Kraton [Resolved] About ~ 30 days OLD KRATON CAUGHT FIRE (fully STOCK)

[varunkaul]

[RESOLVED - Like Everyone here mentioned the Support / Customer Care is ACTUALLY VERY GOOD] and YES it was mostly the batteries only which were the CULPRIT

I didn't really expect this..... to say the least I am Very Happy

-------- Original Post --------
This is my first and mostly last RC - car.....others may seem to be happy with their kratons

The car's total run time in 30 days has been 90 minutes or lesser

But all that i have faced with this car were issues from day 1 with screws coming off etc...... those are still minor issues and were handled with threadlock but today the whole car caught fire while running on 6S - BOTH the batteries before going out to drive the RC CAR today had 0/ NO signs of damage but 99% chances are that the fire started from the Battery and spread on to the car and maybe 1% chance from the ESC

This has been nothing but very disappointing for me

I had purchased an extra set of tyres x4 ...2 extra chassis thinking of it as a long term investment along with the various tools ...i have a current backorder also which is about to ship i guess

BUT I am very sad as i put in a lot of money but i am not sure if i ll ever even think of buying a RC car again

EVERYTHING IN THE VEHICLE WAS STOCK - NO MODIFICATIONS - EVEN THE PINION GEAR WAS STOCK 12 TOOTH

Please find attached all PICS - BEFORE RUN AND AFTER RUN BOTH -

Luckily my friends immediately got a bottle of water and with me trying to kick it to put the fire out no one nearby was hurt but i am truly VERY DISSAPPOINTED

 

[varunkaul]

additional pics

i don't know what the cause of fire was ....was it faulty electronics ....short circuit..battery issue but it was surely no physical damage as evident from the pics

 

[Mikuri]

NVM

Looks very weird. What were you doing when it got in fire?

 

[varunkaul]

yes brand new purchased it along with the car Duratrax 50c 5400mah

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXFMVH&P=ML

the recommended combo along with the onyx 245 charger with balancing circuit board


had pressed full throttle and it was about 50m away from me ...when i noticed it caught fire ..went running towards and started kicking it while my friend went and got a bottle of water....but the fire spread fast

i went to a nearby local hobby store with it too all he would say was it's junk now....and maybe the batteries were low quality etc..which certainly was not the case as they were the recommended one's and couldn't really have been bad as they had no physical damage nor any puffing and had just been fully charged

 

[Bigfella]

That really is bad. I would contact both Arrma and Tower Hobbies. That should not happen.

Any breaks in the wires? Did any wires get chewed up in the drivetrain?

Barring any mismanaged wires, its either a bad battery (Tower) or a faulty esc (Arrma).

 

[varunkaul]

none the battery connecting wires were not even close to the drive train and the esc wire and servo wire couldn't have caused this and i just checked the servo...esc as well as motor wires are kind of fine but the esc has burnt as well as the motor .. all the wires seem okayish even now except for being burnt

no tears

 

[Bigfella]

If their is no shredded wires, both Arrma and/or Tower need to take care of this. Tower is pretty good. I've never had a warranty claim with Arrma but have heard others have a relatively good experience. Contact them, send them pictures and be polite. I think you have a good chance of getting a replacement imo. Sorry you have to go through this. Don't lose heart in Rc. It's really fun.......better than sitting inside playing video games......lol

 

[varunkaul]

ya none of the wires are shredded .... i have just sent an email to towerhobbies....will do the same for arrma ....where do i find their email address is it a general email address or a specific one for warranty and such cases ?

 

[Bigfella]

http://www.arrma-rc.com/support/contact

 

[varunkaul]

okay sent them an email as well ..thanks

 

[Mr.mark057]

okay sent them an email as well ..thanks

Varunkaul,

I called this number with a motor issue on mine and they gave me instructions on how to handle it. This took all but 10 days to get a replacement.

Don't give up on it!

Manufacturer Mailing Address
ARRMA
3002 N. APOLLO DRIVE, SUITE #1
CHAMPAIGN, IL 61822
Additional Manufacturer Contact Info
Web Site: http://www.arrma-rc.com/
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 217-398-8970

 

[varunkaul]

i have already sent them an email should i wait for a response and then call them up ....or call them up anyway ?...
have sent mails both to
Arrma : [email protected]
Tower Hobbies : [email protected]
i got an automated acknowledgement reply from both

 

[Mr.mark057]

i have already sent them an email should i wait for a response and then call them up ....or call them up anyway ?...
have sent mails both to
Arrma : [email protected]
Tower Hobbies : [email protected]
i got an automated acknowledgement reply from both

I called them right away and they told me to what to do to get the ball rolling because it is under warranty!

