ASK Cub Reporter, 05.29.2013, Version- More of Your Questions, More of My Malarkey

Hoping you guys can keep me from going insane! I bought a used Castle esc with a 4 pole motor yesterday. I tested it shortly inside last night and it worked. Today I turn it on, and the esc don’t beep, and I have no throttle. Only a red light on the esc. Does not change with throttle. I triple checked my connections, and switched channels on my receiver to make sure both channels worked. Im soo frustrated. I have a fully charged lipo, I also tested with a fully charged nimh. What could be my problem? 🙁
Jason K

Cubby– Hey ya Jason, thanks for your question via our Facebook page, shoot me or Brian an email and we’ll totally hook ya up with a BSRC sticker pack. So…. you bought a used Castle system, it worked when you got it, now it doesn’t do a dern thing. From the information you’ve provided it sounds like the speedo isn’t seeing your receiver. Make sure your receiver is bound to your transmitter and all the settings on your transmitter are in accordance with what Castle recommends. Still doesn’t work? Try it with another transmitter/receiver that you know are working properly. Still doesn’t work after that? Give the guys at Castle a call or shoot’em an email, they are known for having some of the best customer service in the biz. Shoot us an email with when you get it figured out, heck send us some pics too. We always dig seeing what kind of rigs you guys are running.

Dead Battery
I need some help! I have a Zippy lipo that all of sudden doesn’t charge when I plug it into my charger. It’s like the charger can’t see that it is there at all. I store the pack just like all my others at 3.8 volts per cell and I have only used it a couple dozen times, probably less. I am baffled, please help.

Jonathan E.

Cubby– Yo hey Jon, thanks for the email and shoot us your snail mail so Brian can send ya out a big ole’ sticker pack.
So… you have a battery that isn’t showing up on your charger and you don’t know what to do. You are so lucky I’m here to save the day.
Step 1- There are only two options here, either the battery is bad or your charger is. The first step is to determine which one is the guilty party. Thankfully this is super easy to find out, grab a different pack and see if it charges. If it does
charge than it’s safe to assume your charger is fine. If it doesn’t charge the second pack try one more different pack. If it still isn’t charging then it’s time for a new charger. Problem solved hurray.

Step 2- Let’s say that your charger isn’t seeing your Zippy but it charged another pack successfully. For step 2 you’ll need a volt meter. If you are a hobbyist you need one of these, heck, you need one for life in general. If you don’t have one they are cheap and easy to buy at your local Wally World, automotive store, or Rad Shack. Volt meters run from $5
to over $500. For hobby use a $20 unit will work just fine, just make sure it reads DC up to 20 volts.

Step 3- Use your volt meter to see if there is any voltage at the Zippy’s battery connector. If there is voltage perhaps the connector is no longer making a good connection, solder on a new one and try charging again. If you aren’t seeing proper voltage at the connector, try reading the voltage at the wires right before the connector. If the voltage is good before the connector once again solder up a new connector and try charging.

Step 4- If there is still no voltage (or very low voltage) at the battery wires most likely the pack has gone bad. Typically it’s just one cell that gives up the ghost, and it’s not uncommon for Lipo packs to go bad, even when not in use. Using your handy dandy volt meter you can each cells voltage at the balance connector to see if one cell has indeed died.

Step 5- Should your pack be bad take it to your nearest recycling center. A quick Google search should yield your nearest location. Places like Best Buy, Rad Shack, and even some LHS’s are often recycling centers.

Step 6- If your pack was indeed bad you’ve now got a perfect excuse to buy a new one. Check out our Lipo shootouts and reviews for help selecting the perfect pack for your application.

Step 7- Thank me for the great answer by shipping one bottle of 2002′ Warhol Dom to the uber plush BSRC offices.
Step 8- You’re welcome.

That’s it for this week ya bunch of loons, shoot me what’s going in that head of yours to Cubby at BigSquidRC.com. If your email makes the big time you’ll get a free sticker pack, if yours is proclaimed as “letter of the month” you’ll win a free BSRC t-shirt. Oh ya, I’m picking a “letter of the month” next week, so get those emails in!
YOUR Cub Reporter