Pinions And Spurs

Please note that this post is not about an experiment, this is simply a warning about the dangers of this hobby. I recently rebuilt a new scale Ferrari Enzo body for my Team Associated TC5R, including things like scale air ducts to reduce wind resistance and increase motor cooling. ( Testing to get ready for the next speed run test)

The car had been sitting on the shelf for the past couple of weeks, and within minutes of running it in a very cool environment the car started to cogg heavily. I started this video with the intention of shooting high speed cornering of the TC5, at first I noticed the car does not brake as well getting out of the corner.

Moments later it starts to cogg significantly and then stops and goes into flames, so far nothing special had been done to the Novak brushless system except for a recent changed motor. The last motor had locked up after a speed run that I did a couple of months back, and now a completlely blown ESC.

The following are some links I found of people who experienced similar issues with this brushless system:

1. http://www.rctech.net/forum/rookie-zone/271957-novak-gtb-ss-smoking.html
2. http://www.rctech.net/forum/radio-electronics/202571-want-instantly-fry-your-novak-gtb-spread-spectrum.html
3. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_7831236/printable.htm
4. http://www.rcracechat.com/vb/showthread.php?t=39466
5. http://www.forums.radiocontrolzone.com/archive/index.php/t-243720.html

At this point I am unable to clearly figure out what caused the fire. However I intend to document here some important safety matters to keep in mind, the following however are some key observations I found in my setup along with research on other blogs and rc groups

1. Never leave the GTB connected to the battery in off position for too long ( I did this right before the run)
2. The capacitor if gone bad can cause the GTB to cogg significantly and may lead to a smoke/fire if not replaced ( my car was cogging a bit but I thought it was no big deal)
3. Be very carefuly with gearing as over gearing can over heat the motor and speed control
4. If you are using a Lipo make sure it is not over discharged, enable the cutoff on the GTB or get a lipo gaurd

So far the above are the only items I have uncovered, I have also contacted Novak to see what they have to say in this matter, my system has been running fine before this for couple of months and is not within the 120 day warranty. I plan to keep this post updated with my latest findings.