Testing a BEC.....question

[concretejungle]

My crawler took a swim about two months ago ESC was toast. Steering servo still works but i probably need to take it apart and clean it up and grease it. It sounds a little squeaky. The punk dig still seems to be working fine. It switches and lights up like normal.

After letting it sit for a few months out of frustration, i finally pulled the trigger and bought a new ESC. Hooked it up and it was SUPER jittery. So i decided to hook the BEC (Castle) up with the castle link to check it out and link/computer will not even recognize it.

So, do you think it's safe to assume the BEC is toast?

[KJ10]

Did the BEC have power when you hooked it up to the Castle link? I had to power mine in order for the link to recognize them.

[ninja turtle]

Originally Posted by KJ10

Did the BEC have power when you hooked it up to the Castle link? I had to power mine in order for the link to recognize them.

That's interesting. The last 5 or 6 I programmed I was able to adjust the voltage straight out of the package with just the castle link.

[crawlhog]

hook up the battery and then it should recognize it. until I did that I had the same issue as you

[TacoCrawler]

remember to pull the + wire that sends power to the esc's internal bec

[warren]

might sound crazy but is the new ESC set right? I had mine set to brushless instead of brushed and it was really glitchy.

[concretejungle]

Yea, ESC is hooked up right.... It's the MMP which is what i got wet. This one is set up the same way. I think it's a newer firmware though.

After i installed the new ESC when i bound it to the transmitter i noticed it was barely making a chime noise. I had to listen really closely to hear it and mostly just go by the flashing lights in order to bind. Which, on the last one it would chime very clearly. So that was strange. When i went to give it throttle, it had a real loud ringing and then the motors were just jittery. That's when i figured maybe the BEC was toast.

So i hooked the BEC up to the castle link and it didn't recognize it. I do remember that when i hooked this BEC up originally (probably a year and a half ago or more) the castle link recognized it without it being plugged up.

[JokersWild]

The esc chime is played through the motor....... If you de solder motor it makes no sound.

[Charlie-III]

Several things going on here.

1-Did you calibrate the ESC to the RX? This is different from binding the TX to the RX.
2-CC ESC's come set for brushless, so it may need to be changed to brushed.
3-Firmware 1.28 is about the best for a crawler. Backdate if need be.
4-BEC, when not connected to anything, the CC link will power it to program. If the BEC is connected to the rig, you need battery power to program it.
5-You may have a stuck brush, see if they move freely and have some length.


PS, the ESC has no speaker, it "rings" the motor.

Let us know what happens.

[concretejungle]

Originally Posted by Charlie-III

Several things going on here.

1-Did you calibrate the ESC to the RX? This is different from binding the TX to the RX.
2-CC ESC's come set for brushless, so it may need to be changed to brushed.
3-Firmware 1.28 is about the best for a crawler. Backdate if need be.
4-BEC, when not connected to anything, the CC link will power it to program. If the BEC is connected to the rig, you need battery power to program it.
5-You may have a stuck brush, see if they move freely and have some length.


PS, the ESC has no speaker, it "rings" the motor.

Let us know what happens.

Charlie, thank you for your reply. I admit i am a little challenged at the electronics stuff....
1. Yes i did calibrate it.
2. I did change it to brushed from brushless. I also made sure the throttle curve was linear and that it was full crawl drag brake.
3. good call on the firmware. I just set it to the newest available, but can go back if needed.
4. OK, the current BEC is still connected to the rig, so it sounds like i need to plug it in in order to get the castle link to recognize it? I guess out of the box and not connected then the castle link will power it and recognize it?
5. I really have no idea to see if i have a stuck brush. Can i do a search here and find out how to diagnose that?

I wasn't sure exactly what it "rang" but i recalled on my last MMP that it very clearly chimed when i would plug it in. I enjoyed hearing the 4 chimes of 4s power!

Keep in mind, the truck fell into a mountain stream and floated down stream for a good 2-3 minutes before i could get it out. I strapped the crawler to the roof rack of my land cruiser and drove home about 3 hours at 70 mph trying to air dry the thing. After the drive and letting it sit for another couple of days, i plugged it up. The steering servo worked fine, the punk dig switch worked fine, but the ESC would not activate. I assumed it was toast.

Fast forward another few months to last weekend and i finally decided to take it off the shelf and get it working again. and here we are......

[JokersWild]

Originally Posted by TacoCrawler

remember to pull the + wire that sends power to the esc's internal bec

There are a couple ways to hook up bec....... Pulling the + wire "from" the esc wire cuts power to "rx" from "esc"



Also if your bec is hooked into rig , soldered to deans plug that powers esc, you will need to plug in a battery pack to start up bec since current from castle link is feeding the power through bec to esc and the voltage is not enough to run both. If you question the bec all together disconnect from rig all together and try castle link, then try powering bec only through battery pack to see if green light comes on.

[Charlie-III]

Originally Posted by concretejungle

Charlie, thank you for your reply. I admit i am a little challenged at the electronics stuff....
1. Yes i did calibrate it.
2. I did change it to brushed from brushless. I also made sure the throttle curve was linear and that it was full crawl drag brake.
3. good call on the firmware. I just set it to the newest available, but can go back if needed.
4. OK, the current BEC is still connected to the rig, so it sounds like i need to plug it in in order to get the castle link to recognize it? I guess out of the box and not connected then the castle link will power it and recognize it?
5. I really have no idea to see if i have a stuck brush. Can i do a search here and find out how to diagnose that?

I wasn't sure exactly what it "rang" but i recalled on my last MMP that it very clearly chimed when i would plug it in. I enjoyed hearing the 4 chimes of 4S power!

Keep in mind, the truck fell into a mountain stream and floated down stream for a good 2-3 minutes before i could get it out. I strapped the crawler to the roof rack of my land cruiser and drove home about 3 hours at 70 mph trying to air dry the thing. After the drive and letting it sit for another couple of days, i plugged it up. The steering servo worked fine, the punk dig switch worked fine, but the ESC would not activate. I assumed it was toast.

Fast forward another few months to last weekend and i finally decided to take it off the shelf and get it working again. and here we are......

Thanks for the detailed reply.

#3, yes, backdate the firmware, you will be happier. Most use V1.28.
#4, a BEC by itself can be powered by the CC Link. A BEC "installed" usually needs to have rig power applied since the USB power is not enough to power the ESC & BEC.
#5, stuck brush..... (Yes, you can search....but...) grab the braid connected to the brush and gently pull the brush out. Let the brush slide back into the brush hood. It should move freely with no binding in either direction. Also check the brush length, there should be ~1/8" of slot between the brush spring and the bottom (towards the armature) of the slot. Short brushes reduce the spring tension.

When you get electronics wet, best bet is:

-Remove all power NOW! (or, ASAP)
-Drain whatever water you can, even opening the case if there is one
-Pack the part in uncooked rice for a few days at a minimum, a couple weeks won't hurt. The dry rice will absorb moisture.

[crawlhog]

apparently you didnt read post 4, one of your problems would have been solved

[KJ10]

Originally Posted by crawlhog

apparently you didnt read post 4, one of your problems would have been solved

Post 2, even.

[concretejungle]

Originally Posted by KJ10

Post 2, even.

Thanks for your amazing insight.

[KJ10]

So did hooking up a battery allow the software to recognize it, then?