ESC, Motors, or Battery issues?

[Wyliebuck]

Hello all... I am hoping to get some good advise on here about how to fix my issues. I am currently trying to get my first build off the ground. Got everything together and thought I was about to head to the local football field for some fun. However that did not happen.
I tried to calibrate everything in APM's mission planner, and the ESC's started to fry. Thinking I had some bad ones; I ordered new ones and started over. This time around I could get two out of the six motors to spin, and several others just twitch like they are having an epileptic seizure. Any ideas, or lessons you can pass on would be greatly appreciated. I will list my build below. Thank you all in advance.

1. Hobbypower SimonK 30A ESC Brushless Speed Controller BEC 2A for Hexacopter F550 FY680 (pack of 6 pcs)
2. APM2.8 ArduPilot Flight Controller+6M GPS+915Mhz Telemetry+ Power Module RC150
3. Hobbypower 2212 920KV Brushless Motor CW CCW for DJI F550 S550 DIY Hexacopter (pack of 6 pcs)
4. Hobbypower S550 F550 Upgrade Hexacopter Fuselage Frame Kit PCB with Carbon Fiber Landing Gear
5. Turnigy Heavy Duty 5000mAh 3S 60C Lipo Pack w/5.5mm Connectors

 

[ElectriSean]

Twitching motors are usually caused by a bad connection between the ESC and motor.

 

[cranialrectosis]

ElectricSean is spot on. Twitchy motors most often are caused by a bad solder joint where the motor leads connect to the ESC. If your motors twitch, DON'T push them. You will likely fry ESCs.

Some motors have enamel on the wires that prevent a good solder joint. If your motors have enamel on the leads, solder won't stick worth a darn until you burn that enamel off.

Any way you slice it, if you are tired of frying ESCs, use a smokestopper after every time you solder when you first connect a lipo.

 

[Wyliebuck]

Thank you for the advice. I will do some research on how to get the enamel off of the wires, and try again. Other than the issues you have pointed out, does it look like my battery could also be frying the ESC's? Again, thanks

 

[cranialrectosis]

If the ESCs fried under load (props on and working hard) sure. I doubt you are going to pull more than 30A with that power plant but it can happen and I'm not looking at ecalc at the moment.

If the ESCs fried without props I suggest looking HARD at your solder job. If you used a bunch of heat to try to make the solder stick, I would suggest you may have overheated your ESCs and got some solder flow or flux or little solder balls splattered on it causing a short.

Most modern motors do not have enamel on the leads. Some do. Lots of older and larger motors do.

When I encounter them, I burn the enamel off (stinks to high heaven so ventilate) with a soldering iron. It comes off in black flecks of glop.