Hi
I was in the process of testing a new build that uses the Holybro Kakute F7 and a Tekko32 ESC. I was testing the motors using Betaflight and they all spun up and I ran them at 30-40% for about 10 seconds. I then checked them individually to make sure they were spinning in the correct direction. One of the motors stuttered a bit and then spun up.
Then without any sign of smoke or any flash or spark everything stopped. No motor control. I then noticed that the battery indicator in Betaflight was indicating a low (2S) battery voltage - I was using a fully charged 4S.
So I took the thing apart and found melted components in the middle of the Tekko board.
So…did a bad motor destroy my ESC??

Link to picture of board
https://photos.app.goo.gl/9VrAgEJyTd4kBws36

If it was a motor causing the issue then I will expect it to blow a FET.

I can’t clearly see that component in the center to identify what it is and other online photos show a similar black gluey coating:

https://www.robotonbd.com/wp-content/upl...036617.jpg

Even if you blew a FET the voltage drop you see in Betaflight should not be related.

Start running some multimeter tests to see if you can build a better understanding of what maybe wrong with the ESC.

(31-Oct-2021, 07:18 AM)kafie1980 Wrote: If it was a motor causing the issue then I will expect it to blow a FET.

I can’t clearly see that component in the center to identify what it is and other online photos show a similar black gluey coating:

https://www.robotonbd.com/wp-content/upl...036617.jpg

Even if you blew a FET the voltage drop you see in Betaflight should not be related.

Start running some multimeter tests to see if you can build a better understanding of what maybe wrong with the ESC.

Hi -

Thanks for the reply. After seeing the image that you sent, I looked at the Holybro site and much to my surprise, I discovered that the component I thought was melted is actually supposed to look like that. So now I am at a complete loss as to what has happened. I will have to do some troubleshooting, I'll let you know what I find.

Try watching DrainMan's video on ESC testing and repair: