DX4R Pro with HH Dual BR mini issues...

[cormier33]

Hey all,

I am just finishing up a build. My build thread:

http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/axial-xr10/461887-cormier33s-cc-smash-build-team-ottsix-post-season-build-off-official-entry-thread-6.html

I have received so much help from several of the guys on my build thread that have been amazing. Winnnerone23, Mammoth and Hooter have literally spent hours trying to help me diagnose this issue. Winnerone23 through constant texts, Mammoth came over to my house for a few hours and Hooter was on the phone with me for a couple hours. Again, I am blown away by the support available in this hobby by the amazing guys involved. Now, on to the issue:

I have a Spektrum DX4R Pro Transmitter (just bought it new) and I am using a Spektrum SR410 4 channel Rx (came with the Tx)

In my XR10, I have 2 Holmes Hobbies 500 pullers, Holmes Hobbies Dual BR mini's, Holmes Hobbies Servo and a Castle 10 amp BEC.

Troy (Winnerone23) has assisted me with putting the electronics together to this point by smashing the BEC into the Dual BR mini's (the + and - leads from the BEC are soldered direct to one of the HH ESC's + and -) and the steering servo plugs directly into the BEC (all 3 wires) and then the BEC gets plugged directly into the Rx (minus the Red power wire).

So, I have 3 servo wires being plugged into my Rx with this setup:

-One ESC (with red power wire removed)
-The other ESC (with red power wire remaining to power the Rx)
-The BEC (which is really a continuation of the Steering servo and again does not have the power wire going into the Rx)

Here's the issues I am having:

-Steering servo has not been working when plugged into the BEC, however, it works perfectly if plugged directly into the Rx (it is programmed to run at 8.4V which is why it has been setup to go through the BEC and not directly into the Rx).

-Only the front motor will "chime in" so to speak and power up.

-Using MOA mix on the radio, moving servo wires in all configurations (switching power lead from one ESC to the other and plugging them in, switching the ESC positions on the Rx, etc) does not make the rear motor work

-I switched the one confirmed working HH ESC by plugging it into the rear motor and, voila, rear motor fired up right away and worked. But, the front motor wouldn't work anymore via the other ESC.

The things Randy (Mammoth), Mike (Hooter) and I have confirmed:

-All Rx channels appear to work fine
-All motors have been confirmed and are working fine


I have not been able to confirm both ESC's are working ok or that the BEC is doing its job due to the testing I've done so far.

I have also not been able to confirm that my Tx is programmed properly to have both ESC's working. I am a total newb in that respect and don't know how to program it. Mammoth spent some time going over it and so did Hooter but neither are familiar with the DX4R Pro.

Yes, I have spent time searching the forums and the internet but I have not been able to find anything that I believe is similar to this. There may be something out there but nothing that I could find unfortunately.

PLEASE HELP!!!!

I know there will no doubt be more info needed but this should be a good start. Oh, also, I am running a 3S Lipo system.

 

[cormier33]

New info to add: Winnerone23 explained to me how I should be able to see both ESC's light up. I previously was having troubles distinguishing if both were because of how smashed together they are (which on another note is an excellent job by John at HH, these things are so nice and compact!). Anyway, Winnerone23 told me to plug them in to the battery in a dark area and I should be able to see both clearly light up. The way my system works, as soon as battery is plugged in, both ESC's and the BEC power up right away.

Sure enough, one ESC is not lighting up. The other ESC and the BEC light up (ESC green and red lights and the BEC green light) Holmes Hobbies/Winnerone23, any suggestions? Send in for repair? Request replacement? Something else?

 

[Solitaire]

If you have one ESC that's not getting power (or defective), I'd say send it back to Troy.

Your steering issue is likely a missing ground from Rx to servo since you're using Spektrum.

 

[cormier33]

Alright guys, some new info. Please review and assist if you can:

Both ESC's are firing up. I did a reset on them via Castle Link and when I plugged them both in to the link, each one lit up. So, sure enough after that, I plugged them into the battery and both fired up with their lights blinking nicely.

I still have the same issue with the rear wheels and I am thinking it has to be Tx settings or even more likely, calibrating of the esc's which has not happened yet. I just read HH's site and saw that neither red power wire can be plugged into the Rx when calibrating or one esc will mess up the other esc, so I tried that. Still no change, but here is what I have observed:

-On MOA mix rear wheel only, the rear ESC (the one that isn't spinning the wheels) blinks green rapidly while in neutral and reverse but turns solid red if I try forward. Again, no matter what the rear wheels don't turn
-On MOA mix front wheel only, the front ESC (the one that does spin the wheels) turns red in forward, green in reverse, no light in neutral
-On MOA mix front and rear wheels (wheels won't spin at all) rear esc keeps blinking green and turns solid green while reversing trigger or blinking red with forward trigger, front esc doesn't light up at all

Also, only the front ESC activates the motor (motor chimes in) at no time during any of this has the rear ESC ever "activated" the motor (no chiming, no sounds no nothing....and I confirmed that the quiet mode was not enabled during programming)

Is this as confusing to the expert as it is to me? It seems like something more than what I had at least. I'm hoping this may help with a diagnosis.

