Hi All,

Haven't had to be here in a few months.

So, yesterday I took my 4s Evoque out for some exercise. The first pack flew fine.

When plugging in the second pack, it made the usual sparking noise as the connection was made.

It powered up for 1/2 second then went dead. I thought maybe bad battery, so I tried a couple more freshly charged packs.

With those, a barely perceptible spark noise then nothing.

I then started smelling burned electronics. No smoke but a seriously burned smell.

When I plug it into USB on my laptop, the FC and ESCs emit the normal startup tones and it is fully accessible in BetaFlight, nothing appears to be wrong.

But when I plug in a battery now, absolutely nothing, no smoke, spark pop...etc.

Anyways, today I took it apart to see what might be up. I don't see anything obvious.

Am I correct in assuming because the FC and ESCs beep normally when connected to USB, and not when on battery, it's the 4-in-1 ESC/PDB being bad?

If this assumption is correct and I do need a new ESC/PDB combo, are there any other recommendations other than an original iFlight replacement?

Anything more robust/durable?

I miss flying this bird and want to get back in the air as quickly as possible.

Your help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Upon disassembling the flight stack, there IS obviously a problem....burned stuff all over the place.

When lifting up the FC, a couple of chips fell out of the 4-in-1 ESC...oooops!

So, my modified question is this.

The wiring does have a black oily soot on the silicone covering. None of the wiring appears to be burned through, just discoloration. Same with the FC itself.

When plugging it into USB, the FC makes the standard 3 beeps then the 2 final beeps.

Does this mean the FC is fine and I only need to replace the 4-in-1 ESC?

Or do I run the risk of the FC being damaged as well due to the heat and any current spike that might have caused the damage to begin with?

Should I go with the original flight stack or is there something that would be better.

Pictures for your amusement... 

That ESC had a eruption of capacitors.

I see some burn on the underside of the FC so what ever damage it sustained will only be obvious if you put it through a few flights.

I think its best you buy a new stack.

Which one is hard to recommend as your location and pricing will vary.

iFlight electronics are crap. I have told this several times on this forum. But everyone wants to listen to JB.

(09-Jul-2022, 01:33 AM)kafie1980 Wrote: That ESC had a eruption of capacitors.

I see some burn on the underside of the FC so what ever damage it sustained will only be obvious if you put it through a few flights.

I think its best you buy a new stack.

Which one is hard to recommend as your location and pricing will vary.

iFlight electronics are crap. I have told this several times on this forum. But everyone wants to listen to JB.

Thanks for the reply Kafie...once again!

Well, I'm finding that I can't just order a direct replacement. Even iFlight lists it as out of stock.

Now I'm researching alternatives.

The problem I'm running into is it's the Mini stack (20x20) and I'm having a difficult time finding one that looks like it would work.

The factory ESC board has the motor solder pads on each corner, not running down the side like I see on others. As seen in the pictures.

If I were to go with another stack that has the pads running on the side (normal), the stock motor wires are then too short.

Can I just solder in and splice extra length motor wires? Or would that be dangerous?

Or would I have to get new motors and trim the wires to fit?

I would have thought the Nazgul Evoque is a standard design, apparently not!

No issues extending motor wires as long as you use wires with the same gauge.

Ensure you have a clean solder joint when splicing the wires.

You can even use racewire which most racers use on their builds for quick motor swaps.

(09-Jul-2022, 02:20 AM)kafie1980 Wrote: No issues extending motor wires as long as you use wires with the same gauge.

Ensure you have a clean solder joint when splicing the wires.

You can even use racewire which most racers use on their builds for quick motor swaps.

Thanks for the tips!

Never heard of racewire, need to investigate.

Have a great night!

There have been numerous reports of this happening on iFlight's Protek line of BNF quads too. It looks like iFlight have a serious QC issue with some of their ESCs. iFlight BNF quads used to be recommended because they were considered value for money, but their BNF quads have started to become as expensive as other more reputable manufacturer BNF quads so it is now difficult to recommend buying iFlight BNF quads when they seem to have so many QC issues with their electronics.

Whatever you do, DO NOT buy an replacement iFlight stack even if you find somewhere that has one ins stock. Get something for another more reputable manufacturer instead.

(09-Jul-2022, 12:04 AM)Blaze Wrote:  

(09-Jul-2022, 11:00 AM)SnowLeopardFPV Wrote: There have been numerous reports of this happening on iFlight's Protek line of BNF quads too. It looks like iFlight have a serious QC issue with some of their ESCs. iFlight BNF quads used to be recommended because they were considered value for money, but their BNF quads have started to become as expensive as other more reputable manufacturer BNF quads so it is now difficult to recommend buying iFlight BNF quads when they seem to have so many QC issues with their electronics.

Whatever you do, DO NOT buy an replacement iFlight stack even if you find somewhere that has one ins stock. Get something for another more reputable manufacturer instead.

Hi Snow, thanks for the input as well.

I am seeing some negativity towards iFlight now and starting to understand the sentiment.

When you say "more reputable manufacturer"...are there a few you can point me towards?

I'm seeing quite a few manufacturers but since this is my first time getting into components, I don't know whom is considered "reputable"?

Can you guys point me in the right direction?

Thanks!

Holybro has been really good for me (Except for one bad FC) - I replaced my Nazgul electronics with a Holybro Kakute H7 stack, and it's been great.

