Symptoms of Lipo dying. . .but Lipo was good???

RMJ22 · 07-28-2012, 10:04 PM

Was flying my Trex 450 today and less than 1 minute into the second battery the heli started pulsing as you would see when destroying a Lipo by flying it below 3v. It was an old battery anyway so I thought. . .well, looks like that one is gone. Landed, put in a fresh battery. Less than 1 minute into the flight with a fully charged Lipo with less than 3 flights, same symptoms. Landed promptly and was thinking maybe I accidentally had not charged those 2 batteries like I thought. However, when I got home and put them on the charger, both batteries were still nearly fully charged.

I did notice the ESC was very hot to the touch but it was over 100 degrees outside and I was flying in full sun - but these are normal summertime conditions here.

I'm thinking maybe my ESC is the culprit?

Your thoughts, please!!

Macshadow · 07-29-2012, 11:41 AM

I had a similar problem with my Sport, turns out one of the male banana connectors to the motor had been damaged at some point and was not fitting tightly. I tried to fix it the lazy way with electrical tape, it worked for half a dozen flights and then started up again. After soldering on a new connector all was fine. My nephew an electrician, told me that if you have a bad connection you'll draw too many amps and thus increase resistance and generate more heat which neither your ESC or motor appreciates. Check your 3 motor connections.

satgod · 07-29-2012, 12:54 PM

check your connections but its probably the esc itself

this would be the perfect time to get you a ice50 for the bird and never think about it again

RMJ22 · 07-29-2012, 01:37 PM

Mac - I'll check my connections!

Satgod - what's an Ice50??

RMJ22 · 07-29-2012, 03:55 PM

Update. . .replaced a couple questionable connections at the motor/esc. Didn't help. Motor began pulsating once again at 1:54 into the flight. Going to put in my spare ESC and see if that helps. . .

Wolfpackin · 07-29-2012, 05:27 PM

Are you sure you didn't over discharge the batteries?

satgod · 07-29-2012, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RMJ22

Mac - I'll check my connections!

Satgod - what's an Ice50??

Castle ice 50 esc

the pulsing sounds like a gov gain issue if you use a gov that is
if not ESC

Egroeg · 07-29-2012, 05:48 PM

Happened to me too.
Battery voltage drops fast ...triggers off the ESC pulsating warning.
I think the batteries are gone ...cannot deliver the current .
I use them in a foamie glider with no issues.
Helis draw lots of current.

RMJ22 · 07-29-2012, 06:30 PM

Update: It was the ESC!!! Put the new one on and the problem is solved. Thanks again for your help.

RMJ22 · 07-30-2012, 09:01 PM

It wasn't the ESC. . .now it doing it again with the new ESC. Something I started noticing the last few flights is a slight tail wag that has gotten worse. Do you think the motor pulsing and tail wag could be related???

07-28-2012, 10:04 PM	#1
RMJ22 Registered Users Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Shreveport, LA	Symptoms of Lipo dying. . .but Lipo was good??? Was flying my Trex 450 today and less than 1 minute into the second battery the heli started pulsing as you would see when destroying a Lipo by flying it below 3v. It was an old battery anyway so I thought. . .well, looks like that one is gone. Landed, put in a fresh battery. Less than 1 minute into the flight with a fully charged Lipo with less than 3 flights, same symptoms. Landed promptly and was thinking maybe I accidentally had not charged those 2 batteries like I thought. However, when I got home and put them on the charger, both batteries were still nearly fully charged. I did notice the ESC was very hot to the touch but it was over 100 degrees outside and I was flying in full sun - but these are normal summertime conditions here. I'm thinking maybe my ESC is the culprit? Your thoughts, please!! __________________ Trex 450 SE V2, all stock, S3153MG 's on cyclic, S9257 on tail, Quark, 430XL, RCE-BL35X ESC, 12T pinion Gobby 500, Quantum, BLS153 cyclic, MKS HBL980 tail, SK540 FBL, CC Talon 90 ESC, 21T pinion, DX8

07-29-2012, 11:41 AM	#2
Macshadow Registered Users Join Date: Jul 2008	Probable cause I had a similar problem with my Sport, turns out one of the male banana connectors to the motor had been damaged at some point and was not fitting tightly. I tried to fix it the lazy way with electrical tape, it worked for half a dozen flights and then started up again. After soldering on a new connector all was fine. My nephew an electrician, told me that if you have a bad connection you'll draw too many amps and thus increase resistance and generate more heat which neither your ESC or motor appreciates. Check your 3 motor connections.

