Discussion group for ArduCopter users
Building Possibly My Last Multicopter
I left the hobby in 2022 after the crash of my Tarot Ironman due to a propeller blade separation resulting in complete destruction of the aircraft. Since then I have been flying an old DJI MAvic Pro that I bought used from a photographer who wanted to upgrade. Anyway, recently l've thought about wanting to build one more multicopter. I enjoyed the challenges of building one plus the satisfaction of flying something I built. So I decided to once again embark on a build project. My needs…
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Well it started working. But let me tell you what I did.
I recalibrate everything and hooked it up and still motor 4 did not work. So to see if the 5v regulator was working I plugged the signal wire from that ESC into motor 1 signal terminal. I was sitting there and heard a tone come from the ESC and then it twitched a couple times and then it worked. So I then I plugged everything back the way it was and then it started up and worked.
Bradley,
I am assuming you have tried the "faulty" ESC on one of the other APM outputs or switched the ESC plugs and follow the fault. Some brands of ESC's have a safety feature that require a control signal within seconds of power up. Some Eflite and Scorpion ESC's will not work on flight control boards due to this safety feature and time to arm the APM after power is applied. If the faulty ESC doesn't work on another proven output channel on the APM then the problem is probably the ESC. The only time I have had an ESC work on the transmitter and not the control board was due to the safety feature. I have extra Eflite and Scorpion ESC's because of this safety feature.
Bradley
I'm still thinking that you don't have the one ESC going to a low enough throttle setting. Try recalibrating all four ESC to a lower throttle setting by adjusting the trim on your Tx lower. Having set lower will not bother the APM 2. Be sure to set it back to center after your done.
Larry
All of the ground signals should be connected together anyway because most ESCs will have this connected to the -ve wire of the ESC input - these should all in turn all be connected to the same -ve terminal on the battery pack... worth checking that this is the case using a multimeter...
Sounds to me as if you have a faulty ESC ... I also found that some cheaper ESCs that I'd bought started misbehaving as soon as I used the 5v output from the BEC.
How does the ESC behave when you plug it into the APM output pins directly?
Btw, I also don't use the power harness as supplied by 3DR, since I build my own frame, and power bus. I plug all my ESC into the APM. If they are working properly, all the regulators on them should be outputting regulated 5v, and it shouldn't be a problem. Additionally do that means that all the grounds are connected together, which imho, is better for signal decoding, since all signals are relative to ground.
Oops, yes, "I would replace it".
Ellison,
Did you mean that you would replace it?
Bradley sounds like you have an ESC that's either failing or just slight out of spec. so that it is not decoding the pwm from the APM properly. I would not replace it, because you don't want it to fail while in the air.
I don't use their power distribution board so I don't power it with the two pin plug at pin 1. I just checked to be sure and it gets power at all plugs, some recommend using only one ESC for power and unplug the red wire from all other ESC's. Check all 8 outputs using the graph in Mission Planner to confirm which outputs are being processed by the APM, this will confirm proper configeration also.
bradley
Look at the starting guide. It shows how to connect the ESCs. You can just connect all the ESC and they will be connected together but it is not the recommended way. If all the ESC are not the same type connecting them all could be a problem.
Larry