Just picked up a Boss 302!

[Jimmie Neutron]

It's for my wife, hoping to get her into the hobby with me...

Have a few out-of-the-box issues:
Stripped motor mount
Leaky rear differential
Broken wire on charger

Pretty disappointing, considering we haven't even ran it yet.
Emailed Traxxas, expecting nothing less than spectacular service!

[Chucksolo69]

I this a brand new shrink wrapped car? I have bought all 5 of their 1/16th models, except the Summit, and all were perfect out of the box. A word of warning though; these little Traxxas models are wickedly fast and require some concentration to drive well. The Boss 302 has pretty slick tires and spin outs are common unless you use the throttle judiciously. Adding a LIPO battery makes these cars insanely fast. They are really fun and tough though; enjoy!

[Jimmie Neutron]

I must have just gotten a freshly-wrapped lemon...
This is the first time I've ever had this much trouble with a Traxxas R/C.

Now, either the battery I pulled out of the sealed package is junk or the charger is junk; maybe both.

I'm reading less than 1 volt on the battery after 6 hours of charging.
Also, I'm not getting anything from the charger itself...

[_jono_]

call them tommaro. Theyll fix you no matter what

[Chucksolo69]

Hmmmmm.......very unusual. I have 5 of these except the Summit, and not a bad one in the lot. All my cars work as advertised although I never use the supplied charger. I went out and bought a Dynamite Vision charger which works great on both my NiMH and LIPO batteries. Definately call Traxxas, the car should never have left the factory in that condition. Could it be that the dealer shrink wrapped the car after it was trashed by the first owner? I would go back to the dealer and tell him what you found.

[Jimmie Neutron]

I called this morning...
After the discussion they asked me to mail in the problem parts.
Sent in the charger, battery, motor mount, and the ESC.

I wrote a letter stating every issue and what I've tried so far.

I asked for a new charger, a new battery, a new motor mount, and some differential fluid. I also asked for them to check the ESC to make sure it works and another battery for all this hassle.

I'll keep you all posted!

[Jimmie Neutron]

They should have received the parts today!

[Jimmie Neutron]

Broke her down this evening and put her all back together...

It seems I have the new style front bulkhead and the old style rear bulk head.
I think this is the last time I buy from the only LHS in the area... mail orders only I guess.

[Jimmie Neutron]

Received the replacement parts today!
Everything is fixed now... she got to run a partially charged pack through her!
Traxxas ended up charging the battery for me, sending all new parts, and throwing in some diff fluid.
It turns out that the charger was junk, killing the supplied battery.


Thank you Traxxas!

[Jimmie Neutron]

Now the ESC is fried!
She let out the magic smoke as soon as I pulled the trigger.

I called and am sending it in... but included a note that if they are not going to fix it free of charge, that they can keep it.
I understand that it is out of warranty and they don't need to fix it, but I have less than 15 packs through this RC. There is no way that the ESC should be fried! Temps were always below 150°. I checked battery voltage, it was less than 8 volts.

What gives?

[turok]

pinion could of been rubbing on motor / teeth mesh might of been to close.

[Jimmie Neutron]

I know those were not the causes.

Mesh was set properly, vehicle rolled effortlessly. It would coast for many feet in neutral. If mesh is too tight, it acts like a drag brake, slowing it down rather quickly.
If you push the pinion down far enough to rub the motor I don't think it will even make contact with the spur.
-anyway, the pinion has full contact with spur.

Everything was fine for all the packs before it.
Nothing changed before I installed the battery that took it down.

[QYKSLVR]

You can also tell by listening to the mesh, a whiney noise is too tight. you should just hear the teeth coming together and the faint whine of the motor. I dont see how u got it to roll for a distance of a few feet with the gears meshed? But saying the ESC shouldnt of fried by 15packs is a bit out there. Brand new Audi R8s catch on fire. were only talking about an ESC. It hapens =/

[Jimmie Neutron]

You are crazy if you think it is normal for an ESC to fry within 15 uses.

