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Elev8v2 esc problem — Parallax Forums

Elev8v2 esc problem

icepuckicepuck Posts: 466
edited 2015-01-17 13:02 in Robotics
During another test this morning I had problems with trying to keep a stable hover. It kept drifting in the direction of the #4 motor. The last hover was at about six feet when it suddenly flipped and landed in a nearby apple tree that ate a set of props.

Now when I throttle up to 25% things all seem fine until about 40% throttle when the #4 motor suddenly stops then gives two or sometimes three beeps and refuses to spin. It turns fine by hand.
Power cycling will fix it for a minute or two then it happens all over again. Then when I take it outside(it was 41f) it will not work. Take it back inside and let warm up then it will work then quit again.

Could this be a failing esc or am I doing something wrong?

Comments

  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2014-12-21 12:17
    To me it sounds like a failing ESC, I had a bad on that just failed totally. Sounds like yours has a problem as it gets hot?

    It has been suggested to let the ELEV-8 acclimated to the outside temperature for 10 minutes before you fly. This allows the Gyro to compensate, (only what I have read).
  • icepuckicepuck Posts: 466
    edited 2014-12-26 06:56
    I ordered a replacement esc and motor last week since I'm not 100% sure which one is causing the problem. I'm hoping it will show up today or tomorrow.
    -dan
  • icepuckicepuck Posts: 466
    edited 2014-12-26 07:03
    Publison wrote: »
    It has been suggested to let the ELEV-8 acclimated to the outside temperature for 10 minutes before you fly. This allows the Gyro to compensate, (only what I have read).

    In the case of my toy ominus quad that may true. If I try to fly in temps lower than 25f it will not stay level and randomly drifts in different directions.

    -dan
  • Courtney JacobsCourtney Jacobs Posts: 903
    edited 2014-12-29 09:32
    Parallax does not recommend flying any ELEV-8 quadcopter in temperatures below 32 F (0 C).

    See the flying guide on Learn for more flight tips: http://learn.parallax.com/multirotor-flying-guide
  • icepuckicepuck Posts: 466
    edited 2015-01-03 18:32
    My parts finally showed up yesterday after two weeks of being in the mail when usps misdirected it to springfield,ma. Well anyway I replace the esc and motor today. After about four minutes of hovering an inch or two off the floor the new #4 motor/esc quit.

    I tested the original motor and esc directly hooked up to receiver and it works just fine. The new motor and esc worked when I checked for the correct direction of the motor just before the test flight.
    I replaced one of the extension wires that had nearly twice the resistance than the other two wires, thinking that may have had something to do with this problem.

    So... now I'm at a loss as to what to check next. I'll check #4 directly with receiver again just make sure, I'll do that tomorrow.
    -dan
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2015-01-04 08:17
    Dan,

    Strange problem indeed.

    Since you replaced the offending ESC/Motor combination, and you tested the original combination to be good, the only thing I can think of is a bad controller. The HoverFly Open does have a voltage translator from the Prop to the servo lines.That may be suspect.

    When you say you checked the resistance on the servo line, what measurement were you getting on the two?

    I'd ask Parallax to get a replacement Hoverfly board, and send yours back for testing . Looks like they still have 21 in stock.

    BTW, did you reflash the firmware on the HoverFly just to be sure you have the latest and greatest?

    Jim
  • icepuckicepuck Posts: 466
    edited 2015-01-04 12:44
    I removed the esc and tested again directly hooked up to the receiver and it worked, reassembled and it wouldn't work again. At this point I was about ready to condemn the flight controller but before doing so I started to re-route the wiring. It was when I routed the power wires away from the esc is when it worked again.

    Could this problem been caused from having the power wires to close to the esc?
    -dan
  • icepuckicepuck Posts: 466
    edited 2015-01-04 13:19
    Publison wrote: »
    Dan,
    When you say you checked the resistance on the servo line, what measurement were you getting on the two?

    It was the extension wires running from the esc to the motor. I got 0.6 ohms on two of the wires and about 2.0 ohms on the one I replaced.
    Publison wrote: »
    BTW, did you reflash the firmware on the HoverFly just to be sure you have the latest and greatest?

    Yes.

    I did another test with a fully charged battery with it held down with a hard cover book. I ran it for 6 minutes at about 75% throttle which took the pack voltage down to about 11.6v with it unplugged.

    I hope I'm safe in saying that I may have fixed it. Now all I need is a warm place to fly and finish fine tuning things.
    -dan
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2015-01-04 15:44
    icepuck wrote: »

    Could this problem been caused from having the power wires to close to the esc?
    -dan

    I don't think so. All my RC aircraft have power and ESC's and Servo wires in close quarters. You can't get away from it in air planes. The Quads are spread out more.
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2015-01-04 15:45
    icepuck wrote: »
    It was the extension wires running from the esc to the motor. I got 0.6 ohms on two of the wires and about 2.0 ohms on the one I replaced.



    Yes.

    I did another test with a fully charged battery with it held down with a hard cover book. I ran it for 6 minutes at about 75% throttle which took the pack voltage down to about 11.6v with it unplugged.

    I hope I'm safe in saying that I may have fixed it. Now all I need is a warm place to fly and finish fine tuning things.
    -dan

    So you think the new servo cable solved it?
  • xanaduxanadu Posts: 3,347
    edited 2015-01-04 19:38
    It sounds like coincidence it worked and something is up with #4 flight controller output, or you have a loose connection. I say that because I doubt the power wires are interfering with the signal wires.

    Running it at 75% throttle while held down seems kind of hazardous :/
  • icepuckicepuck Posts: 466
    edited 2015-01-05 17:25
    Publison wrote: »
    So you think the new servo cable solved it?

    I'll have to wait for warmer weather to really give it a workout to be 100% sure that I really did fix it. Now that I re-read my posts I'm wondering
    if trying to fly out in the cold was cause of this weird problem.
    -dan
  • xanaduxanadu Posts: 3,347
    edited 2015-01-06 19:42
    Don't forget to factor wind chill into the allowed temp range. If a component were below minimum temps, would it always cause #4 motor to have a problem?

    You said you had a cable with high resistance, I'm wondering if there is condensate forming and oxidizing the connectors?

    You also said moving things around helped. That could mean you have a bad connection somewhere. Are your connectors nice and shiney?
  • Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,400
    edited 2015-01-06 20:54
    icepuck wrote: »
    It was the extension wires running from the esc to the motor. I got 0.6 ohms on two of the wires and about 2.0 ohms on the one I replaced.

    Dan, I think this is a cold solder joint. Everybody has this problem sooner or later.

    If it turns out you have a problem we should fix, just drop me a message and tell me what parts you need. We'll keep you in the air.

    Ken Gracey
  • dmagnusdmagnus Posts: 271
    edited 2015-01-17 05:43
    Wind chill does not affect inanimate objects. The only affect wind has on them is to cool them off faster, the object will never drop below the ambient temp.
  • icepuckicepuck Posts: 466
    edited 2015-01-17 13:02
    After doing some more checking I now have 2 esc's that are not working right.
    Last weekend I posted a youtube video of how it was acting.
    http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php/159707-Another-test-flight-and-malfunction
    It's at the very end of the video.

    When I first encountered this problem I first thought it might of been a bad flight controller because the esc's would work when hooked up directly to the receiver. But now today I have two
    esc's that twitch regardless of what they are hooked up to.
    I'm hoping somebody will watch the video and give me suggestions on what to test next.
    -dan
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