Firma 150A ESC Keeps Re-Initializing

[RC-Glenn]

Hi everyone.

I recently bought a dirt-cheap used Notorious v5 (Spektrum electronics). The guy I bought it from says that he buys lots of Amazon returns, and this was in one of those lots. My best guess is that it had about 20-30 hours on it. The guy selling it knew nothing about RC, so he had no idea if it worked or not – hence the bargain basement price. The structural damage was what you’d expect (front bumper, wing, wheelie bar), but overall it was very solid. However, when I got it on the bench and tried the electronics, it was a mixed bag.

Working properly:

1. TX/RX
2. Servo
3. ESC cooling fan
4. Motor (I confirmed this by temporarily hooking up my Outcast 4S ESC to it)

Not working:

1. ESC

For the ESC, the fan worked fine. The BEC worked fine, as the RX and servo all worked fine. It went through the initialization process fine (properly reading the cell count, etc.) However, as soon as I gave it some throttle, the motor cogged for a split second, then stopped, and the ESC went through the initialization process again. Every time I hit the throttle, the same thing happened, regardless of whether it was forward or reverse. There were no red LEDs flashing. Note that none of the electronics smelled funny, so I don’t think anything got seriously toasted. It was more like it was malfunctioning (rather than completely shot). The ESC issue was probably the reason the truck was being returned.

The battery voltage was fine, and there were no obvious poor connections. I also tried it after disconnecting the servo, as I know that sometimes a bum servo can cause weird stuff to happen. Same thing happened.

I hooked up my Outcast ESC to the Notorious motor, and it worked. I hooked up the Notorious ESC to the Outcast motor, and the same fault appeared.

So:

Has anyone had a similar experience?

1. What was the fix (if any)?
2. If the ESC is indeed fried, I’ll need to replace it, so does anyone have experience with the Hobbywing Quicrun 8BL 150 G2 Sensorless 150A ESC? How is it?

Thanks in advance.

 

[cancelthefuture]

The 8BL150 G2 is an enormous value for the price. The Spektrum 150a orange is basically a rebrand of the 8bl150 g1, and the new black Spektrum 150a is 8bl150 G2 with smart stuff added. If you don't care about the smart features, the 8bl150 g2 is a way better value.

 

[RC-Glenn]

The 8BL150 G2 is an enormous value for the price. The Spektrum 150a orange is basically a rebrand of the 8bl150 g1, and the new black Spektrum 150a is 8bl150 G2 with smart stuff added. If you don't care about the smart features, the 8bl150 g2 is a way better value.

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

It is much appreciated!