Why My Mamba Can't be Repaired

[TexasSP]

This just in from Thomas at Castle on the reason my mamba was scrapped even though I didn't have a melt down. I also want to throw a special thanks out to Joe Ford and Thomas Porfert for looking into this for me and being so forthcoming with information. I also want everyone to know that their emails to me have been very quick everything considered.

Brian,

It appears that when the component failed, it fused itself to the circuit board. The repair tech attempted to remove it, but it pulled the entire solder pad off the board. When the solder pads comes off, it makes it impossible to put the component back on without replacing the entire board; which is the controller on the Monster. We have had 2 others this has happened to, so it's rare but not impossible. I apologize for the down time and any frustration or withdraw you may be experiencing, but we will get this taken care of as quickly as possible. As soon as the second batch of controllers finishes up, you'll get one of the first off the line. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.
---
Thomas Porfert
Product Specialist
Castle Creations
235 South Kansas Avenue
Olathe, KS 66061
(913)390-6939 ext. 125

Then I replied with this:

Thomas,

Thanks for this information, that makes sense now. Withdrawal is the main problem right now as I have an MGM which is no where near as smooth and the braking on it leaves a lot to be desired. Is the next run still slated to start in a week or so or has this been moved out? Do you think you have the issue isolated or is the investigation still ongoing. I know the other day based on info Joe gave a group of is it seemed like the investigation was still ongoing but I haven't seen much since then.

Thank you,

brian

To which Thomas replied:

Brian,

It's still opened ended, we have obviously found the problem component, it's just a question of a design or component issue. At this point we believe it was a component issue, just a faulty batch of TVCs, since the majority of Monsters are not having issues. We are keeping a very close eye on the situation though, it is fairly fluid and we're keeping all options on the table until we know for sure. We will be watching the second batch with an eagle eye, to see if the problem has been resolved or we need to dig deeper into the issue. Hopefully we'll have your second batch Monster in less than 2 weeks and get you back up and tearing things up. Thank you very much for the understanding and patience about this, everyone has been so good about the problem, when they have every right to be upset. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. Thanks Brian!
---
Thomas Porfert
Product Specialist
Castle Creations
235 South Kansas Avenue
Olathe, KS 66061
(913)390-6939 ext. 125

[gixxer]

good to see they gave you real answers. hopefully they will have the next batch in 2 weeks. I need one soon for when the e-revo comes out.

[DRIFT_BUGGY]

Great Customer Service

[JerryF504]

I have been trying to get this answer from Castle for 2 weeks. I wonder if Thomas knows about the Monsters that have failed for the second time.

[mkrusedc]

You boys from Texas play rough with your toys!!!!

It appears that when the component failed, it fused itself to the circuit board. The repair tech attempted to remove it, but it pulled the entire solder pad off the board. When the solder pads comes off, it makes it impossible to put the component back on without replacing the entire board; which is the controller on the Monster. We have had 2 others this has happened to, so it's rare but not impossible.

[TexasSP]

If you call playing rough sitting dead still after 8 minutes of light running then I guess so.

[BrianG]

Well, my MMM has been successfully functioning as a paperweight for 3 days of constant use and no smoke (yet)!

[suicideneil]

They should have used a dremel and ground the little sucker (componant) off the PCB....