Granite 4x4 upgrade made engine smoke!

[Ebfooball139]

We just upgraded my son's Granite boost with a 4x4 kit. The thing was super fun and amazing, however the engine got hot, I actually saw some smoke, and it smells horrible, we stopped driving it and let it cool then finished the battery with pulling the 4x4 drive line but it still smelled bad.

It appears to be the same motor as the granite mega 4x4 factory model. Stock pictures show the same motor and no heat sink/fan? I actually had someone tell me we might want a fan, but figured the factor 4x4 mega didn't have it with the same motor so we didn't need it...

Did we just get a bad motor or why wouldn't they put it a fan on the factor 4x4 model if it needed it? I'm presuming the smoke and smell is not a natural break in thing... lol.

My son probably has 15-20 charges on it and never had a problem till the 4x4 upgrade. He said he read something about the car supposed to shut off and cool down if it gets over heated... Is it supposed to do that?

Is there a factory warranty? I'm presuming there probably isn't...

Thanks in advance

 

[Dan B.]

I’m assuming you geared way down after your 4x4 conversion? That‘s a brushed motor, man. The motors are cheap, grab another one and check your build for proper setup, especially gearing. And yeah, definitely get a fan! Don’t run multiple packs through it without allowing it to cool, too. Welcome to the forum.

 

[Senton_Prime]

Factory 2 year warranty.. abuse it while you can, email HH, they will look out for you!! You prolly added too much load to the esc with the 4x4 upgrade.. yes it has a thermal protection and LVC, should prolly break in a brushed motor a tad before full send!!

 

[Xjeepguy]

Maybe your gear mesh between the pinion/ spur gear is too tight? There should be a very slight amount of play if you hold the pinion and rock the spur back and forth.

 

[Jeremy in WI]

I had a mega a while back as my first hobby grade rc. I went through about 10-12 brushed motors the first summer I had it. I wasn't gentle with it by any means, and only got 6 +/- packs out of each motor. Once winter set in I went brushless with just a cheapo Chinese setup which was a definite upgrade. You don't have to go all in to have fun, but brushed motors will inevitably bring more wrench time.

 

[RCbuzz]

I have gone through a few of those brushed motors as well. They are just not really designed for longevity. Bushings instead of bearings and cannot handle too much excess load or heat before they smoke.

I would go this route: https://www.hobbywingdirect.com/products/quicrun-wp-10bl120-combo-g2

 

[Jeremy in WI]

I have gone through a few of those brushed motors as well. They are just not really design for longevity. Bushings instead of bearings and cannot handle too much excess load or heat before they smoke.

I would go this route: https://www.hobbywingdirect.com/products/quicrun-wp-10bl120-combo-g2

I can 2nd this. I have this setup in a spare parts granite build, my kids beat the snot out of it in snow, rain, sand, gravel, mud, etc and have had no problems with it. Not a bad investment at all, until you crave more power...

 

[Ebfooball139]

I’m assuming you geared way down after your 4x4 conversion? That‘s a brushed motor, man. The motors are cheap, grab another one and check your build for proper setup, especially gearing. And yeah, definitely get a fan! Don’t run multiple packs through it without allowing it to cool, too. Welcome to the forum.

Nope, just stayed with the Arrma 12 turn stock brushed motor since it was the same as what they put in the the 4x4 mega brushed stock setup. Is there something you would recommend? Presuming that will decrease top speed? If at all possible I would prefer us not to have to get a upgraded motor, money kinda right, wasn't thinking we would have to do a ton to do the 4x4 upgrade.

 

[RCbuzz]

Nope, just stayed with the Arrma 12 turn stock brushed motor since it was the same as what they put in the the 4x4 mega brushed stock setup. Is there something you would recommend? Presuming that will decrease top speed? If at all possible I would prefer us not to have to get a upgraded motor, money kinda right, wasn't thinking we would have to do a ton to do the 4x4 upgrade.

If you have the sales receipt, go to the Horizon Hobby support chat and they should get you squared away.

I would turn the speed switch down to 50% or 75%(back of the remote) after replacement, brushed motors "can" last but not when pushed to the limit.

 

[Ebfooball139]

Factory 2 year warranty.. abuse it while you can, email HH, they will look out for you!! You prolly added too much load to the esc with the 4x4 upgrade.. yes it has a thermal protection and LVC, should prolly break in a brushed motor a tad before full send!!

I have reached out to HH. Hopefully they will replace it. I was under the understanding from the hobby shop when I was when I brought that there really wasn't a warranty on e you used it... I guess they just want you to come back and buy parts. I actually bought it off of Amazon and bout the $20 hasel free warrantee, which is a pain because they tell me it's still in the return window with Amazon and to just sent it back and get a new one. Only problem is it's now $50 more then when I bought it on Amazon. If HH is good about Warrantee then maybe it would be a good idea, to return the car/Warrantee and just get one at the hobby shop and stay with the HH warrantee...?

We are pretty new but I don't think it's the ESC, it's the motor that smokes and smells, but we did run probably 15 batteries through it in 2wd before the upgrade. Would there be another breaking period with 4wd?

Since im new, what LVC?

Thanks

Maybe your gear mesh between the pinion/ spur gear is too tight? There should be a very slight amount of play if you hold the pinion and rock the spur back and forth.

