More Castle Creations Re-Calls!!!

[barney]

HH set up a return process whereby if you were unable to return it via your supplier you could do it directly at no cost to you. HH being the SpeKtrum warranty agent.

Brian

[electricsceadu]

i would have thought on the new un-assembled kits the retailer would offer another make of esc
to get the heli kit flying


there is one thing
us nitro fliers will have a little more air space to use for a while so we best make good use of it


nitro heli's may smoke but they don't go up in smoke



sorry i just had to
please no bun fights nitro v electric

[barney]

LOL its a real pain, but at least the problem is being addressed

Brian

[Mark_T]

My only thought is that at the time of sale the esc was ok to use, but I have seen a few now quite rightly spitting nails as they cannot complete their shiny new kit.

It is a minefield for sure and the comments on HF were a bit misleading as things are very different over here. Bottom line is that the manufacturer of the part has stated that there are manufacturing faults in the part, so the UK retailers are left without any defence as the only real debate with a faulty product is was the defect there from new, in this case the answer is a clear 'yes'.

The real question for us is which route gets you to a resolution the quickest?

With the DX8, HH stepped in and offered a simple cost free solution which both provided their customers with an easy route to a fix and protected their retailers from a lot of returns, a good action from HH.

CC are being a lot less supportive to their retailers and customers as they have not offered a cost free path to a fix nor are they offering a quick resolution to the problem as the replacement units have not even completed testing yet.

Net result is in the UK (and EU for that matter) the retailers are more exposed on this one.

If you have recently purchased an ESC on the list I would be talking to your retailer about an replacement or a refund, same goes if you have bought an Align kit containing a faulty part but it is a bit more complicated there if you've already started to assemble the kit, but I'd still expect the retailer to offer a solution to the problem.

As the consumer the choice is yours though regarding the return direct to CC, if you think it is going to be the fastest route to a fix then go ahead, if you prefer to let your retailer handle the problem then talk to them as they are responsible for sorting this out for you, but expect them to try and convince you to return it direct to CC.

[alioth]

No, luckily it's got nothing to do with Align as it's still branded Castle Creations.
I do see where you are coming from in your logic, I had a similar debate on HF about this very question, but the ESC is nothing to do with Align and must go back to Castle direct.
.

It was supplied with an Align kit, I'm sure under the Sale of Goods Act your retailer is on the hook to make things good.

[sacko]

Doesnt matter what company made what, you bought it off the retailer, it doesnt work, its their problem

[Mark_T]

Doesnt matter what company made what, you bought it off the retailer, it doesnt work, its their problem

That is it in a nutshell

Only thing to consider over and above that is if you can get a faster solution by using the return to CC route, but unlike HH and the DX8, it is far from clear just how quickly CC are going to be turning these things around as they still seem to be testing the new replacement at the moment so they will have manufacturing to do before new units are available.

[scallybert]

Correct me if I'm wrong here...

One of the good things about dealing with the retailer is that they are generally obliged to provide a refund.

I'd expect them not to want to do this, as they're effectively out of pocket for no sale. I'd expect them to prefer a replacement, or such. Hence, you have leverage.

The trouble with a questionable ESC in a kit, is that your right to a refund is going to be for the complete kit. So if it's partially/fully assembled, etc, you can expect problems returning it. Similarly, expect problems just returning the ESC. You're negotiating, but without the ability to readilly demand a refund.

[BTW, I like CC. Even though I've just had an ICE 50 (LV) go up in smoke on the bench... I don't believe this is the same problem as the HVs. I hope they get the problems sorted and get back on track.]

[Jamin_00]

[BTW, I like CC. Even though I've just had an ICE 50 (LV) go up in smoke on the bench... I don't believe this is the same problem as the HVs. I hope they get the problems sorted and get back on track.]

