Three dead ESCs in 60 days. Is the Castle MMX too fragile for bashing?

[dure16]

I’ve had three MMX (6S version) fail on me in the last 60 days. I’m getting 3-5 runs on each ESC before failure. Same symptoms each time - the power delivery becomes very twitchy and unusable. And sensored operation completely stops working.

Replacing the ESC has fixed the issue every time. I thought maybe it was a motor or battery issue so I switched those out with the latest ESC and the same problem happened again.

10 pound MT410 and I’m launching it on ~20 foot jumps. Backflip LPs and geared conservatively. Motor temps and ESC temps have never gotten to danger levels.

I like the logging and other sensor features but can’t keep replacing the ESC. Should I switch to a different ESC? Any recommendations?

 

[Clubin]

Send castle a email. They would be aware of issues if there were any. They are good to reply. Or call. They always answer.

 

[Cereal_killer]

As clubin said shoot cc a email. My mmx8s and xlx2 x2 haven't given me a single issue.

 

[Clubin]

As clubin said shoot cc a email. My mmx8s and xlx2 x2 haven't given me a single issue.

Same here. No issues.

 

[dure16]

Send castle a email. They would be aware of issues if there were any. They are good to reply. Or call. They always answer.

Yeah I’ve talked with them. No known issues and there’s not really any troubleshooting that can be done. Just replace and move on.

 

[Senton_Prime]

Yeah I’ve talked with them. No known issues and there’s not really any troubleshooting that can be done. Just replace and move on.

What servo u running!? Prolly dumb but a thought none the less

 

[dure16]

What servo u running!? Prolly dumb but a thought none the less

Savox 2290 at 8V. So pretty high demand servo.

Interesting point - I hadn’t thought about swapping the servo. I unhooked it during troubleshooting with no improvement, but didn’t consider that it could be frying the ESCs.

 

[JCsRC]

Is there a short within the windings of the motor itself that is just enough to short circuit the ESC when the temperatures heat up. Check for resistance across the A,B, and C leads of the motor.

 

[dure16]

Check for resistance across the A,B, and C leads of the motor.

Know a good video or any tips on doing this?

 

[Senton_Prime]

If u have a multimeter or ohmmeter.. switch it to the ohm setting and take the meter leads (red, black) and touch them to either 2 phases.. black on the meter could be A phase while red is B, u will check all 3 with one another.. so..
1. A&B
2. A&C
3. B&C
They should all read about the same resistance.. ideally u want 0 but that won't be the case and u shouldn't see anything more then like .03 or so!?

 

[JCsRC]

What Senton said.

 

[dure16]

If u have a multimeter or ohmmeter.. switch it to the ohm setting and take the meter leads (red, black) and touch them to either 2 phases.. black on the meter could be A phase while red is B, u will check all 3 with one another.. so..
1. A&B
2. A&C
3. B&C
They should all read about the same resistance.. ideally u want 0 but that won't be the case and u shouldn't see anything more then like .03 or so!?

Thank you. My meter only shows tenths but I'm getting .1 across the board. No variations.

 

[JCsRC]

Well something is killing those ESC’s because what you’re experiencing isn’t the norm by any means. It has to be something you’re doing or something faulty connected to it. I’d check everything including the receiver connected to that ESC, the servo, to the conditions it operates in. The Castle Mamba X has some pretty robust built in thermal protection but it’s not 100% water proof.

 

[TheBadazz]

My rule of thumb is, Hobbywing is for bashing, Castle is for speed.

 

[dure16]

Well something is killing those ESC’s because what you’re experiencing isn’t the norm by any means. It has to be something you’re doing or something faulty connected to it. I’d check everything including the receiver connected to that ESC, the servo, to the conditions it operates in. The Castle Mamba X has some pretty robust built in thermal protection but it’s not 100% water proof.

Agree. It’s really weird. They haven’t been run in any wet conditions. I need to try a different servo though - I know it’s unlikely but that’s the only common denominator.