ESC issues

[Jonathon Gillham 4605]

So the ESC in my 2wd buggy is playing up.  Its a Trackstar 80A Turbo ESC and has done a couple of seasons in this car.  Always run in blinky mode as per the class rules.

It starts up normally, ie turn it on and it flashes some lights and the rx and servo work.  Then it looks like its dead, except the fan is still going but the blinky light isn't blinking, in fact none of the 3 lights are on.  In normal operation 1 light is on, 1 is blinking and the other is off.  Eventually it will start up and work normally, and so far hasn't cut out during a run.  It can take a few minutes to work properly though, this isn't a 10sec delay which feels like forever.  The fan, servo and rx are working the whole time while its turned on, even though the ESC itself looks dead.

I'm thinking its probably on its last legs after 2 years of abuse on a dusty outdoor dirt track, not to mention the constant bumps and knocks even when I do land properly.

Does anyone have any ideas on what it could be?  I have a friend who is good with a soldering iron and should be able to fix it if its something simple (ie replacing burnt out bits).

 

 

[danb1974 93]

Try to calibrate the esc, it will not arm if it does think gas is not at neutral point

[Biz73 603]

Have you tried re-loading the firmware? I was able to bring back a Speed Passion esc that way. It took 2 tries, but hasn't had an issue since(about a year).

[Jonathon Gillham 4605]

4 hours ago, danb1974 said:

Try to calibrate the esc, it will not arm if it does think gas is not at neutral point

I made a half-%@=$@ attempt to yesterday but I have found Trackstar and sanwa don't get on that well and its hit and miss whether it calibrates. They do eventually though after a number of attempts. They do it ibstantly with futaba though.

2 hours ago, Biz73 said:

Have you tried re-loading the firmware? I was able to bring back a Speed Passion esc that way. It took 2 tries, but hasn't had an issue since(about a year).

I haven't tried this, I don't think that Trackstar will connect to a PC but it must be possible. The Speed Passion stuff is far better than Trackstar, I have some Speed Passion ESCs and really like their setup

[Biz73 603]

Hopefully you can get it figured out and running again. Good luck.

[dannymulder 766]

I have a trackstar 80 a esc, at first I can't get it working with my transmitter, then I set the transmitter in reverse mode, now it works like a charm

[Jonathon Gillham 4605]

1 hour ago, dannymulder said:

I have a trackstar 80 a esc, at first I can't get it working with my transmitter, then I set the transmitter in reverse mode, now it works like a charm

I found it a pain to setup with Sanwa gear but once done its run fine for almost 2 years. I haven't been able to recalibrate it, I think this one might be a lost cause but will try again tomorrow. Mostly because to get the car running for the weekend i will need to borrow an ESC from another car and really can't be bothered swapping out - it will have to come from my TA07 and i just got that setup how I want it. The ESC is fiddly to position.