Possessed Castle ESC & Rimfire Motor
 

Guys & Gals,

In honor of the upcoming holiday, here's a WEIRD one for you!

I've got a Castle Thunderbird 54 ESC running a 35-36-1200 Rimfire, turning an APC 11x7 thin electric prop. Flown this setup maybe 10 times with no problems. Two flights ago I notice the plane is sluggish wouldn't hover, slow transition from low to high throttle, etc... Landed and the batt was a bit warm but not terribly so. The ESC and receiver were fine. Motor was pretty warm/hot and a little tighter feeling as I turned the prop.

Didn't think too much of it until a few days later when I flew it again. Noticed the same general sluggishness and landed (about 4-5 mins into the flight). Same symptoms - warm batt; ESC and RX normal. Pulled the spinner and cowl and the motor was rather hot this time and harder to turn than normal.

Here's the really weird part. With all 3 wires connected the motor is tight (even after it cooled off). As you disconnect the wires, the motor gets progressively easier to turn! Remove all 3 connections to the ESC and the thing spins like it was brand new! Reconnect everything and it is MUCH harder to spin. This is all with the batt removed mind you... I'm sitting here scratching my head... [&:]

Anybody had anything similar happen? Any quesses what this could be? Really don't want to have to start replacing motors or ESC's - especially on so few flights.

Thanks and Happy Halloween!

RE: Possessed Castle ESC & Rimfire Motor
 

Now thats just weird........is it possible the esc is holding some sort of charge?

RE: Possessed Castle ESC & Rimfire Motor
 

Logically you'd think so right? I just went out and tried it again though with the same results! It's been at least 2 days since I've had it connected to any battery. I'm no electrician, but I think any residual charge ought to have dissipated by now. In any case, even with power it shouldn't be nearly as tight as it is... Looks like everyone else is stumped too - might have to refer this one to the folks at Castle. Anyone dealt with them before? Nice to work with I hope...

RE: Possessed Castle ESC & Rimfire Motor
 

By way of update, I e-mailed Castle Customer Service and promptly received a reply: We are busy and probably won't get around to answering your e-mail for 5-7 days... That was over a week ago. Hope they're helpful once you get a hold of them!

RE: Possessed Castle ESC & Rimfire Motor
 

If it had the battery (and ESC) connected at no throttle, and it was hard to turn, I'd have an explanation [that is common to many motors and ESC's], but since yours does it without the battery - all bets are off.

RE: Possessed Castle ESC & Rimfire Motor
 

Since motors act as generators when turned, and ESCs have capacitors on them, wouldn't turning the motor generate a current, which charges the capacitors in the ESC?

This doesn't explain the sluggish performance and warm motor. Perhaps a malfunctioning ESC is at fault here? Do you have another ESC to try?