DEAD KB Rally

[BLKMRKT22]

So I finally decided to run my KB on a dirt fire trail near my house for the first time. I put my mini slash wheels on it and that is the mod I did. Right away I realized I couldn't keep it in a straight line and the thing was spinning out of control. Then after a couple minutes it went dead. I unplugged it and tried to get it going and the ESC just lights up green until I turn on the controller then it becomes a faint solid red.
Any Ideas on what happened?

[So Cold]

What battery(s) and gearing were you running? How hard were you driving?

[Dadx2mj]

You should never plug in or turn on your RC before you turn on your transmitter. Have you tried rebinding the transmitter to the receiver?

[BLKMRKT22]

everything on the car is stock and running the stock batteries. I didn't run it very hard because I couldn't get much traction. No I didn't try to rebind the transmitter. I will and see if that helps.

[So Cold]

1 battery or 2? And if 2 then in series or parallel?

[BLKMRKT22]

1 Battery. I really don't drive or push my cars to hard. That is why I am surprised this happened. I did plug in the battery again this morning before heading off to work to see if it fixed itself and I had no response from the controller but I did hear a noise coming from the ESC...a buzzing sound.

[Double G]

Unplug the steering servo and turn it on again.

[BLKMRKT22]

I also noticed that the light is dead on the receiver...I guess that would be the problem. If so why would that go bad? Would Traxxas replace it for me if the car is just 5 months old?

[QYKSLVR]

Usually only in the 30day warranty period. But it NEVER hurts to call and talk with customer support. just be HONEST. I really dont think the car is geared for running the bigger slash tires, but I dont see how that would cause harm to the receiver in any way.

[rustybeard]

Just had the same thing happen to me... same problem turned out after a convo with Traxxas its the steering servo. Mine was shot totally, I unplugged the Motor and replugged it back in and gained control of the forward and reverse but everytime i plugged the steering back in it would go into a protection mode cause of the servo shorting out. Part number 2080 is the servo its 29 dollars if ur not covered on warranty

[BLKMRKT22]

So I unplugged everything and plugged it all back in. Turned on the controller and then powered up the car. When I turned on the ESC the receiver blinked red and green for a few seconds then shut off and the light on the ESC went to a dim red.
I haven't called Traxxas yet and really don't have the $ to replace the servo at this time to see if that helps. I guess I could take the servo off my traxxas 1/16th and swap them out to see if that helps.

[So Cold]

Just unplug the servo and then turn it on and see if everything else works. Unplugging everything and plugging it all back in really doesn't help figure out the issue.

[BLKMRKT22]

Thank You So Cold...that did the trick. It is the servo as you and rustybeard suggested. All works fine if the servo is not plugged in. Anybody have a suggestion for a better servo that I can just plug in with no mods that would be better then the stock Traxxas one?

[rustybeard]

I replaced mine with a stock one again, but if ur heavy into turning with ur car etc make sure the multi-function knob is at like 0 so that its a 1 for 1 turn where as the other way the steering starts slow and than goes fast, i have found the 1 to 1 on the servo seems to handle better for my driving style.

[So Cold]

You're welcome, glad you got it figured out. For what it's worth I run two stick servos in mine. I haven't had anymore servo issues and it's a fun setup.

[ecb116]

also make sure u check out some tips of protecting ur servo

http://traxxas.com/forums/showthread...03#post4817003

[AsILayDying]

Alright not trying to thread-jack but I just got my KB rally on Saturday and today I went to run it and the car just slowed down to a crawl. Sounded like a bit of motor and esc coggin or something binding so I turned it off. The esc light was no blinking red and the only way to turn it off wa to unplug the battery. My LHS warranties the esc through traxxas but they didn't have another esc in stock so i have to wait until Thursday. I hope it was the esc and not something with the servo. Anyone else have any other issues?

[joedog34]

I recently ran the batteries in series for the first time and got 3 minutes out of it before the esc started smoking. Now the car just jerks and doesn't move. I called Traxxas and they said that electronics sometimes fail for no reason and I was out of warranty so now I have to pay to fix a defective part.

[rustybeard]

First ? if you didn't change the Pinion Gear and were rocken the series, the manual will inform you that what u did is the results. The ESC is not made to run a series without changing the pinion gear. There was nothing wrong with the Car or the esc as more you just fried your KB like some McDonald's french fries This one is on you unfortunately and your gonna have to replace that ESC and I would assume your steering servo will go soon do the massive heat load everything took. Srry to be the bearer of bad news Bro ppl have been doing this from day 1 and really need to read the manual

[AsILayDying]

Don't mean to be the bad news guy but this is happening regardless of pinion setup or battery use. I had one pretty much fry itself running the stock battery it came with. Also fried another one just running around in front of the house with a LiPo and changed out pinion gear to reduce heat. These ESC's seem to be an issue for a lot of people. I'm not saying the part isn't good but seems to be that a lot of factors were not thought of when they designed and installed the VXL-3m in the 1/16. Running a little larger ESC and the vehicle runs AMAZING. But it is what it is, at least Traxxas is standing behind the product with quality warranty.