Hello everyone. I have connected 4 ESCs to Navio 2 according to docs which states only 1 BEC should be connected. I have cut the red wires of my 3 ESCs and connected them. So only 1 red wire was connected to servo rail. It was the number 3 ESC. (Docs shows as only ESC number 1’s red wire is connected but I don’t think connecting other ESC’s red wire would be a problem)
After this, I attempted the turn motors and ESC got burned. Even smoke came out of it. This was the ESC which it’s red wire (BEC) connected to rail. I thought it was faulty ESC/Motor and replaced ESC with new one. I was going to turn the motors once again but before turning them I checked the ESC by touching it and it was extremely hot. I barely kept my hand touching it. I didn’t event turn any motors. Just gave the power to the setup and that’s it. This ESC’s red wire (BEC) was also connected to rail. Then I wanted to check if it is going to get hot again when I cut red wire and tried it. And… ESC were no longer getting hot…
So, what I suppose to do? I am connecting only 1 ESC’s red wire (BEC) to rail but it makes ESC get extremely hot. Even burns it when some time passes. How I suppose to power the rail?
We recommend connecting only one power wire from ESC to prevent potential overheating. In some cases, it’s possible that the current could flow from an output of one BEC to another. This might lead to excessive heating.
You’re right. It could be any of the selected ESCs.
Have you checked whether your ESC can handle the selected type of battery voltage and motor specs?
Have you checked whether your ESC can handle the selected type of battery voltage and motor specs?
Yes, my 40A ESC supports 2-4S battery and I am using 4S battery as well. When the ESC got extremely hot, there were no motor connected to it. Only other 3 ESC had motors connected to them but none of motors were spinning so there were almost (except idle ampere draw) no ampere draw on the system. I have flew my quadcopter many times by the way and had no issue with ESCs as well. They didn’t even get hot.
I have used Navio 2 for flight, yes. I am unable to find the issue to be honest. Everything is done according to docs. But when red wire of BEC connected to rail, it makes ESC to get extremely hot, you can’t even touch it. I don’t think it’s an issue with ESC specs. Because like I said, I did able to make successful flight many times.
What is your hardware setup overall? Please post close-up photos of your drone. Also, please share the exact make and models of the third-party hardware.
You’re using the motors with a maximum continuous current of 56 A. From the specs, I see that the recommended ESC for it should be 50 A. However, it’s always better to use the ESC with a value of at least 5 A above the maximum current draw of the motors.
At this moment, your motors are drawing more current than the ESC can provide.
It isn’t an issue with current. When I said an ESC got burned, a motor wasn’t drawing 56A. I have measured the ampere draw of the quadcopter at 100% throttle which was around 36A. It’s 9A per ESC. And extreme heat issue occurs while motors aren’t spinning (So no current draw on system).
Your vehicle hardware setup using incompatible components. Performing a couple of flights in such a setup could have damaged the devices. Now, they can show the signs of overheating even without any load. I suggest using the compatible with the motors ESCs since it looks like a hardware malfunctioning of these third-party devices.
Also, I see that you’ve used black tape wrapped around the ESCs. If you want to secure the ESC, you can use a zip tie instead, for example. When the ESC got heated at a high temperature, the black tape will melt.
