How to test a motor after esc failure?

[Berke16]

Hi,

 

My Vxl-3s esc has failed and fried itself but motor was running alright right before. Esc overheated and smoked a very tiny bit on desk / stationary position and I unplugged it to prevent any big damage to car and other systems. A few years ago same happened with again a  vxl system on a different car, I got a new motor but actually motor was fine, just esc went bad.

 

I'm planning to buy a new esc, but what if motor is gone too? Can I refund the esc and get a motor esc combo of same system from modelsport uk? Or can I send my motor in to them for testing? And if its fine, they can send it back to me with my new esc order?

 

Cheers!

[Nitroholic]

motor testing with a brushless motor is not easy ..... not like it is with a brushed motor.

 

You can;t just apply a voltage to the wires and have the motor spin. A brushless motor needs to have pulsed current in a timed sequence to make it spin.

If you are buying an ESC and worried about the motor, speak to someone at the supplier and see what they are willing to do. In practice, they may be reluctant to take back an ESC as a 'used' item potentially has a lot less resale. They may come to an arrangement about a motor. Only way really to test a motor is to plug it into an ESC and see what happens.

 

Usually, if a motor has failed, it's the bearings on a brushless motor. That you can check by just rotating hte shaft and feeling how it turns. You will get a 'lumpy' feel as the magnets are spun...but it should be free from grindy graunchy noises and turn smoothly ( apart from the magnet resistance....which varies according to teh motor). The other thing that can happen is failure of the magnets bonding to the shaft. Usually as a result of over-heating. Again...the shaft will grind round not turn smoothly.

 

From personal experience, though, I have got through more ESCs than motors.....

[turok007]

i have used a multimeter before on motors