Electronic connections

by Dale Mitchell
(Lake Wales, FL 33898)

Hi, I am new to RC airplanes and bought an ARF plane, everything went well until I got to the part of hooking up the wires for the ESC, the brand is a Sky Wing ESC model SW-100A.
One end has 3 black wires and only says battery on one wire, the other two are unmarked. The other end has one red lead and one black and the red is marked motor. Again no connectors on the leads.
On the motor there are three wires and none are marked, so I don't know which is the positive.
Also is there a standard as to what kind of connectors to use? i.e. Deans connector etc.
Thanks for you help
Dale

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Electronic connections

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Jan 03, 2012

ESC connections
by: Pete

Hi Dale - is this the one...

The 3 black wires are connected to the 3 wires of the motor. Gold bullet connectors are ideal for this, and make sure the connections are fully insulated afterwards with heat-shrink or electrical insulation tape.
The larger black and red wires at the other end of the ESC are connected to the red and black wires of the battery pack.
The black plastic connector with the red, white and black wires goes to the throttle slot of the receiver.

Once you've connected everything you might find that the motor turns the wrong way; if this happens simply swap two of the three motor/ESC connections to reverse the direction of the motor. You can swap any two of the three, it doesn't matter.

Deans connectors are common but personally I prefer the blue EC3 connectors as found on ParkZone and E-flite models. They are easy to solder and easier to disconnect than Deans.
There are other connectors available but I recommend EC3s.

Jan 03, 2012

ESC and Motor wires
by: Anonymous

Thanks, this does help a lot but I still have the problem with the three black unmarked wires from the motor. There is no identification of any of the three wires and I am concerned I will burn the motor up if I connect it wrong.
Thanks again for your assistance
Dale

Jan 06, 2012

No risk
by: Pete

Don't worry, you won't do any damage by connecting the ESC to the motor. Just connect all three wires and check the rotation of the motor; if it turns the wrong way then swap any two of the three wires.

Jan 12, 2012

ESC-Motor connection
by: Dale

Oops, I connected the three motor wires and thought all was great until I turned on the throttle. Smoke and heat. Did not rotate or anything. I waited until it cooled and changed wires and connected and the same thing happened. What did I do wrong?

Jan 16, 2012

Re: Electronic connections
by: Anonymous

Was the smoke and heat from the motor or the ESC? Could the motor turn freely (by hand) before you powered it up?

Jan 16, 2012

ESC smokin
by: memtenn60

Well, you are not going to believe this... after Pete sent the photo and me doing some more research I have found that the factory apparently put the label on upside down and I being new did not see that and of course everything is backwards and it burned up and smoked the ESC and the motor. I Googled Sky Wing and no info to contact the manufacturer for warranty. I bought off of ebay and co. says they are not getting cooperation from supplier. No more purchasing from ebay for me, this is twice I got taken.
Thanks all for your input and assistance.

Jan 18, 2012

Oh wow!
by: Pete

Man, sorry to hear that, it's unreal. So what exactly did you connect to what, according to the incorrect label?
I guess the lesson here is to stay away from cheap 'bargains' on eBay. I did some quick Googling and saw that others have had problems with Sky Wing ESCs too. Clearly one to avoid in the future....

Jan 18, 2012

ESC connections
by: memtenn60

I connected two of the three black wires to the battery after soldering a Dean's connector. The label said battery on the side of the label that was on the end where the three black wires were. That is why I said the label was put on upside down. That is when the problem started when I connected the battery. Smoke, Smoke
Yes I agree, no more ebay or Craigslist purchases for me.
Thanks again for your help and advice.
Memtenn60

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Electronic connections

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