B4.1 Associated buggy esc settings

[scottfj]

Hi folks newbie here. Son just got a buggy off santy !! cough cough...!! and we have a problem on it now. Its brand new. with a 2 cell lipo i bough 2nd hand. The instructions do not say anything about ESC and how to set them at all.The following is the problem. He was driving it around the house getting used to steering in tight places to build up his steering skills. He said that he noticed some smoke.!!!!!!!!! and then i unplugged the battery immediately. The wires coming from the battery were rather warm but otherwise there was a faint electric smell. i plugged the system in again and tried all functions. steering was fine but absolutely no motor action. the led on the (xp digital SC200 ESC) is orange when not working and green when throttle is pulled. then its red when in reverse. the transmitter and receiver are bound but i reset them and did it again and no difference afterward. The steering works fine but no motor action. I then tested a multi meter on the motor to see if voltage is coming to motor and there is nothing coming down the line. It seem that the ESC is saying by the led colour change thats its doing something but no power is being sent to the rear motor.
the system is a brushed motor with a 7.4v 17 turn motor which is ok to use lipo batts with.
I dont know how to reset the ESC and will accept any solutions folks if you have a chance to help. Regards
form santy

[mattJT]

Hi there

Am sure that everyone on here would agree that smoke is always a bad thing.....the link to your esc is below tho

http://www.teamassociated.com/pdf/ca....sc200.esc.pdf


Only time i've ever generated smoke was when the wires inside the nimhs battery crossed, so sorry not able to provide too much help on this one.

[sim]

Sorry to hear that.

Although it could be anything (battery, motor, esc, wires, connectors, friction in the car), I would first check all the wires and connectors (motor and battery). I looked at the online ESC manual for you and all the lights look right (I assumed orange = green + red). The wires are soldered onto a circuitboard on most ESC's, so you want to check that first.

Also, the original motor and battery connectors have very high electrical resistance. It is best to replace these with Deans style connectors. Not sure if this is your problem, but it could be a potential problem in the long run anyway.

If you bought it from a local store, the best thing to do is to take it back and let them have a look at it for you. They should be better equipped to check everything for you one at a time. If they are unwilling to help, you can try asking nicely at another hobby store too.

[sim]

Oh ya, don't replace the battery/motor connectors yet if you are returning the ESC under warranty. Not sure if that voids the warranty.

[scottfj]

ok i read the online literature posted by a kind soul. (you would think they would include this in the new model). The esc is flashing the red green together when its in neutral (why dont they call it orange because its orange!!). I had mick here in dublin who sold me the batt and he fitted deans connection and explained the other type is pants!!!. Yes i have checked all the wires and they are clean bright and tight.!!! The issue with soldered to esc circuit board!! how do i check that one. if i split the esc i reckon i will invalidate any warranty.??
The manual on esc says that an overheat precaution disconnects feed to the motor and keeps steering operational and flashes orange when it on. This would seem to be the problem but when i press the reset 2 times it flashes 5 times green and then its supposed to disable the overheat safety and set it to nimh but when its pressed twice again it flashes 5 times red. this is a clue i reckon. the overheat protection seems to be staying on for some reason and i cant reset it. i have fully set the throttle controls as described in the esc manual settings so this seems to be ok...... ooo the joys of being new to the game....

[scottfj]

yes sorry its meant to flash 5 times red when i reset the low voltage to lipo. just read that fault again. The question is it meant to flash orange when its on and at rest.. surely only when the overheat cut off is activated.. anyone know.

[scottfj]

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

thanks folks for all the help but it seems that the esc had a soldering fault and i found the bugger. shoddy workmanship.. so there goes my warranty but its xmas and down time is never caught up on so id rather fix it myself then send it off to china and hear in about 4 weeks thats its not covered because its had deans connections fitted.....

here hoping thats the biggest for a while...

happy xmas all

[sim]

It doesn't look too bad from the picture. Is a wire loose in that solder joint hole? Anyway, good luck with the tinkering, but be careful.