General AR 9020 Problem

[Jimbo]

I have a Castle Lite 50 ESC. When I hook the battery to it, the red light flashes. When I plug the ESC into the throttle port on the AR 9020, the orange light flashes when the plug is partially inserted, then stops. No light when fully inserted.

Inserted bind plug and can not get the flashing bind light. Not sure what I'm doing wrong here.

Jim

 

[Smoggie]

Jim,

The labelling and polarity of the connections on the AR9020 (with it's two sets of connectors stacked one atop the other) is VERY confusing. Are you 100% sure that you have the throttle and bind plug connected to the correct ports and with correct polarity on the throttle lead? I also have an AR9020 and I almost tossed it in the trash thinking it was faulty until I realised I was connecting it up wrong.

A photo would help....

 

[Jimbo]

Yes, I watched the video and checks the leads. Do I need to program the ESC or something first?

I'll get photo...

Jim

 

[Smoggie]

If all you are trying to do is power up and bind the receiver, then 'no' you dont need to program the ESC. All the ESC is doing is supplying power to the receiver though it's BEC.

 

[Jimbo]

Thanks. I have tried it with am AR636, AR7700 and the AR9020 and none of them will light up for some reason. It shouldn't be this hard, but it normally is for me.

Jim

 

[Smoggie]

I take it that you are doing it in the correct sequence.. i.e. you are powering on the receiver first, with bind plug inserted and with the Tx turned off. The lights on the receiver should then start to flash. Only then you you power on the transmitter while holding in the bind button.

 

[Jimbo]

Yes sir. Positive/negative connections are correct. Bind plug and throttle plugs in the correct locations. TX is off. Insert the throttle plug just barely and the receiver flashes, then stops. Plug it in all the way and nothing. With it all the way in, disconnect the battery, then plug it back in and the RX flashes once and stops.

Jim

 

[Smoggie]

Jim,

If you have tried with a few different receivers then it's looking like it may be an issue with the supply of power coming from the ESC. Have you got another ESC that you can try for testing purposes? I guess the other possibility is the battery; what battery are you using and are you sure it has some charge in it?

 

[Jimbo]

I tied a different ESC and nothing. The battery is a Power Hobby, 30C, 3000mAh and the tester says full charge. Thanks for all the help Smoggie. I know it is hard to give advice, not being able to put your hands on the project and see it first hand.

Jim

 

[Smoggie]

Jim,

If the battery is fine and you have tried different ESCs and different receivers and you cant even get the bind LED's to flash on any of the receivers, then I'm at a loss.

The only 'common denominators' would appear to be:

• The battery (which you have said is ok)
• The bind plug maybe?
• The Tx (which isn't even turned on so cant possibly be the issue)
• And last but not least, the human (but you say you are doing the procedure correctly).

Maybe if you can take a photo of exactly how you have it all wired?

 

[Jimbo]

Here it is.

Jim

 

[Smoggie]

Is that a standard bind plug? if could just be the photo but it doesn't look like it has the normal wire loop between the ground and signal pins, it seems to have a connector or something on the end where the wire would normally loop round? see attached:

 

[Jimbo]

Smoogie, you are a genious. I switched to my regular bind plug and everything is working perfectly, including the other two receivers. That bind plug came with the receiver and I thought nothing about it. That part, in the circle, has a button on it. I tested it on another receiver, but pushing the button did nothing. I have no idea what it might be.

Very good call my friend and many thanks.

Jim

 

[Smoggie]

Glad to help

 

[Jimbo]

Here are a couple of pictures of the plug. Strange little thing.

Jim

 

[Tony]

Never seen one like that before, but it is a pretty good idea. That way you can leave the bind plug plugged in all the time for those hard to reach gyros but still be able to remove locate it and push it when you need to bind it up. This would be handy for someone like me who is always changing things and constantly tinkering with things and needs to bind often. But for most, a standard bind plug is all you need, just a jumped plug from negative to signal.

 

[Jimbo]

Tony, I have enough trouble holding the bind button and turning the TX on, let alone holding that button too.

I tried pushing the button, after Smoggie pointed it out to me, but it did not work.

Jim

 

[Tony]

I would just take that button off and solder the two wires together. Put some heat shrink over the soldered area. But obviously you have another bind plug, so you don't even need to worry about that.