Spektrum 150A stuck in blinking green thermal shutdown

[sumguy75]

Had my Typhon out and near the end of the battery it lost power. Picked it up and took it to the car and checked the temps. Motor was in the 170s (time to gear down for summer, lol) and the esc was in the 150s. Wasn't more than 2 minutes after it stopped until I checked the temps so it didn't have time to cool before I checked.
Put another battery in after it was completely cooled off, now the Spektrum esc comes on with a steady short blinking green which is thermal shutdown mode. Fans and servo both still work, but no beeping like it usually does when turned on. I thought once it was cool it would work fine, but act like its still in shutdown. Surprised since the esc didn't get too hot being in the 150s.
I tried connecting another motor just in case the stock Spektrum 2050kv was bricked, but same thing. Fans & servo work and the continuous quick green blinking on the ESC. I tried holding the set button to turn it on, will not go into program mode or make any beeps/chimes at all.
Any suggestions? Is it just fried and time to replace?

 

[jkflow]

Are you sure? The thermal shutdown blinking can only happen when it was previously operational. I believe it's one of the other ones below, indicating a defective ESC.
ESC external 150F is ~ 200F internal. Assuming that it was already cooling down, it was most likely above 210F internal, and that can cause permanent issues.
Seen these differences in temp myself through telemetry, internal FET temp is reported to the DX5, and it was always 50-60F higher than external temps.

LED flashes green with four short pulses repeating - The ESC has failed the self test - ESC bricked, need a new one
LED flashes green with five short pulses repeating - Capacitor temp has been exceeded - ESC bricked, need a new one
--
LED flashes green with short single pulses -The ESC is in thermal shutoff mode
LED flashes green with three short pulses repeating - The ESC has exceeded the continuous current limit

 

[sumguy75]

Well crap, I thought whatever numbers I was getting with a temp gun were the ones I should go by. It had been running in the 140's and 150's a few times before, but the day this happened outside temps were the warmest I had run it in by 10-15 degrees, maybe I had been close to issues before and it finally got too warm.
Its the first time I've seen the lights blink and I looked again this evening and to me it appears to be a consistent short green flash about 1-2 seconds apart, no breaks after 3 or 4 that I am able to notice. Maybe the breaks after 3 or 4 flashes are more subtle than I expect or its damaged and just not acting right.
I did notice in some threads people mentioning backing the timing down from 22.5 to 15 to help keep it cooler, wish I knew that before but now I know going forward.
I sent a warranty claim to Horizon, if they replace it I'll keep the replacement as a spare and probably just go ahead and drop a Max6 or Mamba Monster in it.

 

[jkflow]

Should be very obvious if its a group of 3 or 4 etc. If it is truly blinking as you stated, the ESC is junk for sure.

 

[SrC]

@jkflow explained it best.

External Temp Reads with your temp gun is a loose reference, taken at the ESC HS, and is always going to be lower than the actual Temps read by the Thermister on the MosFets of the ESC's PCB. 212F is the default Internal Thermal cut. External temps should be acceptable at 140F or lower. Temps can spike really fast in seconds and reach thermal cut threshold. Once you get Thermal cut. ESC stops. Then Flashes Green at this point until it cools down, then the ESC reinitializes, if left ON with the fans running. Normal sequence.
I feel that when your rig did stop running, it was not the Voltage that cut off the ESC . It was Thermal cut at that point.
Either way, you have a Bricked ESC.
Call HH for a free ESC. Under the 2 year replacement warranty with your reciept. If your ESC applies. Spektrum ESC's are not all that. But work for many as a cheaper alternative to HW and CC ESC's. User error will take out any ESC if ran hot.
These ESC's are throwaways and not Repairable.
MosFets are probably fried. Been there.
If you want to check for burned out MosFets as the failure, just to confirm why the ESC is bricked, Try this below:

https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/testing-your-blx-esc-that-appears-bricked.22054/

In summation.......Heat got the best of your ESC. A Better Fan setup and/or proper Gearing (smaller pinion) is needed for higher Ambient Temps in the summer. ESC and Motor temps can shoot up real fast, then its too late.
I would also go over the motor well , clean and lube the BB's. Opening the motor. (Drop of synthetic Oil on each Motor BB)
Good luck.

