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Overheating Motors, Help!

Posted by t960 on July 16, 2015 at 12:19pm

So I recently bought a Tarot T960 Hexacopter second hand from craigslist here is the components...

Frame: Tarot T960

 http://www.helipal.com/tarot-t960-hexacopter-frame-set.html

Battery: Two Multistar 16000 mAh 4S 

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__72325__Multistar_High_Capacity_4S_16000mAh_Multi_Rotor_Lipo_Pack_US_Warehouse_.html?strSearch=multistar%201600

Motors: Turnigy Multistar 4225-610Kv 

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__26964__Turnigy_Multistar_4225_610Kv_16Pole_Multi_Rotor_Outrunner.html

ESC: Afro 30A 

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__39708__Afro_ESC_30Amp_Multi_rotor_Motor_Speed_Controller_SimonK_Firmware_.html

Props: 17 x 5.5

So here the problem, he flew it for a little as a demonstration seemed to work fine, so I got it home then hooked up my Turnigy 9x changed the landing skids to bigger ones and then I go to fly it and on the very first flight one of the motors cuts out and my drone crashes to the ground, so I picked it up no serious damage done as it was low to the ground but i looked at the motor that cut out and the coils where a lot darker then the other motors and it had black patches and was extremely hot, so I waited and decided try to take it up again, it fly's perfectly for about 5-10 min then all of the sudden the same motor cuts out and it smashes to the ground this time the bearings in the motor broke.

So I ordered and replacement motor wired it up, but I took the ESC from the over heating motor and moved it to a different arm and switched places and I go for my first flight and it fly's perfect stable controllable, No issues, until I land and I felt the motors and the one I had just replaced was burning hot, I couldn't hold for more then 2 sec.

So i did my research online and I read that sometimes if the motor isn't aligned properly it can cause over heating, so I used a leveler app to try to get the motors to be as vertical as possible, then I went to fly it and now the over heating problem moved to a motor on the opposite side.

So is it really just because the motors aren't perfectly vertical, are they really that sensitive, if so how do I align them perfectly? I thought maybe because the props are to big for the motor but its only one motor heating up not all of them. I read that gains can have an effect on overheating motors too, Is there anything I am missing? Any help is appreciated, Thank You!

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Tags: crash, hexacopter, motor, overheat
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Replies

  • t960 July 17, 2015 at 12:47am

    Thanks for your feedback, Ill order some 13x5.5 props that should fix my problem? Or Should I go with 12x5.5 just to be safe?

    • Tom Mahood > t960 July 17, 2015 at 12:15pm

      I'd guess you'll be OK with 13" props, but it's a guess. The way to know for (almost) sure is to use eCalc. It will give you your current draw and power.

      • t960 > Tom Mahood July 17, 2015 at 2:55pm

        I attempted that but I couldn't locate my battery on there list.

        • Tom Mahood > t960 July 17, 2015 at 5:19pm

          Any generic 4S, 25 or so C battery will work for your purposes. You just need to see if there's enough lift being generated, as well as the amps and watts. Make sure your copter total weight is at least in the ballpark for eCalc. 

  • Tom Mahood July 16, 2015 at 2:05pm

    I second that your props are far too big for those motors. I'm running a Tarot quad with those size props using a T-Motors MN3110-26 470kv on 4S. Note that these T-Motors are rated at 330 watts, as is claimed for your Turnigy. That said, at my much lower kv rating my motors become fairly warm. Your higher kv will result in your motors trying to turn the props a lot faster. If Hobbyking had bothered to publish any motor data for that motor it would have been obvious (a good reason never to buy a motor lacking motor data).

    If you really want to stay with those toasted motors you could either drop the prop size to maybe 14" or go to 3S batteries. 3S batteries will turn the prop slower. But even at 3S with 17" props you might still exceed the current rating on your ESCs.

  • Andre K. July 16, 2015 at 1:31pm
    You are using way too big propellers, overloading motors and possibly ESCs that go into thermal shutdown.
    Motors with burnt (discolored) insulation should just be treated as garbage, as they most likely are damaged, which can be only proved by an inductance meter and milliohm meter.
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