[aerosport]

Hey guys,

I am a bit of an electric rc newb...

Anyway, I somehow burnt something out bench testing my equipment.

I have an Eflite Park 400, a Castle Creations 18 Amp speed controller, with a 3s 11.1v 2100mah LiPo.

When I connected my battery to set the speed controller, heavy smoke looks like it came out of the motor or connecting wires. I immediately disconnected the battery. And inspected the wiring, esc, ect. No wires looked to be exposed to short out.

Any ideas on what happened here? My battery was super hot after too, and it is also toasted. I figured this setup would be ok from specs and the advice I got from the hobby shop.

Thanks!

[cravenjw]

If it happened immediately on battery connection, it was bad esc, or you got the battery- esc reversed. Esc should not arm immediately, not put power to motor immediately. An beeps before the smoke? Esc new? I knew one case with hobbyking esc where bat leads were soldered reversed?

[Cougar429]

I would second the reversed battery connections, but have to ask for more info.

Was this the first time the aircraft was powered up?

Did you hear any beeping before the meltdown?

Were there any bare connections in the ESC/motor wiring that could have shorted together?

If the smoke came from the motor end the short could exist there. Did you do any physical work in that area? If you mounted the motor to the plane and/or used too long a screw it could impinge on and damage the internal wiring.

I would avoid powering anything back up until you have this looked at. If it is the first time it was powered up I would recommend returning it to point of purchase. You could also look for local R/C clubs to have a more experienced flyer go through it. Learning to fly that way is a lot less stressful.

ALWAYS ensure the transmitter is on first and off last so that the aircraft receiver has active signals. This is to help prevent the aircraft having a mind of its own.

Finally, with info on the motor, such as a P/N or other numbers printed on it, perhaps we can search through our spares.

[RCcanuck]

Were you wearing underwear at the time you plugged it in?

[RCcanuck]

Oh...before I forget....Merry Christmas Cougar!!!

[Cougar429]

Happy Holidays to you and everyone else

[aerosport]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the ideas so far.

When I connected the battery, there were no beeps at all from the speed controller. The smoke just happened instantly.

I inspected the wires, and nothing seems to be reversed. No wires were exposed either.

I am kind of guessing it was a bad speed controller that just let all the power go to the motor?

[Ramz]

Originally Posted by aerosport

Hey guys,

Thanks for the ideas so far.

When I connected the battery, there were no beeps at all from the speed controller. The smoke just happened instantly.

I inspected the wires, and nothing seems to be reversed. No wires were exposed either.

I am kind of guessing it was a bad speed controller that just let all the power go to the motor?

Yup...sounds like either a faulty ESC or reverse connection. If it were me, I would get another ESC and try it again. (and make sure the polarity is correct)

[aerosport]

Thanks for the input.

[uberjay]

I'm curious to see a picture of the carnage... a picture can speak a 1000 words they say . A good shot of the wires in and out of the ESC and where the components were plugged in, etc.

Cheers,
J