Quark Monster Pro Error Question

[joeling]

Hi,

I am running a Quark Monster Pro with 7XL & 4S (20C 3200mah) lipo on my buggy. Gearing is 12/46. After a few laps, the esc started to become unresponsive. I still have full control of the steering servo. When I checked, I found that the amber LED on the esc was lit continuously at neutral. After I triggered the brake, this seemed to reset the esc & it was ok for a while. Then, the whole episode repeated. Could anyone tell me what error code did the amber LED on the esc signify ? I am guessing momentary over current as the temp. on the esc was around 80 deg C & the motor temp. reading was around 70 deg C only. Any idea ?

Regards,
Joe Ling
Malaysia

[MetalMan]

As I said over on RCZ, it's probably the temperature protection coming in, since the inside will be hotter than the outside.

[jhautz]

Sounds like its thermaling. Thats pretty hot.

[BrianG]

80 degrees C is way too hot IMO. The manual says it will shut off about 110 degrees F, but that's even worse. Get some cooling on that thing; a secondary heatsink and/or a fan.

[coolhandcountry]

I agree with the thermal. 110f is not to warm brian.
I come up with 176 f on the temp you recorded. That is definately around the thermal range. Can you change gearing any or tried?

Our outside temps are supposed to be 107*F to 111*F here today. We need some controllers that can hang in the real world.

I,ve thermaled with a very similar setup at 125*F consistanly. When I run a 540c 9L the temps can get up to 145 without thermaling. I guess it all depends on those inside temps.

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by coolhandcountry

I agree with the thermal. 110f is not to warm brian...

Sorry, I meant to write 110C. :dft001:

Anyway, I don't like ANY electronic device getting over 130-140F. If it does, it's time for added cooling IMO.

[joeling]

Guys,

Thanks you very much for pointing out the very thing I fear. Guess I'll be fighting thermal issues for a long time to come. I think I have killed 3 BK9920, 1 MGM160 because of thermal issues. I have 2 Quark monster pro & both of them exhibit the same problem mentioned above. Gonna have to find a big fan to try to fix the problem. A big challenge for me is that the ambient temp. is around 30 ~ 34 deg C in my area. Sigh...

Hmm, how about attaching the esc to the chassis with some thermal adhesive & make the chassis a big heatsink ? Do you think this is feasible ? I even have some left over aftermarket vga cooler with heat tube. Maybe this will help to suck the heat from the esc.


Regards,
Joe Ling

You could possibly turn the esc on its side to add some fans to the bottom where the FETs are and possibly a heat sink. :032:

[jhautz]

Any piece of aluminum you can attach to the back o the ESC will help soak up some of the heat generated. Try an old computer heat sink and some thermal paste. That seems to be what most are having sucess with. And alot of computer heatsinks already have provisions to mount a fan.

I'm actually working on the same project right now. While you are disapointed in the fact that you have to do it, just be glad that the Quark is acually pretty easy to d it with. An nice flat aluminum back on the case. Adding additinal heat sinking to the BK warrior ESCs is much more dificult cuz theres no where to mount it.

I just got these... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWN:IT&ih=020

2 of them side by side is an almost perfect fit onto the back of the Quark 125. Then I'm planning on mounting a 40mm fan in the middle. If that dont do it... nothing will.

[BrianG]

Yup, adding a heatsink is quite easy on the Quarks. The FETs are attached to the bottom where it is flat. There are tons of ways to do this, here's one (mine :)). Believe it or not, this helped a lot. The ESC case is kind of thin (presumably to keep weight down) so it gets hot quick and there isn't much surface area to dissipate the heat. Add mass to absorb heat, then add surface area to get rid of it:

[coolhandcountry]

Does your body have any vent holes? You may try a few if not. If the air under the body gets 140F or so. It is really hard to keep it below that.

[joeling]

Hi,

Thanks to the suggestions by knowlegeable members here, I have managed a semi-successful run today.

In frustration of the uncertainties I faced on controller reliablility, I bought an Eagle tree data recorder thingy to try to capture some data to try to figure what what went wrong. I strapped the recorder on & did some bench test. Peak amp while throttling up reached in excess of 50amps albeit for a short time only.

I took the buggy for a test run at my local make shift track this afternoon. The track is very small is no straight but a constant series of turns some tight others not. Mixed in between the corners there is a double & a triple & a table top. Ambient tempearture was about 30 deg C.

I am happy to report that the esc held up & did not thermal. However, the bad news is that I did not manage to last the distance of a single pack as I have somehow managed to strip my plastic spur.

Anyway, here are some photos.

Regards,
Joe Ling
Malaysia

[joeling]

Hi,

Looking at the recording of the eagletree unit, the average amp drawn when the buggy was right side up hovered between 10A to 30A. My throttle EPA setting was only at 80%.

I'm also quite impressed with the performance of my Kokam 20C lipo. Min. of 13.1V under initial throttle while maintaining an average of 15.7V was pretty good in my opinion.

After the disaster from last week, I had to install a big fan & 3 small copper heatsinks (although on the plastic side of the esc). This seemed to be able to keep the temp. to less than 50 deg C (measured on the plastic surface of the case).

By the way, with this setup (12T/46T), my buggy cleared the triple easily with minimal run-up & could clear the table top too. My other buggy with an STS monster truck engine was not able to do that.

Regards,
Joe Ling
Regards,
Joe Ling

[neweuser]

I would move the heat sinks, and maybe use aluminum ones, it'll help cool it even more