it snowed the other day here in minnesota and i couldnt resist so i brought out my rustler and now i noticed that my esc light is getting hard to see. i also noticed that my esc will shut off when i push the button but i can still steer but can't use the motor. whats the deal. its supposed to be waterproof

Lemme guess. If your ESC is waterproof, are your BATTERY waterproof?

whats that have to do with my problem? it most likely isnt, its a venom battery so im not too worried if it gets ruined. theres no way though that my problems are because of my battery

Is your receiver protected (isolated)? I mean in a waterproof case?

yes it is. i have it in a case. its one of the new rustlers that are waterproof.

It won't be your battery,
the only thing I run my clod in is snow, don't have to cover the batteries.

I would suspect your esc, if you have another reciever to try it with then you can verify it.

Did it start having problems while you were running in snow, or did it start the next time you tried it?

i think most of it happened after. im not sure about the light though. i will open open up the case since it doesnt have any stickers that say u cant. i will let you know how it goes

does your car run at all when its on?

i couldnt get the heat sink off so i couldnt open the case. i was driving it earlier and it and it quit responding to my controller. i picked it up and the wheels started spinning i shut off the transmitter and it kept doing it. i shut it off and the motor wouldnt respond while it was off but i could still turn the wheels. i can see the light through the side of the case but not through the clear spot.

Sounds like the ESC got wet inside,
you could also try connecting the ESC to the steering channel to verify(make sure wheels are off ground),
but it doesn't sound good for the ESC[]

Is it under warranty?

I wouldnt run my truck in the snow, its getting colder down here to around 50-55f

it is 4c here and my hands were numb after a 20 minute run with my storm.

-6C ~ 21F here....and been snowy since September 30th.

i live in louisville ky. and we barely get snow. i hope we get a little bit of snow this winter

well the light started to work but when i shut it off i still can steer. its been around 20-30 degrees f. how much snow have you got in montana

to me it sounds more like a transmitter/receiver problem. the fact that the light isn't working doesn't mean much.

i know this sounds stupid but are you sure you transmitter batteries are good?

do you have any other ESC's you could try out?

try switching your ESC plug and the servo plug at the receiver and if you can

A: turn the wheel to get motor response
B: move the trigger and get servo response

if A than you can narrow it down to a transmitter/receiver problem. since we changed the esc to channel 2 when you turn the wheel it should control the motor
if B than it is an ESC problem. since we switched these and nothing is different (besides the servo is controlled by the trigger and vise versa) and can rule out the transmitter/receiver.


if it is indeed B than i would give traxxas a call.

not a lot of snow accumulation yet, the sun melts it during the day without letting the air get warm. we've probably gotten 3-4 inches total, but no more than an inch accumulated on the ground at a time.

oh. any idea of how much cooke city has? i know my transmitter batteries are low but what would that have to do with my servo getting power when the esc is off. wouldnt that be the bec or whatever its called that powers the reciever?

Check the receiver box for water inside it. If there is any, dry it out and your receiver completely. Perhaps sit the receiver in front of a fan. Sometimes the waterproof gasket comes screwed up from the factory.

If you haven't yet destroyed your ESC, you can send it in for repair or replacement. If your ESC is under 30 days old it should be free. http://www.traxxas.com/support/kb_se...&highlight=354 If it's older than 30 days the fee is $20 to $45 depending on the condition. http://www.traxxas.com/support/kb_se...&highlight=361

I have to agree it does sound like water in the reciever. the esc can be run submerged without doing damage.(saw it on utube)

I can't see how the receiver would make an esc which is turned off make it continue to provide power to the steering servo....


It sounds like it's definitely the esc, maybe they missed a spot when water proofing or the rubber seal wasn't in correctly. Either way, don't open it up if it's still under warranty, just send it in for repair/replacement.

well its like 4 months old i dont think it is under warranty. im flat broke right now so i cant send it in yet. would it hurt it if i keep on driving it this way. i always unplug my battery after a run so i dont think its much to worry about

My concern would be if there's an internal short you may end up damaging the motor and the other electronics as well. Completely up to you whether you continue to run it.

If you figure out which item is messed up, traxxas should fix or replace it for free

well i ran it yesterday and now there is nothing wrong. everything worked flawlessly. must have got a bit of moisture in it