This is what I replaced the iFlight electronics with:
FC:
https://www.racedayquads.com/products/ho...930e&_ss=r
ESC:
https://www.racedayquads.com/products/ho...930e&_ss=r

Matek, Holybro, T-Motor, Speedybee, GEPRC, HGLRC, Hobbywing, and even Diatone. Pretty much anyone except iFlight or BetaFPV. The JB F7 FC's are also made by iFlight so I would steer clear of those too. You don't necessarily need to buy a complete stack or an FC and ESC from the same manufacturer. If you mix and match then just make sure you check / re-pin the FC to ESC harness so the correct pins are connected together at each end.

(09-Jul-2022, 03:36 PM)relentlesstech Wrote: Holybro has been really good for me (Except for one bad FC) - I replaced my Nazgul electronics with a Holybro Kakute H7 stack, and it's been great.

This is what I replaced the iFlight electronics with:
FC:
https://www.racedayquads.com/products/ho...930e&_ss=r
ESC:
https://www.racedayquads.com/products/ho...930e&_ss=r

Hey relentless, thanks for the pointers.

Just looked at those components.

Before I give those a shot, couple of questions for you.

Did you have to extend the motor wires to solder on the side pads since this ESC doesn't have them on the corners like the original manufacturer?

Pretty straightforward install?

Also, what did you have to do in Betaflight? Any tuning or adjustments?

Does it fly the same as factory? Or hopefully better?

(09-Jul-2022, 05:29 PM)SnowLeopardFPV Wrote: Matek, Holybro, T-Motor, Speedybee, GEPRC, HGLRC, Hobbywing, and even Diatone. Pretty much anyone except iFlight or BetaFPV. The JB F7 FC's are also made by iFlight so I would steer clear of those too. You don't necessarily need to buy a complete stack or an FC and ESC from the same manufacturer. If you mix and match then just make sure you check / re-pin the FC to ESC harness so the correct pins are connected together at each end.

Hi Snow, again, much thanks!

I think I'll try the Holybro route with the components mentioned by Relentless once I get some confirmation from him on a couple questions.

After hearing from you guys and others regarding iFlight QC, I'm game to try something new.

Happy skies bro!

(09-Jul-2022, 03:36 PM)relentlesstech Wrote: Holybro has been really good for me (Except for one bad FC) - I replaced my Nazgul electronics with a Holybro Kakute H7 stack, and it's been great.

This is what I replaced the iFlight electronics with:
FC:
https://www.racedayquads.com/products/ho...930e&_ss=r
ESC:
https://www.racedayquads.com/products/ho...930e&_ss=r

I just noticed on the specs for that FC "Mounting: 30.5 x 30.5mm/Φ4mm hole with Φ3mm Grommets".

The Nazgul Evoque site says it uses the Mini stack with 20x20 mounting.


Apparently there is a difference in dimensions between the regular Nazgul and the Evoque?

(09-Jul-2022, 07:58 PM)Blaze Wrote: I just noticed on the specs for that FC "Mounting: 30.5 x 30.5mm/Φ4mm hole with Φ3mm Grommets".

The Nazgul Evoque site says it uses the Mini stack with 20x20 mounting.


Apparently there is a difference in dimensions between the regular Nazgul and the Evoque?

Yes the Nazgul v2 has 30x30 for the stack. I've noticed the 20x20 stacks seem to be more readily available lately with us fpv web stores so you should have plenty of options.

I can't believe my v2 is still kicking with only a replaced arm. Been flying it again last couple trips after many months on the shelf. I fly it since it's only comfortable time to fly here now is in early am when the grass is still soaking wet and I figure it's my most expendable quad.

(09-Jul-2022, 07:58 PM)Blaze Wrote: I just noticed on the specs for that FC "Mounting: 30.5 x 30.5mm/Φ4mm hole with Φ3mm Grommets".

The Nazgul Evoque site says it uses the Mini stack with 20x20 mounting.

Apparently there is a difference in dimensions between the regular Nazgul and the Evoque?

Whatever replacement ESC you get, if it's not another iFlight Blitz then yes, you are going to have to extend the motor wires. I don't know of any 20x20 4-in-1 ESC other than the iFlight Blitz that has the motor pads right on the corners.

The Nazgul Evoque does look like it has mounting holes in the bottom plate for a 30x30 stack but with one of those installed you are unlikely going to be able to fit the side protection panels. So if you want to keep those panels on the quad you are going to need need to look for a 20x20 replacement stack. Either the T-Motor F7 Mini or the Holybro Kakute H7 Mini stack would probably be top of my list. Keep in mind that both of those have 45A ESCs compared to the (claimed) 55A capability of the iFlight Blitz ESC. It's strange that iFlight seem to be the only manufacturer who produce 20x20 4-in-1 ESCs with a 55A rating that use the small MOSFETs So maybe they've stretched the truth on that a bit which might be why those ESCs seem to have history of burning out. All other ESCs in the same form factor by other manufacturers with small MOSFETS have a rating of no higher than 45A.

Are you running 4S or 6S on your Evoque, and what KV motors does it have?

Of course if you don't want all the hassle and just want a drop-in replacement ESC then just take a gamble and get another iFlight Blitz. If you haven't already contacted iFlight then I would certainly try doing that first because you never know but they might just send you a free replacement ESC (and a free quad as well -> see another thread HERE).