Hobbywing Fan Quitting?

[TeknoJay]

Hi guys, maybe someone can shed some light on what I have going on. First off I am Completely New To brushless stuff. I Just got back into RC after a 23 year Break. I built this SCT410sl To race at my local dirt oval, they have a 4wd latemodel class. I am running 8000mah batteries. The first battery I ran I checked about a couple minutes into the run and I found that my ESC fan had quit working. I ordered another one and a few days later I gave it a try. This time I made it to the second battery before completely shutting down. No ESC fan and the ESC shut down. I'm guessing a temp sensor shut off the ESC when the fan quit.
The motor/ESC were recommended by the hobby shop owner but I'm sceptical if the size of the ESC is adequate. Let me know what you think, Thanks Jason

 

[davidg]

Did you replace it with another HW fan? I had one go out on me right away, brand new esc. After market fans usually more a bit more air. My HW fan only turned at 9000 rpm and the Protek I replaced it with turns 20,000 rpm I believe.

 

[RustyUs]

You said temp. sensor shut off ESC. Did you mean the ESC kicked on the overheat protection (greed LED blinking)? If that happened, I would think the ESC is maybe trying to tell you something... a more robust ESC is needed. The fan on the ESC just giving up twice baffles me a bit. I've ran the lowest cost Hobbywing 35A EZRun with no fan (fan motor just old), on 1/10 scale 2wd buggy/stadium truck platforms, and with no issues with heat. I'd probably try an aftermarket fan first before replacing/upgrading the ESC.

Even though the SCT410SL is a "lighter weight" SCT platform, there is still a considerable amount of heft to it and the electronics need to be up to the task of powering all four tires. I know the Quicrun 10BL120 is a 120A/720A speed control, and my EZRun WP-SC8 is a 120A/720A speed control, but the circuit boards have to be more robust on the larger WP-SC8 ESCs. I used/still use the EZRun WP-SC8 on my EB48 2.0 buggy... no issues, but there is no way I'd attempt to run the 10BL120 on my 1/8 scale buggy.

I'd reach out to Hobbywing and tell them about your fan issue.

 

[Billl DeLong]

The plastic shroud fans that come with pretty much all brands of ESC's are junk, it's common knowledge in the racing community for everyone to upgrade to a fan with an aluminum shroud which won't snap nor flex and will be far less likely to fail.

There are very few fans that use the same connector as HW so be prepared to splice solder or find an extra servo port. Some folks will use the programming port on the ESC to power their fans.

https://www.amainhobbies.com/protek...hv-cooling-fan-silver-black-ptk-2113/p1287539


Side note, make sure whatever fan you select can handle 7.4V if you are running that BEC voltage for improved steering response

 

[RustyUs]

I'd be curious to hear what Hobbywing says about running the Quicrun 10BL120 on a 4wd SCT. The "10" in 10BL120 name probably means 1/10 scale (?), but I'd consider a 4wd SCT to be more on the 1/8 scale side of things when it comes to choosing good electronics.

 

[nino.]

Usually if it's Hobbywing on a budget, it's Max10 SCT. But this should work. Even much bigger ESCs would overheat without a working fan. I used a 6s 150A ESC in my Slash 4x4 without a fan - fine during winter, but now it needs a fan too.

Like Bill said, upgrade to a better fan, the original ones are consumables. And really too weak and small. But you can get one of the same dimensions that will push more air and last longer.

 

[TeknoJay]

Thanks guys for the great responses, the replacement fan was another hobbywing unit that was supposed to be the exact same fan that was on it originally. I ordered it directly from hobbywing.

I did look around and see on hobbywings website that they intended the ESC to be used for 1/10th scale buggy and 1/12th scale on road cars. Maybe off-road it would hold up to sct use but I'm thinking pretty much 3/4 to full throttle on the oval is going to toast it pretty quickly.

I think it's a good idea to talk to Hobbywing tech guys. I'm thinking they will be able to suggest a good replacement ESC and I'll save this one for something else after I get an aftermarket replacement fan. (Thanks for the link)

 

[nub]

For your described use I would look at the Max10 if you want to stay with Hobbywing.

 

[Hector_Fisher]

The ubiquitous aluminum case fans that you can buy last much much longer than stock plastic fans. If you're patient and don't mind waiting a few weeks, you can order them off aliexpress for ridiculously cheap. I have several myself, and the only reason i have thrown some away is because user error (i didn't manage my cables and they flopped around and broke fan blades).
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256804648690361.html
You'll need a 25mm fan per the HW website:
https://www.hobbywingdirect.com/collections/hw-cooling-fan/quicrun

 

[TeknoJay]

Thanks for the link on the Fan, I messaged the Hobbywing guys and got multiple quick responses. He wasn't really sure on why the fans were failing other than the possibility of voltage fluctuations due to overloading the ESC. He recommended the Hobbywing Xr10 pro legacy as a replacement if I decide replacement is the route to go.

He suggested dropping the pinion a couple teeth if I wanted to keep the current ESC and run the fan from the receiver.