Troubleshooting

Tips for solving common issues seen with the F-Series setup.

If running the F Series ESC from a power supply that can not absorb current (when the F Series ESC is regen braking), this can cause damage to the unit.

We recommend using a battery or bidirectional power supply to avoid this issue.

  • Turning on the ESC causes 6 beeps

There is an error with the signal connection. There is a throttle being applied to the ESC above the arming point (above 1020uS) and check that the throttle channel is not reversed. The ESC is disabled for your protection.

  • ESC has a solid white light while being unresponsive

The ESC is waiting for valid signal input. Check the endpoints are correct and that the channels are not reversed.

  • Not getting full input range to the motor

This can occur when using PWM input to the ESC, and the endpoints are misconfigured. Check that the upper endpoint is at least 1980uS and the lower endpoint is less than 1020uS.

  • ESC has a solid white light and not connecting to the configuration tool

This usually indicates the ESC is running non-configuration firmware. Configuration firmware, also known as V2 firmware (all firmware revisions from 2.3.0 onwards) has a rapid blink when USB is connected. The firmware can be installed manually, and then configured as required.

Tones

Once the ESC is connected to a motor and powered on, the following sequences of tones give status and errors as they occur. The tones occur in either high or low beeps, with varying frequencies.

Number of Tones

Repeat Frequency

Indication

1 beep

3 secs

Waiting for signal tone, lower pitch

1 beep

10 secs

Idle ESC tone, higher pitch

1 beep

After commanding motor start

Stall Protection engaged tone

2 beeps

3 secs

Invalid signal tone

3 beeps

10 secs

Bad signal quality tone

3 beeps

Only occurs once

Booting to config mode tone

3 beeps

Only occurs once

DShot protocol tone

3 beeps

5 secs

Over-temperature tone

4 beeps

Only occurs once

Bi-Directional DShot protocol tone

5 beeps

Only occurs once

Proshot protocol tone

5 beeps

Only occurs once

PWM protocol tone

6 beeps

3 secs

Non-Zero Signal on Start tone

Waiting for Signal Tone

Indicates the ESC has not yet detected a valid or invalid signal on the input port. This can indicate wiring is not properly connected, or the signal source isn't outputting.

Waiting for signal tone, 1 beep

Idle ESC Tone

ESC has successfully armed and is now waiting for a throttle raise to begin output drive to the motor. This beep can be specifically disabled on its own.

Idle ESC tone, 1 beep

Invalid Signal Detected Tone

The ESC has not been able to recognise the signal input type, or it is a signal that is not supported. Check the output type on the signal source, and take steps to ensure noise is kept to a minimum.

Invalid signal detected tone, 2 beeps

Bad Signal Quality Tone

Excess noise was detected during the last drive period. This indicates measures should be taken to improve signal quality, such as a different protocol or twisting ground-signal cables.

Bad signal quality tone, 3 beeps

Booting to Config Mode Tone

The ESC is booting into config mode over a passthrough connection, allowing for access to the settings through the configuration tool.

Booting to config mode tone, 3 beeps

DShot Protocol Tone

DShot protocol has been successfully detected on the input, ESC is ready to drive.

DShot protocol tone, 3 beeps

Over-temperature Tone

An over-temperature shutdown has occurred as the unit surpassed the temperature limit, the ESC will need to be restarted to resume operation. Take steps to improve cooling over the units.

Over-temperature tone, 3 beeps

Bi-Directional DShot Protocol Tone

Bi-Directional DShot protocol has been successfully detected on the input, ESC is ready to drive.

Bi-directional DShot protocol tone, 4 beeps

Proshot Protocol Tone

ProShot protocol has been successfully detected on the input, ESC is ready to drive.

Proshot protocol tone, 5 beeps

PWM Protocol Tone

PWM protocol has been successfully detected on the input, ESC is ready to drive.

PWM protocol tone, 5 beeps

Non-Zero Signal on Start Tone

ESC was initialised with non-zero throttle command. Reset the throttle to zero for the ESC to arm.

Non-zero throttle, 6 beeps

As always, reach out if there's any issues or questions, we try to respond as soon as we can. Contact options can be found under Help.

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