 

[Senton_Prime]

Yank off your b phase lead and do a hard reset on it.. if it does indeed come back to life make sure you recalibrate everything!! it might not work the first time but try it a couple times!? Get back to me with your results.. just curious cuz i have advised this 3 or 4 times on here and i believe it worked everytime if my memory serves me correct!!

 

[SrC]

@Senton_Prime is correct.
Defintely try this first. A Last ditch effort.
I have had luck doing this one time before with the legacy Arrma BLX185 ESC. ( Firma 150 equivalent)

 

[sumguy75]

Tried calibrating, when I hold down the set button the blinking green stays off for as long as I hold the set button. As soon as I let off, it starts blinking green again. Disconnected the B lead and tried it and same thing, no light while set button is held but never enters calibration mode then blinks green again as soon as I let off.
I tried this following both the steps in the manual (turn on transmitter, turn on esc then press set button) tried for 1 sec which is supposed to enter programming mode and tried holding 5+ seconds which the manual says will reset all programming. I also tried turning the esc on while holding down the set button. Never had issues entering program mode on esc's in the past and don't think I'm doing it wrong, hope I'm not missing anything.

 

[Senton_Prime]

How many blinks do you get, i know u couldnt distinguish but try and see if its 3 or 4.. seems its not doing the self test so it wont intitiate the startup!? Damn sorry bro its prolly bricked.. too much heat too many times!!

 

[SrC]

I would use a Program Card to see if it responds. Should have one anyway. If no response/display seen, that is almost always a sign that the ESC is bricked.
I would invest in a better fan setup for the ESC and Motor., and have a Prog card if you don't already have one. I always use a Prog card or BT adapter and APP depending on the ESC you have. Need to always check ESC parameters. I bet your ESC can be tweaked to run cooler. Get a smaller pinion.
Also, always take a close look at the PCB Embedded Capacitors. If one is blown out, you will see the top of the Capacitor(s) pushed out/ split open. Caps get hot. They normally run up to 120F. Check them with your Temp gun also. Caps will wear out eventually, depending how hot/often they cycle.

 

[sumguy75]

Tried a program card and it did readout and allow adjustments. Once I unplugged the behavior was the same.

I think my biggest mistake was underestimating ground temps. I have a Rocket aluminum fan on both the motor and esc and have been running with 18t pinion with temps mostly staying lower than 130-140. It has been a very cool, cloudy and wet spring here so most of my bashing had been done with outdoor temps in the 50s or 60s with a cloud cover which kept the ground cool. This time the temps were in the upper 70s but also has been clear and sunny and I can feel the warmth coming up from the ground so the ground is warmer and bright sunshine also made the body of the rig noticeably warmer to the touch. All of that makes cooling down more difficult for the esc/motor.

Planning to drop to a 16t pinion for summer, especially after this issue. Also saw that motor timing can make it run warmer/cooler depending on setting. Mine is set at default 22.5, will drop that to 15. There's room for a second fan on the motor so I will add another.

 

[Calvin79]

I got same problem in the first time,does anyone solved this problem yet?

 

[sumguy75]

Tried everything I could find to reset it but ended up getting a replacement ESC through the warranty process.

 

[Sieben h]

Yank off your b phase lead and do a hard reset on it.. if it does indeed come back to life make sure you recalibrate everything!! it might not work the first time but try it a couple times!? Get back to me with your results.. just curious cuz i have advised this 3 or 4 times on here and i believe it worked everytime if my memory serves me correct!!

Can you explain what you mean by: yank off your b phase lead

 

[Senton_Prime]

Can you explain what you mean by: yank off your b phase lead

On the esc box were the leads plug in you will see.. A, B, C.. unplug B!?

 

[Sieben h]

On the esc box were the leads plug in you will see.. A, B, C.. unplug B!?

You basterd Mastermind!!!! It worked!!!!!!!

 

[Senton_Prime]

Hell yea bro.. glad it worked!! Not always the case

You basterd Mastermind!!!! It worked!!!!!!!