robmurray

I have a turborix 60amp brushless speed controller. It has the usual positive and neg. leads on one side for the battery.

However, on the other side, the three leads to connect to the motor are all blue, however my brushless motor (Himax Outrunner) are red, blue and black...

Does it matter?

In the instructions for the esc it does not mention which one goes to which lead on the brushless motor?

Many thanks
Rob

robmurray

Not to worry, I did a search and found the answer, they are all the same, except need to play around for the correct rotation

Thanks anyway
Rob

jdetray

Connect the motor wires to the ESC in any order. If the motor runs backwards, swap any two of the wires.

- Jeff

Fliprob17

I have found....generally.....that if you connect the positive and negative wires from the motor to the corresponding positive and negative sides of the ESC, and obviously the other wire in the middle, that the rotation winds up counter-clockwise like it should. Probably not always the case obviously, but just what I have experienced.

jdetray

None of the wires on a brushless motor are "positive" or "negative." That concept does not apply to brushless motors.

I have brushless motors that came with no wires at all. I have others whose wires are all the same color. I have one whose wire colors are yellow, blue, and green!

The colors of the motor wires on a brushless motors simply have no significance.

- Jeff

Fliprob17

That's interesting. I have only used E-Flite motors, and they all have a red, blue and black wire. Just assumed that the red and black were positive and negative.

jdetray

I can see where that combination of colors might cause you to think that the 3 wires represent "positive," "negative," and "common," or something like that. But that isn't the case. The three wires are "equal" in every way and do not have any polarity.

- Jeff

Skiddz

Brushless motors run on AC, not DC and therefore there is no positive or negative.

pilotpete2

Hi Skiddz,
The designation used in the electronics industry, aerospace and just about anywhere but the RC hobby is BLDC (brushless DC) this describes an electronically commutated motor where the power scource to the controller or commutator is DC
The "AC" that you observe in a brushless DC motor is the same as what is produced in a brushed DC motor, all DC motors must create "AC" or else they won't run, that is the function of the commutator, the brushless controller provides commutation (closed loop) of the dc voltage to the motor, so technically the controller is an integral part of the motor as it is the commutator of the motor, but in this case it is done electronically. The cheapo case fans in your pc run the same way, minus the PWM speed control, but since the electronics are imbedded in the motor no one would think to call it an AC motor since the input is DC, but unlike the normal brushed DC motor you can't reverse the rotation by reversing the input, if you try, it will fry
One other point, it is easy to assume that the brushless 3 phase wound motor we use will run on normal AC (fixed frequency @ 50 or 60 Hz), but they are incapable of starting on their own, as the rotor in the brushless motors we use have a permanent magnet rotor and will produce no torque in either a rotating (3 phase) or alternating (single phase) field, it will just sit in a stall and hum[&o] it could be forced to run by using another motor to spin it at a speed fast enough to catch up with the ac field and lock in to syncronization with the field, but that doesn't quite count as a "functional" motor.
Well I've "motor mouthed" enough on this as it's not totally on topic.
Regards
Pete

AndyW

My Feedback: (1)

Pete,

I'm just getting my feet wet in this "lekkie" stuff and just want to thank you for your concise and understandable explanation as to what brushless means. I know how a standard DC motor works but couldn't imagine how you could get away with having no brushes. Wonder of wonders, we're so lucky to be in the hobby at this amazing time.

CWHFSR

That, IMO, would represent better customer service and understanding to the novice to help them get it wired up the right way the first time. The color wires might not mean anything but if having colors there that mean something to us and it helps us set them up, then by gosh I'm glad they are like that! (I have eflight motors too and it helps me too)

ron_van_sommeren

The three motor wires are equivalent, but not the same.

Animations and simulations of brushless motors;
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...ght=animations

Also read a.o. my posts in this "How does a brushless motor work?" thread:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_1558046/tm.htm
Unfortunaly the deep 'Torcman' links there are dead, Peter Rother's diy brushless motor pages have moved to www.aerodesign.de/peter -> English

Vriendelijke groeten Ron

ron_van_sommeren

For a rainy day ...

