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Electric Stunt => Gettin all AMP'ed up! => Topic started by: Randy Powell on August 29, 2015, 04:57:10 PM

Title: Troubleshooting a new setup
Post by: Randy Powell on August 29, 2015, 04:57:10 PM
So, I have a Cobra 2826/12 motor, Phoenix Edge Lite 75 ESC, Hubin timer, 5S, 35C, 2800mAh battery. I will show my complete ignorance of electric systems.

Now, I checked everything before I finished the plane. Worked fine. Now, the plane is finished and I put it all together and I'm getting a weird problem.

I put it together and hooked up a battery. When I plug in the arming switch, I get the tones it usually plays after the battery check, but it plays them twice. It doesn't seem to be checking the battery as I'm not getting the 5 tones it usually plays to check the cells. Not sure what that means. I push the timer button and the prop spins once then I get was a assume is an error tone. 3 chimes. Beep, beep, beep. Wait about 3 seconds then it does it again and so on.

I tried changing out timers. I checked the ESC with the Castle software and it seems to be fine.

Any ideas?
Title: Re: Troubleshooting a new setup
Post by: Tim Wescott on August 29, 2015, 05:14:50 PM
Did you check the exact wiring loom outside the plane and then put it in, or did you add stuff (like an arming switch)?

If you added stuff, did you put a lot of extra wire in between the battery and the ESC?

If you didn't significantly extend the battery wiring, and particularly if you added the arming switch as you did the installation, I'd check that the arming switch is clean and making good connection, and I'd double-check that the wiring from the ESC to the timer hasn't broken, and that the servo connector has all its contacts in the right places (they can push out the back if they're badly done or abused).

If you can bypass the arming switch and plug the battery straight into the ESC that might be informative.

And just to raise your confidence level -- everything here is a guess about something that may help you learn something.  It's not an absolute "this is the problem" diagnosis.
Title: Re: Troubleshooting a new setup
Post by: Robertc on August 29, 2015, 05:46:32 PM
Any chance the the plug from the esc into the timer is backwards?
Title: Re: Troubleshooting a new setup
Post by: Randy Powell on August 29, 2015, 05:59:59 PM
Thanks, guys. All the connections seem to be fine. I checked about 10 times today. I'm thinking I may have bought the wrong motor. My fault, really. I've been looking at the specs and it seems I may have screwed up. I'll head back out and go over every thing again. I hadn't thought about cutting the arming switch out of the connection. I'll try that too.
Title: Re: Troubleshooting a new setup
Post by: Randy Powell on August 29, 2015, 06:55:37 PM
OK, I owe Tim lunch at the next contest. Bad arming switch. Go figure.
Title: Re: Troubleshooting a new setup
Post by: Crist Rigotti on August 29, 2015, 08:12:02 PM
Randy,
I suggest you check you owners manual that came with the ESC.  It has a section on what the beeps mean.
Title: Re: Troubleshooting a new setup
Post by: Randy Powell on August 29, 2015, 09:37:18 PM
Crist, all the manual said is 3 beeps means a problem with the motor. In this case, it was a short, but not in the motor, in the arming switch.
Title: Re: Troubleshooting a new setup
Post by: Crist Rigotti on August 29, 2015, 09:59:27 PM
Crist, all the manual said is 3 beeps means a problem with the motor. In this case, it was a short, but not in the motor, in the arming switch.

OK.
Title: Re: Troubleshooting a new setup
Post by: Motorman on August 29, 2015, 10:08:17 PM
The arming switch on the timer?

MM
Title: Re: Troubleshooting a new setup
Post by: Tim Wescott on August 29, 2015, 10:25:01 PM
Crist, all the manual said is 3 beeps means a problem with the motor. In this case, it was a short, but not in the motor, in the arming switch.

Short, open or bad contact?

The arming switch should be closed (shorted) when you have the plug in, and open when the plug is out.  A shorted switch would mean it's always on, plug or no.

