Everything on my copter is going really good except that I am seeing excessive BL temps on BL#5. #5 is usually 15 degrees hotter than the rest of the BL's and I can't hover more than 2 minutes without this BL going over 100. My copter weighs 11.5 pounds with the 3 axis gimbal and the Sony 760 camera. At first I thought it might be a balance issue but I double checked the CG in flight with MK tools via the Xbee and it definetely is spot on dead center with a hover around 15 feet high. From underneth on the copter the caps look physically look really good, the only other thing I can think of is that there might a tolerance issue with one of the caps. I started noticing this issue as soon as I added the Sony 760 with the extra weight. If I fly around the temps will go up and down and #5 will stay in a good range but I just can't hover with it. Any suggetions? Should I just swap out the BL board?
Dave you should also see the other BL temps increasing in hovering flight. It is normal that the BL's will be higher in hover vs moving flight. Before replacing the BL have you swapped number 5 with another motor to determine whether it is the BL or the motor that has the issue?
When I land the copter I feel the motors and I do feel number 5 hotter than the others. I did swap out the motor (forgot to mention that) and still have the same issues.
What happened to me, had a reading high in an engine, after landing felt very hot to the touch compared to the other engines, at the suggestion of Andy Johnson-Laird, I check capacitors and I found one loose, secure it with hot glue and problem resolved, return to its normal temperature like others. I suggest you to check the same, can be something as simple as that. Gustavo
Dave as Gustavo mentions I would closely inspect the BL#5. If you don't find anything physically looking abnormal then the BL might be bad and would need to be replaced.
thanks guys. Gary to answer your question, yes the motors all go higher in temperature when hovering but #5 is by far the worst. The board was physically very good after I got it back from Quadrocopter when they were looking at the IC2 error issues. I suspect that either I got the BL too hot without realizing it before I started monitoring BL temps or its simply bad. I will look over closely and I have a good magnifying glass and light now too.
My Number #5 BL is still a bit hotter (about 10 degrees) than the rest especially if I'm hovering when checking CG in MK tools. I bought a new BL and I"m just going to switch it out. I"m going to measure the capacitance or each cap before I put it in circuit. Then when i take the old one out I will desolder the old caps on the old BL and measure them too. I"m pretty sure that there's something going on with the cuircuit that just making it hotter at higher current loads.
Dave Are you using the 4s or 5s QC 6200's? I read a note somewhere on the MK site to swap out the standard BL controller capacitors with something else if using above 4s. Not certain this is at all relevant to your issue tho...
I thought they were able to handle 5S batteries from the start. I thought the only thing that you have to do is swap out the RECOM on the FC to handle the higher voltage for the step down. Unless I missed something on the wiki, which is quite possible, because I feel like there wiki is virtual easter egg hunt in a 3 dimensional maze to find information.
Depends on the BL boards. Early ones needed the Caps replaced. 2.0 boards are ok for 5s as I recall and have been flying them.
So I replaced the BL on motor #5. I took a look at the original board really good with a magnifying glass and light and all inspected and measured the caps. The caps measured 334 and 335 uf and were very close to their value, no signs of overheating. So I fired up the copter with the new BL and went flying all day Saturday. Problem is gone, motor #5 is right along every other motor. All is good.
Thanks for posting this Dave. Are you therefore of the opinion that the original BL-Ctril was falsely reporting the current? Andy.
I don't necessarily think it was reporting false numbers I think it could have just been outputing too much if that's possible. I'm also not sure that if if its possible that if a BL is put under a very hard load that it might damage it. I know that when I first had my first several test flights this past winter that my copter was not properly balanced. Maybe also the BL could just been faulty and got hotter with less power going through it. We are talking about 10-20 degrees only that it was higher than the rest. Not sure I"m just glad my temps are more even.