Traxxas NiMh for my mini revo

I just got a 1/16 erevo in the mail today. I charged the batteries up and they lasted for 3 minutes. I've tried charging them a few different times and still nothing. I am using a twin peak charger by dynamite. Do these batteries normally die after 3 minutes or what? I am using two of them to get it to 50 but it went 30 tops and went down hill from there. I have the esc set for nimh.

Also, the 1/16 erevo's vxl got toasty after the 3 minutes as well along with the motor and one of the two batteries.

Help!

that is not normal there could be a short in something where electricity is jumping causing a spike in heat and causing short battery life from the extra power withdrawl, try using a multi meter to check voltage maybe it could be your charger, if you charger can, try cycling the battery's they may just need to "wake" up. thats the only advice i can think of, just try cycling the batterys first it could be as easy as cycling them one or two times

The batteries aren't new but they have no more than 15 charges a piece. If the charger is over 8 years old is it a problem?

Hmm it sounds like you bought a used 1/16 and the seller told you there was no more than 15 charges? I can ruin a battery in half a charge to be honest. If one of the batteries is getting hot than it is starting to go bad, or is bad, and you need to deep cycle it a few times to see if it can be saved.

If the ESC is getting hot as well than you'll want to gear the truck down a few teeth. Remember, "hot" is too hot to the touch after a few seconds.

In perfect conditions those stock batteries should last just around 10minutes.

I took it apart and made it a 23 pinion with the 50 spur. I also made sure there isn't too much friction going on with the gears. I can keep my hands on the motor and esc for awhile, but i didnt think it should be hot instead of just warm.

Well how long should I be able to drive it with a single 3s before it breaks?

Before it breaks lol...that's all on you man. Just depends how soft you are with the trigger. I ran mine on 3s ONroad for awhile with no problems but as soon as I took it offroad she overheated and parts started wearing out. That's when I went 2s.

i would try charging the batteries on the charger that came with the car, if that still dosent give you beter run time, call traxxas