so everyone can reap the benefits from this ESC and not just a few. Nothing sucks than driving a truck and constantly thinking of when the ESC will fail and how bad it will fail.

So does this mean that feeding the processor via external BEC or Rx pack will revive the controller too?

Not to sound like a upity dumbass, but I successfully performed the mod on my MMM to remove the bec components. I did not use a soldering iron, just a single edge razor blade. After carefully removing the noted components, and triple checking the lack of any stray parts or bridges, I fired the esc up with a rx pack. No problems, and I ran the truck for a hard 20min bash session. Still works fine.

I would definately not suggest this mod for most people. I am very good at fixing small items, and have extremely steady hands. I am sorry to hear about the voided warranty, but I wanted to have a working truck and was not having much success with CC over the phone. I am supposed to be contacted by CC tech about this issue for a few days now. I just figured that they would send me a replacement MMM with some sort of return envelope for the other one, as I have already paid to ship one back... Oh well.

Still think that CC products are pretty good overall. The case design of the MMM is very poor, and the wires are not protected well enough in the case or as they exit. I would prefer to see the board screwed to the case a la MM...

i think the failure rates are much higher as i got one of the first MMM from tower and that was only a few weeks ago. takes people time to prepare and get them installed and the truck tuned up and ready to race. we are seeing the people that get these and then get them turned around very fast like me and others on this forum. i think you will see a lot more returns and posts once more people get them in the vehicles.

Bernie, JHautz linked post about the fan connector is right on the money as one of this products issues (there may be more issues, maybe not). I also have worked in integrated electronics manufacturing (23 years in silicon valley). This mechanical design for the fan, fan wire routing & the plug are all a big NO NO on a unit that will see lots of vibration & mechanical shock.
#1) The clearance between the fan & the fan cover is too small.
#2) The fan wires will ALWAYS get the insulation rubbed off by the edge of the board the way you have them now.
#3) The SMT fan connector connection to the board is nowhere near strong enough to take the beating it gets on the bottom of that board.
I have had that plug break off of 2 MMM's in 2 different vehicles (1 V1 MMM & 1 V2 MMM)

I love the smoothness of this controller but I'm on #4 & the fan, the fan wires or the fan connector has failed on 3 before the BEC later failed & now #4 has a broken fan & connector has fallen off the board. I understand that the trends seen on these forums are not an accurate reflection of the real failure rate & have argued that point on this very forum but I no longer believe the failure rates provided by CC. I've sent my concerns about the mechanical issues with the fan & connector to Patrick (on Version #1) & again to Thomas recently & now you. Hope someone is listening, sure would hate to ask for a refund & go buy from Losi.

Oh bugger. Posted not long after I modded mine and its still dead.

I will still send it back, if they want me to pay they can just keep it - its not worth it.

Bernie, if you are having trouble replicating the faults follow me three step easy guide
to MMM failure :

1. Install MMM onto Monster truck

2. Connect 6S batterys and drive

3. Wait 5min

Hope that helps.

I will pay the repair if you can get them to ship it back to me. The fee is the same regardless of where you live, and includes shipping, so I don't see why they wouldn't.

I would rather have the satisfaction of smashing it with a hammer,
but I guess I won't get the chance if I send it back.

I'll let you know what happens.

:lol::rofl::lol::rofl:

:lol::rofl::rofl::rofl::surprised:

I almost slammed the whole truck into the ground after my V2 failure :no::no::no:

well, Like him I would rather keep this as a trophy (after I smash it)...... :lol:

my esc was received monday, before this post-i was told that it would be fixed free of charge... i presume thats still in effect:whistle:

lucky you....

:rofl:

Thats the formula to a MM failure exactly!

For those of you that have a dead MMM BEC, try running/feeding the ESC with power from an rx pack. I think it will run. I had the Twidgets (Navy slang for electronic technicians) look at my dead MMM before I mailed it yesterday and they suggested powering it with 6V from a separate battery back(rx pack).

isnt that exactly what the mod in this thread ('BrianG mod') is doing?

Pretty much. The main difference is the user doesn't have to remove any components or cut the red wire from the ESC. This way, the warranty is istill intact because there is no modification done on the board itself.

brianG also thought about this too (i think it was him...) but u have to make sure that the voltage from the unbuilt bec was 0V... even still id be wary.

Oh yeah I see what your saying. You originally said just powering the esc with from an rx pack, which is exactly what the mod is doing, but it also removes the BEC circuitry. Yeah brian said a few pages back to test the bec output voltage. if it is zero then you should be good to go.

