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Author Topic: Need help!  (Read 3381 times)

hama

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Need help!
« on: March 10, 2016, 12:13:06 pm »

Hello!
I really need help from a electric guru.
In my Smit London I have two Speed 500E motors and two M-tronics marine 15 to control them.
It's been working great for several years but this summer the port engine started glitching when going astern. I immediately put this down to a faulty speed controller.
Just now I figured I'd fix it and ordered a new controller just to realise it wasn't the controller. I then changed the motor with no result, and that was tricky due to restricted space.
So now I realise that it has something to do with the power feed to the motor that makes it go ahead ok but not astern. What on earth is that?
Has there been a sort of one way switch created somewhere in my cables?
Thankful for any help!
Hama
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jarvo

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Re: Need help!
« Reply #1 on: March 10, 2016, 12:22:43 pm »

HI Hama, did you test the faulty ESC by putting the good motor to it??  also the duff ESC onto the god side??  if it is a wireing fault could be one wire has an internal break (vibration etc) jump the wire from the ESC direct to the motor, could also be a duff connection either at the ESC or at the motor, do you use a single battery? or one for each motor and ESC? Try to send a wireing diagram of your set up, might be something there


Mark
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hama

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Re: Need help!
« Reply #2 on: March 10, 2016, 12:43:08 pm »

Wow, quick answer!
Thanks for that. I have one battery to power everything, it's a 12v 7ah lead gel battery.
I think I'll have to try new connection from esc to motor. But I think it's a strange fault? The wires from each esc go through a fuse box with blade fuses where the positive wire is fused. I have one power switch from the battery where the negative wire is switched.
Hama
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Netleyned

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Re: Need help!
« Reply #3 on: March 10, 2016, 02:14:31 pm »

If you are using tank steering I.e.
One motor on each stick, the problem
could be a dirty / worn potentiometer
track on the side the motor is glitching
in the astern section of the track on
on the pot.


Ned
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hama

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Re: Need help!
« Reply #4 on: March 10, 2016, 02:48:05 pm »

Thanks Ned but I've put another radio in as well with no luck. And I'm running out of ideas now as I tried to connect the motor with new cables directly to the esc and still no difference..
How can it loose power in one direction only when it clearly isn't a faulty esc or motor??
Hama
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Chris57

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Re: Need help!
« Reply #5 on: March 10, 2016, 04:12:40 pm »

Hi, just a quick thought; is it definitely electrical? Might it perhaps be the lock nut on the prop shaft tightening up in reverse?
Like I said, just a thought
Chris
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Netleyned

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Re: Need help!
« Reply #6 on: March 10, 2016, 04:30:41 pm »

Hama, I should have said transmitter stick pots.


Try another controller if you have one.


Ned
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hama

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Re: Need help!
« Reply #7 on: March 10, 2016, 10:06:56 pm »

Thanks to both of you but non of the above. Really scratching my head here. Next thing to try is to have separate wires both to and from the esc.
Will be a few days until next trials.
All the best!
Hama
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Robotnik

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Re: Need help!
« Reply #8 on: March 11, 2016, 12:37:21 am »

Sounds like a bad connection, probably on your fuses.
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hama

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Re: Need help!
« Reply #9 on: March 11, 2016, 08:26:44 am »

Thanks! Could be, perhaps corroded or something. I'll check that one and bypass the fuse holder.
Problem I have is that it's very hard to gain access to the spaces under deck on this model, Billing Boats Smit Rotterdam/London. Fortunately until now it's been totally glitch free.
All the best!
Hama
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Umi_Ryuzuki

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Re: Need help!
« Reply #10 on: March 11, 2016, 08:41:48 am »

Remove the ESC from the equation, and connect the motor directly to the battery.
Keep moving back through the wiring till you find the section that causes the glitch.



hama

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Re: Need help!
« Reply #11 on: March 11, 2016, 02:22:23 pm »

Thanks Umi!
Will try and find some time this weekend to continue the investigations.
I was so sure at first that it was either the pot in the tx or the esc. When it wasn't and even the motor proved to work I must say that I'm surprised as it only appear in one direction. But I'll keep trying with new wires as per your suggestions above.
Hama
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hama

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Re: Need help!
« Reply #12 on: March 14, 2016, 11:01:20 am »

Oh boy, what a weekend. Had my hands into the boat most of the time. Turned out that I had two bad esc's, and took me sometime to figure that out, and while testing one of them started to burn! Could have turned ugly as I had bypassed the fuses while testing but I managed to pull the wires in time. I've had good experience from Mtronics esc's over the years and have used many of them in many boats without problems, but now I'm a little concerned.
As I had bought a replacement already I decided to go ahead. I pulled another one from one of my other boats. Problems again! Turned out that I had ordered the Marine 15 Plug & Play instead of the ordinary one. Don't know if it was due to this esc is autosetting or I was trigger happy but the bow thruster started with very high rpm and then stopped hard causing the shaft to bend and jamming the impeller. I'm happy that I made my homemade thruster removable even though, again, access is a pain in the ***! Well, electronics done and now I'll make a new impeller for the thruster. Then have to figure out if the esc problems where due to bad manufacturing or something else.
Hama
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jarvo

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Re: Need help!
« Reply #13 on: March 15, 2016, 12:38:22 am »

Hama, send them both back to the manufacturer, ask them to check what the problem has been, you might get replacements!!!


Mark
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