I am having a problem with my e-flight park 480, please help....... I am running a 480 with a eflight 30amp ESC with a DX7.
At about 3/4 throttle the motor starts to pulse. I am using a 11.1v TP. Horizon seems to have no clue on whats going on[:@]
please help

Thanks Frank

Hi Frank,

It could be that the Li-po pack you are using cannot cope with the amperage that is being sucked out of it. I have experienced peculiar behaviour with a Hyperion 3S 1800mAh pack when I tried to draw more amps out of it than it would take - one of the cells puffed. It could also be that your ESC is faulty. I have experienced the exact same symptoms you describe with a bad Thunder Power RC Smart Guide 40A ESC, funnily enough that was with a Park 480 - but it was not the motor at fault.

Have you tried an alternative ESC with the motor? You will also need a battery pack that has sufficient stamina. This you can calculate by multiplying the mAh size by the "C" factor. E.g. 2200mAh 20C (2200 divided by 1000)x20 will give 44A or 1800mAh 25C will give 45A, etc.

If it's not your ESC then I need more informationn: What size of propeller are you using? Have you got a watt meter? What size and "C" rating are your cells?

I have two Park 480's and for both of these I prefer to use 36A and 45A ESC's. A 30A ESC in my opinion is a little small. I know that E-Flite suggest 25A-40A but I prefer to err on the safe side (it's a personal thing).

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Dave

Yes, in 99.99999% of the cases, pulsing is the ESC telling you that the battery is running out of juice.

On a freshly charged pack, one of three things is happening:

1. Battery pack isn't big enough to handle the load.
2. Propeller is too big for the motor and causing it to overload the battery.
3. Battery is damaged or worn out.

I am using a 12x7 prop (per Horizon) and have tried with a few different batteries (3cell 1900-2200 range)25C cont/50C burst. I am running the same setup in a 260 EXTRA with no issues. I'm missing something . All of my batteries are in good shape. I think that I will try a smaller prop and see what that dose. Not that it makes a difference but this is in a E-flight Taylor-craft 450.

Frank

I should go with a 40amp ESC

I think it is a faulty esc. I have the same problem on my corsair. Tried 3 different 2100 mah 25-35c batteries two if which were new. I double checked that they were fully charged. Horizon is replacing both the motor and the esc.

Hi Frank,

I don't have a propeller that big with which to check the current draw - but that is bigger than E-Flite recommend for that particular motor. 12x6 is the largest they say to use so you are already into dangerous territory. Now I have this information it sounds to me like your ESC is current limiting to protect itself.

A suggestion - If you have this exact set up working in another plane, and you are sure you are not exceeding the maximum current draw for any of the individual components, then why don't you try the ESC from your "good" plane. If swapping the ESC cures the problem you have at least a partial answer - it is either a faulty ESC or it is shutting down due to excessive current draw.

Electronics have varying tolerances and you may just have been lucky with your first plane that you are within acceptable limits for that particular ESC. Another "identical" ESC may not be so tolerant. This is why I prefer higher rated ESC's. A watt meter would be most helpful in analysing this problem.

At this moment my best advice would be to reduce the propeller to a 12x6 and try a 40A or 45A ESC (preferred in this instance). I have always had good results with Hyperion and Castle Creations ESC's.

Regards,

Dave

Using a wattmeter reveals the cause of most problems. Or, at least, helps quite a bit in the process of elimination trying to figure out what's wrong with a particular set up.

The larger prop is definetely requiring more power. Trying a smaller prop would help.

Thanks to everyone, I played with the prop and went to a 12x6 and the problem seems to have gone away. Then when I was looking at the prop that I removed I noticed that it was a NITRO prop. Well thanks to the wonderful people at my LHS I almost ruined a great aircraft. LESSON: double check your parts.

Thanks again
Frank

I fly my Taylercraft with almost the same set up as you're using except with an 11/7 prop and the 480 motor Flys great, really like the plane, very maneuverable. For me it's a relaxing plane compared to most of my others. Maybe the cold up there is effecting the battery.

I fly in the cold all the time with no problems, sometimes as low as 10deg. I think it was my prop. We have had a lot of wind the past week so I did not want to put it up until its just right. I was pleased that your TC did so well, I hope that mine is the same.

When weather gets warmer perhaps consider that again. From what I recall 35 amp is recommended for the motor and up to 40 amp depending on the type of plane and prop. For example for E-Flite's ShowTime the spec is for 40 amp (with Park 480 installed).

As for the prop, even if it had been an e-prop, 12x7 I recall is beyond spec for the 480. I've used 12x6 and 11x7 with my 480.