# A "REAL" Fire Bird... (Almost)



## plymouth71 (Dec 14, 2009)

I set up a track the other day to play with my kids at home. He had fun, and before I left we cleaned it up. However, my Son was not finished and constructed a small oval to play on after I had left for work. 
No problem. I left some cars for him and told him to have fun. Sometime later he ran up to my wife to tell her something was wrong. She arrived to find a cloud of smoke, and the smell of burnt plastic. My son showed her the Yellow slot car and the smoke wafting out of the windows. She thankfully put the car out of reach and advised him to play with something else.


I've never had this happen before... anyone know what occured?



Heres an up close shot


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## rodstrguy (Feb 14, 2002)

By the looks of it I would say it was run non-stop, some of the brush material built up in the groves of the armiture and it got real hot...


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## Joe65SkylarkGS (Feb 15, 2010)

Ahh I can smeel it all the way over here bud!!

Like rodstrguy says, it was probably built up with a lot of carbon, it builds up and creates a short between the poles. Then the poles short. Also too much oil might cause a similar type of a smokey situation, but I never burnt one cause of it.

Save the chassis. You can spare it by installing Super II brush cups cause the brush holes need to be drilled open. So don't throw it away, please. :thumbsup:


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## 1976Cordoba (Sep 20, 2000)

I believe the technical term for that is Ka-BLAMMO . . .


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

The pancake equivalent of throwing a rod!

Anyone of several things COULD have happened...but to put it in a nutshell I'm going with LOS...lack of service.


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## plymouth71 (Dec 14, 2009)

What are you implying Bill???


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

*Probable cause*

The pictured outcome could be caused by a number of different circumstances but...

... my bet would be the obvious, a brush worn beyond tolerance or a fatigued spring...maybe a combined result given the AFX's predaliction for fatigue-ing springs, hence the different arrangment by the engineers in the Magnas. It's a pretty sure bet, as the BBQ is confined to the backside of the comm pit. :thumbsup:

LOOKS like the back brush came away from the comm and the resulting arc fizzed the chassis. Of note is the brush height of the remaining brush in the forward position. For my money it APPEARS to be hanging a bit low due to wear, a bagged spring, or a spring needing adjustment. It's not a great stretch to imagine that the rear brush was sagging too and maybe a wee bit more...? :freak: 

So based on one picture, my GUESS is that the ragged edge of the service life was approached and passed.

...and now lets bow our heads in a moment of silence for the death of an innocent chassis...


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## plymouth71 (Dec 14, 2009)

LOL ok Actually, I was going to say that I had oiled the chassis, and I think It might have come out too fast under the armature.. But. Doesn't matter now... I guess I should start look at replacing my brushes??? Anyone know a good source????????


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## Joe65SkylarkGS (Feb 15, 2010)

plymouth71 said:


> LOL ok Actually, I was going to say that I had oiled the chassis, and I think It might have come out too fast under the armature.. But. Doesn't matter now... I guess I should start look at replacing my brushes??? Anyone know a good source????????


Well it depends what you want Dan. You can find stock carbon at the regular suppliers. Or you can go with a Wizzard or JW. I know a guy who made a bunch of 15 percent silver that most of the echoors and fray guys use and swear by. I can get those for you. They are 30 for 20 pair I believe. Most after market brushes are quite pricey. But if you race they're a must. For the house not so much. For me, I use them in every car I run. I usually get a deal for the 100 pack. :thumbsup:


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## rodstrguy (Feb 14, 2002)

Don't forget the spring, when they get that hot the loose their "springyness"...The AW tune up kits would be a good sorce of parts too.


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

*Wedgies*

Well there are proponents of running the regular 'ole round non-domed brushes in the AFX. As you may have noted, the factory went back to a fully round flat faced brush on the Magna. It would appear that comm pit issues drove Aurora to go to the effort of redesigning the troubled area, and with good results. Inspite of adding two more microscopic springs to lose per chassis, not many folks would argue that the reliability didnt improve. 

Based on sage commentary found here and the above knowledge, I also went away from the wedgies some years back with no I'll effects. In fact quite the opposite. The standard body comm brush doesnt have the same propensity to "cant" or lean in the bore and bind up; nor do they rototill that nasty ditch into the comm segments when you squeeze the springs up. Due to their broader contact area I have found them to be more forgiving and whether it's my imagination or not things seem noticeably cooler.

I have no complaints with Thunder Brushes or Wizzards. I rekon any equivalent would be fine providing they are adjusted with a measure of sanity.


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## plymouth71 (Dec 14, 2009)

Thanks guys. Joe. I wouldn't mind getting a couple sets of those hopped up brushes for my own speed experimentation, but I need to keep the speeds down for the boy... If you'll remember, he's not so good with highspeed yet hence the replacement of all those rear ends...

The AW Tune up kits are a good idea, but I don't want to buy stuff I don't need. I've picked up enough of those replacement parts, just need brushes and springs.


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## Joe65SkylarkGS (Feb 15, 2010)

plymouth71 said:


> Thanks guys. Joe. I wouldn't mind getting a couple sets of those hopped up brushes for my own speed experimentation, but I need to keep the speeds down for the boy... If you'll remember, he's not so good with highspeed yet hence the replacement of all those rear ends...
> 
> The AW Tune up kits are a good idea, but I don't want to buy stuff I don't need. I've picked up enough of those replacement parts, just need brushes and springs.


I'll see what I can get for you this sunday at the Parsippany show. I may have a pair or two to spare you on the fancy brushes so don't worry bout those. How many factory brushes and springs were you looking for? And do you want the dimple replacements or the flat brushes?


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## plymouth71 (Dec 14, 2009)

Joe65SkylarkGS said:


> do you want the dimple replacements or the flat brushes?




Huh ? :freak:


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

the brushes in the original Magna-Tractions have a little nipple (what Joe is calling a dimple) on the bottom side to help keep the spring centered. the original T-Jet brushes are equally flat on both sides. this, then, is the question posed. do you want equally flat on both sides brushes ... or ... do you want brushes with nipples ? ?


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## plymouth71 (Dec 14, 2009)

Ha Ha you said "nipples" ... :tongue:


Yeah those would be the ones... the ones with NIPPLES


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## Joe65SkylarkGS (Feb 15, 2010)

plymouth71 said:


> Ha Ha you said "nipples" ... :tongue:
> 
> 
> Yeah those would be the ones... the ones with NIPPLES




Thanks Al. Dan your off your rocker!!!lmao!!!!

How many and do you need springs too? Ya gotta help me out here dude. :wave:


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## plymouth71 (Dec 14, 2009)

I'll have to ask my son to help me count...


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

*Better safe than sorry*

Plym, you've just had a graphic demonstration of the _*DANGER*_ of running old stock brushes. 

Don't be the guy who needs to burn up *two* chassis before the lesson sinks in. To be sure it doesn't happen again, I think you should just go through and replace _all_ your old, unreliable brushes with new spiffy-alloy, silver-bearing high performance brushes, and send the old removed ones to me. I'll dispose of them properly. 

In fact if you're worried about the springs being weak after all these years, go ahead and replace them, too. I'll take a look at the old ones and tell you how close you came to disaster. 

No, no. Don't thank me. Just part of the service. 

-- D


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## plymouth71 (Dec 14, 2009)

No problem, I'm just running a little low on cash. How about lending me some money to replace all those old brushes and springs.


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