07-29-2012, 12:54 PM	#3
satgod Registered Users My HF Map location Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: USA,KY,Rineyville	check your connections but its probably the esc itself this would be the perfect time to get you a ice50 for the bird and never think about it again __________________ Trex 600EFL Pro V2 V-Bar ds610 ds650 cc pro bec Scorpion 130a HV KDE 600XF-530 450pro 1860kv(6s) cc50 (4 DS215MG) 10t pinion, Tarot DFC, Ikon TBS Discovery (Quad), naza-gps, 900mhz fpv, gopro2, ET OSD pro, D/L UHF X-8 Wing , D/L UHF Full fpv package

07-29-2012, 01:37 PM	#4
RMJ22 Registered Users Thread Starter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Shreveport, LA	Mac - I'll check my connections! Satgod - what's an Ice50?? __________________ Trex 450 SE V2, all stock, S3153MG 's on cyclic, S9257 on tail, Quark, 430XL, RCE-BL35X ESC, 12T pinion Gobby 500, Quantum, BLS153 cyclic, MKS HBL980 tail, SK540 FBL, CC Talon 90 ESC, 21T pinion, DX8

07-29-2012, 03:55 PM	#5
RMJ22 Registered Users Thread Starter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Shreveport, LA	Update. . .replaced a couple questionable connections at the motor/esc. Didn't help. Motor began pulsating once again at 1:54 into the flight. Going to put in my spare ESC and see if that helps. . . __________________ Trex 450 SE V2, all stock, S3153MG 's on cyclic, S9257 on tail, Quark, 430XL, RCE-BL35X ESC, 12T pinion Gobby 500, Quantum, BLS153 cyclic, MKS HBL980 tail, SK540 FBL, CC Talon 90 ESC, 21T pinion, DX8

07-29-2012, 05:27 PM	#6
Wolfpackin HF Support My HF Map location Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Eagle, CO	Are you sure you didn't over discharge the batteries? __________________ Zen and the Art of Helicopter Maintenance Blade 400: E-flite 420H/35X ESC, AR6100e, HS65HB x 3, G401B/DS290G. (Ret.) CopterX 450AE V2: 430XL/35X ESC, AR6100, HS65HB x 3, LTG2100T/HSG-5084MG. T-Rex 550E V1 Classic Flybar: 600MX/BL70G, AR6200, DS610 x 3, Quark/DS650, 16t/520mm blades.

07-29-2012, 05:48 PM	#8
Egroeg Registered Users My HF Map location Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Nicosia Cyprus	Happened to me too. Battery voltage drops fast ...triggers off the ESC pulsating warning. I think the batteries are gone ...cannot deliver the current . I use them in a foamie glider with no issues. Helis draw lots of current. __________________ No Pitch...No Fun!!! To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

07-29-2012, 06:30 PM	#9
RMJ22 Registered Users Thread Starter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Shreveport, LA	Update: It was the ESC!!! Put the new one on and the problem is solved. Thanks again for your help. __________________ Trex 450 SE V2, all stock, S3153MG 's on cyclic, S9257 on tail, Quark, 430XL, RCE-BL35X ESC, 12T pinion Gobby 500, Quantum, BLS153 cyclic, MKS HBL980 tail, SK540 FBL, CC Talon 90 ESC, 21T pinion, DX8

07-30-2012, 09:01 PM	#10
RMJ22 Registered Users Thread Starter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Shreveport, LA	It wasn't the ESC. . .now it doing it again with the new ESC. Something I started noticing the last few flights is a slight tail wag that has gotten worse. Do you think the motor pulsing and tail wag could be related??? __________________ Trex 450 SE V2, all stock, S3153MG 's on cyclic, S9257 on tail, Quark, 430XL, RCE-BL35X ESC, 12T pinion Gobby 500, Quantum, BLS153 cyclic, MKS HBL980 tail, SK540 FBL, CC Talon 90 ESC, 21T pinion, DX8

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