Maybe not such an isolated incident then

http://www.rcheliaddict.co.uk/main-d...tml#post705681

[madgooner99]

Anyone seen any posts from CC indicating how long the exchange is going to be this time. Waited a month for the V3 but seems to me their still testing the V4

[Mark_T]

Anyone seen any posts from CC indicating how long the exchange is going to be this time. Waited a month for the V3 but seems to me their still testing the V4

Nothing yet, I suspect this isn't going to be quick

Also don't look for V4 or Rev 4, you are looking for 'ICE 2 HV' as that is what the 'good' ones will be called.

[Mark_T]

Correct me if I'm wrong here...

One of the good things about dealing with the retailer is that they are generally obliged to provide a refund.

Yes, with a few limitations but if the product was very new then yes, a refund is reasonable to expect.

The real problem facing the retailers is that the alternatives of a repair or a new replacement of the same type are not possible within a time-scale that would not inconvenience the customer so they really only have refund or replacement with an alternative product available as solutions.

[coolice]

Anyone seen any posts from CC indicating how long the exchange is going to be this time. Waited a month for the V3 but seems to me their still testing the V4

Hey.

I think I've seen on the grapevine another 3~4 weeks, while a new gate controller board is tested and then no doubt put into large production runs. I would imagine these are machine assembled (?) and so once the design is finalized it should be pretty quick to get them assembled, the only problem is there are now more varients on the to-do list. I hope the first recalled 120HV's will be completed first and then go down the list.

Reference the returns debate, perhaps the best course of action is how you, the buyer see's fit to deal with the faulty esc. Either take it to your retailer or ship direct to Castle.

As an Align representative, I can only appologise on their behalf to all the buyers of said models that are now grounded. It's no consolation I know but I to am grounded, luckily it seems my ICE100 in my 550 isn't effected........ However there is still time :-(
.

[madgooner99]

Hey.

I think I've seen on the grapevine another 3~4 weeks, while a new gate controller board is tested and then no doubt put into large production runs. I would imagine these are machine assembled (?) and so once the design is finalized it should be pretty quick to get them assembled, the only problem is there are now more varients on the to-do list. I hope the first recalled 120HV's will be completed first and then go down the list.

Reference the returns debate, perhaps the best course of action is how you, the buyer see's fit to deal with the faulty esc. Either take it to your retailer or ship direct to Castle.

As an Align representative, I can only appologise on their behalf to all the buyers of said models that are now grounded. It's no consolation I know but I to am grounded, luckily it seems my ICE100 in my 550 isn't effected........ However there is still time :-(
.

Cheers

I'd be well happy if it was 3 to 4 weeks... think ill send it to Belgium this time....but i'd rather a refund lol

Ray

[madgooner99]

Very open and interesting post from CC's owner on RCG

---------------------------------------------------------------------

For those who were asking --

We have determined through ABA testing that there are significant issues with the driver chip, but have not been able to determine what/which lot numbers were affected.

We know that we can take one particular lot of chips and cause them to fail consistently in the lab. Other lot number chips seem to work fine.

The testing was done like this:

Using an ICE 120HV and a load which causes very large current transients (in this case, a Magtrol dyno set to vary load on a 2028 motor from 3A to 160A in immediate steps (<100 milliseconds.))

This testing shows Vs transients of about -1.0 volts on the "good" chips (showing that the on-chip Vs clamps work well.)

This testing shows Vs transients of about -20 volts on the "bad" chips (showing that the on-chip Vs clamps are not working sufficiently.)

Swapping the "bad" chips for the "good" chips directly on the exact same hardware shows the behavior follows the driver chips.

ABA testing means we test lot "A" then test lot "B" and test lot "A" (with different chips from the same lot) again. The problem consistently follows the lot "A" chips.

Because our chip supplier cannot tell us which specific lots are affected, and which are not, we have decided that we will recall ALL of the controllers.

This is the only way we can be sure to get all of the affected controllers.

We could wait and test samples from all the lots, find out which lots are affected and which are not, and only recall those from the affected lots. But we don't feel that that would be in the best interest of the modelling community. We would prefer to make sure that we get back ALL of the controllers, and update them to the new control board.

This was not a decision we made lightly, and we apologize for all the inconvience this will cause.

Thank you,

Patrick