[cooleocool]

You are crazy if you think it is normal for an ESC to fry within 15 uses.

He isn't saying that it is normal, he's saying that it happens. There are plenty of users out there who haven't had an issue with their ESC. I'm sorry that you haven't had the best of luck, but your best bet is going to be contacting Traxxas and letting them know what happen. Given your situation, they will be able to tell you what is happening better than any of us probably could.

[QYKSLVR]

Thank you cool-

[swimming]

well that sucks. i too am never buying from hobby shops again. i remember when i got my erevo 1/16 and found out that my esc was fried. i took it back to them and asked about it and it turns out one of their employees took it for a test run. luckily i got a new car and nothing was wrong but it was just too much hassle

[QYKSLVR]

Dont let that ruin your RC experience. If you had a bad one with one HS, go to another in the area if theres one. Dont let one apple spoil the bunch.

[Jimmie Neutron]

I live in an area where people think I am crazy spending more than $75 on a RC. The "local" hobby shop with a poor selection of RC's is a 50 minute drive away... yet still I have been in and out of the hobby for the last 25+ years. I have even thought of opening a shop up around here, but with the feedback I get when people start asking questions... it makes me not want to.
Gotta love the expression "did ya git that at Walmarts" lol

Wait... there is a shop in town! You have to special order everything, nothing is in stock.
PLUS, you pay MSRP and shipping. Fun! Fun!

One "bad" Boss is not going to deter me from RC.
I hope one "bad" experience doesn't deter anyone from RC.

Where else can we drop this much cash and stay legal?

Speaking of spending money...
What tire/rim combo should I get her for street driving?
I want something with a nice looking rim (stock looks great to me) that will last. Nothing so soft that she chews through them every 15 packs. lol
Please link me up!

[AbSoLooT1]

Dont let that ruin your RC experience. If you had a bad one with one HS, go to another in the area if theres one. Dont let one apple spoil the bunch.

I completely agree with this statement. That happens way to much in society. Even that specific HS deserves anouther chance, just because one of their employees did something bad. Unfortunatly we have to account for the HUMAN aspect of everything.

[gwaz331]

It's for my wife, hoping to get her into the hobby with me...

Have a few out-of-the-box issues:
Stripped motor mount
Leaky rear differential
Broken wire on charger

Pretty disappointing, considering we haven't even ran it yet.
Emailed Traxxas, expecting nothing less than spectacular service!

my fiesta has the leaky rear diff problem too do you have any idea how to fix it

[Grand National]

my fiesta has the leaky rear diff problem too do you have any idea how to fix it

First make sure your differential screws are tight as they can be, be careful not to strip the case. Also check and make sure your seals are properly seated and not damaged.

[Angrytetsuo]

you know the first one of these 1/16 I got was the brushed merv. I had a very bad time with the LHS and i'm only going to tell half the story cause I'll get mad again. So 2 or 3 runs and the motor died, took it to the shop they didnt wanna help, traxxas sent them the motor they put it on and when my gf went to pick it up she called me and said is this it? they tried to give her the truck, no body, no battery and no transmitter. Well thats one little girl you dont want to double cross. When it was all over she had everything and said 6 or 7 people left with her.
I could see it being hard to run a shop cause this stuff breaks and people get mad

Post edited for language abuse. If you see starred out words in your post, please edit them out.

[Grand National]

Angry, next time I would just send it to Traxxas directly. It seems like this happens a lot with some hobby shops, I guess it's a hit or miss trying to find a good one.

[Jimmie Neutron]

I used a little itty bitty bit of RTV sealant along with the o-ring.

[Jimmie Neutron]

Sorry for taking so long to update the status of the ESC issue...
I just got the replacement yesterday; a brand new XL2.5.



During this down time, she had decided she wants to go brushless... so I guess it is going up for sale.
At least she did not decide to quit the hobby! lol