 

[mtdriver]

Do not have direct experience with the DX4, but have had a few DX3.

They need throttle channel set to reverse to get the ESC to program correctly (if I remember right, have not done setup in a couple years).

I am gathering this because you should be seeing green forwards, and red reverse, nothing in neutral.

That's my take without re reading you're whole post.

Let us know how that goes. Or if you have tried that and I missed it I apologize.

 

[Solitaire]

Futaba needs a throttle reverse, but I don't think Spektrum does.

Anyway, the very first thing you have to do after you've bound your radio to the Rx is calibrate the radio to the ESC's. This is before any settings are changed in the radio. If you can't get everything back to default, just start a new model, make sure all trims are neutral and calibrate. Now, some have been able to calibrate both at the same time, but I've had success by doing one at a time. Once the calibration is done, then you can go into the radio setup and configure dig, overdrive, proportional, EPA's etc.

 

[cormier33]

Thanks Solitaire. I guess to program them, simply unsolder, program, resolder?

 

[Solitaire]

You shouldn't have to unsolder anything. The calibration is done through the Rx, so you just need to connect one ESC at a time to the Rx. Now if there is a cut red wire on one of the ESC's (as there should be), you'll need to power up the Rx by another method. The red wire is the power wire. I use a receiver pack. Basically 4 AA's in a holder with a servo type end on it.

If you don't have an external power source for the Rx, you could try plugging in both of them (throttle and aux1) and see if they'll calibrate together. Still presuming one ESC has a red wire and one doesn't. Holmes directions are a bit misleading on the red wire thing.

 

[Solitaire]

If and when you get the ESC's calibrated, you need to get into the menu and slave the Aux1 channel to the throttle channel. This should get all your wheels turning together when you pull the trigger. I have used a DX4S and not a DX4R, but I'm presuming the menus and MOA setup are similar in their basics.

 

[cormier33]

Thanks again for the information Solitaire, I tried plugging each one into the Rx separately to program. No luck yet. I may send these back to Troy to take a look at if I can't get them going. Between that and the BEC not working, it's a bit of a pain.

 

[Solitaire]

Well, if you want to make the trip up to Ioco on Sunday, we can take a look at it all. I'll bring a DVM to test the BEC output and a Rx pack.

We run Pro first followed by Shafty and both of those should be done by noon-ish.

 

[cormier33]

Well, just to provide an update:

I decided that I just couldn't figure out what was wrong with the "non-working" ESC and the BEC. So, I decided to send the whole setup to Holmes Hobbies so they could take a look at it and determine what is wrong so that I can finally get this thing moving. I'm hoping its just a one off as all the parts looked pretty damn amazing and I can't wait to get these 500 puller's crawling!

I'll provide everyone with an update once I hear back from HH

 

[cormier33]

Another update:

John at HH contacted me quite quickly and advised me that he is in the middle of testing what may have went wrong with this. Then, just a few short days later, advised that there was an issue with how the BEC was initially wired and that may have led to one of the ESC's having issues. Anyway, he is well on top of it, is replacing the problem ESC and is sending it back to me shortly. As far as I am concerned, that is incredible customer service right there. I am very happy with John/Holmes Hobbies. Thanks again John.

On another note, the other electronics setup I purchased used from Troy (Winnerone23) didn't work!!! The connectors were shipped with male ends (needed female ends from the previous setup I got from him). So, I soldered on the proper ends and as soon as I plugged the battery in (without having hooked up the ESC's to the engine's yet) and there was quick electronic "ticking noise" that seemed to sync with the BEC light, so I unplugged it. Then, I plugged it back in and my battery started smoking and got incredibly hot! Unplugged it, tried once more with another battery and the same thing. I took a quick look at the BEC wiring, it seemed worn and in some places there was exposed wiring but nothing seemed to be bridged or bare wires from one wire touching another. Regardless, I am too worried to try it again and ruin a battery. I'm very disappointed to say the least and honestly, if it wasn't for John's positive words and support with the original electronics, I'd probably get out of this hobby. I'm still on the fence but am hoping I have luck with the electronics that John is sending directly to me.

Anyway, that's the update. I'd appreciate any feedback/suggestions/words of advice, etc.


Adam

 

[cormier33]

I've posted this on my build thread but here it is as well for the electronics experts to chime in.

Here's a picture of the used electronics I got from Troy. In the 3rd picture you can see one of the spots where the wire is exposed. Is this enough to cause issues? Troy advised everything was working when he sent it?

 

[cormier33]

Just wanted to update this thread. All issues were fixed in a professional and quick manner by the amazing folks at Holmes Hobbies. See my build thread for more details but, I am crawling!!!! So excited!