Turnigy Monster 12S 200A ESC

[Burtie]

It arrived , Bigger and heavier than I expected, 5 inches long and about 0.33kg.

ESC Size.jpg (76.28 KiB) Viewed 1215 times

Very easy to add extra capacitors because the solder pads for the power leads are easily accessible.
The stock controller comes with 5 x 470 uF 63v caps ,one of which had a dry joint.

ESC caps.jpg (78.3 KiB) Viewed 1216 times

ESC pads.jpg (77.16 KiB) Viewed 1213 times

It appears to have 24 large FETS, I cannot read the type number.

ESC FETs 1.jpg (73.03 KiB) Viewed 1214 times

ESC FETs 2.jpg (56.57 KiB) Viewed 1213 times

The heatsinks, top and bottom, are attached to the FET board with a thin foam gasket.
The controller board is separate and mounted on about 20 soldered standoff pins.


I will let you know more when I have it running.
Burtie.

[liveforphysics]

That thing actually looks pretty good!

Any chance in sweet talking you into getting a part number off one of those FETs? Pretty please!

[Burtie]

Only after I blow it up

[AussieJester]

That does look meaty...keen to hear back from you how this goes Burtie

"That thing actually looks pretty good!"

Well... seriously, Luke how many ESC did you think you would need to send back charcoaled and melted before they bought out something beefier for you

KiM

[CNCAddict]

They're pretty good ESC's and have the some of the best low speed characteristics I've found. I might sell a higher end version if anyone is interested, with a PC interface and data logging

[Thud]

I have one on the bench also, Have not tested it yet.
Has any one spun some motors with their new 200 amp unit yet?

CNCadict- is your version an upgrade of this very unit? I have data logging on my ICE100 & I think it is a usefull addition.

[etard]

With all those Caps do we really need to add more?

Bigger might be better in this case, but will it fit in my stocking?

[CNCAddict]

You can read about the ESC's here -> www.hifei.com These are completely different than any other ESC's on hobbyking's webpage. The version hobbyking's selling is the lower end version while the one I am interested in is the "king kong". The king kong is firmware upgradeable which is a nice feature when something unexpected is found. I have only tested the 100A esc, not the 200A. I've talked to hifei about adding in a current control feature but they aren't too interested in the bike market at the moment. Even so, my testing went well and the throttle is nice and smooth.

[MitchJi]

Hi,

The version hobbyking's selling is the lower end version while the one I am interested in is the "king kong". The king kong is firmware upgradeable which is a nice feature when something unexpected is found. I have only tested the 100A esc, not the 200A. I've talked to hifei about adding in a current control feature but they aren't too interested in the bike market at the moment. Even so, my testing went well and the throttle is nice and smooth.

http://www.hifei.com/en/News_View.asp?NewsID=61

＇Kingkong＇ Features:…

5. 200A continous(230A surge)

14. Programmable current limiting(very sensitive/standard/insensitive/disable)

17. Thermal Protection(100 centigrade)

[nieles]

i have a very weird problem with this controller. i use the controller with a fechter limiter box.

when i apply the brakes the limiter "cuts" the signal the the controller (i think ik will feed a 1ms signal?)

but when i release the brakes, the controller(and motor) goes to the 3/4 throttle position.

i use the controller on a small e-scooter with an turnigy sk6374 outrunner

what do you guys think is the problem?
the controller or the current limiter?

[nieles]

i did some additional testing with my hv 100A controller

when i use the 100A controller the problem does not occur, very weird

does anybody have the same problem with the monster 200A esc?

i hope somebody can help me out!

Niels

[MitchJi]

Hi Nieles,

i have a very weird problem with this controller. i use the controller with a fechter limiter box.

i did some additional testing with my hv 100A controller

when i use the 100A controller the problem does not occur, very weird

i hope somebody can help me out!

Niels

Does your fechter limiter box allow 200A?

[Burtie]

Hi Nieles,

Did you calibrate the ESC throttle input with the limiter box first?


