What did you do to your boat today?

[stratus]

Lvc is way to low in my opinion if you don't time your runs and waiting to hit lvc to stop like me,you will harm your batterys nothing to do with your problem thow,as for timing I think you mean 7.5?

[Hemifear]

Timing can be changed on the stock ESC's. On the last run the ESC's beeped 3 short beeps indicating 3s, LVC 3.0v, and timing at 4.5 degrees. I have not messed with the ESC's in any way except to arm them. Would it be possible for them to somehow change themselves? Glitch out?

[Tamelesstgr]

Can you test with the ESC from your Voracity? Are there any settings that can be adjusted on the stock Zelos esc's? Maybe re-verify that timing etc was not altered?

[Hemifear]

I am concerned about an ESC issue as well but at this point I have no way to test them. I did take both motors out and used the one motor that kinda works, (will spin when throttle is applied but will immediately start smoking),connected it to the left ESC and it worked the same as the right one... but I will definitely recalibrate everything and do a thorough bench test before hitting the lake again.

[fweasel]

I'd be worried about an ESC issue existing too, perhaps what caused both motors to go up in smoke. When you get the new motors installed, recalibrate the throttle range on each ESC, and then make sure each motor spins in the correct direction and at least makes a similar noise (crude measure of RPM) to the other while on the bench.

[Hemifear]

Pickups are in the bottom and I scraped the extra paint out of both with a hobby knife on day 1. The video is still on my camera as I just haven't had time to upload....I have watched it 4x with the volume at 10 to try to see, or hear anything abnormal....nothing! Running good....two rooster tails shooting up....stops...give it some throttle and it starts turning with no steering input...release the throttle and go slowly in reverse...goes about 3 feet and completely dies. By the time I actually got my hands on the boat, it had been in the water for about an hour. Open the canopy and smell burnt electrical but everything is cold by this time. ESC's were still a solid green so I am assuming they are ok. Only thing I can think of is the cooling system, but it is impossible to see water coming out of the sides of the hull on the video. When it is close enough to see, it is going too slow (needs to be doing 30mph for cooling system to operate).

[Tamelesstgr]

Sounds like you know what to watch out for, commend you on that. Can you post the video of the run? The Zelos has pickups through the bottom of the hull correct?

[Hemifear]

I honestly researched the heck out of both the Zelos and Voracity before I purchased them. Wanted to know what the known issues were for both boats so I could stay on top of the maintenance and knew what to watch out for. I checked the alignment of the motors, as well as check the tightness of the screws holding the motors in place, as they are known to loosen, every battery change...everything was good. When I pulled the flexshafts out after the last run, there is no signs of burning anywhere....they look as good as they did the first time I pulled them out. Before I pulled the flexshafts the last time I spun them and they didn't bind or feel abnormal....it really has me scratching my head! Maybe something clogged in the cooling lines and then dislodged itself before I was able to retrieve the boat?? But clogging the lines on both motors at the same time? What are the odds?

[Tamelesstgr]

That certainly sounds like you were maintaining the drivelines. Did you inspect the alignment of the flexshaft to the stuffing tube? Anything irregular with the teflon lining, I would pull those and look for burned or melted sections.

[Hemifear]

Agreed! I pull the flexshats and clean them and let everything dry after I run the boat and regrease every time. I also measure the gap when reinstalling so I know everything was done right there. I also oil the front bearings on the motors after every run as per Raphials instructional video. Still not sure what caused both motors to burn up....

[Tamelesstgr]

Also very important to grease the cable each run and make sure you have the approperiate gap between the drive dog and the prop shaft. Not enough grease/gap can cause a lot of built up of heat and overload on the motors and esc's.

zelos strut 2.JPG

zelos strut.JPG

[Hemifear]

Called Horizon this AM and they are replacing the motors under warranty....no problem! Wish every company stood behind their product like this!

[Hemifear]

Cant say for sure that I saw water coming out of the outlets as I was forced to run the boat straight out and back towards me due to size limitations of where I was on the lake. I was at about 5 mins when the boat died. That wasn't continuous running tho. I would do a cpl runs out and back then I would have to wait for a lab that was fetching a ball in the lake as well. I blew some compressed air into the lines into a paper towel and saw no obstructions come out of the lines. I have pulled both motors and the one that still kinda works free wheels when you spin it. The left motor still has that "indexed" feeling when you turn it by hand but when it is connected it does nothing.

[fweasel]

Were you able to see water flowing from both coolant outlets? How long into the run did the boat die?

[Hemifear]

i took my stock Zelos 36 out for its 3rd run since I owned it today. First time with 4 revo 3s 5000 mah batteries. Ran great.....until it died in the middle of the lake.....at first it would only go in a left turn until it died completely. I thought I dropped a prop or flexshaft. It slowly drifted to the opposite shore of the lake. After an hour of hiking and traversing two rivers...I finally got it! Got it back to the shop bench and it turns out that both motors are fried! One is completely dead and the other will spin, smoke and freewheel after you let off the throttle. I watched the video of the run and there appears to be no problems...she was running fine....wonder what Horizon Hobby will say about this. Very odd that both motors would go at the same time! On top of that the ESC's no longer beep when you turn them on. They sill flash as normal and illuminate solid green when armed...they just dont beep anymore. I will call tomorrow and see what Horizon sais.