Bellakelpie

Flying my Phoenix Rainbow (Graupner Electro Kadet) today and suddenly the motor, a Hyperion Z3013-16 just stopped.

Once back on the ground with cowl off and turning it by hand, I noticed that it was not as turning as freely as normal.

I applied battery power and it struggled to turn over and a thin plume of smoke started to come out. Shut it down immediately.

Prop is an APC 11 x 5.5 "E" prop, 40 amp ESC and 3S2P 4200 Ma/H Hyperion Lipo battery.This equates to just a shade under 300 watts, well within the motors limits.

The Rx and servo's are powered independently by an 800 Ma/H AAA NiMH pack. (The 2 circuits are totally seperate.)

Any ideas as to what the problem may be?

giflyrc

Best to execute your warranty if the motor has one . Sounds similiar to problems with AXI at this link:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...42#post7597221
Roger aka GIFLYRC

Bellakelpie

Thanks for the links and heads up giflyrc.

Unfortunately the warranty is well and truly up.

I was not aware of any problems with AXI's, having being running 2 x 2208/20's for about 2 years now without problems.

Turing to the Hyperion, when I 1st tested it for rotation at model installation time, it did make an odd noise, sort of like it was getting hit with Rx interference. This disappeared once it was loaded with a prop, so I did not really take much notice. But I now suspect that it was an indication that all was not well within.

I also have a Z3013/14 and this has been running very well.

max2112

That sounds like a good reason to take it apart! Maybe something metallic got close enough to the motor to get pulled in by the magnets.

Bellakelpie

I suspect that one of the bearings has been damaged or has collapsed. Certainly something is in there putting the brakes on.
I can turn it by hand, but it does not spin freely as it did prior to initial installation.
I will keep this "thread" informed.

Ramovan

It could be a loose magnet in there too. The smoke makes me think you might have some shorted windings now.... possibly caused by a loose magnet. Brushless outrunners are normally very easy to open up. Take a look inside and you'll know what happened.

Bellakelpie

The motor was pulled apart on the weekend. After examination and testing all the internal parts, I discovered that the bearings were perfect and all magnets were secure and in place. After testing, it was apparent that the problem was a wiring fault in the windings.

The bearings have now found a home in a friends Hyperion Z31013/14 that has seen a great many hours of use (he flies 5 days a week, weather permitting ) and now has worn bearings.

I have subsequently ordered a Hyperion Z3019/10.

I also have a Hyperion Z3013/14 that was to go into a Precision Aerobatics Mini Katana, but will use this in the Rainbow temporarily until the Z3019/10 arrives.

Thanks to all you guys who were interested enough to give me some clues as to where to start looking.

Bellakelpie

I must go public on this one as in my previous posting about the fault, I believe that I have made incorrect statement about the faulty winding.

I ran the Z3013/14 substitute today, with 1st , the flight prop I used on the Z3013/16's final flight, this being an APC 11x 5.5 "E" prop. I then changed it for one of the lovely British R.A.M.11 x 6 "Glow engine" type props.

I had a borrowed "E-METER" hooked into the loop for both runs.

Battery was my flight pack 3S2P 4200 Ma/h 16C Hyperion Lipo and 40 amp ESC.

The readings on the "E-Meter" surprised me and I now believe that the failure of the Z3013/16 was simply because I "cooked" it with too much load.

Although I cannot give actual readings for the Z3013/16, because it is "dead", (and has been stripped for the bearings) the readings taken this morning on the E-METER, for the Z3013/14 give a clue as to what actually went wrong.

On the APC 11x5.5 "E" prop, (at max throttle) the readings were:
Current 39.5 amps.
Watts: 423.

On the R.A.M. 11 x 6 prop (at max throttle,)
Current: 38 amps.
Watts: 409.

So, the R.A.M. prop, with 1/2 an inch more pitch, put less load on the motor!

(Goodbye to the larger sized APC "E" Props from now on)

Now the Z3013-14 has a max current rating of 40 amps and the 3013/16, 36 amps.
So it is probably safe to say that when that flight took place, the Z3013/16 was operating on, near or even over, the amps borderline and simply could not take it anymore. (And why should it if it was over the design specs.)

So my apologies to Hyperion for the "slight" against your product and please hurry up with release of your Mk 2 E-METER.

One thing this did also show me, was just how important a tool an E-METER, or like product, is if one is involved in electric flight.