Burtie

[nieles]

mitchji,

yes, i have an limiter with the 200A hall sensor

burtie,

no i didnt. i feel so stupid right now
i have a programming card, and put it on auto-calibrate, so i thought i didnt need to
will go try it right now!

Thanks

Niels

[Burtie]

Niels

You have had more success than me already.
My controller appears to be completely dead. When I connect it all up, no beeps, motor doesnt move, -nothing.

Guess i will have to box it up and post it back

Burtie

[nieles]

ahh that sucks.. i had one of the hv 100A controllers die on me just one day
last time i used it, it worked perfect. next time i connected the battery. nothing

they just replaced the controller for me. very good service if you ask me. it was something like a half year old.

BUT

my problem is still not solved. i just tried to calibrate it, but it still does the same thing.
i apply the brakes, release them and the motor is spinning up with zero throttle.

[CNCAddict]

Something is confusing the ESC if that's happening. I'll contact Hifei and see if they have an idea about why the controller is doing that.

[nieles]

that would be very helpfull! Thanks

Niels

[Burtie]

Ok I have done a bit more fiddling about..... and it seems that my ESC does not like the signal from my servo tester .

I tried a different servo tester and the ESC runs the motor OK.


Edit:
The voltage levels of the throttle signals were very slightly different (only by about 0.2v). I found that by reducing the supply voltage to the original servo tester slightly, I could get the ESC to work .

[Burtie]

Well it didnt take long for the smoke to make an appearance. It went something like this:-


All wired up to the 80-85 motor on the bench I thought I would see how it worked if I changed the pwm rate from 8kHz to 12kHz. The motor with no load ran roughly for 2 of 3 seconds, having trouble keeping sync. So I disconnected the battery and programmed the 8kHz mode back in.

But the damage was already done When I ran the motor up again, it rotated erratically for a couple of seconds then the 16 guage battery leads I was using, smoked up and melted

It would seem these controllers are perhaps not as robust as they look

[liveforphysics]

Well it didnt take long for the smoke to make an appearance. It went something like this:-


All wired up to the 80-85 motor on the bench I thought I would see how it worked if I changed the pwm rate from 8kHz to 12kHz. The motor with no load ran roughly for 2 of 3 seconds, having trouble keeping sync. So I disconnected the battery and programmed the 8kHz mode back in.

But the damage was already done When I ran the motor up again, it rotated erratically for a couple of seconds then the 16 guage battery leads I was using, smoked up and melted

It would seem these controllers are perhaps not as robust as they look

Can you get a number off the FETs for us now?
Cross your fingers that they used crap FETs, and we can swap them with something better.

[Burtie]

Sorry Luke !

Since it showed no outwardly visible evidence of abuse, I thought I would try my chances of getting a repacement, so rather than butcher it about, i boxed it up to return.

[CNCAddict]

You sure it's the ESC? If the small gauge input wires started smoking then it only means there was high current on the battery side which is not uncommon during the start sequence. It could be there are some problems with your motor or ESC/motor connection. Don't give up yet

[swbluto]

You sure it's the ESC? If the small gauge input wires started smoking then it only means there was high current on the battery side which is not uncommon during the start sequence. It could be there are some problems with your motor or ESC/motor connection. Don't give up yet

I had also wondered that if it's ONLY the battery leads that started smoking and melting. The battery leads are still fine, I'm sure, you just need to find the right settings that give a good start-up sequence and synchronization. If there's no good combination, then I'd consider getting a replacement.

[Burtie]

For two days It used to startup and run fine on the bench with the 8kHz setting. Now, with the same setting it, melts the hookup leads.

Something changed/broke when I tried the 12kHz mode and the motor windings all measure out ok.


You guys have persuaded me to try it again. I will have a proper fuse in the supply this time. I cannot see any shorts between the phase outputs and power rails when I look with an ohm meter.
I am wondering if I successfully reverted it to 8kHz or not.