I think everyone who says they can program the controller but the controller is dead is experiencing exactly this. A lot of them have said "no it doesnt work with an ubec or rx pack" but I have a feeling they were removing the red wire from the plug (As you normally would) when trying it.

This is what BrianG replied to me when I asked him about back feeding the MMM.

The main issue is that we dont know what is Dead on the MMM, if its the BEC then we might be able to revive it, since it is the same like removing the BEC unit, dead anyway...but if its a different component then we might kill other things...but the key is that the voltage regulator that feeds the brains must be something around 3.2v IIRC

when mine died the BEC was putting out 0V but it was also shorted out which is why
my Castlelink USB adapter nearly smoked (not to mention the computers USB power feed).
When I did the mod it didn't revive so I'm guessing somethin else went bad on my MMM aswell.

I mailed it to CC today and am expecting them to replace it because they seem like
reasonable people (did they say there were none left though?)
I imagine they have to say publicly that warranty will be voided otherwise they're
encouraging everyone to hack up their MMM's.

well you're lucky about the replacement and all...

On my end I cant spend $20-30 sending my MMM then be asked to pay for $70...unless someone can guarantee it...this is the down side of not being in US...

Also I dont know what to do with the MMM, no one even wants to by my 2nd MMM here...I am also thinking that I dont want to spread the frustration they might get with a defective product...dont get me wrong (before anyone hits me) I like CC and I trust their product but no MMM at this point....

I will just use the 2nd MMM and if it fails I will have a reason to send them together :lol:

I'm in Australia and it cost me $14 to send, it would have been $8 if I didn't pack it in the box it came in.
I haven't spoken to anyone at CC, just assuming they will replace it :wink:

damn I was hopin you would give it to me! :P

Wow, I am quite disturbed. I did the mod 'cause I'm in the same boat as TruckBasher - I live far away in Malaysia & nobody here knows Castle Creation. Sending stuff back to USA seems to be quite a hassle. I have a sidewinder that I cannot get the PC to read 'cause of a firmware problem & it's brand new in the box. So that's sitting in a corner waiting to be shipped.

Anyway, if rain does not come, I will likely be out there to continue testing with MMM v1 modded (3 runs so far maybe around 1 1/2 to 2 hrs) in a HN CR X1, MMM V2 modded (5 to 6 laps b4 the motor died) in a HN X2 & a brand new MMM V2 in a FLM forward savage.

Wish me luck.

Regards,
Joe Ling

Happy day at the track although driving sucks
 

Well, it's Saturday night & the weather has been kind to me. Went bashing at out local track for a couple of hours. I am happy to report that both escs survived my torture test. Ambient temperature was around 32 to 35 deg C with high humidity :


Car 1 - HN CR X1 1512 2600KV 4S 600mah PQ lipo gearing 13/48 (modded V1)

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...g39/cc02-2.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...g39/cc02-1.jpg

Started with this car first. Went round & round the track & had a few rounds with the nitro guys. About the 3 or 4th time they took a rest due to fuel depletion, I decided to stop to check check. Noticed that the fan was not running - it was jammed somewhere. This fan was powered off the UBEC. Esc was still running though & for how long without the fan not sure. So decided to stop for the day & fix up the fan later.


Car 2 - HN X2 Neu 1515 2000KV 5S 5000mah 13/48 gearing (modded V2)

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...g39/cc01-1.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...ing39/cc04.jpg

I am really starting to like this car. Only the second run so far this time out. The first run ended with a busted Tekno Neu 1515 2200Kv motor. Thie time round, ran the car until LVC kicked in at 15.5V. Esc is unharmed.

This is the track layout :

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...1trackleft.jpg
Track left side

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...trackright.jpg
middle section

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...rightright.jpg
Track right side

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...ng39/a18-3.jpg
Grandstand

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...unchingpad.jpg
The big triple at the far side

I will try for another run tomorrow if weather permits & I can convince my family I'll be home for the mooncake festival dinner.

Regards,
Joe Ling

I did stress test my V2 today, The ESC did survive the first battery but RC-monster Battery tray failed me this time, One of the side broke off...

Once again, I'm relieved to report that my modded V2 in the X2 is alive & well after a brief bashing session at the track Probably ran 1/2 a pack through before I moved on the next vehicle in line...

I will be racing the modded V1 in a X1 CR tomorrow among all the nitros. Should be a nice test.

Regards,
Joe Ling


http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...ling39/y01.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...ling39/y02.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...ling39/y03.jpg

I will split my time driving both cars. This will give an indication on the prowess of the electric - the nitro is an OS speed