Dave M Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 I have plunged into the electric world, and have a slight problem. My motor has a red / yellow / black wire, and the ESC has three yellow wires. Which way are they supposed to connect up? I have tried various combinations but with no joy, please help! (All other controls work ok)Thanks,Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Kearsley Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 Dave, it makes no difference how you connect the ESC to the motor, other than the direction of rotation of the motor. Are you getting no response at all from the motor? Bear in mind that an ESC will inhibit the motor from turning if it "sees" anything other than a throttle at idle. So if your throttle is operating in the opposite sense (i.e like a reversed servo) the motor will not start. Likewise if there is no signal from the Tx the motor will not start.Cheers,Tim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave M Posted April 4, 2008 Author Share Posted April 4, 2008 Cheers Tim, I will go and check throttle channel, I am getting no response at all.Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave M Posted April 4, 2008 Author Share Posted April 4, 2008 I tried changing the throttle channel which made no difference. Then I plugged the ESC direct into the rx, rather than through the switch that I have fitted. I got a series of beeps which was encouraging, real motor movement other than a half turn when the stick was pushed. I susspect that the battery needs charging so will do that next. Is it likely that a low battery will give flying controls but no motor? I Think I have read somewhere that this is a kind of failsafe. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Kearsley Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 OK Dave, let us know how you get on. When you do get it going, if the direction of rotation of the motor is wrong, simply swap over any two connections to the ESC and it will rotate in the opposite direction.Tim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave M Posted April 4, 2008 Author Share Posted April 4, 2008 Tim, thanks for this, I get the battery on charge and see what happens then,Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Kearsley Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 Sounds like you're getting there Dave! Usually, the ESC is programmable (either with a dedicated programming card or via the Tx) and you again usually have an option as to whether the ESC will turn the motor off abruptly when the battery voltage falls below a threshold or reduce power to the motor progressively. So, yes, a low battery could well prevent the motor from turning.Tim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave M Posted April 4, 2008 Author Share Posted April 4, 2008 Well, I've charged the battery, pluged everyting in and there is no response from the motor, no beeping , movement , nothing. I'm at a loss as to what to try next. Apart from a shockie this is my first electric model and I really want it to work. I'm sure I must be missing somthing really simple.Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicholas Booth Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 Hi Dave As this is your first Electric model I will try list a few basic setup requirmentsYou already have the 3 wires of the ESC plugged into the motor and no matter how they are connected, if everything is ok then you should get some movement in one direction or another ( I was also advised not to run a motor without a prop but for the life of me cannot remember why but it was bad to do so ) The servo looking wire plugs into the throttle connection of your receiver.The battery plugs into the the two wires of the esc, do not use a switch as the power that could be drawn could be a lot greater than the switch could handle.By default no other battery is required for operation UNLESS you have what is called an OPTO ESC which requires you to have a second battery connected to the receiver.(if you post details of what you have we can have a look at what you have to make sure)Turn on your transmitter and and pull your throttle to the fully off position, and connect battery. you should now here a number of beeps and a lot of ESC's are different, but if they stop beeping then slowly move your throttle forward. If by half throttle there is no response, move it to the full position, leave it there for a second and start to return it slowlybe carefull at this point for this reason, some esc's require you to start the throttle in the off position and then set the full on position, for these you would then return the throttle to the off position and slowly moving forward your throttle again now could well trigger some action on the motor......HOWEVER... if your throttle setting on your transmitter needs to be reversed which is normal for certain brands, means that by moving the your throttle to the full on position would full arm it in what it thinks is the off position, and returning the throttle to the fully off could in fact trigger full throttleIf your motor starts to turn as you start to bring your throttle back from full then power off by disconnecting the battery , reverse your throttle and try again.If you still get no movement, still try to reverse your throttle and repeat and having the throttle in the wrong startup position can in fact trigger the setup mode and that is a whole new story.I hope this helps, but let me know how it goes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave M Posted April 5, 2008 Author Share Posted April 5, 2008 Tim, Nicholas, thanks for your response to my problem. I have no sorted my "school boy" error, I had plugged the ESC into the battery slot instead of the throttle, Doh!!! Anyway, I will noe sort the CofG out and hopefully fly electric on Sunday (as the weather is supposed to be better than the rain