Jump to content

No beeps from the ESC


Recommended Posts

This story goes to show how, after 33 years of i.c. and now starting in "electrickery" you can forget the basics and spoil a morning flying and buy equipment that was not needed.

 My Sebart Angel with only 6 flights to her credit sat at the field awaiting connection to the battery, time to fly after getting my eye in on a fun fly with a West 36 up front.  A flying buddy anxious to see the Angel fly, as he has just bought one and wanted to see how she flies, stood watching.  Connections made and despite the sparking, which I had experienced before and gave no cause for concern, turned the Tx on followed by the on board switch attached to the Hacker XB 70 Pro ESC.  Fully expecting to hear the usual 6 beeps to indicate the 6S LiPo being used followed by the 2 beeps to indicate "brake off".  Nothing.  No beeps and total silence, what could be wrong ?  It worked perfectly the previous evening when connected to the Watt Meter to check all the vital signs, and setting the throttle trim to ensure it did not delay on starting when the throttle stick was moved off idle (there is a clue to the problem here).

 Lots of head scratching and asking around revealed no one had a clue what the problem was and so I blamed the ESC and decided that somehow it had not seen the power and was not functioning.  Perhaps the sparking had caused the unit to decide it had enough abuse and ceased operations !!Time to get out the fun fly again and go "commit aviation" with something I felt comfortable with.

Back home and I looked rationally at the problem. Still no clue and despite no "burnt" smell from the ESC I decided that it was time to replace it.  So off to the Model Shop and purchase a replacement unit.  Living in Dubai meant a late trip as the shop opens at different hours during Ramadan from normal times.

 Back home with new ESC and connect up the Graupner connectors as had 4mm gold bullet connectors on the previous one and thought the sparking upon connection may have "blown" the ESC.  Connections made, turn everything on and NOTHING !!  Now what ? I had bought a new ESC and it still didn't work.  A bad nights sleep followed as thinking about the cause of the problem.  At work the next day ran through the series of events and when disussing with a colleague about fail safes in the system etc thought about the throttle trim and that perhaps the trim setting was, in itself, a type of fail safe to prevent the prop from starting if the system did not recognise that the throttle was at idle.

 After work, first thing was to set everything up and bring the idle trim down and make the required connections again.  Take a big breath and move the switch to ON, hey presto, all the right beeps and motor turning nicely, so now I have an expensive spare ESC !!

Sorry for the long tale but hope it helps someone out there who may not realise that the throttle trim may act as a failsafe.  I have downloaded the "Antispark" page that Timbo posted and will add this to prevent the sparking in the future, many thanks for that Timbo.

Best wishes from a very warm Dubai, at the moment we get to the flying field at about 06:00 and all packed up just after 09:30 as far too hot and uncomfortable in the sun.  We are really looking forward to winter as the max temp is about 26 and we can stay at the field all day.  If any of you plan a  trip to Dubai, get in touch and we can meet up and if on a Friday or Saturday (our weekend) may be able to get you out to the field.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thats a useful little tale there Roger - one that many newcomers will learn from, hopefully saving themselves the expense you suffered along the way ! I think it shows us that once the ESC has been initially "taught" the throttle travel and end points, trims or any other changes to that travel will likely activate the safety system - no bad thing really.

If I am ever lucky enough to get to Dubai, I for one will take you up on the offer of a flight in the warmth.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

dubai eh, does that mean you dont wear wolly hats and gloves and goggles when you fly , im just starting on ttis electrickery thing theres a  hell of a lot to learn ,but with this site, any probs and theres  always help at the push of a button, enjoy  that lovely weather  wish we could say the same
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...