have a problem with my mamba max esc
 

I was driving around yesterday, doing nothing crazy (which was unusual :lol:) and all of the sudden my rusty just stopped. Upon further investigation, I found that the two power wires coming from my external bec had lost some insulation and had barely touched. I was about to unplug my batt (3s lipo) when they completely touched each other....thats when the bec went "poof" in a cloud of smoke. :lol: After that, I knew the bec was toast so I unsoldered it and continued to drive with the mm's internal bec for another 1-2 hours. I wanted to drive again today so I tried turning the mm on but it will only do the first "ring", it won't arm at all. I can't re-calibrate (tired that already) and all I get is a flashing red light. I even checked all of my wires and nothing is frayed or has a loose connection.

Also, my temps were always in check and under "comfortable temp ranges".


Any Ideas?

Flashing Green OR Red = Speed control has not been calibrated and is not armed; or throttle sub-trim is not at 0.

Like I said, I can't calibrate it. Also, the throttle sub trim is at 0. I'm asking here because I tried calling castle, and I was still on hold after 30 minutes.

Check you put the little red wire back into RX.
Reflash the firmware - increase dead stick point
Set end points and trim on tx to zero
Set end points and trim on tx to zero again to double check
Re-calibrate...

Thanks for the help.

I just tried all of the above, and it still wont let me calibrate. I even tried re-binding it (using a spekky) but the receiver wont stop flashing (solid light meaning its binded to the tx)

Could my issue be rx related?

It could very well be RX related. The MM won't arm if there's no signal. Do you have a receiver pack you can try hooking up to the RX to see if it will bind (without the MM plugged in)?

How is the BEC voltage at the receiver? And, might seem a stupid question, but is the throttle connector inserted the right way? If in wrong, you may get the RX to light up, but will probably be dim, and won't work right. It won't hurt anything though to try it the other way.

Do you have a spare radio system to try... maybe an old Traxxas TQ2/3? Just about everyone has one of those laying around. Being AM, I wouldn't run it unless you have to, but would isolate the problem.

Perhaps you fried the RX when the BEC went poof.

I dont ATM but I'm going to make one.

Sadly I sold all of my traxxas radios, I dont have a volt meter so I cant test the voltage. The wires are plugged in correctly, if I switch it around, all the lights blink indicating reversed wires.

Its an idea, but I was able to drive my rusty using the mm's bec for another hour or so that day.

Also, the servo still centers when I turn the mm on, but I dont have any throttle or steering control.



On a side note, how many AA's do I need to power up the rx?

Thanks all. :)

4 AAs.

Doh, I could of figured that out my self. (1.5Vx4 = 6V)


Thans for the help anyways! (off to solder up a rx pack)

OK, after soldering up a rx pack and eating a snack I gave it another shot. When I plugged the rx pack in (mm off) it gave a brief blink insinuating that its getting the juice. Unfortunately, the mm still does the same things. :whip:

Any more ideas?

If Castle doesn't have a solution, I'm ready to replace the faulty unit (mm or rx)

well it might be your mm it might be your rx. get a cheap radio

OK, just got off the phone with caste (finally) and the operator believes the rx is at fault. It's too late to call horizon today, so I'll be calling them tomorrow.

did you unplug the red wire on the rx lead on the esc?? if you didn't your reciver is toast...

I did unplug the wire. It doesn't matter anymore, I found the problem. :party: A few weeks ago it wouldn't stop raining (after 2 weeks of additional rain) so I went out to drive in a light drizzle. Turns out, the solder on the rx board corroded some. All I had to do was clean it off, and it works good as new now (including the mm esc). Lesson learned, but I'm glad its working now. :yes:

Glad you found the prob. and it didn't cost anything to fix!