Two Sidewinders, Same Problem
 

This started with a RC10T4 and two Sidewinder + motor combo's (brand new) a few years ago. One combo was the 4600, the other was the 5700, both worked fine in my T4 which was using a JR FM RX and a plastic geared steering servo from the radio package, nothing special. Please note that they worked, but the truck was hardly driven, I mean, maybe once or twice per ESC/motor and that is it.

Less than a year ago, I get a RTR Slash 2wd. I ended up using a Velineon combo (the original, non-waterproof version) and while it worked, it put out a lot of heat and wasn't very fast. I decided to try the Sidewinders and this is when it gets messed up.

Both Sidewinders along with either motor combination cutout when running. Sometimes I get about 20-30 seconds of use, sometimes it happens right away. The truck will travel several feet then lose some or all power. Sometimes I can steer, most of the time I can't, regardless, the motor stops spinning and the truck coasts. A second or two later, it will work again and then fail right after. This is all using the exact same setup that worked with the Velineon.

I decided to start swapping things out and all had the same result:

Spektrum DX3
Spektrum DX3S
KO Propo EX-5 UR
Orion Steering Servo
Stock Slash 2WD Steering Servo
Stock JR Steering Servo
Venom 6-cell Nimh batteries
Trinity 7-cell Nimh batteries
Orion 2S batteries (carbon racing and rocket packs)
Trinity 2S battery

NOTE: I usually use the stock pinions and if I do gear up/down, it's just a tooth or two.

The KO is in my Ofna 10SC, which I tried one of the Sidewinders in just to test the radio and make sure there wasn't some kind of interference issue with the Slash chassis. I know it doesn't really matter, but I had to try. Also note that all of these parts work perfectly with other speed controllers: Velineon, RSPRO, RX8, Havoc 3S, etc.

So, does the Sidewinder generally have a bad BEC? I mean, with all the combination's I tried, this has to be some kind of factory flaw. I did try different firmware flash versions as well and nothing was fixed.

Did you look at the switches? A lot of times if you get intermittent signals, you have a bad switch. Also, try running an external bec and see if that helps. Just pull the red wire out of the plug which plugs into the rx.

Thanks for your response, but why should I need to run an external BEC? I mean, if these ESC's are known for having crap BEC's, then I will just get rid of them. Neither has been abused at all, in fact, neither has been raced and both have the EXACT same problem. The switches look fine and work correctly, no shorts at all. Both look brand new almost.

Just wanted to know really if these ESC's are known for having problems like this. I can call Castle I guess, but they are out of warranty and I don't want to pay money to have a low-end ESC fixed.

I just had the same problem,I changed the servo,rx and cut the switch off and wired it direct no go.It only has like 10-15 3s runs on it in a pede with a velinon motor geared for 37 mph.

What do you have your low voltage cut-off set to when using lipos, and what do you have it set to when using NiMH?

I turned off the li-po cut...still the same.

Yeah, same here, auto-lipo cutoff or manually set to 3.2 per cell had the same effect. Lipo cutoff is always disabled if I plan on running nimh.

First of all, the 4600 or 5700 motors are not good choices for the Slash at all. I couldn't keep the 4600 motor or ESC cool no matter what gearing I tried, and I was using a regular MM. The Sidewinder is rated for even less current so it will get even hotter than a MM.

Having the steering cut out does sound like a BEC thermalling issue. But, if the whole ESC is getting hot, that heat could be causing the BEC to thermal simply because it is on the same board. How hot does the ESC get?

FYI: The Sidewinder uses a linear BEC which are fairly bulletproof, and you are running 6-7cells/2s lipo where there is very little wasted heat (and no gains would be realized by using a switching BEC).

How are the caps on both ESCs? Are the ends puffed up at all? That shouldn't happen after just a few years of very little use, but you never know.