SimonK ESC's cut out when hot?

[Raf]

I had a cut out when flying. Almost lost a quad at 200m altitude but mighty APM saved it. Managed to come back home. That was on second pack so I would say about 20 min flight.  ESC';s ware warm but I wouldn';t call it hot so changed battery and off again and it cut again after few meters APM managed to stabilise it again so damage.

ESC';s are ProFlight 30A so essentially RCTimer SimonK flashed. Current draw during flight doesn';t exceed 25A. Anyone had a problem with these ESC';s?

[andythilo]

25A total or per motor?

[Raf]

25A total or per motor?

Total Andy - drawing 100 amps would get me far LOL

[shazzy]

I had that this morning with my mini quad. 3/4 throttle and then boom... Nothing motors cut out and there was a 5 second decent to Earth.  My escs too were barely warm

Wierd that.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

[Raf]

Here is the Video. Mighty APM managed to stabilise quad after cut off.
Which ESC is cutting do you think? Right front or rear?

http://youtu.be/ZKXVeZ2LB1E

[Hands0n]

I';d say rear right as the front initially pitches up when the roll commences.  Its going to be worth checking the solder joints - not only on the power wires to the ESC, but also the soldering on the wires on the ESC itself, might just be a bit marginal and so fail under load/heat.

[Raf]

APM log files. Right click and save as or download linked file.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1757559/APM%20Logs/2014-06-03%2019-45-04.log

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1757559/APM%20Logs/2014-06-03%2019-58-25.log

[HowDoIfly]

How are you powering the APM?

VCC is unstable with fluctuations of 1.204v reported.

[Raf]

How are you powering the APM?

VCC is unstable with fluctuations of 1.204v reported.

3DR Power module

[HowDoIfly]

This from the other log

VCC is unstable with fluctuations of 1.55v reported

That is not good at all!   

[Raf]

This from the other log

VCC is unstable with fluctuations of 1.55v reported

That is not good at all!   

What could be the problem?

[HowDoIfly]

Well, the first guess is the 3dr power module. Can you test it?

[Raf]

Well, the first guess is the 3dr power module. Can you test it?

How can I test it? Any idea?

[HowDoIfly]

Power Summary:
       Battery(V)        Vcc(V)        Current(A)       Used Cap(mAh)    Eff(mA/m)
Min       13.78           4.67             0.96              N/A             N/A
Avg        0.00           0.00            24.16              N/A          400.91
Max       52.92           6.22            55.29             3969             N/A

6.22v is too high.

See here for min/max values
http://copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/apm25board_overview/

[Raf]

Do you think I simply pushed it to much? It seem that I need bigger current sensor - AttoPilot 90A perhaps.

[HowDoIfly]

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=24582452&postcount=2471

[HowDoIfly]

Do you think I simply pushed it to much? It seem that I need bigger current sensor - AttoPilot 90A perhaps.

I';m seeing other irregularities too - nav errors and excessive loop counts. I would start with a more stable power supply first. A dedicated ubec is a cheap option.

[HowDoIfly]

Is this correct?

03/06/2014 18:50:28 - 008480: Mode Changed to RTL
03/06/2014 18:50:28 - 008481: THROTTLE ERROR: Throttle dropped below FS_THR_VALUE meaning likely loss of contact between RX/TX.
03/06/2014 18:50:28 - 008481: THROTTLE ERROR: Current Distance from Launch is 1764.18m ~ 5787.98ft

[Raf]

Is this correct?

03/06/2014 18:50:28 - 008480: Mode Changed to RTL
03/06/2014 18:50:28 - 008481: THROTTLE ERROR: Throttle dropped below FS_THR_VALUE meaning likely loss of contact between RX/TX.
03/06/2014 18:50:28 - 008481: THROTTLE ERROR: Current Distance from Launch is 1764.18m ~ 5787.98ft

It seem correct. It was more or less 2km away and about 200m altitude.

[HowDoIfly]

It seem correct. It was more or less 2km away and about 200m altitude.

