My quad stopped working and I don't know why.

H

Hyss

Member
Hi,

I am new to the forum and to quads but am fairly experienced with electronics. I have a x700 homebuilt quad which originally used post feb 2014 turnigy multistar 30A ESCs. These flew ok but felt laggy (might have been me but I like to try to improve things). I attempted to flash one with SimonK and caused it to immediately catch fire and explode when I tried to test it. (I don't think the new ones like SimonK, I did read the thread on it, and I did try to flash the modified one for it, not sure kkflashtool chose it properly though). I then bought 30A AfroESCs and now it won't even take off, I haven't changed anything else on the quad except reinforcing the crab and I can't believe that an extra 30g would affect a quad which on paper should be capable of lifting 2kg with each rotor, and would previously take off at just under half throttle.

The specs on my quad are:

X700
Turnigy multistar 690kV outrunners
12x4.5 props
KK 2.1.5 running 1.6++ KapteinKuk firmware (I have also tried the Steveis 1.18 pro)
6600 mAh 4S 60-120C(yes it is massive, and yes I know it is not really designed for a quad)
FrSky V8FR-II receiver
Turnigy 9XR pro transmitter with DJT module

I will attempt to answer any other questions you might have if someone can tell me what I have done wrong. Thank you for your time.
 

FlyGirl

FlyGirl

Member
Hyss said:
Hi,

I am new to the forum and to quads but am fairly experienced with electronics. I have a x700 homebuilt quad which originally used post feb 2014 turnigy multistar 30A ESCs. These flew ok but felt laggy (might have been me but I like to try to improve things). I attempted to flash one with SimonK and caused it to immediately catch fire and explode when I tried to test it. (I don't think the new ones like SimonK, I did read the thread on it, and I did try to flash the modified one for it, not sure kkflashtool chose it properly though). I then bought 30A AfroESCs and now it won't even take off, I haven't changed anything else on the quad except reinforcing the crab and I can't believe that an extra 30g would affect a quad which on paper should be capable of lifting 2kg with each rotor, and would previously take off at just under half throttle.

The specs on my quad are:

X700
Turnigy multistar 690kV outrunners
12x4.5 props
KK 2.1.5 running 1.6++ KapteinKuk firmware (I have also tried the Steveis 1.18 pro)
6600 mAh 4S 60-120C(yes it is massive, and yes I know it is not really designed for a quad)
FrSky V8FR-II receiver
Turnigy 9XR pro transmitter with DJT module

I will attempt to answer any other questions you might have if someone can tell me what I have done wrong. Thank you for your time.
Click to expand...

I can comment on the Afro ESC's I've used them often and they have worked well for me including the Y6 in my avatar pic. The 12 inch props you are using kind of jump out at me. Have you tried smaller diameter props like maybe a 10 inch set?
 

H

Hyss

Member
I haven't tried any other props but it flew with the 12" props with the old ESCs also rated at 30A. Also by my maths a 12" prop should use 21A on my 690kV motors at full throttle which is well within the ratings of my motors and ESCs.

I also want to be clear that it isn't struggling to take off now, it just wobbles slightly and doesn't even lift at all as if it is not reaching the required throttle. Do I need to do any programming with these ESCs at all?
 

FlyGirl

FlyGirl

Member
I didn't program them at all Hyss.... Just popped them into place and everything was good. I'm using 850kv motors with 10 inch props on the Y6. In the assistant, the throttle stick looks to be moving normally? How about idle speed for the motors? When advancing the throttle, do the motors increase in RPM like they should or is there not much rpm change as it is advanced?
 

T

tstrike

pendejo grande
You may have to calibrate your new esc's to your throttle channel on your tx so it knows hi and low. With radio off, plug esc directly into throttle channel on your receiver, push throttle on tx all the way up, power on your esc (attach battery to ship), power on radio, wait for series of beeps, lower throttle to bottom, wait for confirmation beep, done. Disconnect the battery and turn off radio, do this for all your esc's, I use an octopus that lets me do up to eight at a time but you don't have to.
 

H

Hyss

Member
I calibrated my ESCs directly off of the receiver. The assistant shows good values and I even tried increasing the gain on the throttle on the KK2.1.5. The throttle doesn't seem to advance much probably from 0-25% from 0-100% on the stick, but it seems to be linear across the range. I did have to adjust the range on my controller to produce a -100 to 100 throttle on the KK2, could this have broken it when programming the ESCs directly through the receiver.
 




H

Hyss

Member
Got back from Germany now and tried calibrating my ESCs through the KK2 again but they still don't seem to spin the motors correctly, the light flicker and there is no linear increase in power. The props never reach a high enough speed to lift. I don't know what else to try, do simonk ESCs require a specific P and I range to function as it is currently just default.
 

H

Hyss

Member
I reflashed my ESCs and tested each one by one, one motor didn't spin so I swapped the ESCs and found that the motor was broken. So I replaced that. I still can't seem to produce enough thrust to take off though and it wants to tip over all the time rather than take off, I thought it was a trim problem but it is random which direction it tips each time. Could my flight controller be faulty? Also 2 of my motors get untouchably hot whilst the other 2 are cool.
 
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