Motors and warranties

[PaulRotheram]

Hi all!

not sure how many of you read other forums, but a while back i posted on the doughtyuk forum about a v2 Spashett motor i was having problems with, causing my car to overheat and go in to thermal shut down in 2/3 minutes of use!

after inspection i found a small peice of the arm on the stack was sticking out and i presumed this could be the issue. i tried a few different varients to resolve the problem.. different endbell, different can, different arm, different esc - different driver!

i had also found wear, and/or corrosion on the motor can see picture -

Wear/Corrosion on motor can magnet

i sent the motor to helger to be checked over after contacting them with the issues. after about two weeks i received a package with the following note:

'missing piece of coating is of no concern, the damage to this arm has been caused by corrosion forcing the laminations apart, this is not a manufacturing fault. David has supplied a spare arm from his stock to help out though'.

now from my point of view, as stated on the note that the corrosion has caused the problem then surely this is a manufacturer failure as the protective coating on both the arm and stack has failed - as it has corroded! i can see no signs of the motor i sent being checked over as both the comm and brushes are in the same state as i left them before packing them up - worn from its last run.

i have been sent another arm to help, but i am not sure it is actually an orion arm, and it is definatly not a spashett edition.

New arm on the left, old arm which caused problems on the right

looking at the 'new' arm the comm is bigger in diameter than a regular V2, the 'grooves' are no longer in the stacks to aid cooling and this armature they have sent me is a 10x3, not the 10x2 i actually sent! there are also some indents in the coppers surface. (im not being picky here, but it is big enough to cause some loss of connectivity to the brushes).

im looking for some advice with the situation really, i feel it should of been replaced fully as the motor has failed, from my viewings the motor has not been tested and i have been given an incorrect armature and the wrong wind which i suppose was to make me feel better over the situation. I dont wish to actually run the motor due to previous runs with the motor it caused my car the thermal shut down in a very serious manner - possibly damaging most of my cars electricals .

The motor its self is about 3 months old, being used most weekends on the correct reccomended gearing by losi and helger 'factory' drivers.

so the question.. what now?

[Southwell]

In my opinion they know it is a manufacturing fault or they wouldn't have sent you jack! Complain!

[Cockerill]

1 Hard landing and motor magnets can be damaged. Whats to say this damage hasn't been caused by use?

If the motor has worked fine for 3 months then developed a fault it sounds as tho it has been damaged in use.

1 more thing to check is that the endbell is fully insulated ad not shorting out. I have seen a few people have this problem and it makes the motors run very hot and not perform well.

[jimmy]

I think its been like this from the start hasnt it paul ? not something that just happened.

[DCM]

I would ring and speak nicely to Helger and try to resolve the situation.

IF you have no success, yo uare well within your rights to contact Team Orion direct.

The V2 endbells have a pronounced problem with shorting out causing heat issues. If you have continued to run it (which is a fair thing to be expected to do) then the heat WILL affect the coatings eventualy. Although it possibly IS a manufacturing fault, because it has been left a while, it has escelated.

I am sure some calm talking (don't email them, talk to them) will get the issue resolved, if not, contact Team Orion direct, and ask Helger to give you a contact number for them.

Hope that helps Paul.

[pro4nut]

I see your point about the replacement they sent not being the same, however this is a goodwill gesture and not surprisingly it si not the same as purchased. If this was a problem from new you had the right to return the product within 28 days to the place of purchase with your receipt and requested a refund or replacement. It is difficult to claim failure during normal operation as neither yourself nor the licensed repair agent could demonstrate the validity of the claim. Good luck but you are relying on goodwill not your rights as a consumer. In referance to stating that by giving you a replacement they have admitted liability, this is not true they have just issued a product as a goodwill gesture.

I deal with this everyday sorry if it sounds negative but it is best to be realisitic.