Any tips on getting my rig to run? Castle sw4 and Flysky gt5

[23drumerboy]

It’s weird, for sure. No rubbing wires. Settings on transmitter are all fine w/ lipo cells. Strangely, I don’t get the “matching number of beeps per cell” from the sidewinder, but it’s not clear if that is from other startup/arming issues.

To be safe, I’m getting a new connector to re-solder to the ESC, and am going to add a BEC. If that fails, then I’m going to try a different motor. Would be a shame to have a brand new expensive motor be the issue though.

And, it ran great for two days before this. Ugh.


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Just to be clear, the settings are referred to are ESC settings, not able to change them from transmitter usually..... Im almost convinced its a battery type-selection-issue. Or maybe put the car in the air, run it, and jiggle/wiggle/shake (NOT a dance move) all the wires, particularly where they mate/solder to esc, esc connector, batt connector, and where the motor wires plug into esc wires. Be gentle on throttle, or apply trim till wheels are rolling, then shake away, and maybe you will find a bad connection/cold solder joint?


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[WildsideVT]

Just to be clear, the settings are referred to are ESC settings, not able to change them from transmitter usually..... Im almost convinced its a battery type-selection-issue. Or maybe put the car in the air, run it, and jiggle/wiggle/shake (NOT a dance move) all the wires, particularly where they mate/solder to esc, esc connector, batt connector, and where the motor wires plug into esc wires. Be gentle on throttle, or apply trim till wheels are rolling, then shake away, and maybe you will find a bad connection/cold solder joint?


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Got it. Yes, I am using Spektrum batts and charger, and also have the battery checker that I have used to check the batteries and balance the cells. I’ve also used castle link to adjust the battery settings and ensure that it is set for lipo, and have also tried manually setting voltage cutoff to match 3s. Neither works.

Even pulling gently on throttle, it cuts out after couple seconds. I’ll do a clean connection re-solder tomorrow when my new plug arrives, and also double-check for any wire kinks/rubbing. If I’m lucky, this will do the trick. If not, the BEC will be here Friday or Monday. Maybe that will do it.

It was a really fun couple of days before this crapped out.

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[Steve g]

So on arming it indicates 2s, while you have a 3s plugged in. What is your battery total voltage? And how is your lipo cut off set? Seems like a voltage error to me, my castles act the same on lvc, maybe it thinks its a 2s, and is giving an overvoltage error?

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[WildsideVT]

So on arming it indicates 2s, while you have a 3s plugged in. What is your battery total voltage? And how is your lipo cut off set? Seems like a voltage error to me, my castles act the same on lvc, maybe it thinks its a 2s, and is giving an overvoltage error?

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Thanks for reviewing. I have the bec set to auto-lipo, but also manually set the voltage to 9.6. Still had the same issue. It’s also, unless my ears are deceiving me, throwing a low voltage cutoff error (short, long beep). New connector arriving today/tomorrow, so will solder that one up and test again. I agree though, that something seems off about the arming, as it’s not giving 3 beeps like it should. Before I try again after soldering on a new connector, I will balance the batteries again to be safe. Maybe that’s the issue...


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[OSRC]

Blinking yellow usually means the ESC is toast. I've seen it enough times to know. Try a full factory reset on the ESC if you did not already, make sure you are on the latest and greatest software, then recalibrate. If it still fails and blinks yellow, contact Castle.

 

[mikemcE]

Set the individual cell voltage to 3.2
If I read correctly you have it at 9.6 ?


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[WildsideVT]

Blinking yellow usually means the ESC is toast. I've seen it enough times to know. Try a full factory reset on the ESC if you did not already, make sure you are on the latest and greatest software, then recalibrate. If it still fails and blinks yellow, contact Castle.

I have restored my ESC settings in Castle Link and sent back to the ESC. Not sure how to completely factory reset the ESC, however. Appreciate any tip on that front.

Software is current and have recalibrated a bunch of times. Definitely will contact Castle if the new plug connection doesn’t work.


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[WildsideVT]

Set the individual cell voltage to 3.2
If I read correctly you have it at 9.6 ?


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If I’m not mistaken, the manual setting is for all cells, no? Maybe I had that mistaken, but I tried both auto-lipo as well as manual voltage cutoff. I chose 9.6 as that was 3.2 x 3 for the three cells. Once I get my new connector soldered up, I’ll check again. I think the manual setting is for all cells, though, since the lowest it will let you manually set the cutoff is 4.


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[23drumerboy]

If I’m not mistaken, the manual setting is for all cells, no? Maybe I had that mistaken, but I tried both auto-lipo as well as manual voltage cutoff. I chose 9.6 as that was 3.2 x 3 for the three cells. Once I get my new connector soldered up, I’ll check again. I think the manual setting is for all cells, though, since the lowest it will let you manually set the cutoff is 4.


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This sounds right to me, except you dont add up 3.2, three times. 3.2 means 3.2v/cell is detected, and even one cell hitting that voltage can trigger LVC

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[WildsideVT]

In case anyone comes across this thread. There was no smoking gun that could be found via user settings or changes. The original SW4 unfortunately continued to shut down on any/all batteries and even with new connector. Castle support was unable to come up with anything to help make it work, and sent out a replacement. The replacement is working just fine, and I was pleased to get a full day out on the rocks, today.


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