 

[varunkaul]

This is the reply from towerhobbies.....so now it's down to arrma..will call them up either right away or tomorrow

Thank you for contacting Tower Hobbies. We appreciate the photos you have provided of the Kraton. Tower Hobbies has limits of responsibility which are based on new and unused merchandise that may be defective out of the box. In your case, please contact our warranty department, Hobby Services for their advice. Here is Hobby Services contact information;

Hobby Services

3002 N. Apollo Dr. Ste. #1

Champaign, IL 61822

217-398-0007

[email protected]

 

[Mr.mark057]

Yes call that number right away! They will have you send in the truck with a description of what happened and other pert ant information.

 

[crankestein]

Why is the battery pack different from the Onyx? It is certainly much smaller pack, or looks like it...

If you can show pictures, but spread out the wiring from end to end, and of the battery pack, dissect the truck. Piece by piece, out on the table, not bunched up like you showed above.

They are two battery packs, and one is well beyond recognition, and right above all the plastic is badly damage. The fire started on the battery pack closest to the metal spur gear. Could be... just sayin, as it has happened before, and looks almost identical, the battery rubbed against the spur gear.

Wasnt it you who had a battery pack partially damaged? And were asking if you could use it again...?

Can you show both sides of the battery pack closest to the spur gear? Take it out of the truck, and take pictures of the spur gear.

Mmh... in any case, (IMO) the fire did not start on the ESC, looking at the pictures, but whatever, let ARRMA pay for the damages. Almost certain is the battery closest to the metal gear...

 

[varunkaul]

already took out the battery and yes it was the battery closest to the spur gear/ the battery which appears to be closer to the motor but then in reality they were equidistant ...but the holder burnt as well as me kicking it could have shifted it...it was so badly damaged that i had to cut the xt 90 connector as it had fused

yes it was me but i got a new battery the exact onyx 50c 5400 mah....and tower can verify that as all 3 batteries were from them

also the spur gear of the center diff has no battery damage but the battery had melted onto the roll cage

I am anyway sending in the rc truck they ll inspect it...will attach / upload photo of the spur gear cetre diff in some time
but theres no fire damage on it or maybe slight haven't yet looked closely..... infact no signs of damage or battery residue etc on it / damage on it

 

[varunkaul]

am attaching additional pics with the battery removed....cannot attach any other pics of the battery as i put them in salt water and yes 1 of them is more damaged than the other

but i never jump the car other than running it full throttle on the road and in the park

if the car can catch fire be it the battery or the esc .. i really don't care whether the battery came into contact with the metal spur gear when the battery as well as the charger where the one's suggested by Arrma's website and they were tightly buckled as always and in hardly a run time of 2 minutes it catches fire or the batteries shift with no hits or damage or jumps ..prior to which they were fully charged which took about 1 hour? other than hard braking which can cause it ...but then its more of a design flaw that the battery could move in such a manner to be damaged and catch fire....assuming that this is what happened

 

[varunkaul]

Batteries ( 2 x 3s Li-Po) in salt water

 

[crankestein]

The spur gear is going to "look" fine, imo it seems to me the battery touched the spur gear. Maybe the battery case or the straps not secured correctly. Its metal spur gear rubbing against a lipo surface, itd super rock solid steel, it csn destroy pinion gears for lunch, a battery pack wont do anything to it, plus any plastic parts it chewed up possibly melted.
I wanted to see the battery closest to the spur gear to see if it had razor cuts right around the middle of it, but if you cant is fine.

Seeing that it started at the battery, as its where is more charred and significant amount of damage, and by the way you explain that the fire spread quickly, clear sign the battery and not the esc was what caught on fire. To me ARRMA is not at fault, BUT if they honor a free replacement then kudos to them for going outside warranty policy to help you out.

Do not take the input as negative, but is more for others to see ARRMA is not bad quality, but this is user error, or a bad ONYX battery batch.

Thank you for the photos.

So I ask, How was the previous battery you had got damaged then?