and low cloud this morning).Once again, thanks Gentlemen, I appreciate the help,Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Kearsley Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 Glad to hear you've sorted it Dave!All the best,Tim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Mackey Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 Brushless motors dont suffer this fate of course...but have been known to throw a magnet ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave M Posted April 7, 2008 Author Share Posted April 7, 2008 Well I flew yesterday, (first electric flight), all was good apart from glitching, not suffered this before but landed safely. I changed the position of the rx and routing of the aerial, and it was a little better but not perfect. I think I will fit a specktrum rx instead of the 35 Mhz one and see if that improves things. I had originally planned to fit this but was short of space, but in having to move the battery for the CofG etc I think it should fit ok now. Unless there are any other suggestions? Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Mackey Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 Well if you have the opportunity to go spektrum then any other suggestions would be pretty useless. I expect your glitching problem to completely disappear with 2.4Ghz. What receiver were you using that saved so much space over the small spektrum jobs? I managed to fit a full range ar7000 dsm2 rig into a very small EDF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave M Posted April 7, 2008 Author Share Posted April 7, 2008 Ah, experience comes into play. The model is a 39" span low wing aerobatic job, I bought it with no assembly instructions and put it together with what I had at hand. I fitted mini servos where micro would have been better, one consequence was that the aeileron servo protrudes from its location in the a little further than is ldeal, the other servos are also taller than ideal. I had it fit a mount for the battery etc and all this seemed to cut down on usable space. Having actually got the model to a flying condition and correcting the c of g etc the battery is now much further forward than I had originally installed it, so freeing up space. Another issue was the model is narrower than the length or the aeirials on the spekky rx and I was not sure that they would be ok touching the airframe sides, bearing in mind they sit in opposite directions I could put the secondary (smaller one) crossways? Anyway, this led me to fit a standard graupner 35Mhz rx that I had it hand, to be fair it is actuall bigger than the Spekky one, but it is a single assembly and seemed the wat to go at the time!Interestingly a mate brought an electric model along yesterday that has suffered extreme glitching, we changed his rx and tried mine in its place and his problems were immediatly solved, with his model flying safely for the first time. Strange eh! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Mackey Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 On narrow fuselage installations I pierce a tiny hole in the fus sides, and allow the small spekky aerial wire to poke out in the breeze!It is not uncommon for certain receivers to just not gert on with certain ESCs. However...Its spekky in everything for me, has been for over 18 months and never had so much as a hint of trouble since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave M Posted April 14, 2008 Author Share Posted April 14, 2008 Well chaps, just to close this thread off, I got the model ready, changed the gear to spektrum stuff, range checked all OK, took off fought with it for a very short flight and crashed writing the model off. Guess what, I didn't reverse the aileron servo so they were working in the wrong direction,Doh, what a complete idiot.did I feel stupid? - yes, had I made a mental note to reverse the servo prior to first flight? - yesdid I forget ? - yesDo I always check the engine and flying controls just before take off ? - yes, every other time,did I do it this time? - no obviously not,Why? Thats the million doller question isn't it, but I don't need a bigger reminder than the one I got yesterday . So anyway, it turned out that the biggest glitch was caused by the guy twiddling the sticks, , you live and learn etc.................................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Richards Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 Sorry to here that . It is not uncommon and is usually done by the most experience flyers. I have been flying just about a year and I have seen it happen twice Both by people that had been flying models for over 30 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave M Posted April 14, 2008 Author Share Posted April 14, 2008 I've been flying for a year this month Bruce, and this is my first crash, as Ive been told, "if you don't want to risk a crash, don't fly". It was a silly error and I will learn from it, lets hope the weather will be good next weekend so we can have another fix. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Richards Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 Oh don't worry I have lost count of the number of crashes I have had. I have written of 2-3 models. But I still smile and get on with it because I love it and there is nothing else to touch the thrill. My main problem is practicing my B test maneuvers at too lower height. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave M Posted April 14, 2008 Author Share Posted April 14, 2008 Believe it or not, I got this model to practice flying a bit closer in and lower than before, just didn't intend to get as low as I actually managed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Mackey Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 or how strong that "rare earth" magnet is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.