* Get a current/Watt-meter, it will save you money and will more than pay for itself!
3$ diy Watt-meter:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=949923

* Presentation: de-mystifying Electric Flight
http://www.rcaircrafters.org/The%20Electric%20Show.pdf

Get a current/Watt-meter

* http://www.ampaviators.com
-> Beginner Guide

Get a current/Watt-meter

* E-book: Everything You Wanted To Know About Electric Powered Flight
http://homepage.mac.com/kmyersefo/ev...ng-e-power.pdf
Corresponding discussion:
http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31071

Get a current/Watt-meter

* Several Wiki's
http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/vbglossar.php

Get a current/Watt-meter

* http://www.ezonemag.com
-> Faq

Get a current/Watt-meter

* System wiring diagrams:
http://scriptasylum.com/rc_speed/_wiring.html
* LiPo pack and balancer cable wiring:
http://scriptasylum.com/rc_speed/_lipo.html

Get a current/Watt-meter

* Monthly Ampeer newsletter, on paper and online available. Excellent articles in the archives by e-flight pioneers Ken Meyers and Keith Shaw a.o.
http://homepage.mac.com/kmyersefo

Get a current/Watt-meter

* Brushless motor animations and simulations. Mostly outrunners but inrunners are just outrunners turned inside out, nothing fancy:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=216928

Get a current/Watt-meter

* Choosing a power setup
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=739069
http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27019

Get a current/Watt-meter

* About de-rating controllers and motors, starting at 'for everyone else':
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...0#post11476940

Get a current/Watt-meter

* E-flight calculators, a compilation
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=606703

Get a current/Watt-meter

* Current, voltage, Watt, battery-types and -C-rating explained
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=417868

Get a current/Watt-meter

* About BECs, #servos and battery voltage:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...2#post11679182

Get a current/Watt-meter

* 'Dry' testing brushless motors after a mishap:
http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35216
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=240993

Get a current/Watt-meter

* How to repair a brushless motor
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1079423

Get a current/Watt-meter

* Motor_rewinding_101, about poles, winds, delta, star
http://www.gobrushless.com
-> knowledge base
-> basic overview (1-5)

* And I almost forgot, get a current/Watt-meter



ps: "Get a current/Watt-meter "
copyright Cato Maior, 234-149BC

AndyW

My Feedback: (1)

UH OHHH,

Have I got a LOT to learn. Winter's coming though, lots of time to digest all this good information. THANK YOU Ron.

Before I begin, I just want to be clear.

You rig up your multimeter so that when you hook up your system, you can read voltage AND amp draw just by flipping the rotary dial on the meter. So you're hooking up the ammeter in series and the voltmeter in parallel? And this is a permanent setup just for your RC work? The multimeter is now a one use, dedicated instrument? That's why you want to get a good, cheap one?

Sorry if this is way elementary. I have SOME electronics experience but most of my interests, in the past has been engines. We piston lovers are called gearheads. Is there a lekkie equivalent? And is "lekkie" a derogatory term?

Ron,

I see you're a fan of Canada's Red Green.

BTW,

My first serious foray into this is the Parkzone, Sukhoi. Absolutely incredible, a full, four function, aerobatic aircraft at UNDER one ounce. I'm doing mods, hope that makes it even better.

jdetray

Hi Andy -

If you use the $3 wattmeter setup, you can still use the meter for other purposes. Unplug the connectors for the R/C battery and plug in the meter's regular test leads, and you can use the meter for conventional purposes. However, if you get one of those very inexpensive meters, the cost is so low that it makes sense to dedicate it to R/C usage. That way, it's always ready to go for R/C use.

In the long run, I think you will be much happier with a purpose-built R/C wattmeter that displays both current and voltage at the same time. Something like the [link=http://www.bphobbies.com/view.asp?id=A0320107&pid=U054250&img=l]Watt's Up meter[/link] is what you want. There are many brands available; I posted the Watt's Up link only because it includes a nice photo of the meter's display.

Having used both the $3 solution and a purpose-built wattmeter, I much prefer the purpose-built wattmeter.

- Jeff

AndyW

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks Jeff,

Got a nice, cheap, but good one on order. Meter, that is. Later, we'll get the real deal.

Andy