[Al Skierkiewicz]

Indie,
The sound you describe is the FETs blowing up. Sometimes there is enough heat build up tha it blows the case off. Only two casues for this, hooking the Victors up backwards, or conductive metal filings in the device. (drilling operations on the robot without covering the controllers.) When they are mounted very close together it is hard to tell where the wires go. An ohm meter check before powering can eliminate this in the future. Check continuity from the breaker panel to the victor before applying power.