ESC timing low, cause fire?

UKdanny

Junior Member
So ive just built up a 3dhs and this is the set up im using

HOBBYWING C-PLATINUM 80A- ESC

EMAX GT SERIES 4020/07 motor

APC 15x8 Thin Electric Prop

So i got it all set up and took it out side to run the motor to make sure all was spinning the right way...about half/full throttle the motor would make a strange sound and loose all power. I thought it was strange so decided to make a video to see if any one knew what it could be...doing so caused the ESC to burst into flames. could the standard timing settings on the esc cause this?
 

Mustang7302

Senior Member
I am going to lean toward timing not being a result of the ESC getting so hot it shuts down and ends up causing fire potential. There was a short in the ESC which was doing that.
 

tramsgar

Senior Member
Usually, ESCs just die in a puff of smoke, still there's quite some power in that setup. 15° timing default? The motor's max amp at 65? The ESC does only have overheat and not overload protection? To know if it was overloaded you'd need to measure the draw - did you? My guess is the ESC or motor was defective, your setup was according to specs. Probably the ESC as it's overheat protection didn't shut it down.
 

UKdanny

Junior Member
ive heard this set up on a 5s draws 60 amp (could i of over done the motor?) not 100% what it does on a 6s...ive got another ESC on its way. just dont want it to end up doing the same.
 
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Tritium

Amateur Extra Class K5TWM
To check your motor, If you have a multimeter measure the resistance between each lead of the motor (disconnected from the esc of course, the reading should match between each of the two leads being measured and should be fairly low, 1K ohm or less is typical). Then measure the resistance from each lead to the motor case (should be infinite or very high Meg-ohms).

Also make sure the rear of the shaft is not dragging on the mounting surface causing friction and high amp draw.

Thurmond
 

UKdanny

Junior Member
So if my motor is only rated to 65amp but my speed controller is 80amp and i over prop the motor what would happen? ive heard that with this size prop on 5s it draws 60amp...im running 6s so am i over doing some thing?
 

tramsgar

Senior Member
Higher voltage gives higher amp draw, but you can get higher power with less amps if you increase the voltage (regulate that with the prop specs). If you over-amp your motor but not the esc, for example if you would get 70 amps in this setup, it'll only hurt your motor. A damaged motor otoh could draw huge amounts of amps... Hook up an amp meter and try with a slightly smaller prop before you try again (and take UKdannys advice and measure), be ready to shut down immediately. If you or someone you know has an IR thermometer that's a good compliment too.
 

UKdanny

Junior Member
Well i got a new esc, put it all together and it does the same thing...give it full power and it makes a horrible sound and looses power .motor ran fine without the prop on so i put a random smaller prop on of my yak 55 foamy think its an 8 x 4.7 and it spins fine. can give it full power and it runs as it should.....now the problem is 8"x4.7 is going to be way under powered ...how do i find out the best prop for my motor, esc or should i stick with the 15x8 and get a bigger esc?
 

tramsgar

Senior Member
To try to answer the question, I took it to ecalc and checked. 15x5 or 14x6 is supposed to keep the amps within the motor's limits. It is not an absolute truth, but can give you a good hint. Play around with prop sizes a bit there! You must measure the amps yourself too.
 

UKdanny

Junior Member
Sorry to flood my own page but i think ive sorted it and some one might read this wanting to know how it ended...well i changed the timing on the motor from 15* to 26.25* the maximum setting and it seems to be working fine now.
 

quorneng

Master member
UK Danny
Good -but a little unusual.
I would still advise checking the full power current draw just to make sure you know how close you are to the limits of motor and ESC.
 

tramsgar

Senior Member
Sorry to flood my own page but i think ive sorted it and some one might read this wanting to know how it ended...well i changed the timing on the motor from 15* to 26.25* the maximum setting and it seems to be working fine now.

Good thing it worked out! A little surprised too that high timing would solve it. I was just about to suggest that the horrible sound was imbalance =). I too would strongly advice you to measure your amps, if not only to fine tune your choice of prop. Good luck with the build.