How can I check and see if my esc is broken?

av8er50: first check to see if your wire'in cause'in the prob, Keep your main power wires ( batt plug's and such ) away as far as you can as they'll cause all manner of wierd'ness to go on, most my prob with em in the past were caused by this way, your bub, scoooper

I have everything far away now, could that have done something to "burn" uo the esc? I still have no response from the esc.

Whats your set-up ,batt, moter, size of esc, etc, your bub, scoooper

I will attach exactly what I have.... purchased from tower as a combo.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...1p?&I=LZ0997**

AV8ER50: I could be wrong but an 8 amp esc seems a might small for your brushless rig and 3 cell 11.2 V, lipo Ummmmmm? anybody out there want to chime in here? your bub, scoooper

I'll double check but I'm pretty sure thats what came with the "combo"

yep thats what it came with, what would you recomend

av8er50 : maybe a 25-30 amp but let's hope more foke chime in as I do'nt want to get all-know'in on you, It just seem real small , your bub, scoooper

Yeah, I'll wait to see if anyone else speaks up. I am at a loss with the electric world. Is there a way that you know to check to see if it's ruined?

The recommended ESC should be OK with that motor provided you are also using the recommended prop. No need for a 25-30 Amp ESC for this setup. However, running a larger than recommended prop will draw more current which could damage the 8A ESC.

A few questions:

If you go through the ESC setup procedure, do you hear the beeps described in the instructions? Note that you will not hear any beeps unless the motor is connected to the ESC (the ESC uses the motor as its speaker).

Did the ESC ever work properly? Did the motor run properly at first but has now stopped running?

Do the servos work properly, or have they stopped working, too?

Have you double checked all your connectors?

If you did any soldering of the connections, are you sure you soldered properly?

Did you ever connect the battery to the ESC backwards (reverse the red and black power connections)? That can instantly damage an ESC.

- Jeff

When I go thru the set up I do not hear beeps, never did. I didn't do any soldering and the battery was hooked with the connectors so I don't think I did that backwards.
The motor never has worked, but the servos work.
When I got battery it wouldn't take a charge. I hooked it up to see if it had taken any charge, could that have damaged the esc.
Thanks,
Jeff

Hooking up an uncharged battery would not damage the ESC. Is your battery now charging properly?

Did you set the throttle reversing switch to reverse on your transmitter as described in Step 5 of the ESC instructions? You must do this if you have a Futaba transmitter.

- Jeff

Yep it is reversed. Yeah I had a bad battery, I got it replaced and it charges now.
Sounds like I might have to bite the bullet and buy a new esc.

If the ESC has never worked, you should contact Tower Hobbies and ask for a replacement.

- Jeff

Well the problem with that is I have had it since Feb. My son was diagnosed with cancer 2 weeks after i got the plane, so needless to say it went way down to the bottom of the list of priorities. He is doing better so I just got back to the RC world. So again back to the bite the bullet and buy a new one. Thats why I wondered if there is a way to test the esc before I buy a new one.

I don't know of a way to test an ESC other than to hook it up to a motor, receiver and battery that are known to be good. It may be simplest to purchase another ESC.

I know what you mean about priorities. My wife recently had unexpected, emergency surgery, and such happenings sure put everything else into perspective. I wish your son and your family all the best.

- Jeff

Thanks for the well wishings, best wish's to you and your's too.
Yeah I guess I'll just buy a new one.

I saw in another thread that you have an on/off switch in between the ESC and receiver. That's your problem!

The on/off switch only connects the + and - wires, not the signal wire. No signal, no worky...

BTW, if your ESC is defective but is still new, Great Planes WILL replace it, no questions asked, no matter how long you've had it. However, your ESC isn't defective.

Thanks for both of your post's!! I will give that a try and post back and let you know how it works.
-Jeff

I have accomplished getting everything to work with out buying a new esc. I took out the switch and now it works!
Thanks to everyone who offered help!
Jeff

AV8ER50: Thats great!, I was about to mail you one of my spare's to get ya by till you worked it it out, Thats a nice combo you got there, post some pixs soon as you get her go'in, your bub, scoooper

Awesome!