ESC's compatibility - Hobby King/Aerostar

[fhhuber]

Well I finally found the time to get back on this, and the outcome surprised me.

I did have another motor I'd forgotten about, so plugged it into the Tundra's ESC, and on advancing the throttle, about 8 times out of ten, the motor ran in the right direction, but just occasionally it would reverse.

That would seem to rule out the motor and ESC, and possibly indicate a Tx problem?

I can work around it by trimming the throttle full up, and the prop continues turning, albeit at only 100-200 rpm, not enough to even move the aircraft on carpet, so that when the throttle is fully closed, the prop hasn't stopped, and therefore starts in the right direction. I'd prefer I didn't have to operate it this way, but if I can't overcome the problem, that's the way it will have to be.

Any comments on the latest development??

This is a definitive ESC issue. A brushless motor can not turn reverse unless the ESC reverses the sequence of energizing windings in the motor. A brushed motor can't reverse without applying reversed polarity from the ESC to the motor.

Many modern ESCs can be programmed to run forward or reverse. If your logic chip is failing and randomly reversing the motor the ESC is not reliable enough to use in an aircraft.

[Ross M]

Trimming the throttle full up is not good practice for an electric system. Do you use the throttle cut? If so, does this kill the motor completely?
Something that hasn't been touched upon .............................. Is this ESC the original one? Or is it one of the newer Tundra ESCs that has a reversing feature? Such ESCs would have 2 leads coming from the ESC - one is the usual throttle lead and the other is one that goes to a 2 position switch (like gear) so that the motor can be reversed when operating on water.

xviper.....problem solved, but with no logic attached.

The ESC is the later type with the reversing plug, but I'd left it unplugged because I'm not using the Tundra with floats, although I do have the floats, so may in the future.

I plugged it into the gear socket on the Rx, and it now runs in one direction only. I understand that ESC may have been in the reverse mode, and having an input changed that, but it still doesn't explain why it intermittently ran in the opposite direction, so I'm still confused by the issue.

I'm still interested in any ideas on why, being relatively new to electrics, I have much to learn.

[fhhuber]

It will be the ESC randomly resetting the value of frward/reverse during ESC/RX power up. With the second channel plugged in, the RX commands the value to be set by the TX switch position.

Kind of sloppy to have it not default to forward every time. Somewhat akin to some early ESCs that could not be depended on to default to OFF as the RX powered up.

[xviper]

xviper.....problem solved, but with no logic attached.

The ESC is the later type with the reversing plug, but I'd left it unplugged because I'm not using the Tundra with floats, although I do have the floats, so may in the future.

I plugged it into the gear socket on the Rx, and it now runs in one direction only. I understand that ESC may have been in the reverse mode, and having an input changed that, but it still doesn't explain why it intermittently ran in the opposite direction, so I'm still confused by the issue.

I'm still interested in any ideas on why, being relatively new to electrics, I have much to learn.

The ESCs from HobbyKing that reverses, I believe needs that plug installed into a 2-way switch so that it gets a signal all the time. I don't think it necessarily defaults to forward direction if not plugged in. It may have simply had a "brain fart" without that signal. I have it plugged in on my BushMule and I sometimes forget which way the switch should be so when I try to take off, the plane lifts it's nose like a horse rearing up. Kind of neat but it does remind to never touch that switch while the plane is in the air. I also think that it won't reverse if the throttle is above a certain point, thus why having a high throttle trim may have appeared to fix the problem. Now that you've figured it out, put the throttle trim back to as low as it will go, re-bind the plane and do another throttle calibration.

[Ross M]

I've taken those steps xviper, and all's working as it should.

Thank you and fhhuber for your assistance. It's been greatly appreciated.

[xviper]

I should have picked up on the Tundra's reversing ESC from the start.

[Ross M]

I should have picked up on the Tundra's reversing ESC from the start.

I suppose I should have also, and if the motor had been running in reverse every time, I would have, but intermittently????? That didn't ring a bell.

Thanks again for your help....and patience!

[bmizell]

anyone ever had an esc to catch fire? Turnigy aerpstar 150 amp

[xviper]

anyone ever had an esc to catch fire? Turnigy aerpstar 150 amp

Not quite catch fire but really close. My stock ESC from my old Taft ViperJet went up in smoke one day. Had I not run out to it and unplugged the battery, it could have caught fire. Luckily, I was just getting ready to take off. If it had taken off and did that, I think it would have been a flaming ball of fire. I don't think catching fire is necessarily restricted to a Turnigy ESC.

[OV10]

Not quite catch fire but really close. My stock ESC from my old Taft ViperJet went up in smoke one day. Had I not run out to it and unplugged the battery, it could have caught fire. Luckily, I was just getting ready to take off. If it had taken off and did that, I think it would have been a flaming ball of fire. I don't think catching fire is necessarily restricted to a Turnigy ESC.

;)No thinking about it........Absolutely True. I've had Detrum(Dynam) stuff smoke and flame but that was in the earlier years when I wasn't as well versed on the better stuff.