If the arming switch was the problem, then by the symptoms you describe it had a high-resistance contact at some point that provided enough juice to power the ESC when the motor wasn't drawing current, but which dropped too much voltage when the motor was trying to run.  This would be either because of a poor solder joint someplace, or because the actual plug or socket contacts we either dirty, corroded, or not springy.
Title: Re: Troubleshooting a new setup
Post by: Frank Imbriaco on August 30, 2015, 06:36:10 AM
Hi Randy :
A few things to check( after all your wiring & solder connections prove ok).
 First, make sure you have updated your Castle Link. Recommend you  use 4.02v software( non-Beta).  Chose the correct tab for your ESC you are using. When you go through your setup, be certain you have indicated a 5 cell pack. ( BTW, 35c battery ok for now, in the future try to purchase 25C or 30C, tops). Put in the pole count of the motor. In general, follow the Norm Whittle Cookbook within this forum  from  here  out( if you haven't already done so)
 When you use the Hubin Program Box, select "New" Phoenix High if you are using software later than 3.20v( double check that one- been awhile- if you use 4.02v which I recommend because of your ESC, "New" Phoenix High is a must.

Hope this helps
Title: Re: Troubleshooting a new setup
Post by: Randy Powell on August 30, 2015, 06:57:35 PM
Tim, I had it bolted in and there was a short with the bolt. Hard to describe. I'll tell you about it next time I see you. Basically a bad Deans connector.

I spent the day retrofitting a 35mm motor into a hole designed for a 28mm motor. Probably taking council of my fears, but there it is.
Title: Re: Troubleshooting a new setup
Post by: Crist Rigotti on August 30, 2015, 08:38:42 PM
Tim, I had it bolted in and there was a short with the bolt. Hard to describe. I'll tell you about it next time I see you. Basically a bad Deans connector.

I spent the day retrofitting a 35mm motor into a hole designed for a 28mm motor. Probably taking council of my fears, but there it is.

Glad you went with the 35mm motor!
Title: Re: Troubleshooting a new setup
Post by: Randy Powell on August 31, 2015, 11:57:12 AM
Crist,

The plane is no lightweight and I decided, based on Mark Scarborough's calculations, that the smaller motor was not going to have enough poop. So, I went to the larger one. Guess we'll see how that works out.
Title: Re: Troubleshooting a new setup
Post by: Crist Rigotti on August 31, 2015, 03:00:49 PM
Crist,

The plane is no lightweight and I decided, based on Mark Scarborough's calculations, that the smaller motor was not going to have enough poop. So, I went to the larger one. Guess we'll see how that works out.

Randy,
I just changed from Cobra 2826 to a Cobra 3515 because the 2826 would run hot, real hot.  Going to the 35mm motor solved a lot of the heat problem and I added a baffle and that put in the 105 degree range.  That was the reason I said that going to a 35mm motor was a good thing!
Title: Re: Troubleshooting a new setup
Post by: James Mills on September 01, 2015, 02:08:28 PM
Randy,
I changed to the 35mm as well, no regrets. 

James
Title: Re: Troubleshooting a new setup
Post by: Randy Powell on September 02, 2015, 05:21:00 PM
I've been try to get a Cobra 3520/14 but they are out of stock. Hopefully those come in soon. Until then it's the E-Flight 32.
Title: Re: Troubleshooting a new setup
Post by: Alan Resinger on September 03, 2015, 11:28:04 AM
Randy.
You don't want the 3520-14 motor your want the 3520-12.  The 14 is a 700 kV while the 12 is a 820 kV motor.  Unless you are planning on using a6S battery, you are going to run out of steam in the vertical stuff and the overheads.  I know this from experience.  Trust me.
Alan   
Title: Re: Troubleshooting a new setup
Post by: Randy Powell on September 03, 2015, 01:37:17 PM
Thanks, Alan.

And that one is out of stock, too.
Title: Re: Troubleshooting a new setup
Post by: David Hoover on September 03, 2015, 03:08:56 PM
Randy, try RC Dude.

http://www.rcdude.com/Cobra-C-3520-12-Brushless-Motor-p/c-3520-12.htm
Title: Re: Troubleshooting a new setup
Post by: Crist Rigotti on September 03, 2015, 03:31:22 PM
David beat me to it!

http://www.rcdude.com/Cobra-C-3520-12-Brushless-Motor-p/c-3520-12.htm
Title: Re: Troubleshooting a new setup
Post by: Randy Powell on September 04, 2015, 08:13:12 PM
Ordered one. Thanks, guys.