mamba max pro question...

[DwightSchrute]

i reciently traded my truggy for 2 sc trucks and $150. one of the sc trucks had a novak 4.5 motor in it hooked up to a mamba max pro.

the novak 4.5 motor seems to work great with 2 glitchbuster caps plugged in to the receiver.

ok, now...here's the f'd up part about the deal. i found out last night from another friend of mine that the guy who had the mamba max pro in the sc had reversed the polarity on the esc the first time he plugged it into the battery and it just started to smoke. it was quickly unplugged and it was tried again, this time the correct way and the esc was fine.

it's remained working for the last 4 months. so, my question is, is it possible to speculate what it was that started to smoke? i'd really like to know if this is something that's gonna bite me in the ass in the end.

thanks guys.

[sikeston34m]

I would open it up and spot the scorched parts. Then try to identify that part of the board.

If the brain board looks ok, then it must have came from the power board.

Like you, I would be leary of it too. Something was pushed beyond it's half-life for sure.

[DwightSchrute]

yeah....it kinda upsets me that this person didn't tell me about it upfront. i'd never deal an esc that had something like that happen to it without stating it as such upfront.
i thought i had gotten the better deal, but now i feel a little taken advantage of. dam.

[snellemin]

Smoke is never a good sign. Bummer on that deal man.

[DwightSchrute]

yeah....i think i might call castle and just ask maybe what i should do. on one hand, it's worked great for months. it won the ohio state sc championship last summer, but it freakin' let out smoke...like you both said...that's never good. i wonder if it's just been hanging by a thread these past 4 months. perfect timing too...race season starts saturday.

[BrianG]

The first thing I'd do is check the caps and see if the tops are puffed. If the ESC works, you are probably ok. Most of the time, silicon blows fast when reverse polarity is applied, but polarized electrolytic caps can take a little more time to completely blow. But they could be puffed or weakened and should be replaced. I think the main 3 caps are the only ones that are polarized.

[DwightSchrute]

thanks guys. Brian, i'll make sure i check it out. i appreciate all the help.

[DrKnow65]

Probably smoked the TVS? It's there to limit the voltage going back to the batteries under braking. I'm pretty sure they won't take reversed polarity at any significan amperage...