I will try to check this out, it still stock whatever that was. Thanks

 

[rcs29]

I have reached out to HH. Hopefully they will replace it. I was under the understanding from the hobby shop when I was when I brought that there really wasn't a warranty on e you used it... I guess they just want you to come back and buy parts. I actually bought it off of Amazon and bout the $20 hasel free warrantee, which is a pain because they tell me it's still in the return window with Amazon and to just sent it back and get a new one. Only problem is it's now $50 more then when I bought it on Amazon. If HH is good about Warrantee then maybe it would be a good idea, to return the car/Warrantee and just get one at the hobby shop and stay with the HH warrantee...?

We are pretty new but I don't think it's the ESC, it's the motor that smokes and smells, but we did run probably 15 batteries through it in 2wd before the upgrade. Would there be another breaking period with 4wd?

Since im new, what LVC?

Thanks

I will try to check this out, it still stock whatever that was. Thanks

You still get the HH warranty from buying on Amazon if you bought through them which you most likely did. HH will take care of you. Just email them a snapshot of your Amazon purchase and you'll be good. Good luck

 

[rotauq]

Nope, just stayed with the Arrma 12 turn stock brushed motor since it was the same as what they put in the the 4x4 mega brushed stock setup. Is there something you would recommend? Presuming that will decrease top speed? If at all possible I would prefer us not to have to get a upgraded motor, money kinda right, wasn't thinking we would have to do a ton to do the 4x4 upgrade.

When people mention gearing down it's not so much about the turns/kv of the motor, but amount of teeth of the pinion.

 

[Dan B.]

Nope, just stayed with the Arrma 12 turn stock brushed motor since it was the same as what they put in the the 4x4 mega brushed stock setup. Is there something you would recommend? Presuming that will decrease top speed? If at all possible I would prefer us not to have to get a upgraded motor, money kinda right, wasn't thinking we would have to do a ton to do the 4x4 upgrade.

Yeah, what @rotauq said above. You don’t re-gear by changing the motor (although rpm’s on motors are different) you re-gear by going to a different pinion and/or spur gear. If you converted from 2wd to 4wd you just increased load on the motor substantially. Especially if you put big wheels on it. If you left the same gearing in it from 2wd the motor could overheat big time. (I don’t have any of those small brushed Arrmas, I’m just speaking in a general sense.)
Since you didn’t know about gearing, and how to do it (changing pinions and spurs) then I’m assuming you didn’t and that might be why you roasted your brushed motor on that first pack.
I hope someone with experience with a brushed Granite chimes in to talk about their gearing choices. Especially if they had swapped from 2wd to 4wd. And like I mentioned above, big wheels will do it, too. If I had to guess, I’d say swapping to big wheels without re-gearing ranks very high in reasons why motors are roasted.
Unless you’re upgrading to brushless, stick with those cheap $20.00 motors and consider them consumables after 15 or 20 packs or so. Just gear them correctly and use a heat sink fan arrangement on it. Those are cheap, and it’ll help your motor live a lot longer.

I have reached out to HH. Hopefully they will replace it. I was under the understanding from the hobby shop when I was when I brought that there really wasn't a warranty on e you used it... I guess they just want you to come back and buy parts. I actually bought it off of Amazon and bout the $20 hasel free warrantee, which is a pain because they tell me it's still in the return window with Amazon and to just sent it back and get a new one. Only problem is it's now $50 more then when I bought it on Amazon. If HH is good about Warrantee then maybe it would be a good idea, to return the car/Warrantee and just get one at the hobby shop and stay with the HH warrantee...?

We are pretty new but I don't think it's the ESC, it's the motor that smokes and smells, but we did run probably 15 batteries through it in 2wd before the upgrade. Would there be another breaking period with 4wd?

Since im new, what LVC?

Thanks

I will try to check this out, it still stock whatever that was. Thanks

If you converted it to 4wd then they wouldn’t want the whole truck back, I’m sure. Just buy a new motor. They’re $20-$25.00 dollars. I doubt I’d even wait for a warranty claim, just go the your LHS and buy any 12t brushed motor. He might even hand you a used Titan from a Traxxas for free. If HH eventually sends you a new one, then you have a spare,
LVC is Low Voltage Cutoff. If you change from NiMH batteries to LiPo’s you have to switch modes in the ESC. Otherwise you’ll discharge your LiPo’s far too much which not only kills them, but also can make them explode, as they get unstable. If you’re new to all this and start running LiPo’s, watch a couple YT videos about safe handling and care, because they can be extremely dangerous. As in, burn your house down dangerous. No problem to use LiPo’s when handled correctly, but some mistakes with them can be downright catastrophic.
You asked what gear mesh was, and said it must be stock. It’s just like it sounds, it’s the way the gears, the pinion and spur, mesh together. If it’s too tight, that makes the motor work harder and overheat. You mentioned that it must be stock, but stock is often messed up. It’s probably the single most important thing to check on a new truck.
You’ve come to the right place, man. Like the old saying goes, the only dumb question is the one you don’t ask. I remember when I was a noob I’d ask so many questions, but didn’t even know enough to ask the right ones. Don’t get discouraged. People on this forum helped me out, schooled me on this stuff, and I wouldn’t have stayed in the hobby without them, I’m sure. Think of the money I would have saved…
But seriously, you’ll be glad you came here and you’ll be learning about everything you’ll ever need or want to know. It’s an awesome forum full of helpful people.