That probably explains the RTL failsafe, as you mentioned 

[Raf]

That probably explains the RTL failsafe, as you mentioned 

I pushed it much further away many times before up to 4km with no issues. I';m not worried about failsafe kicking in. I can';t understand why is cutting power what it seem to one motor and power issues that you pointed to.
What really worries me is second flight.
So do you think there';s no problem with ESC then?

[HowDoIfly]

I pushed it much further away many times before up to 4km with no issues. I';m not worried about failsafe kicking in. I can';t understand why is cutting power what it seem to one motor and power issues that you pointed to.
What really worries me is second flight.
So do you think there';s no problem with ESC then?

The roll and pitch attitude stray from the commanded roll and pitch. That does indicate a possible hardware failure.

[Raf]

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=24582452&postcount=2471

Measured as described and is 4.72 -4.76V

[HowDoIfly]

Measured as described and is 4.72 -4.76V

You can see in the log, power supply is generally working well but there';s a big upward spike in both logs, one at very start and the other a bit after.

[Raf]

I';m going to rotate and move propellers in the same meaner as for Compass MOT strap it down and see what the results are maybe even run through one or two batteries - will post logs later.
Anyhow I ordered Overlander XP2 QUAD 30A 4 in 1 ESC http://www.overlander.co.uk/speed-controllers-ubec/overlander-xp2-quad-30a-brushless-esc-for-quadcopters.html and also ordered 90A AttoPilot current sensor and will put Voltage regulator on power supply.

[Raf]

I think there is the answer.

http://youtu.be/vBwEHJjl7sQ

Logs are here:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1757559/APM%20Logs/2014-06-04%2016-31-51.log

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1757559/APM%20Logs/2014-06-04%2016-45-34.log

[HowDoIfly]

I think there is the answer.

Yes, that';s the side that dipped in flight, which indicates possible ESC, motor or connecting wiring at fault. As I have experience of a dodgy solder connection, I';d be inclined to check the wiring first before consigning a major component to the bin. Maybe even swap the ESC';s around and see if the fault follows the ESC/wires or stays with the motor/wiring?

[Raf]

Yes, that';s the side that dipped in flight, which indicates possible ESC, motor or connecting wiring at fault. As I have experience of a dodgy solder connection, I';d be inclined to check the wiring first before consigning a major component to the bin. Maybe even swap the ESC';s around and see if the fault follows the ESC/wires or stays with the motor/wiring?

I had similar issue before with From Left. Re-soldered everything did two or three flights and after two days when plugged battery ESC burned together with motor £60 down the drain.
Ordered ESC and Current Sensor already and hopefully they deliver Friday. I';m a bit tired with ProFlight/RCTimer ESC';s burned 5 or 6 already 
Thanks for your help HowDoIfly much appreciated :)

[HowDoIfly]

I had similar issue before with From Left. Re-soldered everything did two or three flights and after two days when plugged battery ESC burned together with motor £60 down the drain.
Ordered ESC and Current Sensor already and hopefully they deliver Friday. I';m a bit tired with ProFlight/RCTimer ESC';s burned 5 or 6 already 
Thanks for your help HowDoIfly much appreciated :)

Wow, that';s some scorecard of bad kit! Hope you have better luck with the replacements.

BTW, in both the latest logs you posted the VCC was perfectly acceptable and much smoother. Go figure!

p.s. Out of interest, what ESC';s and motors are you using?

[Raf]

Wow, that';s some scorecard of bad kit! Hope you have better luck with the replacements.

BTW, in both the latest logs you posted the VCC was perfectly acceptable and much smoother. Go figure!

p.s. Out of interest, what ESC';s and motors are you using?

I looked @ logs myself and agree but in the first one it';s hitting almost 50A and that was more or less 75% throttle. Current sensor upgrade is a must. I pushed it to the limits prior to that incident and as you found out it hit 52A.
As mentioned ESC';s are ProFlight 30A and motors are T-motor NM3110-17 700kV. You can read more about copter here: http://www.multi-rotor.co.uk/index.php?topic=7784.0